| Personal information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Noel Mary Purcell | |||||
| Born | Ireland | |||||
| Playing information | ||||||
| Position | No. 8 (rugby union) | |||||
| Club | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Rugby union | ||||||
| Belvedere College | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Representative | ||||||
| Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
| Water polo | ||||||
| 1920 | Great Britain | |||||
| 1924 | Ireland | |||||
| Rugby union | ||||||
| 1921 | Ireland | 4 | 0 | |||
Noel Mary Purcell (25 December 1899 [1] or 14 November 1891[2] – 31 January 1962) was an Irish sportsman. He represented both Great Britain and Ireland as a water polo player at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics respectively.[3]< He also played rugby union for Belvedere College,[4] Clongowes Wood College and Ireland.[3]
He is arguably the first man to have represented two countries at the Olympics, since when the Irish Free State gained its own team, he switched from Great Britain to the Irish Olympic team.[3]
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At the 1920 Summer Olympics Purcell, together with Charles Sydney Smith, Paul Radmilovic, Charles Bugbee, Christopher Jones, William Peacock and William Henry Dean, was a member of the Great Britain water polo team that won the gold medal.[5][6] Then in 1924 he captained Ireland.
In the 1921 Five Nations Championship, Purcell played in all four games for Ireland. He made his debut against England on 12 February. He then played against Scotland on 26 February and Wales on 12 March. He made his final appearance for Ireland against France on 9 April.[2]
| Olympic medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's Water Polo | ||
| Gold | 1920 Antwerp | Team competition |