Corinthians And Galwegians Battle It Out For Glynn Cup
AIB League clubs Corinthians and Galwegians will renew their local rivalry on St. Patrick’s Day in an event that has caught the attention of rugby people throughout Galway, Connacht and beyond.
The return of the Glynn Cup itself after more than a decade is worthy of the headlines but it is the new format, incorporating each and every club team from Under-7s to senior, that has everyone talking.
The event will be held at Corinthian Park and starts at 11am on St. Patrick’s Day next Tuesday with the Under-20s, Under-16s and thirds kicking things off on the three pitches.
The Ryder Cup-style format will mean every victory is worth one point in the overall competition and all games will be 30 minutes-a-half. The culmination of the 32-team event will be the senior game at 4pm.
The memorial cup presented in honour of John J Glynn for the first time in 1959 and has a long and rich legacy with Galwegians dominating the titles in the 1960s and Corinthians very much to the fore in the eighties.
The final details were confirmed at a photo launch at Meyrick Hotel on Monday with captains of the various teams involved on hand.
This week’s ‘Rugby in Connacht’ podcast – available on iTunes and from www.knockon.ie – was also broadcast from the launch with Galwegians club President Mick Casserly, Corinthians member and former player Paddy Flynn and Connacht rugby journalist Ralph O’Gorman joining presenter Rob Murphy.
The two clubs came together to resurrect the Glynn Cup competition late last year.
The cup has been played for on 37 occasions since 1959 and the last time the annual St. Partick’s Day event was contested between the clubs was 1999 when Corinthians won their 21st title.
The competition has been graced by the likes of Warren Gatland, Eric Elwood, Brendan Guerin and Tony O’Sullivan who all played for Galwegians, while Noel Mannion also took part for Corinthians during his career.
Ciaran Smyth leads the way in Glynn Cup wins having played in 14 Corinthians victories, while Danno Heaslip was on the winning Galwegians team on ten occasions.
As well as counting to the overall outcome of the event, the games involving the Youth teams in each club will also contribute to the Langan Trophy competition which will be awarded to the club with most wins in the youth matches.
In keeping with IRFU guidelines, the Mini rugby games will be non-competitive with an emphasis on fun and will act as the precursor to the senior match.
Trophy presentations will take place at 5.30pm in the Corinthians clubhouse, food and entertainment will be available all day and O’Donoghues of Galway Coaches will be providing a free bus service.