Letterkenny RFC
Encyclopedia
Letterkenny RFC is an Irish
rugby union
club based in Letterkenny
, County Donegal
. The team plays its home games at Dave Gallaher Memorial Park in Letterkenny.
and Limavady
for games each week, decided to form their own club. A team was entered into the Ulster league and initial games were played at Robinson's Field on Letterkenny's Port Road. The following year the club purchased 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of land at Drumnahoagh near the Dry Arch Roundabout, not far from the town centre. In an ambitious move a club house and changing rooms were constructed. The club flourished for the next decade with a vibrant social scene and successfully ran three teams for many of those years. The club then opted a move to the Silver Tassie between Letterkenny and Ramelton
and prepared new pitches to take the club to the next level and provide more space. In 1985 the club continued to flourish when the team won the Forester Cup in Ravenhill.
Unfortunately the ownership of the Tassie passed out of club hands and the club underwent a period of decline. The third team failed to field from 1992 and for a while local interest in rugby waned. It was now very clear that the playing surfaces at the fields of Halfway Line were inadequate for rugby especially during the winter months. It was an exposed site with lack of drainage and teams could not go for weeks without games due to conditions underfoot.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club based in Letterkenny
Letterkenny
Letterkenny , with a population of 17,568, is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. The town is located on the River Swilly...
, County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
. The team plays its home games at Dave Gallaher Memorial Park in Letterkenny.
History
The club was founded in 1973 when the town's rugby players, who were travelling to DerryDerry
Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...
and Limavady
Limavady
Limavady is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. It lies east of Derry and south west of Coleraine. It had a population of 12,135 people in the 2001 Census, an increase of some 17% compared to 1991...
for games each week, decided to form their own club. A team was entered into the Ulster league and initial games were played at Robinson's Field on Letterkenny's Port Road. The following year the club purchased 4 acres (16,187.4 m²) of land at Drumnahoagh near the Dry Arch Roundabout, not far from the town centre. In an ambitious move a club house and changing rooms were constructed. The club flourished for the next decade with a vibrant social scene and successfully ran three teams for many of those years. The club then opted a move to the Silver Tassie between Letterkenny and Ramelton
Ramelton
Ramelton is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its population is 1,088 .Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km east of Milford, on the western shores of Lough Swilly. The town is named from Ráth Mealtáin, , an early Gaelic chieftain...
and prepared new pitches to take the club to the next level and provide more space. In 1985 the club continued to flourish when the team won the Forester Cup in Ravenhill.
Unfortunately the ownership of the Tassie passed out of club hands and the club underwent a period of decline. The third team failed to field from 1992 and for a while local interest in rugby waned. It was now very clear that the playing surfaces at the fields of Halfway Line were inadequate for rugby especially during the winter months. It was an exposed site with lack of drainage and teams could not go for weeks without games due to conditions underfoot.
Recent times
The club is still thriving today thanks to the selfless contribution of its members. The club returned to Letterkenny in 1999 to lands bought at the Glebe and usage of Moore's field next to it. This move improved playing surfaces and made the club more accessible to the large population of Letterkenny. The club was promoted during the seasons of 2004, 2005, 2006. Many of the first team are now home grown players from Donegal and with the rapidly expanding youth section this trend will continue to fill the senior teams. Letterkenny won the Gordon West cup in 2011 for the first time in their history after their fifth time in the finalYouth Rugby
Letterkenny has been at the forefront of developing an outlet for rugby in the North West over the last two decades. It has provided the county with the first underage rugby team, and also was the first rugby team in Donegal to win their section in the Ulster league in 2003, when the U-18's won Section C. With the efforts of Jim Moore, Jason Black, Alan McRae, Denis Falkner Willie and others the club has expanded its management and playing members dramatically over the years. Letterkenny RFC now fields and trains teams from U-8's up to senior level, which has mirrored the successes of the Irish International team, and all the popularity it brings with it, to date. Although many of the underage players filter through to the 1st and 2nd XV, Letterkenny has also provided a much needed wealth of experience for those travelling to Senior clubs across the country as players move on to University and beyond.See also
- Dave Gallaher Memorial Park
- Rugby union in IrelandRugby union in IrelandRugby union is a popular team sport played in Ireland. The sport is organised on an all-Ireland basis with one team, governing body and league for both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland...
- IRFUIrish Rugby Football UnionThe Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
- Jeremy Worth