John Patrick Kirwan (31 March 1896 – 20 October 1968), more commonly known as "Jack Kirwan", was a rugby union and rugby league player. He represented the Hawke's Bay province and Auckland in rugby union before switching to rugby league in 1924. He was selected for the New Zealand team in 1925 becoming Kiwi number 174 in the process. His grandson was also named John Kirwan and he went on to become a famous All Black in the 1980s and 90s before also switching to rugby league.
Early life John Patrick Kirwan was born on 31 March 1896 in Reefton on the West Coast of the South Island. His parents were Kate and Robert Kirwan. Kirwan had 3 brothers and 4 sisters; Michael, Ellen, Mary, Kate, Anastasia, Robert, and Edward.
Kirwan was a telegraphist who worked in Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast of the North Island in 1914 when he was 18 years of age. He was then transferred to Napier. After serving in World War I he returned to New Zealand and began working at the Dannevirke Post Office.
Rugby beginnings on the East Coast Jack Kirwan moved to Tokomaru on the East Coast of the North Island in November 1914 where he began working at the local post office. During the 1914/15 summer he played cricket for Tokomaru Bay and then began playing for the Tokomaru City rugby union team in the Turnbill Cup against Waima and Wanderers. He scored tries in games against Wanderers on 8 May, and Waima on 5 July.
Kirwan was aged 19 by this time and in the match with Wanderers it was said that “a conspicuous feature of the game was the brilliant football played by Jack Kirwan (City). It was admitted by the most competent judges that a better exhibition had not been seen on this ground”. Kirwan was then selected for the Waiapu representative team to play against Tolaga Bay. In September, Kirwan was fare-welled at a function in his honour at the Magnet boarding house. He had proved to be a very popular figure in the local Tokomaru community. He was being promoted and transferred to Napier.
World War I World War I was well underway and Kirwan enlisted in the New Zealand Army on 26 June 1916 aged 20. He trained at the Featherston Military Camp before leaving New Zealand for Europe on 2 January 1917. Kirwan managed to play some rugby while serving. He played for the South Island New Zealand Forces Army team against the North Island on 4 May 1919 in a match his side won 10–6. Kirwan was stationed in Western Europe, predominantly France serving in the New Zealand Field Artillery. In December 1918 he was promoted to Bombardier.
Tragedy struck Kirwan and his family in early January 1919 when his sister Anastasia died after contracting influenza during the tail end of the 1918 pandemic. She had been caring for the sick during this time and was aged just 24.
Kirwan was promoted again to corporal on 15 January after fighting in the war had ceased. While the New Zealand troops remained in Europe, Kirwan played rugby games for some of the NZ army teams which travelled around playing matches. One such match was played for the New Zealand Army team stationed at Sutton against the New Zealanders from Brocton in early April and he scored a try in a 22–0 win.
On 16 November 1919 he boarded the Arawa to return to New Zealand, arriving home on 16 December 1919. He was then discharged having served for 3 years and 174 days in total including 2 years and 321 days overseas.
Kirwan received the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
Playing career Move to Dannevirke and Hawke's Bay rugby side After being discharged Kirwan went immediately to Dannevirke where he resumed his career working in the Post Office as a telegraphist. He played for the Dannevirke Old Boys rugby club throughout the 3 years he was to spend there. He was selected to play for Southern Hawke's Bay against Northern Hawke's Bay on 10 July. In a description of the match Kirwan was said to be a “prominent member of the backs” in a match his side lost 6–0 before being selected to make his Hawke's Bay debut against Taranaki. The match was played on 22 July 1920 in New Plymouth with Hawke's Bay winning 8–6.
In 1921, Kirwan played further matches for Hawke's Bay against Wairarapa on 2 July and Manawatu on 6 July. He was then selected in the combined Hawke's Bay-Poverty Bay team to play against the touring South African international side. The match was a hard-fought one on 3 September at McLean Park in Napier before a crowd of 7,500. Kirwan played in the centres in a 14–8 loss. Playing alongside Kirwan was Bill Te Whata who would also like Kirwan switch to rugby league and represent New Zealand.
In 1922, Kirwan played 7 matches for the Hawke's Bay side. The first was against Wairarapa which was won 17–3. Kirwan then appeared in their famous 19–9 Ranfurly Shield win over Wellington on 10 August. Kirwan scored 2 tries in the win. He was selected for the Hawke's Bay southern tour which involved matches against Otago, Southland, and Canterbury. They lost to Otago 11–8 at Carisbrook before a crowd of 11,000 though the Ranfurly Shield was not on the line for any of these matches. Hawke's Bay lost again 11–3 to Southland with 4,000 spectators looking on in Invercargill. Before finishing the tour with a 29–3 win over Canterbury. He finished the representative season off with a defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Bay of Plenty at Nelson Park in Hastings which they won narrowly 17–16. This was followed by another defence against King Country at McLean Park, Napier. In front of a crowd of 4,000 they won easily 42–8 with Kirwan scoring a try.
In 1924 Kirwan played in a 6–0 loss to Wairarapa on 21 July, and then a 10–6 win over Wellington in their second shield defence of the season at McLean Park in Napier before a crowd of 6,000. Kirwan was playing in the three-quarters outside George Nēpia who was five eighth along with Lui Paewai. Kirwan then missed a Southern Hawke's Bay match with Manawatu and a Hawke's Bay match with Poverty Bay as he was battling the flu before being selected to play against the touring New South Wales side. The team Kirwan was in was a combined East Coast-Poverty Bay-Hawke's Bay side and they won comfortably by 32 points to 15.
Kirwan then finished his season by playing in the Ranfurly Shield defences over Horowhenua on 8 September which they won 38–11, and over Auckland which was won 20–5. The match with Auckland was played in front of a huge crowd of 10,000 and Kirwan was heavily involved in several attacking raids. It was Hawke's Bay's last shield defence of the year. Two weeks later Kirwan travelled with the Hawke's Bay team to Auckland to play a return match at the Auckland Domain. The crowd numbered 22,000. Auckland reversed the earlier result winning by 17 to 9 in a match which raised £1000 for the construction of the nearby Auckland War Memorial Museum which had construction on it begin in 1929.
Following the conclusion of the season Kirwan was transferred from the Dannevirke Post Office to the Auckland Chief Post Office located at the present day Britomart in the Auckland CBD.
Move to Auckland, Marist Old Boys rugby and Auckland debuts Kirwan joined the Marist Brothers Old Boys rugby club who played in the Auckland Rugby Union competition. He debuted for them on 26 April in a match with College Rifles which his side won 6–3. He was then selected in the Auckland Provincial team to play his former Hawke's Bay side. The match acting as a trial for the All Blacks side. The match was played at Eden Park before a crowd of 12,000. Kirwan set up the Auckland Province side's first try with a reverse pass to Bert Cooke who scored under the posts. He did the same later in the match, reversing a pass back to Bill Wright who scored to make the score 15–6 with his team going on to win 18–9. Kirwan then gained a place in the North Islands Probables v Possibles match which was played in Wellington on 21 May.
The rest of the first half of Kirwan's season was spent playing for his Marist side in the local club competition. In total he played 7 matches for them and scored 2 tries and games against Grafton and College Rifles. On 23 July he went back to his family in Reefton due to “family affairs” and after he returned he played in 7 matches for the Auckland representative side through August and September. They were against Waikato (9–5), North Auckland (11–8), Hawke's Bay (6–23), Wairarapa (18–15), Wellington (9–8), Wanganui (8–10), and Taranaki (17–12). The match against Hawke's Bay was a Ranfurly Shield challenge with Kirwan kicking a drop goal on his old ‘home field’ of McLean Park, Napier.
Kirwan was reportedly unhappy with the lack of compensation provided for players in the representative team who often had to take time off work to play thus resulting in a loss in wages. This is cited at one of the main reasons Kirwan then transferred to the rugby league code which was much more proactive in compensating its players for any loss in wages through playing the game.
Switch to Rugby League In mid to late September Kirwan switched codes and joined the Marist Old Boys rugby league team. He made his debut for Marist in the championship final against Devonport United. The move caused some controversy with a The New Zealand Herald article stating that "his inclusion was the source of a good deal of comment, and it is thought by many that, in the circumstances, the fact that he took part in a game with a direct bearing on the championship, was not according to the ethics of true sportsmanship."
Kirwan scored a try in a 20–17 win on Carlaw Park in front of an enormous crowd of 17,000 which was a club record for Auckland Rugby League at that time. It was said that Kirwan's "presence was probably the deciding factor in giving Marist their narrow win." His try helped give Marist a 10–7 lead after he received a pass from Lyall Stewart and scored in the corner.
The Auckland Star further discussed the controversy saying "the sole topic of conversation in … both League and Rugby since Saturday last has been the playing of Kirwan in the Marist Bros. team, and while the majority of followers hold the opinion that it was hardly the fair thing that Kirwan should be played…, others again hold that the Tykes were not only entitled to do so, but did what any other team would have done had they been similarly placed…" The club freely admitting "that for some time they had been endeavouring to get Kirwan to come over to League." Devonport were also trying to secure rugby players to join their side including Tonkin, Matson (Ponsonby) and Neil Ifwerson (Grammar).
Kirwan played two more matches for Marist before the season end. A loss to Devonport in the Roope Rooster competition and a 10–10 drawn match with City Rovers as part of the Labour Day celebrations.
In 1925, Kirwan appeared in nine matches for Marist Old Boys scoring 5 tries. The Marist season was over shadowed by the death of Bill Stormont who died after battling rheumatic heart disease. At the end of the season Marist played for the newly created Stormont Shield to memorialise Stormont which is still played for today. Kirwan scored a try but it could not prevent a Marist lost 23–22 to Ponsonby United.
In June Kirwan was selected to play for the North Island team against the South Island. North Island won 27–9 and following the match, which was part of a series of trials at Carlaw Park on the same day, Kirwan was selected in the New Zealand side to tour Australia. He was chosen in the three quarters along with Lou Brown, Hec Brisbane, Frank Delgrosso, and Jim Parkes.