MU Barnhall
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Francis O’Kennedy moved from the West of Ireland in the 80s and played wing or wing forward
for the club for a few seasons. He is the current club treasurer and told Rugby Club Magazine,
“We are a real community club and are having a fantastic run of it at all levels. The relationship we
have with Maynooth University is very important to us and will be a big part of our future. I would
say to everyone associated with MU Barnhall RFC not to fix what isn’t broken and enjoy what
could be another historic season for the club!”
Sam Cawley has had a long and positive association with MU Barnhall RFC. He is the club’s Director of Rugby and a valued sponsor
with his business Cawleys Furniture. He recently told Rugby Club Magazine, “I moved to Dublin in 1989 and played for the club in any of
their front row positions. I had recovered from a leg break in the previous season and continued playing up until 2001/2 season and was
lucky to remain virtually injury free.
I then decided to move into senior coaching and worked on the development of a 20-year-olds and vets team enjoying mentoring some
of the younger lads as they developed in the game. On occasion I was still talked into putting my boots back on with the full agreement
that it was not me washing my kit at the end of the game!
Youth rugby is vital for the continued survival of any club and it’s something MU Barnhall will always have to focus on to ensure the
club’s growth and stability. Maymooth University has been a great relationship to have in all areas as well as in respect of players and
opportunities also exist for those who chose not to go down the academic route.
Last season we had a fantastic run and this has continued throughout this season. Training is such an important part of our preparation
and being able to run out full squads to compete against each other on training days certainly gives us an edge. Our coaches are doing
their jobs well, continuing to get the best out of our players with our club still enjoying a great family and friendly feel to it. Best wishes to
everyone at the club for the remainder of the season and If we all move forward as a team and continue to make progress the 2019/2020
campaign may be another historic season in MU Barnhall history!”
“I’ve been involved with the club for thirty-five years now. It is a great club with terrific people and a fantastic atmosphere. It is
somewhere you can go at any time and enjoy yourself. MU Barnhall is here for the whole community, has a one club mentality with a lot
going on always and I’m very proud to be a part of it.
We’re going well in the league despite a disappointing result at the weekend so things are very positive and our fate is in our hands.
The ladies team have had a fantastic season as well. It’s a relatively new side having reformed and they’ve done brilliantly. We now have
two sides and are pleased to see it doing so well.
We’ve tried to be very proactive in recruiting young players and there’s a pathway for youth players in both genders now which is
important in allowing players to come through at the right speed for them. I think the values of rugby can have a great impact on young
players so it is great to see so many involved here.
In 2020 my own target is to try and collect as many trophies as possible under my tenure as President! More seriously we’re in the
process of trying to gain more land because our pitches are being overused at the moment. That comes from the growth we’ve achieved
so it is a good problem to have.
We’ve got a fantastic set of volunteers. Like any club we could always use a few more but we’ve got a great core of people here.
We’ve hosted some terrific events at the club to raise funds and had over 1000 people for our 50th anniversary dinner which was a terrific
occasion.
We also have a connection with the Wooden Spoon Charity in England and were able to organise a trip to Italy for our Buffaloes side. We were
able to give them an open top bus tour and went to the Vatican and the team were lucky enough to have an audience with the Pope which was
brilliant. It was a great trip all round and an unforgettable experience for those involved. Some of the team that travelled had never travelled without
family before so it was a nice opportunity for all of them.
Our aim for the Men’s team is to try and get into the top division of the All Ireland League over the coming years. That will be a big ask
because there are a lot of very big clubs but we are confident in our ability to continue to grow and develop. It’s an exciting time for the
club at the moment but we’ve been working hard for a long time to achieve this. I would say it has taken fifty years for us to be an overnight
success! It’s taken a long time for us to build the structure that is allowing us to be successful and we now have a good platform for the
future.”
Declan Counihan
44 Issue 89