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Floodlit AIL Rugby this Friday night
We have received this witty event notice from Clontarf Rugby which we are very happy to share with you.....
We are very lucky here in Dublin 3, or as Ross O’Carroll Kelly likes to call Clontarf, Dublin 4N. We are bordered on the North East by St Annes Park, on the North West by the railway and, of course, on the South, by the sea.
Clontarf is a veritable little enclave of leafy smugness.
We are also, however, on the Northside of the City which allows us, when provoked, to don that mantle of mindless testosterone with which we are constantly fitted by our less muscular, somewhat wet cousins from across the river. Scratch most Clontarf guys (or girls) and Raheny or Artane bubbles to the surface! Dabble your fingers in our Cappucino pal and you’ll be in St Vincents A and E faster than you can say ya roight. Anyone who doubted the parish’s stomach for massed rebellion will have been disabused by the response to the DCC plans to build a coastal flood defense more appropriate to New Orleans than Dublin. Only the calming presence of our local TD’s averted a riot!!
The reality is that the Southside is morbidly jealous of Clontarf.
We have 3 golf clubs, 2 GAA Clubs, a Sailing Club, 2 Tennis Clubs, a Cricket Club, multitudinous soccer clubs, and a clean beach with enough activity to make Bondai jealous.
We also have a Rugby Club.
Clontarf Football (Rugby) Club is the only Division 1 rugby Club on the north side of the city and has been based in Castle Avenue for well more than 100 years. By rights it should struggle to compete with its south side rivals as it has no strong feeder school system and is situated slap in the middle of one of Dublin GAA’s heartlands. But survive it does and a lot more besides.
Clontarf are currently sitting on top of Division 1A of the Ulster Bank League which is the premier League of Irish Clubs below the Provinces. Clontarf fields teams at 7 senior levels, multiple youth’s levels and enough minis to create dirty washing for a millennium. Its premises are always open and always welcoming to strangers who might like to drop in for a drink. Unlike most other clubs Clontarf have no gates to the premises. It is literally an open Club and has always been so. A word of warning; the Clontarf Rugby club bar has a reputation of being difficult to leave, so if you’re dropping in, be prepared (bring loads of cash!).
On Friday night, 28th, at 7.30 pm Clontarf take on their nearest Southside rivals Lansdowne in the first Ulster Bank League 1A fixture to be played under floodlights. Admission is €10 per adult with children free. Please drop by if you can and support a Clontarf parish institution which continues to give so much to its local community.