Lawrence Bulger
Encyclopedia
Lawrence 'Larry' Quinlivan Bulger (5 February 1870 – 17 March 1928) was an Irish rugby union
player, athlete and doctor
. Bulger played international rugby for Ireland
and in 1896 was chosen to represent a British Isles XV
in their tour of South Africa
. Bulger, who was nicknamed 'Fat Cupid', was described as an elusive runner and a devastating tackler, one of Ireland's outstanding players.
at the 1908 Olympics
; while Daniel was a five time British AAA athletics champion.
Lawrence Bulger was an Irish 220 yard sprint champion, and through his connection with athletics was a representative at the Sorbonne
in Paris
when Pierre de Coubertin
suggested the creation of a modern Olympic Games. Bulger was taken ill at Twickenham on Saint Patrick's Day
, 1928 and died shortly after leaving the ground. He was 58.
where he studied medicine. While at Trinity he represented Dublin University Football Club
and showed a flair for athletics. Bulger was first chosen to represent Ireland while still playing for Dublin University, when he was selected to face England
as part of the 1896 Home Nations Championship
. Played at Meanwood Road in Leeds, Bulger was part of a victorious Irish team, and managed to appear on the score sheet when he converted both of the Irish tries
. He was reselected for the next two games of the tournament, both played at Lansdowne Road
, a draw against Scotland
and a win over Wales
, Bulger scoring another conversion in the later match. Ireland finished the Championship at the top of the table, making Bulger a Home Nations
winning player, though he could have been a Triple Crown
winner if he had scored from a penalty kick in the Scottish game. Bulger was reselected for the 1897 Championship
which was played against only two opponents after Wales withdrew from the IRB
due to the Gould Affair. Bulger scored in both games, with a try against Scotland and in the game played at home to England, he became the first Irish player to score a goal from a mark in an international as well as the highest scoring Irishman in the competition to date when another try took his tally for that game to seven points. Bulger's last campaign for Ireland was during the 1898 Home Nations Championship
; now playing for Lansdowne. His penalty goal was decisive in the win over England, but he was part of a losing Ireland team in the last two games of the tournament. The match against Wales, at Limerick on the 18 March, was his final game for his country.
After his Irish career came to an end, Bulger continued playing rugby in England. He set up a medical practice in London with his brother Michael, and Michael became a founding member of the exiles team London Irish
. Both brothers turned out regularly for the club.
British Isles team on their trip to South Africa
. The team contained nine Irishmen, the first time an overseas tour had contained such a large contingent of players from Ireland. Bulger played in all four tests, the tourists winning three. Bulger scored a try in the first test at Port Elizabeth, and set a tour record of 19 tries across the full 21 matches played.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player, athlete and doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
. Bulger played international rugby for Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and in 1896 was chosen to represent a British Isles XV
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
in their tour of South Africa
1896 British Lions tour to South Africa
1896 British Isles tour to South Africa was a rugby union tour undertaken by the British Isles, one of the first British and Irish Lions tours. The team toured South Africa for the second time in 1896. Between July 11 and September 5, they played 21 games, including four tests against South Africa...
. Bulger, who was nicknamed 'Fat Cupid', was described as an elusive runner and a devastating tackler, one of Ireland's outstanding players.
History
Lawrence Bulger was born in County Clare in 1870. The Bulger family lived in Moore Street, Kilrush, where his father, Daniel Scanlan Bulger, was a woollen merchant and draper and ran a loan office. His mother Anne, nee Delany, was from Limerick. Later the Bulgers moved to Dublin, where Daniel was a stockbroker and city councillor. It was a sporting family. Lawrence and his brother Michael were educated at Blackrock College. Both of Lawrence's older brothers, Michael Bulger and Daniel Delany Bulger, were notable athletes: Michael also played rugby for Ireland and was one of the umpires whose aid disqualified Italian marathon runner Dorando PietriDorando Pietri
Dorando Pietri, often wrongly spelt Petri was an Italian athlete famous for his dramatic finish and eventual disqualification in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London.-Early years:Pietri was born in Mandrio, a frazione of Correggio, but spent his youth in Carpi...
at the 1908 Olympics
1908 Summer Olympics
The 1908 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the IV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in 1908 in London, England, United Kingdom. These games were originally scheduled to be held in Rome. At the time they were the fifth modern Olympic games...
; while Daniel was a five time British AAA athletics champion.
Lawrence Bulger was an Irish 220 yard sprint champion, and through his connection with athletics was a representative at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
when Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Coubertin
Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin was a French educationalist and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee, and is considered the father of the modern Olympic Games...
suggested the creation of a modern Olympic Games. Bulger was taken ill at Twickenham on Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...
, 1928 and died shortly after leaving the ground. He was 58.
Blackrock
Lawrence Bulger was a member of the Blackrock College side which won the first Leinster Schools Cup in 1887.Ireland
After Bulger left Blackrock, he gained entry to Trinity College, DublinTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
where he studied medicine. While at Trinity he represented Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club
Dublin University Football Club is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin, Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland.-History:...
and showed a flair for athletics. Bulger was first chosen to represent Ireland while still playing for Dublin University, when he was selected to face England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
as part of the 1896 Home Nations Championship
1896 Home Nations Championship
The 1896 Home Nations Championship was the fourteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 4 January and 14 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.-Table:-Results:...
. Played at Meanwood Road in Leeds, Bulger was part of a victorious Irish team, and managed to appear on the score sheet when he converted both of the Irish tries
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
. He was reselected for the next two games of the tournament, both played at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...
, a draw against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and a win over Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
, Bulger scoring another conversion in the later match. Ireland finished the Championship at the top of the table, making Bulger a Home Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
winning player, though he could have been a Triple Crown
Triple Crown (Rugby Union)
In rugby union, the Triple Crown is an honour contested annually by the four national teams of the British Isles who compete within the larger Six Nations Championship: England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. If any one team manages to win all their games against the other three they win the...
winner if he had scored from a penalty kick in the Scottish game. Bulger was reselected for the 1897 Championship
1897 Home Nations Championship
The 1897 Home Nations Championship was the fifteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Four matches were played between 9 January and 13 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
which was played against only two opponents after Wales withdrew from the IRB
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
due to the Gould Affair. Bulger scored in both games, with a try against Scotland and in the game played at home to England, he became the first Irish player to score a goal from a mark in an international as well as the highest scoring Irishman in the competition to date when another try took his tally for that game to seven points. Bulger's last campaign for Ireland was during the 1898 Home Nations Championship
1898 Home Nations Championship
The 1898 Home Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 5 February and 2 April. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....
; now playing for Lansdowne. His penalty goal was decisive in the win over England, but he was part of a losing Ireland team in the last two games of the tournament. The match against Wales, at Limerick on the 18 March, was his final game for his country.
After his Irish career came to an end, Bulger continued playing rugby in England. He set up a medical practice in London with his brother Michael, and Michael became a founding member of the exiles team London Irish
London Irish
London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top...
. Both brothers turned out regularly for the club.
British Isles XV
In 1896, while still a student, Bulger was selected to tour with Jonny Hammond'sJohnny Hammond (rugby player)
John "Johnny" Hammond was an English rugby union forward who, although not capped for England, was part of three British Lions tours, all to South Africa. He gained three caps during the 1891 tour to South Africa and captained the 1896 tour, winning another two test caps...
British Isles team on their trip to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The team contained nine Irishmen, the first time an overseas tour had contained such a large contingent of players from Ireland. Bulger played in all four tests, the tourists winning three. Bulger scored a try in the first test at Port Elizabeth, and set a tour record of 19 tries across the full 21 matches played.