Monthly Archives: February 2017

Club Name: Rochdale Rugby Union Club

Geographical Location: Rochdale,Lancashire

Clubs nickname: Dale

No of Teams: 4 senior team, 2 ladies team, senior and junior colts, M&J section from U6-u16, Expendables (over 35’s)

Brief History of the club:

Rochdale inherits a tradition in Rugby Union Football which goes as far back as 1867, when the Rochdale Football Club was formed. The present club was formed in 1921 by a small band of enthusiasts, who continued to play at the Club for many decades.

In the new Millennium the Club members took things to new heights. Their  vision and drive led the Club through the construction of a fine new Clubhouse and the reconstruction / drainage

On Saturday afternoon, Conor Meyler of Tyrone raised the Sigerson Cup on behalf of his lionhearted St Mary’s team.

It may be the most remarkable and unlikely GAA story of the year. And it’s still only February. St Mary’s College won the Sigerson for only the second time, coming back from conceding two goals in the opening five minutes in both the semi final and final. On Friday they overcame a strong UCC team, and on Saturday they faced holders UCD in the Final. Despite going two goals behind a tremendous team effort saw the Ranch prevail to win by a point.

Back in 1989 Saint Mary's won their first ever Sigerson Cup. The competition was hosted at Queen's and anyone who was familiar with the Ranch knew they were strong dark horses that year. They defeated a strong UCC team in the final, having seen off hosts QUB in the semi final. It has been a long wait since.

The team featured the likes of Pascal Canavan who went on to have an impressive career with

It is not just in the Model County that the famous Yellow Belly Wexford jersey is spoken of with reverence and respect. It is surprising how a few short words or a generous action from a famous hurler can fire the spirit of a young player.

The year was 1985 and it was a group of intrepid hurlers from the North headed almost as far south as they could go to compete in the Féile na nGael in Wexford.

The manager, a scholar of the game, who would refer to players and feats in training sessions that had his young players looking at him mystified and confused, decided if they were going to Wexford they had to learn about Wexford. And so each player was given obair bhaile – homework on top of their weekly skills to do on a spare gable wall. They approached it with relish.

The mere mention of the county's name had the lads talking in hushed tones of the

Press Release: St. Helen's Rugby Football Club.
http://www.saintsrlfc.com

SAINTS are pleased to announce a new agreement with O’Neills Sportswear that will see its kit partnership extended for two years.

O’Neills have been the official kit supplier to the club for the past three seasons and the partnership has brought significant benefits to the Saints and its fans.

Merchandising Manager Steve Law commented: “I am delighted that the Club have chosen to extend the terms of our partnership with our Kit and Trainingwear supplier O’Neills.

“O’Neills have been a joy to work alongside over the last two seasons, with their local design team and back office staff so accessible and accommodating just minutes away. Nothing is too much trouble.

“In addition their British and European manufacturing bases allow them a flexibility to turn products

Back in Black

Yes Sligo Black is back. We are proud to renew our association with Sligo GAA from the start of the 2017 season. The new Sligo GAA jersey features a red detail on the sleeves, dark grey shadow hoops and a Sligo crest on the lower back alongside the familiar title of the county motto drawn from WB Yeats play, The Land of Heart’s Desire. The Joe.ie sports department have already tipped it for jersey of the year!

A Warm Welcome

Welcoming the new partnership with O’Neills and thanking sponsors AbbVie and IT Sligo, Sligo GAA County Board Chairman Joe Taaffe said: “The Sligo County Board is deeply grateful to AbbVie for their continued financial support which in conjunction with

The deep red jersey with the distinctive St Brigid’s cross, one of the most elegant jerseys in the GAA. Proud but understated. It sums up the Wee County, proud of their past, understated and determined about their future.

Louth throw in their Allianz NFL 2017 campaign in Division 3 having won impressively last season in the final, overcoming a fancied Antrim team. The Wee County are no slouches and feature a young and gifted panel of players.

O’Byrne Cup Campaign

Louth qualified for the O’Byrne Cup Final overcoming old rivals Meath 1-14 to 0-10 at Páirc Tailteann. In the final they succumbed to Dublin but the signs are there for an optimistic campaign over the Spring months. Manager Colin Kelly has expressed himself pleased with results and the manner in which they have been achieved.

Division 4 Winners

Last year the Division 4 win was probably the highpoint of the season, they lost out to Meath after beating Wicklow.

Who is qualified to wear the Wicklow jersey? Some counties have them; others can only look on in envy. Remember the TV series Celebrity Banisteoir? We think turning the tables on their head would be more fun. So we’ve drawn up a Wicklow Celebrity Selection. We reckon as a unit they would pose more than a few problems.

1 Darren Randolph

You need a solid citizen between the sticks and we could look no further than West Ham keeper Darren Randolph to pull on that no 1 Wicklow jersey. Since claiming the national jersey Darren has done his county proud. A real Wicklow mountain.

2 Dustin the Turkey

At corner back we’re going for Dustin, although it’s always risky playing a turkey at corner back in case they get roasted. (Turkey, roasted? See what we did there?)

3 Fr Jack Hackett

At full back and keeping a tidy square,