Tag Archives: rugby

THE meeting of Ennis and Garryowen in the Munster U-18 Cup final on Sunday is the biggest underage match that Ennis has ever played in, according to team coach John Colleran. “It’s the showpiece of Munster rugby at youths level and for a junior club like Ennis, it is massive. It shows the strength of the game at youths level in our club. It has come about as a result of the effort over the years by a lot of volunteers. It’s the culmination of all of that,” said Colleran, who is eagerly looking forward to the final. A coach with the club for more than a decade, Colleran has been involved with this group of players since they were at U-10 level. “One of the reasons I got involved with this group was because my son Jack had taken up the game. As a parent, I was there watching. I said I would like to have the experience of …

East Clare is to benefit from a state-of-the-art 4G IRFU standard indoor rugby pitch, the first of its kind in the county, after Scariff Rugby Club got the green light from Clare County Council to develop the playing facility. The only other pitch of its kind in the locality is the 3G pitch at the University of Limerick North Campus and the club said the development will benefit the entire community, as well as help grow its rugby base. Vice-president of Scariff Rugby Club Michael Madden outlined the club’s plans for the indoor facility. “It’ll be community based, so it will be available for everybody because we want to make it so that anyone can have the use of it. It will be the first of its kind in Clare. It’s the biggest shed you can build with internal structures, so it will be 40m by 20m and it will have a viewing stand going along by the pitch. There …

A MEMORIAL campaign for the late Munster head coach, Anthony ‘Axel’ Foley, has secured global support. The Axel Foley Memorial appeal, #8masses4no8, which was set up by his son, Tony, has already secured almost 30,000 Facebook likes, 3,500 more than the capacity of Thomond Park. The Foley family have been “overwhelmed” by messages of support from Killaloe, Limerick, all over the country, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand and even missionaries in Africa and the Far East. Support has come from young and old, many of whom are not rugby fans. Tony has highlighted one message from sixth-year students at Beneavin College in Finglas, which captures everything this campaign is about – remembering his father and others who have gone. Last Saturday, Tony joined his eight-year-old brother, Dan and Munster players in the middle of Thomond Park at the end of the match for a charged rendition of the anthem Stand Up and Fight. More than 25,000 fans remained …

Anthony Foley, the family man, was the central theme of the homily at his funeral mass in St Flannan’s Church, Killaloe today (Friday). The homily, which reflected on the gentle side of a man who was a formidable presence on the rugby field, was delivered by Clarecastle parish priest, Fr Pat Malone, a long time friend of the Foley family. Fr Pat said, “My first words and thoughts today go to you Olive, to [sons Tony and Dan, [parents] Shelia and Brendan, [sisters] Rosie and Orla; and they are simple words we use at funerals when we don’t know what to say. ‘I am sorry for your trouble’. These words say it all today. Sorry to see you in such shock and pain. Sorry to hear, as you expressed it yourselves in your very moving family statement earlier in the week, that “we have been plunged deep into an incomprehensible darkness and sense of loss”. Sorry to hear that Anthony has died. “Olive, …

Anthony Foley’s remains are to be flown home from Paris to Shannon Airport tomorrow, Wednesday, from where they will be brought to his family home (private) in Killaloe. The Munster rugby coach and former Ireland player died in a hotel in the French capital over the weekend, hours before his team was due to play  in a European Cup game. Anthony Foley’s remains will lie in repose at St Flannan’s Church, Killaloe from 1pm to 8.30pm on Thursday evening. People intending on paying their respects to Anthony are encouraged to attend early. The funeral mass will take place at 12 noon on Friday at St Flannan’s Church, with the church reserved for family and friends only. Burial afterwards will be at Relig Núa Cemetery, Killaloe.

The family of rugby legend Anthony Foley has responded to the outpouring of support and sympathy received since his sudden death in Paris over the weekend. “With Anthony’s passing, we have ultimately lost an amazing, adoring and loving father and husband; an equally caring, loyal and devoted son and brother; a central and go-to figure for the wider Foley and Hogan families. Our anguish at the sudden loss of Anthony is bottomless. We have been plunged deep into an incomprehensible darkness and sense of loss that we must work our way through over the coming days, weeks, months and years. “We know, too, that his sudden death has brought the rugby worlds of Shannon RFC, Munster, Ireland and much further afield crashing down. You have lost a former player, coach, friend and all-round inspiration – your and our hero both. We mourn his loss together,” the family said in a statement. In recognising the sympathetic may in which the media …

MEMBERS of the public have been signing books of condolences today at Áras Contae an Chláir in Ennis and at the Killaloe Electoral Area Office in Scariff in memory of rugby star Anthony Foley, who died suddenly at the weekend. Leas cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Paul said, “On behalf of Clare County Council and the people of Clare, I want to extend my deepest sympathies and condolences to Anthony’s family and his wide circle of friends and former colleagues. “Anthony was a warrior in sport and in life and he never shirked a challenge”, added Mr Murphy. “Anthony’s achievements on the pitch were matched off the pitch by his role as an ambassador for Clare, Munster and Ireland. His loss to the local community in Killaloe and to Irish sport is immeasurable. Pat Dowling, chief executive of Clare County Council added, “In 2009, Clare County Council honoured Anthony with a civic reception. Today, Clare County Council joins local authorities across the province in …

SOMEHOW Sabena Moylan manages to mix working as an air hostess for Virgin Atlantic with rugby refereeing in Munster, along with extensive charity work for the London-based Atlas Foundation. As recently as August, her work brought her to almost every continent. Rugby-wise she has attended the Rugby World Cup and the 2009 Lions tour to South Africa. Next month, the former Shannon Comprehensive and IT Tralee student will touch down in Chicago for the Ireland v New Zealand international. Currently working her way back from a knee injury, Moylan started refereeing in 2012. She calculates that there are four female rugby referees in Munster and 10 in Ireland. “There was a bit of communication between me and the Munster branch. I was touch judge in my first game out in St Mary’s. I wasn’t thrown in at the deep end in the middle of the pitch. They’re good like that. They let you touch judge for a month or two …