James W. Kirkwood (born 12 February 1962) is a former field hockey

Field hockey

Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

 player and Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

er, who was born in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

Hockey

Kirkwood was a member of the golden winning British squad at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

.

At the 1990 World Cup

1990 Men's Hockey World Cup

The 1990 Hockey World Cup was the seventh instalment of the Men's Hockey World Cup. It was held in Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. It ran from February 12 to February 23. The Netherlands won over the the home side 3-1 in the final with Australia beating out Germany for third place in extra...

 Kirkwood was involved in a serious accident on the pitch, in the match between Canada and Ireland

Ireland national field hockey team

Ireland national field hockey team represents Ireland at men's international field hockey. It is organised by the Irish Hockey Association. Usually the team represents the entire island of Ireland and plays under a special flag. The exception is Olympic hockey, where the team represents only the...

. Nick Sandhu

Nick Sandhu

Hagurnek Sandhu is a former field hockey defender.Sandhu participated in two consecutive Summer Olympics for Canada, starting in 1984...

, the Canadian deep defender had the ball under control and was in the process of hitting to clear. When Kirkwood dived low from the left to tackle he got badly hit by Sandhu's follow through. Kirkwood's cheekbone was fractured and needed fifteen stitches. Kirkwood played for YMCA and Lisnagarvey

Lisnagarvey Hockey Club

Lisnagarvey Hockey Club is the most successful Irish men's hockey club. The club is based in Hillsborough, County Down, Northern Ireland. It has a current membership of 700. The club also has a ladies section.-Formation:...

.

Cricket

Kirkwood also played for the Irish cricket team, representing Ireland three times. Kirkwood made 27 runs at an average of 8.6, with his high score of 27 coming against Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....

. In addition to his batting, Kirkwood could also slot in as an athletic wicket-keeper

Wicket-keeper

The wicket-keeper in the sport of cricket is the player on the fielding side who stands behind the wicket or stumps being guarded by the batsman currently on strike...

. Kirkwoods appearances for Ireland were limited due to his hockey commitments