President of the New Zealand Rugby Union and former All Black Bryan Williams, MBE will officially open Letterkenny RFC’s new €750,000 pitch and clubrooms development on Saturday 3rd November 2012 at 1.30pm.
The occasion will also feature the Irish & UK launch by New Zealand-based author Matt Elliott of his new HarperCollins biography of the rugby great titled Dave Gallaher: the Original All Black Captain.
Ulster coach Mark Anscombe, who coached at Auckland with Bryan Williams (and whose son Gareth, like Bryan Williams is a member of Dave Gallaher’s Ponsonby club) will also be present.
Commemorating a remarkable Irish sportsman
Gallaher, who was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011 and was commemorated by a statue, unveiled outside Eden Park, Auckland ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, is credited with helping make rugby the national sport of New Zealand. He is commemorated by the Gallaher Shield, the premier annual club competition in Auckland, and the Dave Gallaher Trophy, which was first contested by the All Blacks and France in 2000.
Fruits of a remarkable All Blacks partnership
The first-ever visit of the All Blacks to Gallaher’s Birthplace in the village of Ramelton in 2005 – at the invitation of Letterkenny Rugby Club – made headlines around the world. As the rugby club closest to his birthplace in Ramelton (five miles), Letterkenny RFC hoped that investing in the All Blacks outreach would help a tiny group of enthusiasts promote the sport in a part of Ireland where it struggles for profile and players. Six years on, Bryan Williams is taking time from the All Blacks autumn European tour to visit Letterkenny and witness the fruits of that partnership in terms of a host of under-age teams and playing facilities to match any in Ireland.
Part of a pioneering Rugby-GAA joint initiative
The development of this sporting facility, at a cost of almost €1,500,000, represents a pioneering partnership between Letterkenny RFC and recently-formed local GAA team, Letterkenny Gaels. The collaboration, which was significant in attracting funding from the National Lottery (£1m), involves each club as anchor tenants whilst retaining their own separate identity, playing and training pitches within the campus at the Glebe. The clubhouse has been organised to offer each tenant their own space and distinct sporting identity. A phase four development is planned, subject to finance, which will include flood lighting and an all weather playing surface. The facilities are also utilised by a number of local community sports groups including Letterkenny Athletics Club, Cricket Club, Archery Club and social family fun days.
Location: Glebe, Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Photo Call: 1.30pm followed by official opening at 1.45 pm (press release to follow)
Contacts: Robert Love – 087 737 7524 and scopemagazine@gmail.com
Jeremy Worth – 086 852 8300 and wocca@eircom.net
Background
See overleaf for detailed background information.
THE STORY:
Why is the NZRU President taking time out from his commitment with the All Blacks to visit to Ireland and travel to Letterkenny RFC to open Dave Gallaher Park?
The idea an All Blacks partnership with one of Ireland’s smallest and most isolated rugby clubs originated six years ago. What exactly constitutes rugby isolation? Well, ours was the first club formed in County Donegal in 1973 and was also the first team from the Republic affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the IRFU in Belfast. No County Donegal schools played rugby never mind participating in Ulster junior or senior cup competitions. The fact that our teams crossed a border most weeks at the height of the troubles to play games didn’t make recruitment any easier.
In early 2005, by chance, Letterkenny RFC discovered Dave Gallaher, captain of the first and arguably the most influential All Blacks side ever, had been born in the village of Ramelton, less than eight miles from its pitches. He’d emigrated with his family who’d settled in Auckland.
The timing of the discovery was fortuitous – 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of Gallaher’s most famous achievement – captaining The Originals, the first touring side to be called All Blacks. That team was expected to struggle against even the British and Irish club sides but the reality was a little different. Their marathon 1905/6 tour delivered victory after victory and was crucial in establishing the New Zealand as a world superpower in the sport, a position they have retained ever since. It also cemented rugby forever as the New Zealand national game.
Gallaher, who lost his life in World War One, became a hero in New Zealand as a result of his sacrifice and what he had given to rugby in a short life. His playing exploits had been followed by subsequent coaching work with Auckland and a role as an All Blacks selector. He also co-authored the remarkable coaching manual The Complete Rugby Footballer, which was still in use by many up until quite recently. But whilst the Gallaher Shield (premier Auckland club competition) and Gallaher Trophy (inaugurated for tests between the All Blacks and France in 2000) helped ensure this sporting giant’s achievements were not forgotten in New Zealand, there was no recognition of his life and achievements in the land of his birth.
In the first instance, we altered our club crest to include Dave Gallaher’s name and date of birth, and a silver fern to symbolise his shared identity. Then we made plans to erect a plaque on his birthplace and we changed the name of our recently purchased but undeveloped grounds to Dave Gallaher Park. In July 2005 a club representative travelled to New Zealand to invite the NZRU to assist Letterkenny RFC bring Gallaher to wider audience in Ireland. We asked that the All Blacks, whose touring teams had famously visited Gallaher’s grave in France on a number of occasions, make a pilgrimage to his place of birth in County Donegal during their 2006 autumn tour.
Letterkenny RFC wanted them to take time out from their 2005 Irish tour schedule to unveil the plaque and officially name our new club grounds but we also open about the much-needed boost to rugby amongst young people in County Donegal that they felt this could also deliver. Gallaher had given a lot to New Zealand and helped make the country’s team the best in the world. It made sense that the All Blacks would give something back by promoting rugby in the place of his birth.
They agreed and the visit made headlines across the world.
Fast-forward seven years and the club have reaped an astonishing All Black windfall in two significant ways. Firstly, there’s been an explosion of interest in the sport at under age level – Letterkenny RFC has a series of under age teams where previously we had none and rugby is being played at schools level for the first time in County Donegal.
Secondly, a farsighted decision to develop the sporting facility in partnership with a newly-founded local GAA club Letterkenny Gaels has paid dividends by helping to draw down significant funding from the National Lottery.
This template for community collaboration has its roots in the fact that members of Letterkenny RFC were also centrally involved in founding the GAA club. Competition between the sports in Donegal is lessened by the fact that rugby is played on Saturdays in Ulster with GAA matches taking place the following day.
When the All Blacks visited, Letterkenny RFC had a small shed. The club still has substantial loans to meet but they are confident that the €1.5 million facility they have helped create and extensive under-age structures now in place, will ensure that any Donegal kid who dreams about being the next Davie Gallaher has the best possible chance to realise their dream.
