Basil Maclear (7 April 1881 – 24 May 1915) was an Irish rugby international. He played eleven games for Ireland between 1905 and 1907.
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 7 April 1881 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Portsmouth, England[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 24 May 1915 (aged 34) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Ypres salient, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bedford School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal life edit
Maclear was the grandson of Sir Thomas Maclear, Her Majesty's Astronomer in Cape Town, South Africa, and one of five sons of a Bedford Doctor, Major Henry Wallich Maclear. He was later sent to Fermoy in County Cork by the British Army. Like three of his brothers, Maclear was killed in action during World War I, serving as a captain with the Royal Dublin Fusiliers during the Second Battle of Ypres.[1][2] His remains were not recovered and his name is recorded on the Menin Gate memorial nearby.[3]
Career edit
Maclear played his first international game on 11 February 1905 against England, a game which Ireland won 17–3. He scored four tries and three conversions during his eleven international games for Ireland. In the match against New Zealand on their 1905 tour, he was captain of Munster, which ended up losing 33–0.[4][5]
Maclear was one of 25 individuals inducted to the World Rugby Hall of Fame during ceremonies held at Wembley Stadium during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ a b Basil Maclear (1881–1915), Irish Rugby superstar with Comerford ancestors. patrickcomerford.com (17 December 2015)
- ^ Irish Internationals who Died in World War 1. therugbyhistorysociety.co.uk
- ^ Maclear, Basil, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 30 December 2008
- ^ Basil Maclear. espnscrum.com
- ^ Basil Maclear. IRFU Profile
- ^ "Kiernan, Maclear & Slattery Inducted Into World Rugby Hall Of Fame" (Press release). Irish Rugby Football Union. 21 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
External links edit
- The Rugby History Society
- Report of the 1905 New Zealand tour at rugby-memorabilia.co.uk
- Jones, Stephen (1994). Rothmans Rugby Union Yearbook 1994–95. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7850-4.