At the inaugural Presidents Charity Lunch on Saturday, some old comrades were reunited to celebrate a famous Lansdowne win in the Winters Cup Final back in 1991. We asked Colin ‘Kermie’ Murtagh to give us some more insight into the win:
A Winter’s Tale: (Sponsored by “Strings & Codorniu”)
Roc (Mehigan) & 3rd Bs (Dream Team) won Lansdowne’s second ever Winters Cup Final against Blackrock in a replay this week 29 years ago. A serious eclectic mix of lads from different schools, reasonably talented (untrainable) group of mavericks. We had no coach cause we either wouldn’t train (or when we did), we wouldn’t listen, several coaches tried but all failed miserably and left.
Selection on Monday nights (Roc never showed up, so Dougie, still half inebriated from the whiskey we plied on him in Sandyford House the evening before, let it slide and left our team alone). Tuesday nights training (well, that never really happened either (we were naturally “gifted”), leaving Thursday nights to get our act together!!! We all turned up Thursday nights bar our secret weapon JK (no not John Kearney, god forbid, but John Kilroy). Post the obligatory ½ hour training session on the park (we didn’t want to over do it with a match on the Sunday) we followed up with an off the park in the clubhouse session (at least 6 / 7 pints) and a visitation to Anne McGettigan’s wine emporium “Strings”. If you missed the Thursday night “Session” you were dropped!
No idea who we beat en-route or how we got to the final but we defeated a loaded (& favourites) Rock side in the final!!! We had the largest (most rotund) 10 / 12 axis imaginable (actually in history) in the guise of Quinn & Mehigan (sure how could any opposition get through there) and a host of other reprobates some of whom can be seen in pic.
That 3rd Bs nucleolus of team were together for five years under serious Leadership, Delboy Tracey ‘1990 (lost final), Roc ’91 (won final), Kermie ’92 (lost final), ’93 Shawsie (lost semis), ’94 Galvo (lost semis). The fun (craic & comradery) during these campaigns were awesome and testament to Roc who got 11 of Silver tops back to celebrate last Saturday (Presidents Charity Lunch) and the same stories regaled (again & again) just ever so slightly more embellished. Junior Rugby should never (ever) be underestimated and genuinely builds friendships for life!!
Just for the record the 2 year old baby in Roc’s arms Sam (Mehigan), having got out of the clutches of Roc, went on to study theoretical Physics in Trinity and is now a 31 year old Senior Trader in Susquehanna. Sam also has a Trinity Pink for Sporting achievement for Ultimate Frisbee (don’t ask, just check out link below)!!!!
Yours in Lansdowne (Junior) Rugby
Kermie
