Garryowen Football Club
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| Full name | Garryowen Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union |
Munster IRFU |
| Nickname(s) | Boys in Blue |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Ground(s) | Dooradoyle, Limerick (Capacity: 1,500) |
| Chairman | Dermot Morrissey |
| President | John Scanlon |
| Coach(es) | Conan Doyle Paul Neville |
| League(s) | All-Ireland League, 1A |
| Official website | |
| garryowenrugby |
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Garryowen Football Club (Irish: Cumann Rugbaí Gharraí Eoin), usually referred to as Garryowen, is a rugby union club from Limerick, Ireland. It plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League and historically has been one of the most successful clubs in Irish rugby union.
The club was formed in 1884. The founding members of the club were:
Founding member of the club, W.L.Stokes, had a huge influence on the game in Limerick during the 1880s. He made sure Garryowen received Union recognition in 1884. If not for his tireless work promoting rugby, Garryowen might never have begun.
Another great family linked to Garryowen were the O'Connors. John O'Connor was a founder member of the club and his seven sons were prominent rugby players, runners and oarsmen of national and international renown. They won 47 Munster senior cup medals between them beginning in the early 1890s. Born in Athlunkard Street, Limerick, the seven brothers - Mick, Charlie, Jack, Thade, Joe, Bryan and Jim - set an impressive record with 47 medals. Jack with 11 had the most. His son, Mick, won 4 further Munster Senior Cup medals between 1925 and 1934.
The club has had two fixed homes. The Markets Field until 1958 then the club moved to Dooradoyle. After the club moved, Garryowen which had won the Senior cup in 1954 did not achieve success again for 15 years. This was the longest period in the clubs history without a cup win. It was not till 1969 that another led to a glorious period for the club with probably the finest collection of players since the great nine in row team. With 5 senior cups coming in the next 10 years. There was also great success on the international scene with 6 players getting capped for Ireland in this time.
After winning the Cup in 1979 the club did not achieve Cup success again until 1993, not the largest gap between wins but this was the 1st time that they had failed to win at least one cup in each decade. Back-to-back Munster Senior League successes in 1982 and 1983 were the highlights of the 80's. The foundations were laid for the great success that was achieved in the 90's. The advent of the All Ireland League would give the club game in Limerick the platform it had long sought.
Having won the league title in its second and fourth year (1992, 1994), Garryowen reached two finals and a number of semi-finals only to fall just short. However, 2007 proved a spectacular year for the Limerick side, seeing them finally re-take the AIL crown after their years of disappointment and also the Munster Senior and AIL cups in what is an unprecedented clean sweep of all domestic competitions in Irish club rugby.
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