From The Archives
Last season saw the launch of a hugely popular series of articles: From The Archives. Featuring stories and images from the archives of the IRFU and from rugby clubs. Next season will see even more stories but for now we take a look back at those featured to date.
There is a vast wealth or material in the archives of many rugby clubs and in the vaults of the Irish Rugby Football Union. From The Archives will bring you a glimpse at just some of those stories
Official archivist Willow Murray has collated much of the material including old match programmes, newspaper clippings, stamps, and various other items of memorabilia. Willow has also written a number of pieces for the From The Archives section.
Noted rugby journalist and historian Edmund Van Esbeck has also contributed to the stories that featured in the series last season.
First up was the story of Tom Crean and a chance to put an end to regular emails that asked “Was Tom Crean the rugby player also Tom Crean the explorer?” The answer is of course “No”, but his story is no less remarkable for that.
The release of a rugby themed stamp from An Post to mark the Rugby World Cup year was a chance to look at all the Irish Rugby players to have featured in the world of philately.
From The Archives also featured a brief history of Longford RFC and a look at the vintage St. Mary’s College RFC team of 1957/58.
The school that gave us Ollie Campbell, Tony O’Reilly and Karl Mullen amongst others, Belvedere College, was also featured to mark the donation of the Ray Carroll Collection – one of the largest collections of rugby books, programmes and magazines.
Finally the series also featured a look at Ireland’s first victory over a touring side and for the year that was in we marked the 60th anniversary of the famous Grand Slam of ’48.
From The Archives will return in season 2008/09 so if you have a story to tell about the history of your club, a famous day in Irish Rugby or a tale of the people who made the game then please contact barry.cunningham@irfu.ie
History Links on IrishRugby.ie
Player Profiles – Over 1,000 men have worn the jersey. Find out about them here.
A History of Irish Rugby – An extract from the book by Edmund Van Esbeck showing every Ireland team sheet up to 1999 and more besides.
Photo Galleries – Take a look back at some of the iconic players.