CLUB SCENE: MY CLUB
By DAIRE WALSH
KILFEACLE & DISTRICT RFC
Morrissey Park,
Kilfeacle,
Tipperary
LAST Saturday’s Ulster Bank Junior Cup final defeat to Ashbourne was a heartbreaking finish to their cup run, but for Kilfeacle & District RFC in County Tipperary, the journey through to the All-Ireland decider was a richly rewarding experience.
In a tight battle played in wet conditions at Portlaoise RFC, defending champions Ashbourne eventually emerged as 18-9 winners. However, this was Kilfeacle’s debut final appearance at the national grade, and as long-standing club member Johnny Luby explained, reaching this showpiece encounter was already a significant achievement.
“Absolutely marvellous. It’s a dream come true. A few years ago, we won an All-Ireland U18, and then we won an All-Ireland Millennium too. Now for the first team to reach the holy grail of junior rugby, which is the All-Ireland final… it was absolutely fantastic to see a small club like Kilfeacle & District in the final,” Luby said.
“A lot of our players are young. A couple of them have won Senior Cup medals with Rockwell College. They have been from the parish here, and they’ve come back to ply their trade here. To get to the final was an outstanding achievement we hope to build on.”
Although Luby does not have an official position within Kilfeacle at the moment, he had a previous stint as club President. Upon his departure from this role, he took part in a charity event in aid of the South Tipperary Hospice – with the helping hand of a Republic of Ireland soccer legend. “I was the President for a couple of years. After retiring as President, I decided that particular day that we’d do something for charity. I got Niall Quinn to take me on in a six-star challenge. Which was three 21-yard penalties in Golden [local GAA club], a game of darts, three drop-kicks in Kilfeacle, and three penalty shoot-outs in St Michael’s soccer club.
“Then a cycle down to Tony Lowry’s pub in Tipperary Town, and finish it off with a game of 45. That particular night we raised €11,000 for the South Tipperary Hospice. It was a wonderful occasion for myself, leaving the office of the presidency.”
While they were able to add an All-Ireland title to their list of honours, Kilfeacle have enjoyed some notable successes in recent seasons, including winning the Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Cup last season. Indeed, since the club’s formation in 1981, it has been a story of continuous development for the Morrissey Park men.
“Its been 37 long years, I would say absolutely fantastic years. We won the league and the Challenge Cup back in 1994/95. We were probably the first club to do that double. We got into three Junior Cup finals, winning the third one against Crosshaven [in ’02] in Thomond Park.
“That was a glorious day, needless to say. They celebrated as Kilfeacle normally would, because cups are scarce enough around. It’s hard to win an argument, let alone win a cup,” quipped Luby.