John Walter Sinclair Irwin (3 August 1913 – 13 August 2004) was an Irish international

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. Irwin was the eldest son of Ireland rugby international, politician and surgeon Samuel Irwin. He studied medicine at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, where he was a member of the varsity rugby team. A back row forward, Irwin also played for North of Ireland and was capped five times for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Serving with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

in World War II, Irwin chose to remain in Dunkirk during the evacuation to assist the wounded and ended up being captured by the Germans. Irwin was a vascular surgeon at the

Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast The Royal Victoria Hospital commonly known as "the Royal", the "RVH" or "the Royal Belfast", is a hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is managed by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. The hospital has a Regional Virus Centre, which ...

and stayed involved in rugby as an administrator. He served as president of the IRFU in 1969–70, becoming the first son of a former president to also hold the office.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Sinclair 1913 births 2004 deaths Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British Army personnel of World War II Rugby union number eights Rugby union players from Belfast Ulster Rugby players North of Ireland F.C. players Queen's University RFC players Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Irish surgeons Vascular surgeons Royal Army Medical Corps soldiers

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