Louis Crowe

The son of a Scottish-born customs officer, Louis Crowe was born after the family moved to Ireland, originally to Cork before relocating to Dublin. Crowe attended Belvedere College and then University College Dublin (UCD), from where he qualified as a doctor in 1955 before moving to Belfast to practice the following year.

At Belvedere Crowe played rugby and helped them win the Leinster Schools Senior Cup and was also a Leinster Schools 220 yards champion. He enjoyed a truly memorable year in 1950 when he was selected to represent Ireland in the Five Nations Rugby Championship and made his début in the 3-0 defeat by England at Twickenham before scoring one try in Ireland’s 21-0 win over Scotland. Also that year, Crowe made his Ireland athletics début in the triangular match against England/Wales and Scotland, and completed the sprint double at both the Irish Amateur Athletic Board (IAAB) and Amateur Athletic Union of Eire (AAUE) Championships. He also won the 100- and 220 yards titles at the Irish Universities’ Championships.

An outstanding rugby winger or centre, Crowe helped Old Belvedere win the Leinster Senior Cup in both 1951 and 1952, and was club captain in the 1952/53 season. Crowe was selected for the 100 metres and sprint relay at the 1952 Olympics but was a non-starter in both. To round off a successful athletics career Crowe won a fifth Irish sprint title (AAUE 100 yards) in 1953. Crowe’s brother Harry was also a county rugby player.