MY CLUB – KANTURK RFC
Knocknaconlon
Kanturk
Co. Cork
www.kanturkrugby.com
By DAIRE WALSH
SATURDAY, September 20 was a landmark day in the history of Kanturk Rugby Club, as it saw the Cork side featuring in their very first Ulster Bank All-Ireland League encounter – a narrow 27-25 defeat to Navan at Balreask Old.
Kanturk’s promotion brings to six the number of Cork teams currently residing in the Ulster Bank League and given their location within the county, Kanturk chairman Michael Breen feels that their presence in the competition has a major significance.
“Well, I suppose it’s very significant for us. As a small, kind of rural club it’s a culmination of very hard done down through the years by a lot of people to be honest about it. Going forward it’s going to help us maintain our numbers,” Breen explains.
“We’re away in a little pocket of north Cork, and our nearest senior club on one side is 35 miles away, and the nearest on the other side is over 40 miles away. We’re the only senior club on the west of Munster.”
Before becoming chairman, Breen held several different positions within the club. He also served his time as a player, but as he reveals, once your time on the field comes to an end, there are ample opportunities for people to make their presence felt.
“I’m chairman heading into year number six. I would have played for the club and coached in the club. I’m a committee member for a good few years. I suppose I’m kind of lucky in the way that the top table have landed on their feet. We seem to be best placed with the correct timing.
“Usually when a guy comes into Kanturk Rugby Club, he finds it very hard to get away even when he’s finished his playing career. He gets a lot of roles. You just don’t walk away from the club as such.”
As a club that is entering a completely new environment, it is important for Kanturk (who had 149 kids registered in the 7-11 age group last year) to boost their profile within the league.
The return of former Munster and Ireland prop Tony Buckley to the club has helped in this regard, and Breen has been impressed with the contribution he has made both on and off the pitch.
“It’s huge for us to have Tony back. In fact, a lot of the guys he’s playing with on our senior teams, he would have played with when he was going to school. There’s a feel-good factor to the whole scenario, and he has integrated into the club like he never left.
“It’s a great profile winner for us because we hope our gates are going to be a little bit bigger for a while, and our sponsors were very eager to come on board this year with the publicity that they saw Tony was bringing to the whole show,” added Breen.