Galwegians RFC held its annual Senior Rugby Awards Night on Friday evening May 16th in the sub-kissed surrounds of the Ardilaun House Hotel, where a BarBQ reception was followed by the presentation of the awards.
MC for the evening was the outgoing Club President Dr. David Bouchier-Hayes who presented the awards to the following recipients.
Women’s Firsts
Player of the Year: Sarah McCormick
Players’ Player of the Year: Sarah Purcell
Most Improved Player: Megan Connolly
Women’s Seconds
Player of the Year: Katherine Mahon
Players’ Player of the Year: Gina Kearns
Most Improved Player: Yashoda O Flaherty
Men’s Firsts
Player of the Year: Oisín Halpin
Players’ Player of the Year: Dylan Keane
Most Improved Player: Ryan Roche
Men’s Seconds
Player of the Year: Ronan Conneely
Players’ Player of the Year: Mark McHugh
Most Improved Player: Millar Yule
Men’s Thirds
Player of the Year: Dylan Duffy
Players’ Player of the Year: Brendan Devlin
Most Improved Player: Thibault Cariou
Men’s U20s
Player of the Year: Rob McHugh
Players’ Player of the Year: Rob McHugh
Most Improved Player: Jandre Mosert.
Club Person of the Year Award went to joint-winners for the first time ever:
Dearbhla Canty & Sinead O’Brien
There was also a special presentation of a framed jersey made to departing Club Bar Manager Tracey Foley.
It is with a heavy heart in my role of President of Galwegians Rugby Football Club that I write this brief tribute in memory of Aidan.
Having travelled widely in his rugby and professional life, he recently returned to Galwegians, the club that instilled his love of rugby.
I had the pleasure of hosting him as one of our special guests at our opening men’s AIL match on Saturday where he was seated beside me. I was immediately struck by his enthusiasm, his intellect and his vivacious sense of humour. He had us all enthralled with his hilarious tales of escapades from times previous.
I was convinced that he was going to be someone who was going to have a seismic impact on our club, and I was looking forward to spending lots of time with him over the upcoming season, only to have him tragically and suddenly taken from us the very next day.
On behalf of the club, I offer my condolences to his wife Julie, his children and his extended family. His memory will last long and proud within the gates of Crowley Park.
It is with huge regret that we announce the passing of our former club President and one of our seven past Presidents of the IRFU, Don Crowley, on August 16th peacefully in the loving care of his family.
A Galway City native educated at The Bish, Don was a distinguished open-side flanker during his playing career. He won a Connacht Schools Senior Cup medal and captained Connacht Schools XV, before studying engineering where he won a Connacht Schools Senior Cup medal with UCG. However at club level he would go on to have a life-long association with Galwegians, with whom he also won a Connacht Junior League medal.
After hanging up his boots, Don retained his involvement with Wegians where he became a club legend and one of our greatest ambassadors. He had the honour of being President of Galwegians during the famous club tour of Canada in 1977. After serving as club President, he then went on to serve his province in a lengthy and distinguished career. His administrative talents saw him serve as Hon. Secretary of the Connacht Branch from 1981 to 1989, before being elected Branch President for the 1993/1994 season.
At national level his abilities were soon spotted, and he was first elected as a delegate to the IRFU Committee in 1987/88. He would sit on a range of various sub-committees, notably the Charitable Trust for 11 years. In 2002/03 he achieved a personal ambition when he was elected to the highest office in Irish Rugby by becoming President of the IRFU. Quoted at the time, he said: ““I am very proud on a personal level and also for my club Galwegians and the Connacht Branch. After my very enjoyable playing career, I was very happy to serve the game at club, provincial and National level.”
That year his club Galwegians held a celebratory dinner in his honour where over 300 friends and club colleagues attended a memorable event in the then Galway Radisson Hotel. It would also prove to be a momentous season, as the fate of Connacht rugby and its funding was under serious threat from the IRFU at the time. However under Don’s Presidency and stewardship, and with strong public backing from the grassroots rugby community, the province’s professional status was preserved.
A hugely popular man, Don’s efficiency and personality made him perfect for the role of liaison officer to major touring teams coming into Ireland down the years, including the All Blacks, Australians, South Africa, the Barbarians, Italy, Canada and Fiji. Tributes have been pouring in for Don since news of his passing, best summarised by Galwegians President Frank Kinneen who described him thus: “Don Crowley ..our incredible statesman, life-long member of Galwegians and an absolute gentleman. May he rest in peace.”
Don is survived by his loving wife Vicky and children, so to them and his extended family we extend our heartfelt sympathies.
The Galwegians RFC AGM will be held on Wed June 15th at 7pm in Crowley Park.
We thought it opportune to remind or inform members of the purpose of the AGM.
Fundamentally, it is a formal review of the previous year, which leads into the election of club officers and Board of Management.
The current Board would like to encourage the active participation of members in the AGM and would welcome interest in some of the key officer roles for next season.
Our 99th AGM was held online on Wednesday evening.
Outgoing President Erc Dunne handed over the reins to Carl Blake, who becomes our first 3rd generation President. We believe this is a first for Irish club rugby.
Senior Vice President is Frank Kinneen, with Erc stepping back in as Junior Vice President.
President
Carl Blake
Senior Vice President
Frank Kinneen
Junior Vice President
Erc Dunne
Chairman
Frank Kinneen
Director of Administration
Noel Lowndes
Director of Finance
Gerry Gallagher
Director of Women’s Rugby
Diane Wright
Director of Rugby
James Heaslip
Director of Youth Academy
Mickey Sherlock
Director of House & Grounds
MacDara Hosty
Director of Development
Niall Beatty
PRO
Carl Blake
Connacht Branch Rep 1
Michael Tarpey
Connacht Branch Rep 2
Pat Surlis
Galwegians Office Holders for 2021-22 Season
See the full Club Committee with contact details on our Club Contacts page
It will be held online on the ZOOM platform at 7.30pm Wednesday September 1st 2020.
Q. How do members register and what is the deadline?
As this event is virtual, pre-registration is required using the following form:
The registration deadline is 6pm, Monday August 30th. Entry to the virtual room on the night will strictly be limited to Members who have pre-registered.
Q. Why is the AGM virtual?
In recent weeks the committee has been closely monitoring the Govt. COVID-19 public health guidelines, with a view to exploring all options and holding a live AGM if possible. Based on the latest guidelines and in consultation with our COVD Officer, it has been decided that holding a live event on September 1st at this point in time would be both high risk and a logistical challenge. The health & safety of our members remains at all times the number one priority, hence the decision to run a virtual event as was the case in 2020.
Q. Who Is eligible to attend?
All Life Members and paid up Ordinary or Playing members are eligible and encouraged to attend the AGM.
Q. Can I nominate an individual for Office
A. Any Member wishing to contest election for a seat on the Board shall inform the Director of Administration by emailing not less than seven clear days prior to the Annual General Meeting of his or her intention to stand for election and the Board position sought. The Member shall obtain from the Director of Administration the prescribed Nomination Form and return it to him by email, including a proposer and seconder together with a signed commitment to contest the election not later than two clear days prior to the Annual General Meeting. Only Members in good standing will be eligible to stand for election and/or propose and/or second a candidate for such an election. A Member may propose himself or herself.
How Will The Meeting Be Run
The objective is to simulate a live event in so far as possible through the appropriate use of technology.
Q. How can a member access the virtual meeting?
The AGM will be held on the ZOOM virtual platform. A private link to access the meeting will be emailed to all registrants within 24 hours of the AGM.
Q. What is the Quorum?
The quorum for an Annual General Meeting is 20. If a quorum has not assembled in the virtual meeting room within 30 minutes of the start time of 7.30pm, the Director of Administration may in his discretion declare the AGM abandoned.
Q. Is there a maximum attendance limit online?
No, there is no max. attendance. The ZOOM platform will be able to accommodate as many eligible Members as possible. However please note the registration deadline above.
Q. What will the duration be?
While it is hard to predict an actual duration, the expectation is that the AGM should be complete within ca. 90 minutes. To facilitate this, papers will be made available in advance to those registered where possible i.e. agenda, minutes from last year, Directors’ Reports.
Q. How will input from attendees be possible at an online AGM?
At the start of the meeting, everyone will be asked to observe online etiquette, mute their microphones and switch off their cameras so that the only person visible and audible will be the person speaking. After the Directors’ reports have been delivered, attendees will be invited by the Chair to indicate whether they want to ask a question or make a comment by switching on their camera and clicking the ‘Raise hand’ function. Attendees will then be invited to speak in the order in which the cameras were switched on. After an attendee has finished their input, they will be asked to mute their microphone and switch off their camera again.
Q. What happens if the same question is asked twice?
In the interests of time-keeping and efficiency, we would ask that attendees would try where possible not to repeat questions that have already been asked and answered.
Q. Can online voting be held?
Yes. If there is a contest for any position or vote to be held, we can conduct an online vote which is limited to the registered participants. This is the same process as was successfully applied at our recent SGM in May 2021.
Q. Can I vote by proxy?
No, voting will be limited to those in attendance.
What if I have further questions on the AGM?
Please email and we will endeavour to answer any queries as best we can.
Many thanks for your co-operation and we look forward to having a healthy attendance at the AGM.
Firstly, thank you all for your efforts over the past year. Whilst it has been a frustrating time for us all over these past months it has been heartening for everybody in the club to see the great work you are doing to develop our future Senior players.
Your role in ensuring that the young boys and girls in our care enjoy their rugby experience while improving and developing their skill sets is vital to our viability as a rugby club with the ambition to be competitive at the highest level.
It is, after all, only a few seasons since we gained promotion to Division 1 and there is no reason why the players currently in our Youth Academy shouldn’t be the young men to help bring us back there again in the coming seasons.
We are in the process of finalising our plans for next season so for those of you who have an interest in coaching and/or management with a Youth Academy team for the coming season can you please respond to my recent email before the end of May with thanks to those who have already responded.
Please also get in touch if you haven’t already been involved with a team but would like to participate as a volunteer in any capacity.
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