The Irish Rugby Football Union could find itself in an unsavoury battle of wills with former Leinster prospect and Ireland Under-20 fly-half Ian McKinley after the partially sighted Dubliner launched his campaign to be permitted to wear protective goggles and play on Irish turf.
McKinley’s nascent talent appeared to have been snuffed out when a freak accident occurred during a domestic league game in 2010, with a UCD team-mate catching him with a stud to the eye in a ruck as the Students played Lansdowne.
Despite losing the sight in his left eye, McKinley remarkable returned to the fray with St Mary’s and Leinster just six months later and was awarded a man of the match award for his performance for the Boys in Blue against Treviso at the RDS in 2011.
However, two separate gouging incidents after his comeback prompted the difficult decision to retire from the sport at 21.
McKinley subsequently worked with designers on the Masters in Medical Device Design programme at NCAD to find a solution that would enable him to playing rugby again. The protective goggles that were developed as a result are now being manufactured by Italian firm Raleri and are used by 525 players worldwide.
Twenty-four rugby unions internationally are participating in the trial, including seven of the top 10 ranked nations in the world, but the Irish, English and French unions have declined to participate.
McKinley’s resilience was rewarded with a call-up the Zebre squad last month, having been signed to Viadana since August 2014. He played for Zebre against Llanelli Scarlets in the Pro12 competition in Italy in recent weeks, but found out last Friday that he could not participate in the team’s next fixture against Connacht at the Sportsground on Friday.
The 25-year-old told RTÉ Sport: “I can’t see 25% of what’s to the side of me, but with plenty of exercise and future projects that I’m currently doing, hopefully this will continue to improve.
“I’m setting up a campaign so that the IRFU can sign up to this trial and ultimately we would like World Rugby to ratify these goggles so that I can pursue my career as a professional.”
Asked whether he feel courageous, a modest McKinley replied: “No, I just feel passionate.
“I’d three years out of the game that I didn’t play and I feel that I need to make up for lost time.”
Members of the public can lend their support to Ian McKinley by signing the petition here.
