St Mary's College RFC
President's Christmas Message
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Dear Members & friends of St. Mary’s College RFC,
Season's greetings, a merry Christmas and a very happy new year to you all.
We are at the halfway point in our season and we have a mixed bag of fortunes to report. Our First XV are going well in 1B and have had some great performances to date. Our U20s, Women's and Junior teams are finding the season challenging but with their dedication, and their great squads of players, coaches & managers, I'm sure they will start to see the results going their way in the new year.
Well done to all involved in our Youths and Minis also - it is in many ways the lifeblood of the club.
I have some big announcements for you all below.
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We are delighted to announce the appointment of our renowned past club captain and coach of many years, Peter Smyth as a Trustee of the club. Smythy is, in the words of D O’Brien, a phenomenon. He been an outstanding player, leader, coach, strategist, recruiter and inspiration for us all for many years. I thank Peter for his continued commitment to the club in his new role and wish him every success over the years to come. As always with Smythy, he will no doubt continue to enhance our club through his efforts and his involvement.
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NEW HONORARY LIFE MEMEBER
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Last week the Executive Committee awarded our club's highest honour of honorary life membership to Terry Kennedy for his outstanding recent achievements with the Ireland Sevens team.
Following on from the highs of reaching the Olympics, we all witnessed & enjoyed another unbelievable year for Terry; He was named in the World Rugby Sevens Dream Team; collected the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Top Try Scorer title with an astounding fifty tries; won a bronze medal in the World Cup; and was awarded the Guinness Writers Men’s Sevens Player of the Year for the second consecutive year. Then to cap it off, Terry became the first Irish player to receive the prestigious & coveted, World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year award.
It was only fitting that Terry's club should also bestow some honours for his exceptional & outstanding accomplishments over the last season and for his “special distinction in the game of Rugby Football”. So we are delighted to confirm that Terry Kennedy has been made an honorary life member of our club.
Well done & congratulations Terry - we are all so proud of you.
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Marie enjoying herself at the recent Mini Rugby Christmas Party
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Our Club Administrator, Marie Hammond has decided to retire from her role at the end of this season.
We consider ourselves blessed to have enjoyed the contribution from Marie over the years and we all are very sorry to see her go.
While we are sad to see Marie retiring, we are happy that she can now focus her endless energy into her own life pursuits, and those of her husband, John, and her family.
Marie came to us twenty years ago with a warm smile on her face and a contagious enthusiasm that in spite of challenges and mountainous work on occasions, never left her. Her maxim in life has been how do I solve problems, rather than finding others. Having had two boys, Vincent and Brian, go through St. Mary’s College and then join the club, and with a husband John, who revolutionised the club's mini rugby, she was already filled with deep loyalty to the place.
Marie is well known and admired throughout Leinster and Irish Rugby. There is not a person in Leinster clubs who does not know her, and her admirers include the likes of Joe Schmidt who has called her out for praise in speeches. With her efficiency and professionalism in her dealings with other clubs and outside agencies she has been an unsurpassable ambassador for St. Mary's College RFC.
We have all on occasion have had the impression that we'd thought of a way to solve a problem or even thought we had the job done. On reflection we realise it was all Marie. She seldom asked anyone to do a job, she just did it herself. To see the beautiful layouts for parties, lunches, dinners, or funerals, the cooperation and teamwork that went into them was always clear, as well as the sensitivity with which everything was handled. She was never a dictator, nor overbearing - she was cooperative, practical, sensible and logical. Over the years she has been a vital part of all the major fundraising events, such as Lions Legends, celebratory nights for some of our greats, like Johnny Sexton or AIL champions, Strictly Dancing, or Corporate lunches for international matches. She was ever-present and it was sometimes difficult to get her to leave if there was work to be done, Saturdays, Sundays it made no difference!
That did not mean she did not challenge what she saw as wrong, and with her scalpel sharp wit and tongue she could be a most formidable champion of right.
She is human and so she had her favourites over the years, she took each honorary secretary and president under her wing and dare anyone say a nasty thing about them. And to be lucky enough to be invited to have a mug of Marie’s exceptional coffee was something to savour, note and not forget.
Marie developed her own job specifications and she expanded them enormously over the years to the great benefit of St Mary’s College RFC. She had a secret weapon too for outside tasks that were neglected by less observant - her husband John was the unsung hero, doing many necessary jobs around the club pre-dawn.
The family is so saturated in rugby and it is unlikely that she will ever be far from us - we have an indelible link to Marie that will endure, and we will never forget her nor lose specific fond memories that reside within us all.
Marie assures us she is not going far away, and we can still expect to see her around the club next year, but she will step down as full-time club administrator in June 2023.
Thank you, Marie, for your incredible service to our club.
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Christmas Bar Opening Times
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- Thursday 22nd December 2022 - Open 8pm
- Friday 23rd December 2022- Open 8pm
- Saturday 24th December 2022 - Closed
- Sunday 25th December 2022 - Closed
- Monday 26th December 2022 - Closed
- Tuesday 27th December 2022 - Closed
- Wednesday 28th December 2022 - Closed
- Thursday 29th December 2022- Open 8pm
- Friday 30th December 2022- Open 8pm
- Saturday 31st December 2022 - Closed
- Sunday 1st January 2023 - Closed
- Monday 2nd January 2023 - Closed
- Tuesday 3rd January 2023 - Closed
- Wednesday 4th January 2023 - Closed
- Thursday 5th January 2023- Open 8pm
- Friday 6th January 2023- Open 8pm
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