In February 2011, a 21-year-old Ian McKinley made his first competetive start at outhalf for Leinster against Treviso where he scored a try in a man of the match performance. By the time the season was over, McKinley had retired from professional rugby owing to a gruesome eye injury he suffered while playing in the AIL.
McKinley moved to Italy where he began coaching but his hunger for the game was never satiated. When his older brother Philip contacted the National College of Art and Design with a view to developing protective goggles which could allow him to play again, McKinley's fate changed. Some 13,000 people signed a petition to help convince the IRFU to allow World Rugby's trialling of the new eyegear in matches against Irish teams.
This evening at the RDS Ian McKinley made his Treviso debut against Leinster.
Thanks to these groundbreaking new goggles, McKinley is now an active player once again and received a rapturous reception from all four corner of the RDS when he sprinted onto the pitch on the hour mark.
Glad to have you back, Ian.
The reaction from the crowd when Ian McKinley came on was something else 👍🏻
— Kate Lyons! (@katelyons_10) September 2, 2016
Brilliant reception for Ian McKinley in Treviso colours from Leinster fans... 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽#inspirationalstory#LEIvBEN
— Kate Rowan (@KateLouiseRowan) September 2, 2016
Ian McKinley on at the RDS
👏 👏 👏
👓
🏉— Andy McGeady (@andymcgeady) September 2, 2016
Rousing ovation for Ian McKinley as he returns to the RDS, goggles n'all. Some journey
— Rúaidhrí O'Connor (@RuaidhriOC) September 2, 2016
