“Look at the beauty around us, the culture, the history. This place is wild. I think that wildness is in the DNA of the people. Gaelic Football was always to the fore in Corca Dhuibhne. But now rugby is on the rise!” Conal Ó Cíobháin, U14 coach
The Geansaí – Rugbai i gcroíthailte na caide is the story of a grassroots rugby club which has captured the hearts of a community embedded in GAA sporting history. It’s a story with a bright future and a colourful past that stretches back before the founding of the Republic, set to the backdrop of the under 14’s going for glory in the West Munster plate.
In a county seen by many as the historical kings of the GAA All Ireland football championship, it might surprise people to hear that rugby was the principle sport played by the Kingdom (Kerry) in the early 20th century. Now the most westerly rugby club in Europe is looking to create a new legacy for a sport that is no longer on a level playing field in the County.
Conal O’Ciobháin and Paddy Fenton are the heart and soul of Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne. They first worked together when Paddy managed the seniors at the club and Conal was his captain. Conal wasn’t sure at first that he would be interested in sharing the U14 coaching duties with Paddy, but after a year spent watching these young boys grow into men, he lives for it. Both talk about the difficulty the club has at fielding a team at any level because of a dwindling local population and competition from a hugely successful GAA club (An Gaeltacht) only a half mile down the road from Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne’s ground (An Charraig).
With very few industries in Dingle and its environs creating a local workforce for the young men in the locality, Dingle Distillery has become essential for the club’s survival, providing 5 players living and working locally that can turnout every Sunday. Micheál O’Domhnaill, the head distiller at the club was nearly one of those who left for Australia to find work, but after working and playing rugby in London he knew that the physical demands of rugby were easier to face if you were standing alongside people you’d played with for 20 years.
Danno’s bar is the place where everyone goes to watch rugby in Dingle. It’s like a shrine to the game when you walk in and Danno himself is seen as Mr Rugby in Dingle. After the initial success of the rugby club in the early 20th century it fell into decline and Danno was part of the engine room who brought the game back in the seventies. As a player and a coach at all levels over the years for Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne, he now trains the young women in Coláiste Íde. He sees a bright future if the youth of the county can be encouraged by the success of others.
Dara Fitzgerald didn’t have the skills for Gaelic Football. He played both codes from the age of 7, but he knew that rugby was his game. From the age of 12 he was a big man with the build of a prop and he worked hard to build a future for himself in the sport. Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne supported him all the way, a double-edged sword, because they have lost him to the Munster academy. For the local kids Fitzy playing for Munster u19’s is the reason why the idea of being a professional rugby player and coming from a club as remote as theirs is no longer a pipe-dream.
Will the U14’s bring much needed success to the club and spark further interest in the sport from the young girls and boys of the locality? A guest appearance at the end of our story by Munster legend JJ Hanrahan says they do!
Sinéad Ní Churnáin – Reporter
Michael McCormack – Producer/Director