MONKSTOWN RFC: FOUNDED 1883
HOME GROUND: Sydney Parade
League: AIL Division 2B (South)
Monkstown RFC is nestled within the coronary heart of Sandymount. Prime actual property, as they are saying within the property sport.
Every part is on the membership’s doorstep. A giant catchment space, with hallowed rugby establishments resembling St Michael’s and Blackrock Faculty colleges within the neighborhood.
Factor is, south Dublin is saturated with formidable rugby golf equipment who’re all searching for a similar assets.
Monkstown, which was based in 1883, have all the time punched above their weight, nevertheless.
Monkstown RFC president Donal Courtney, ex-club participant and a former worldwide referee
‘You can throw a blanket over seven or eight rugby golf equipment who’re all chasing the identical fellas popping out of college,’ says membership president Donal Courtney, the previous worldwide referee who has officiated in Heineken Cups, Six Nations and World Cups.
‘You might have Wanderers, Bective, Previous Wesley, UCD, Trinity.
‘Whereas the faculties are excellent, lots of them are gravitating in the direction of the Division 1A groups. There are seven Dublin groups now within the high division of the AIL.’
A former Monkstown participant and coach himself, Courtney is stuffed with satisfaction when he talks about his native membership.
No, they won’t be capable of compete with AIL juggernauts resembling Lansdowne, Terenure, Clontarf, St Mary’s and Previous Belvedere, however Monkstown are making their mark.
It is a membership with a wealthy historical past, a deep sense of group and an formidable imaginative and prescient for the longer term.
After 20 years within the wilderness of junior rugby, Monkstown FC returned to the AIL ranks in 2024. And so they intend to remain there…
Monkstown are again within the All-Eire League after 20 years of taking part in junior rugby
MY KIND OF TOWN
‘We had been within the AIL for the primary six or seven years and we really gained the previous Division 4 after which Division 3,’ Courtney remembers.
‘We had been up in Division 2 at one stage, however it’s very tough to keep up lots of that.
‘Then you definately get relegated out of the AIL, however attempting to get again is vastly tough. The Leinster League is so robust. It’s a tricky league to win. You’ve bought groups like Suttonians, Seapoint, Tullamore, Athy. They’re not straightforward video games to win however we did it and bought again up.
‘We’ve completed fifth for the previous two seasons.’
Donal Courtney is tackled by mistake by Mike Blair whereas refereeing a world between South Africa and Scotland at Kings Park in Durban in 2006
There may be optimism in regards to the years forward for this youthful Monkstown aspect, who’re again in motion towards Buccaneers at Sydney Parade in Division 2B South this afternoon.
It’s been a tricky begin to the marketing campaign with losses to Clonmel, Previous Crescent and Midleton within the opening rounds, however the 31-16 victory towards Bruff was a glimpse of what this present group can ship.
The younger teaching crew is headed up by the highly-rated Paddy Thornton who, at age 31, has already labored with the Connacht and Leinster underage setups in addition to Terenure Faculty.
Thornton was a great get and he’s ably assisted by former Connacht and Munster again Danny Riordan and Babs Dowling.
Like each beginner membership throughout the nation, it’s all of the who hold the entire operation ticking over.
‘There’s optimism, however there’s additionally a realisation that it’s onerous work,’ Courtney provides.
‘So long as you retain your toes on the bottom and also you perceive how necessary is it to maintain the momentum going.
‘Conserving folks concerned within the membership is absolutely necessary as effectively. Volunteering is all the things. It’s tough to get volunteers. While you get them, it’s worthwhile to hold them.’
As our chat winds to an in depth, Courtney recommends that we give David ‘Manners’ Mahon a name.
A Kildare native, Mahon has made a huge effect on the membership. He was membership president final season.
Earlier than that, he was director of rugby for 4 seasons after serving as head coach for the perfect a part of a decade.
Monkstown Minis having fun with themselves at half time of the Champions Cup Leinster-Edinburgh match on the Aviva stadium earlier this yr
HOME AWAY FROM HOME
‘I had no affinity to Monkstown in any respect, apart from I performed towards them,’ Mahon remembers,
‘Any of the respectable rugby I performed, I performed for Bective, who are actually are our greatest rivals.
‘The nice irony of ironies is I coached Newbridge to beat Monkstown in a promotion play-off to get from Division 1B of the Leinster League to 1A.
‘Newbridge beat Monkstown in Westmanstown, within the Garda membership, to get promoted. I feel it was in 2008. Then, in 2012, I coached Monkstown to beat Newbridge in the identical playoff.
‘My first yr in Monkstown, I relegated Newbridge, having coached them for years. It’s mad the way it really occurred. The identical two groups and I used to be on the opposite aspect of the fence in every playoff.’
After nearly 20 years within the Leinster League, Monkstown broke again into the large time in 2024 because of hard-fought win towards Ballyclare in an AIL play-off ultimate.
A high-quality achievement however Mahon is eager to speak about this membership’s fascinating origin story.
‘The truth is, contemplating the place we’re, we wouldn’t be one of many extra trendy golf equipment.
Troopers on parade in 2022 throughout a ceremony to mark the centenary of the handover of the Curragh Camp in Co Kildare from British to Irish Forces – Monkstown RFC had robust hyperlinks to the British military after which to the Irish military over a few years
‘Traditionally, Monkstown had an enormous reference to the British Military in its origins. Now we have a warfare memorial there within the membership, 78 members of the membership had been killed within the first World Battle.
‘It’s really extra now as a result of the membership spent 4 years researching it and so they’ve really established much more. I feel there’s a brand new memorial to go up. I feel it may be in extra of 100.
‘Then with the inspiration of the State in 1921, that British Military custom transitioned into the Defence Forces so there’s an enormous reference to them.
‘Mockingly, the tip of the Troubles within the north of Eire really coincided with Monkstown being relegated from the AIL as a result of there was much less and fewer personnel within the Defence Forces.
‘As a consequence, that draw began to wane a wee bit. We solely bought again up (to senior rugby) three years in the past.’
The senior crew is presently in a state of transition. Mahon factors out that of the 20 gamers who featured within the AIL opener towards Clonmel, solely 5 had been on the membership the earlier season.
‘The membership has needed to reinvent itself a bit,’ he says.
‘We don’t have an affiliated college per se. We’ve actually championed this concept of we don’t actually care the place you’ve come from. We don’t care what your background is.
‘Different golf equipment in Dublin would have affiliation with a faculty. We don’t have any of that, however we’ve form of flipped that and made that one of many actual positives about Monkstown.
‘It’s bought a improbable social scene and it’s form of grow to be a house away from residence for folks.
‘We’ve had lots of lads from abroad. There was a man who performed for a us just a few years in the past who’s now really combating towards the Russians over in Ukraine.
‘Once we bought promoted, he despatched us a publish from the frontline. It just about sums up Monkstown. An actual eclectic mixture of all kinds. That’s what you get right here. Plenty of characters.’
Mahon could be very happy with what this membership has achieved in current occasions. That’s solely half the story, thoughts.
There’s just a few stuff you in all probability don’t learn about Monkstown. Mahon takes up the story.
‘I’m an enormous believer in attempting to grasp the DNA of a membership. A few of the gamers who lined out for Monkstown, there’s some phenomenal tales.
‘Basil Maclear is within the World Rugby Corridor of Fame. He was inducted in 2014. He performed for Eire on the flip of the final century. He was killed within the First World Battle sadly.
American tennis participant Richard Norris Williams (left) and Eire’s James Cecil Parke, a Monkstown RFC legend, on the Worldwide Garden Tennis Problem (later Davis Cup) in Wimbledon, London, England, July 18th 1913
‘The opposite is James Cecil Parke which, to me, is arguably considered one of Eire’s biggest ever athletes. And no person has ever heard of him.
‘In case you went right into a desk quiz and I used to be to say to you, “identify the Irish man who gained an Australian Open tennis singles championship?” It was James Cecil Parke from Monaghan.
‘He performed cricket for Eire. He gained an Olympic tennis medal within the 1908 Olympics in Paris. He has a Wimbledon doubles title. He performed rugby for Eire. I feel he may need been a world golfer as effectively.
‘This man was phenomenal. That is all a part of the historical past and heritage of what makes Monkstown.’
It will seem to be good materials for a stirring pre-match crew speak?
‘Unbelievable,’ Mahon provides. ‘I used it sooner or later in considered one of our derby video games towards Bective and it labored a f****** deal with!’
Jimmy Ferris, who now heads up the minis and youths at Monkstown, in motion for Connacht towards Leinster in Donnybrook in 2000 – his father, Jim, performed for the membership over 4 many years
GENERATION GAME
Sydney Parade is a hive of exercise on Sunday mornings. The membership’s minis and youth part is completely thriving as of late.
James Ferris, a former scrum-half with Connacht and Leicester Tigers, has achieved sterling work on the grassroots for a very long time.
‘I head up the youths and minis down there. It form of fell by the wayside about 20 or 30 years in the past,’ he says.
‘My factor was if you happen to don’t have that, if you happen to don’t have the buildings coming via, you’re actually at nothing as a membership.
‘I’d say perhaps 10 years in the past, we began out on our minis journey, and we’ve over 250-odd youngsters down there on a Sunday morning, proper via from U5s to U15s.
‘We had 270 dad and mom and youngsters on the Leinster v Munster match not too long ago. The concept is that we hold that group going proper via to U20s after which past.’
Monkstown haven’t been in a position to subject an U20s crew for the perfect a part of 10 years however that may certainly change within the years forward.
Ronan O’Gara with Monkstown Minis selling the Aviva Mini rugby festivals in 2022
‘There’s lots of competitors within the space,’ Ferris notes.
‘It’s one thing that we in all probability would have traditionally struggled with being form of a poorer relation in D4. We all the time form of batted effectively above our weight throughout all of the groups.
‘It’s as a lot attempting to be extra of a group aspect. Monkstown all the time would have had a terrific identify for welcoming guys from Cork or Limerick or everywhere in the nation.
‘We’d be a little bit of a rustic membership in the midst of Dublin 4, if that makes any sense.’
It definitely does. Ferris comes from good inventory. His father, Jim, was a cornerstone of the Monkstown pack for many years. Legend has it that his stellar membership profession spanned 4 many years in blue and yellow stripes.
‘Properly, it’s a little bit of a thriller as a result of I got here in on the finish within the 60s and I went out within the early ’90s. So I declare to have been taking part in over 4 many years,’ he chuckles.
‘My declare to fame is that I’m the oldest man ever to have performed within the Leinster Senior Cup Ultimate. I used to be 44 at that stage.’
That defeat in 1990, with Wanderers prevailing 9-3, stays the one which bought away. Jim Ferris was packing down at prop. Courtney missed the sport resulting from a damaged collarbone.
The recollections are actually hazy however they continue to be heat ones for Ferris Snr.
‘I really retired after I was in my late 20s. And I missed it,’ he says.
‘There was loads of enjoyable within the sport. You met folks, you had just a few pints. You had a little bit of craic.
‘Then I simply stated, “what the hell, what am I going to do?” So I went again.’
It appears to be a recurring theme with this membership. Individuals, from all walks of life, are likely to stroll via the gates of Sydney Parade. And so they not often depart.
This afternoon, Jim Ferris will probably be in his normal spot.
‘On the finish of the bottom there’s a pleasant little bench. There’s two or three of the elder lemons,’ he says, with an enormous snicker.
On the finish of the bottom there’s a pleasant little bench. There’s two or three of the elder lemons,’ Jim Ferris laughs
‘It’s a stunning floor. It’s a really sociable membership. We’re hoping we are able to construct on that as a result of we don’t have a feeder college.
‘We’re relying on folks coming from across the nation as a result of they know they’ll be effectively greeted and entertained. When you get them in, you attempt to maintain onto them.’
The likes of Ferris and his son, Courtney and Mahon are testomony to that.
‘Too many good pals down there,’ the elder Ferris concludes.
It appears like that form of membership alright. A proud historical past and an thrilling future forward.
