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Birth of a team
In the early to mid 1960s junior rugby
was played in Shannon under the guise of the Estates Cup, which was a competition
held between the factories which had set up in the Shannon Industrial Estate. The
competition proved very popular and interest grew amongst the local community, it
was decided that due to the interest that a team should be formed locally.
A meeting was organised in 1974, and
held in the Crossroads Pub in Drumgeely, where a team was duely formed. The first
president elect was Cyril Kiely and the first team captain was Eamon Dooley, the
next step was to gain affiliation to the IRFU. To achieve this, the team had to
be proposed and seconded by two existing teams; the teams that filled this requirement
were Young Munsters and Garryowen. The application was successful and in 1974 St
Senans R.F.C. was formed.
The Early Years
In the development years of the club success
was very limited; it was the late 1970s before the first junior trophy was won, this
being the Culligan Cup. Following this there were many lean years for the club,
until in the 1998/99 season in Thomond Park they won the Gleeson League; this momentous
occasion was witnessed by a large supporter base from around the area. In the same
year the team also won the Junior Development League, this resulted in promotion
for the team to the Munster Junior League Division Three. That season was to become
the most successful to date in the clubs history as they also went on to win, the
Kiely Cup, the Culligan Cup, and finished runners up in the Webb Cup.
A New Decade
In the 1999/2000 season the team defeated
Mallow RFC, in the final game of the season, to gain promotion to the Munster Junior
League Division Two. They held their position in this league for the following season,
and after defeating St Marys RFC in the final game of the 2001/02 season gained
promotion to Munster Junior League Division One.
They held their position in this league
until; following the loss of a number of their more experienced players they were
relegated in 2006/07 back to Munster Junior League Division Two. Following this
the team went through a period of transition, with a number of younger players came
up through the ranks, and they consolidated their position in the league. The team
was to taste success again in the 2007/08 season when they won the Munster Junior
Plate, beating Clanwilliam of Tipperary 7-3 in the final on 13th April 2008.
Players of the Future
St Senans have a vibrant Age Grade and
Mini Rugby Section, with teams competing from U8 up to U18s. This section is run
by experienced coaches who have completed mini and foundation courses run and accredited
by the Munster Branch. Regular coaching/training sessions are held weekly at the
clubs grounds, 6-14yrs on Sundays at 10:30 and 15-18yrs on Saturdays at 11:00. New
members will be made most welcome.
In addition to its own coaches St Senans
contribute to the funding of the Rugby Youth Development Officer, who visits local
schools in the locality to introduce them to rugby and to introduce St Senans RFC
to them as their local rugby club.
Jimmy Slattery Park
For many years St Senans played their
rugby in Ballycasey but this changed in Sept 2005, when Jimmy Slattery Park opened
in Tullyvarraga Shannon. The grounds were named in honour of a stalwart club member,
Jimmy Slattery, whose vision it was for the club to have its own home. The land
for this was purchased from Shannon Development, two new pitches were developed
and were ready for play in the 2005/06 season, this development was part funded
with a grant from the National Lottery. Further to the development of the pitches
the club then began phase one of their club house development which saw the opening
on a new dressing room complex in Sept. 2006. The second phase of this development,
at some time in the future, will be the addition of a club house and bar/social
area
Thank You
St Senans RFC would not be where it
is to day, if it had not had great local support over the years. We are lucky as
a club that we can call upon surrounding communities for support, we have had players
from Newmarket on Fergus, Sixmilebridge and Cratloe, and the people of these areas
also support us well with our fundraising efforts.
In addition to the people of these areas,
we must also thank the many local businesses for their continued support, especially
our main sponsor The Shannon Knights Inn.
St Senans would also like to acknowledge
both DeBeers Diamond Club and the Wolfe Tones GAA club for opening up their facilities
to us prior to the development of our own.
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The Elements which make up St. Senans R.F.C.
crest are:-
Colors:- Primarily Black and White, with
some Red.
The three crowns represent the province
of Munster.
Concord ties in nicely with Shannon Town's
aviation heritage and the fact that its first flight was made in 1974, the same
year St. Senans R.F.C. was founded.
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St Senan's held their A.G.M. recently in
the Shannon Knights.
The Secretary,President and Treasurer gave their reports for the previous year,
and gave great thanks to the committee and the coaches for their commitment and
time they have given to the club, and hope to see more volunteers like them stepping
forward in the coming year.
The following are the list of positions elected for the forthcoming 2009/2010 season:
President: Mary Lillis
Hon. Secretary: Mike Callanan
Treasurer: Ger Healy
Fixtures Sec:
Robbie Hoban
PRO:
Malcolm Simpson
Youth Development Officer:
Hugh Corcoran
Committee Members:
Kenny Brady
Dermot Kelly
Ger McNamara
Bernie Ryan
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