Patrick Curran has been a member of Wanderers FC for
many decades now and has been a player, coach, sponsor
and club president. He recently told Rugby Club Magazine, “I
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was born in Zambia and went to boarding school at Rockwell
College, Tipperary before moving to Dublin with my studies at
University College Dublin. I was 23 when I joined Wanderers
in 1981 and played in the 1st XV until injury caused early
retirement from playing when I then moved on to coaching.
Back in those days the other Dublin clubs would reach
out to students coming out of both University College Dublin
and Trinity College Dublin rugby clubs and after meeting with
former international outhalf Ian Burns, Wanderers Captain
and a future President, together with Gerry Murphy, a future
coach of Ireland, I was convinced Wanderers was for me.
The club of course had already carved out a great
reputation in Ireland and Ian was the glue that brought
everyone and everything together on the pitch for us, he
was a terrific man. We had a fantastic array of representative
players from all over Ireland giving us a real cosmopolitan
team and we won, or were challenging, for Leinster Senior
Cups and Leagues every season. These Cups were the
benchmark of a successful team in Leinster at the time. We
had the outstanding talents of many international players
like Mick Fitzpatrick, Jerry Holland, Anthony O’Leary, Joe
Brady, E.J. O’Rafferty, Robbie McGrath, Ronan Kearney,
Frankie Ennis, Kelvin Leahy and Paddy Kenny and others
like Ridgeway, Lynch, Cosgrave, Deegan, another Leahy,
Kelly, Duffy, Murphy and the Daly “sisters” who all played
representative rugby at some level for Province or Country.
Our outstanding 1st XV Manager Liam Stones deserves
great credit for keeping us in check – not an easy task but
I’ve never known a better organiser/manager than Liam. The
bond we had as players is difficult to put into words but no
doubt some late nights, and later mornings, at Maxwell Plum’s
Nightclub on Leeson St in Dublin, starting on the Saturday
evening, was a great contributor to our team bonding!
The fact that a couple of Wanderers members owned the
nightclub added to its attractions.
Rugby in those days was certainly different, touch judges
did exactly that … put their flag up when the ball went into
touch and didn’t interfere in play on the pitch, in any aspect
of it!, and players showed huge loyalty to their clubs. I recall
a training session on a Tuesday before Ireland played France
in the 5 Nations in Dublin and Robbie McGrath, the talented
Irish scrum half and Mick Fitzpatrick (Prop), trained on the
Tuesday with us and were warned by team captain Ian Burns
at the end of the session that we were playing Clontarf away
on Sunday in our last friendly before the Leinster Senior Cup
started and no excuses they better show up for the game
– both played in the International fixture for Ireland on the
Saturday and turned out for Wanderers on the Sunday; they
were extraordinary athletes when you think about it. And we
beat Clontarf also!
Back in those days we also had games every season
with Coventry and Waterloo. Coventry always played terrific
rugby and had great players like Peter Rossborough and
Steve Brain (both English Internationals), towering 2nd rows
Gulliver and Kidner, and Malik, Johnson, Thomas & Co, and
to go over to Coundon Road and play in front of a tightly
packed ground with c5000 spectators made for a great
fixture both on and off the pitch ... Cov’s hospitality was also
fabulous. The fixture with Waterloo was a game not for the
faint hearted as English international Jim Siddall and his
fellow forwards ensured we were treated to a “very warm”
reception in Blundellsands but the hospitality afterwards
was equally good. There remains a great friendship between
Wanderers and these two clubs to this day.
I do recall a certain trip to Waterloo when we gathered
at Dublin Airport for a 4pm flight to Liverpool on the Friday
evening which wasn’t in the slick aircraft we travel in today
but a bumpy flight across the Irish Sea in a Fokker 50. Our
2nd row Jerry Holland always arrived early at the airport as
not being a keen flyer he would need, for purely medicinal
purposes you will appreciate, a pint or two pre-flight to calm
the nerves. Our flight continued to be delayed due to fog
with take-off becoming later and later in the evening and
of course Jerry continued topping up to quell his nerves.
Around our 9pm boarding time we made our way to the
departure gate and fell in with a couple of Irish Selectors.
Having exchanged pleasantries as we moved towards the
gate, Jerry asked them where they were off to and their
response was `to Waterloo to watch you.’ Jerrys response,
being a little under the weather, was naturally one of defeat
with a few choice words added! He subsequently played for
Ireland but a season later! It has been a real honour to have
travelled some of the road with these people, great players
and great characters.
The formation of a Women’s Rugby team in Wanderers
a few years ago has been a great success with numbers
joining and taking up the game growing with each season. As
Chairman of BNP Paribas Real Estate Ireland, I am delighted
that we are sponsoring Women’s Rugby in Wanderers and to
see that they are challenging at the right end of the table in
their league.
Wanderers FC are in good hands these days with a
strong 1st team squad and coaching team and in the hunt
for promotion to Division 2A of the league. I look forward
to seeing Wanderers climb the All Ireland League ladder to
achieve Division 1A or 1B status and wish the club and its
membership every success for the next 150 years.”
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