Eugene Davy

Eugene O'Donnell Davy (26 July 1904 – 11 November 1996) was an Ireland international rugby union fly-half.

Davy was born into an affluent family in County Dublin on 26 July 1904.¹ He was one of nine surviving children of Thomas Davy, a merchant, and his wife Alice. According to 1911 Irish census, both Davy's parents were originally from County Tipperary and his family were living at 29 Terenure Road East, Rathgar.² He attended Belvedere College where he was a contemporary of Kevin Barry. He attended University College Dublin and captained the university rugby team in the 1925–26 season.³

Davy's club side was Lansdowne Football Club. The club won the Leinster Senior Cup five consecutive times from 1927 to 1931 and the Bateman Cup (the all-Ireland championship) on three occasions between 1928–29 and 1930–31.⁴

He won 34 international caps for Ireland between 1925 and 1934. His debut was on 14 March 1925 against Wales.¹ He played his final international against England on 10 February 1934.¹ In his international career he scored eight tries and three drop goals and was part of the Irish team that shared the 1926 Five Nations Championship.¹ In 1930 he made history by scoring three tries in eight minutes in a 14–11 win over Scotland at Murrayfield. As of January 2009, he is among the top twenty try-scorers in Irish rugby history.⁵

He was manager of Ireland on their victorious 1967 tour of Australia.⁶ He also served as president of the IRFU in 1967–68.⁷

In 1926 Davy and his brother James founded Davy Stockbrokers, now one of Ireland's leading providers of financial services.⁸

He died on 11 November 1996, aged 92.⁹

In 1999 UCD inaugurated the 'Davy Bursary' in his honour. He was one of thirty-two former Belvedere pupils profiled in Oliver Murphy's book Belvedere’s Rugby Heroes (2006).