MALONE v ARMAGH 10 Dec 22

Encasing architecture

We are extremely proud to be supporting Malone RFC, who have played such a significant role in the rugby community both locally and nationally for over a century.

At this time, Walsin and Malone make a great team as both are aiming high; Malone on their rugby journey and Walsin experiencing unprecedented growth to become one of the largest facade companies in Ireland.

I have always had an interest in the sport, having played for my local club for many years and was delighted to be asked to get involved with Malone. Staff members regularly attend home and away games and there is a real buzz in the company around the club’s recent successes.

So far we have been delighted to play a small part in the club’s ongoing refurbishment programme and will continue to support Malone RFC as it goes forward.

Ian Sinclair, Managing Director,

Proud Sponsors of

Walsin Ltd.

Walsin Limited | Blaris Industrial Estate | Altona Road | Lisburn, BT27 5PU www.walsin.co.uk

Gibson Park, Gibson Park Avenue, Cregagh Road, Belfast. BT6 9GL Tel: 028 9045 7819 email: malonerfc@gmail.com web:www.malone-rfc.com

Executive Committee: Stuart Duncan Gerry Gibbons Mark Dowds Gary Brown David Heron Ken Campbell Gary Kirkpatrick Jonathan McAllister Michael Kearney Raymond Thomas

President: Gerry Gibbons Senior Vice President: Ken Campbell

Rugby Committee: Chair: Michael Kearney Vice-Chair: David Heron

Clubhouse and facilities: Mark Dowds

Secretary: Raymond Thomas Grounds: Gerry Gibbons

Programme and Social Media: Ken Campbell Advertising and sponsorship: Jonathan McAllister

Junior Vice President: Gary Kirkpatrick

Chairman: Stuart Duncan

Malone RFC proudly supports:

Today sees us entertain the visitors from the Cathedral City led by their President, the ebullient Tommy Galbraith.

Let’s give a warm welcome to our rivals , but good friends, the Boys from the County Armagh! It’s our final Energia AIL match prior to a well earned break for Christmas and the New Year

If I may just be serious for a moment and mention the passing of a well known club character who left us recently. The world is a lesser place for the passing of Billy McCormick. He was well known to everyone of a certain vintage and a popular member of Malone. I couldn’t put it any better than John McKee did to me when John said he was, ‘a guy who had to work hard and fight to stay ahead.’

The best of luck to the Tornadoes who kick off in Dromore against Banbridge Barbarians at 14.00 on Saturday. Go to it Lads !

The Minis are thriving and the decision to avail of Cherryvale over the winter has worked out well. Good luck with your party next week. The Ladies will recommence in the New Year and it’s great to see them enjoying success in the Ulster League. The Girls Youth Blitz on the

27th was well attended and full marks to all involved.

The Youth continues to be led and driven by able and willing men who giveth of their time in what can be a ‘Hard Station’. Good luck, Gary H., Rab , Seamus et al. Great to see Joey M. out there helping to pass on the baton and muck in. I cannot sign off without mentioning the guys from the 2nd XV, led by Gareth Millar, who are battling and entertaining every week. A great win at Deramore followed by a lip biting draw at Rifle Park. Edge of the seat stuff ! The 3rds and 4ths continue to plough away and the camaraderie there is evident for all to witness. Good Luck for ‘23!

Returning to the business in hand, lets get behind the boys today and raise the roof as the 16th Man ! This is a challenging section of a tight league and we’re are proud of them. At all times we shall stay within ‘The Code’ and show respect and a warm welcome, to our visitors and all the match officials. We are who we are ! Merry Christmas (last Programme of ‘22) and a HNY to all.

Up above G.G.

City of Armagh coach Chris Parker stated before the season started that a repeat of last year’s sixth place finish just would not be good enough.

He wanted them to aim high and at the moment they sit in second place in Division 1B only four points behind pace setters Buccaneers.

City of Armagh Rugby Club is one of the oldest clubs in Ireland. Records exist of games being played in the early 1870's but the accepted date of the Club's foundation is 1875. Shortage of players led to a break in activities in the late 1890's but the Club re-emerged after a couple of years and went on to win a rare double in 1910 - Towns and Junior Cup in the same season.

In 1920 after five years inactivity during the war years, Armagh entered the senior league but after two seasons were prevailed upon by the Ulster Branch to step down again.

First Achievements

Success continued, however, at junior level with five cups being won between 1928 and 1939, and three sides being put on the field. Bobby Barnes, then at Trinity College Dublin achieved a rare double in 1933 when he played for Armagh in the Town's Cup in January and for Ireland against Wales in March, being on the winning side on both occasions.

After another wartime break Armagh resumed their junior status in 1945, going on to win the Towns Cup in 1947. Other cup victories include the Town's Cup in 1951 and 1971, Junior Cup in 1965 and Past Player's Cup in 1958 and 1965.

Change Of Scenery

By 1961 the necessity to acquire new headquarters was more and more apparent. A new pavilion was built on the Mall to accommodate cricket and rugby clubs in 1964 but the pitch remained a problem. Once the Palace Grounds became available the Club eagerly moved, with the first game being played on 8 September 1973.

Three Prunty pitches were laid and training lights installed. Originally the Mall was to be used as a spare pitch but inevitably everything was centralised at the Palace Grounds and the old rugby pitch became a cricket pitch. With six teams now turning out (and an occasional seventh) all the new pitches were fully occupied, and thoughts turned to promotion to senior status. Not until 1981, however, was that goal achieved.

The Mall Trophy

Meanwhile, cups and leagues were being won, for example in 1965 the Junior and Past Player's

Armagh President Tom Galbraith

Shane Kelly in action at Gibson Park during last season’s Ulster League clash

Cups were won and only a penalty goal gave Dungannon victory in the Town's Cup final to spoil a treble. In 1972 the Club presented the Mall Trophy to be competed for by the winners of the Junior, Towns, Past Players and McCrea Cups in a single day Saturday tournament. The winner could thus be acclaimed as Ulster Junior Champions.

Unfortunately, while the other three cup winners could easily be established, the Past Player's cup (for sectional junior league winners) tended to run late in the season and the I.R.F.U at the time were adamantly opposed to rugby in May.

On at least one occasion the late Leeman Allen, Armagh's guiding force for many years, calculated that Dublin would be unlikely to hear of Armagh events and the tournament went ahead on the first Saturday in May. City of Armagh won the Mall Trophy four times.

Senior Rugby

The 1980-81 season was a most memorable one. The Towns Cup was won again and on 5 April Armagh travelled to Ballymena to defeat the local second XV to gain promotion to the Senior League. To add to the joy they won the Mall Trophy and followed up by travelling to Arklow to win the Oval Trophy, then played for by the winners of the Towns Cup in the four provinces. The new venture into senior rugby got off to the best possible start when Instonians were beaten 20-19 at the Palace Grounds in October 1981. Naturally, this level of success did not continue but the first couple of years at this level were quite creditable. Top of the table was achieved, albeit briefly, but in the end it was a relief to be invited into Division Four of the All Ireland League where several happy and interesting years were spent, from 1994 onwards. The results, indeed, were more rewarding than in the Ulster Senior League, which was revived about

this time. However, in 1997 Armagh were faced with a relegation playoff and the I.R.F.U got into a prolonged legal battle over which Junior club should provide the opposition. The saga dragged on until late May but by then Armagh could not produce a side within the parameters laid down and they were forced to withdraw, leaving Omagh and Midleton to play off, so it was back to Junior ranks.

City Of Armagh RFC In Recent Years

Success continued at Junior level on and off the pitch and City of Armagh won promotion back to Senior status in 2011. The season was successful both on and off the pitch across the Club from Senior, Youth and Mini to Ladies rugby and City of Armagh RFC was awarded the Ulster Club of the Year trophy for the 2010-2011 season. In the 2014-15 season, the Club were again nominated for Ulster Club of The Year after City of Armagh 1XV finished runners-up in the All Ireland League as well as the Ulster Senior League. The 1st XV now play in Division 1B of the restructured All Ireland League. The 2015-2016 season saw history being made at the club with its first female President, ShirleyAnne Donaldson.

Towns’ Cup winners 1909/10

MALONE RFC CODE OF CONDUCT

Code for Players - General

•Play for enjoyment and become part of the rugby family.

•Respect the "Game of Rugby" and play within the laws of the Game.

•Accept the referee's decision and let your captain ask any relevant questions.

•Play with control. Do not lose your temper.

•Always do your best and be committed to the game, your team and your club.

•Be a "good sport". Applaud all good play whether by your team or the opposition.

•Respect your opponent. Treat all players as you would like to be treated. Do not "bully" or take advantage of any player.

•Rugby is a team sport so make sure you co-operate with your coach, teammates and members of your club.

•At the end of the match thank your opponents and the referee for the match.

•Always remember that you owe a duty of care to your opponents. Tackle hard but fairly, do not intend to hurt your opponent.

•Winning and losing is part of sport: Win with humility - lose with dignity.

•As part of the team it is important that you attend training regularly, listen to your coach and help your team.

•As a team sport it is important to understand that all members are important to the team!

•Remember you are representing your team, club, family and the Game of Rugby.

Code for Spectators

•Be on your best behaviour and lead by example. Do not use profane language or harass referees, players or coaches.

•Applaud good play by the visiting team as well as your own.

•Show respect for your team's opponents. Without them there would not be a match.

•Condemn the use of violence in all forms at every opportunity.

•Verbal abuse of players or referees cannot be accepted in any shape or form.

•Players or referees are not fair targets for ignorant behaviour.

•Encourage players to play by the Laws of the Game.

•Spectators can contribute to the enjoyment of the event and all involved.

•Be proud of your club and the Game of Rugby

Delighted to continue our association with Malone

Integrated Process Control and Engineering Ltd. Units 509 & 512 Enterprise Crescent, Ballinderry Road, Lisburn Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland. BT28 2BP | Tel: 028 9262 8040

Obituary - Billy McCormick

We recently lost a great character who was connected not only with Malone but also Cregagh Cricket club.

William David McCormick, Billy, as he was known to all, was born on 6th February, 1948. He was the eldest of five children and the family originally came from a farming background but they moved to Belfast and opend up an estate agency in which Billy was an employee.

In his childhood years, Billy was home schooled by his mother, who was a teacher. Aged 16 Billy had an operation or Perthes, a degenerative hip desease.

Billy was heavily involved in church based youth organisations and charitable works and he also had a great ability with numeracy, which was a great help in his role as scorekeeper at Cregagh Cricket Club.

Billy loved to help out at Malone, and would often been seen lifting the flags, or cleaning out the changing rooms after games. He loved nothing more than getting on his Malone blazer and manning the gate on

Girls Youth Blitz

matchdays.

Billy was a larger than life character and seemed to know just about everyone who came through the gates at Malone - he will be fondly remembered.

SUPPORTING MALONE RUGBY CLUB

Our Girls Youth section held a blitz event at Malone on Sunday 27th November with the Under 14, Under 16 and Under 18 teams all taking part and winning. Well done to players and organisers alike.

This is a massive week for the senior squad ahead of the Christmas break, with two big games including the seconds game against Banbridge and today`s game against Armagh.

After the win over Highfield in which we were disappointed not to come away with 5 points, a lack of accuracy at the breakdown and in the opposition 22 cost us in Dublin. To be fair to the boys they have responded well this week in training, and we are looking forward to fixing those errors today.

Last week in training we had the pleasure of hosting a joint training session with Campbell College 1st XV which was a very useful exercise. It was great to welcome back past coach Jonny Cupid and player John Creighton and their team, which was not only important in our own preparation, but also a great opportunity to strengthen the links between the club and the school. We hope to welcome them again later in the season and beyond.

I want to extend a warm welcome to Chris and the whole Armagh squad. They are a

side who have made further great strides this season and the work of Chris and all involved in the success of the club over the past number of years is to be admired. For us, we are very excited about playing an AIL game at Christmas at Gibson Park, it is always a special occasion to play in and please give the boys as much support as you can. Enjoy the game!

Proud sponsor of Malone RFC

Proud to be Malone Mini Rugby main sponsor

Malone RFC is proud to support

The Children’s Cancer Unit Charity depends entirely on public donations and the support of our generous fundraisers.

All year round, our families, friends and supporters organise events and activities - from coffee mornings to gala balls, sponsored skydives to cookbooks, fun runs to 32 marathons in a row - all in aid of the Children’s Cancer Unit. Donations can also be made online via our website at www.childrenscancerunit.com/support-us We could not continue to assist the work of the Children’s Cancer Unit without your support. Please get in touch if you would like to help.

55 years ago Malone opened its new pavilion on 29th April, 1967.

It was a momentous day in the history of our club and we were lucky enough to be given a mint condition copy of the programme of the day by David Kelly.

Rather than put some little bits and pieces of the programme into our matchday programme, we have decided to publish the complete programme so you can take a look through it, enjoy it, and maybe stir some memories of places like the Rosetta Bar, Centaur Health Studios, The Athletic Stores and the Ireland’s Saturday Night.

Out thanks go to David for the programme.