The semi-tropical Donaghadee of fame and fable is no more. Last Saturday was to be the Donaghadee club’s big multi-fixture of the season with two teams from CIYMS coming through the palm treed entrance to Donaldson Park. One of these was to be a Qualifying League game between Donaghadee’s unbeaten Firsts and the Belmont club’s Firsts whose League record this season is equally unsullied. CI’s Seconds were to play against the red and greens in the Crawford Cup. In addition to these potentially fine games and the Heineken Cup on TV, Donaghadee was intent upon launching its 125th Celebration brochure (hot off the printing press) at the special pre-match lunch, and our visitors had plans for a tour of the Ards after what they may have assumed would be two CI victories.
You might have managed a very lucrative bet if you could have wagered that Saturday would produce the deepest snow in Donaghadee since 1963, and a passing thunderstorm with no rain, or even snow. The odds would have been as astronomical as the weather. But, no lunch; no launch; no rugby; no tour of the Ards Peninsula. Apart from the clubhouse showing Ulster’s excellent victory over the self-proclaimed favourites, Bath, what happened at Donaghadee was “none of the above.”
But we must deal with weather as best we can. Just in case you haven’t worked it out, Christmas Day is Saturday this year, so the next time the club is open for anything more exciting than the necessary training will be Boxing Day, i.e. Monday. There will certainly be the usual seasonal festivities at the Donaldson Park clubhouse, with as many exiles as can manage to find a plane or ferry, and if the weather lets up enough there should be the traditional Donaghadee Representative XV v. an Exiles’ XV in the early afternoon, scheduled 2.00pm kick-off time. Also on the day the Pier 36 December Player of the Month will be announced, and this will be followed by the Ulster v. Leinster Magner’s League game on the big screen.
At some point in the day’s procedings there will be the announcement of the results of the club’s Christmas ballot. All those members and supporters who took books of ballot tickets to sell should therefore be gathering up their stubs and cash for presentation to a club official before the weekend. All those people who have helped the club by buying tickets are more than welcome to attend and hear the results live, but if they cannot make it, these will be published in the usual media the following week.
Also on the day the shiny new copies of the brochure commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the foundation of Donaghadee RFC will be available. For those few who cannot get the time to visit even for a short time, copies of the attractive publication are on sale at a number of outlets in Donaghadee and even further away.
For Your Diary
At time of writing the first three Saturdays in 2011 show no games for the Donaghadee First XV, but un-played games will have to be re-arranged, and at least one of these Saturdays, or possibly Monday 3rd of January, must surely be suitable. Keep your antennae up for news of these. New Year’s Day is free of games for Seconds and Thirds, but on the 8th of January the Seconds are at Belfast High School FP for a League game and the Thirds have a Cup game.
