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Under 18 Awards for the Season

Ashbourne Rugby Club - Our successful Under 18.5 team who won the Div. 1 Leinster S/Y Cup were presented their awards at the Ashbourne Clubhouse last weekend.

The point was made clear that the success was down to team effort and not just one player but the coaches and management wanted to acknowledge some guys who stood out for various reasons.

Forward of the Year went to Enda O'Brien

Back of the Year went to Josh McLoughlin

Most Improved Player of the Year went to David Kinahan

Coaches Player of the Year went to Leon Mahon

Players Player of the Year went to Sean Lambe.

Well done to the team and management/coaches. Great season.

Presentations were made by former President Shea Gallagher and Rugby Director Jeff Mahon

Thanks to David Duff for the pictures

Ashbourne Rugby Awards Miltown 06 052023

by Bill Duggan

2nds Provincial Towns Plate Final

by Bill Duggan

Give It A Try! Girls Rugby

Here is an opportunity to, as the poster says, Give it a Try - any young girl who wants to try rugby out and see how you get on, here is the opportunity.

by Bill Duggan

Ashbourne Host Athy RFC on Friday the 21st of April in Towns Cup Plate Final

Ashbourne 1st XV continue to look for silver wear and are in the Provincial Towns Cup Plate Final on Friday night the 21st of April at Ashbourne.

The plate is often a great launch pad into next season so come up and support the lads.

by Bill Duggan

Elite Youth Rugby Training Camp Ashbourne Rugby Club

Ashbourne Rugby are delighted to bring an Elite Rugby Coaching Camp to Ashbourne this Summer Specifically for our YOUTH Boys & Girls Players.

This Elite Camp is primarily run by ex: Professional and International South Africa & European Players and Coaches and will be a hugely enjoyable and rewarding opportunity for Youth Players to get such high-level coaching within Ashbourne RFC.

The camp format will consist of 2 sessions per day with a lunch break in between, for a full week. Players will not only be coached at various Skill sets but will also have individual positional coaching, unit coaching and Strength & Conditioning training and most of all lots of FUN.

The camp is supported & subsidised by Ashbourne Rugby club which has helped to maintain the cost of only €195 per person (discount available for siblings) and will include a free Ashbourne Rugby T-Shirt and Boot Bag as well.

The Camp runs from the 17th to the 21st of July 2023

There is limited availability (to ensure the experience is enhanced with a low level of participant numbers to coaching ratios) – This is open primarily to Ashbourne Players, however if others want to apply please also enter your interest via the attached link https://forms.office.com/r/Fp7KcjsufS

by Bill Duggan

Successful Girls Training Camp in Ashbourne RFC

Orla and Judy ran the first ever Elite Rugby Camp held in conjunction with and hosted by Ashbourne Club Womens Head Coach - Judy Bobbett & S&C Coach - Orla Hayes @ashbournerfc

It was fantastic to see players from Dundalk, Suttonians, Boyne, Skerries, Balbriggan and our own Ashbourne girls all learning and having a great experience.

A memorable week of Skills / Drills / Conditioning & Nutritional talks were hugely enjoyable, and all the participants left extremely happy and wanting more camps in the future.

Well done to Judy & Orla in organising an amazing Camp.

@ashbournewomensrugby

by Bill Duggan

Ashbourne Through to Provincial Towns Cup late semi-final.

Ashbourne Rugby Club travel to Clondalkin Rugby Club in the semi-final of the Provincial Towns Cup Plate. Ashbourne will be trying to win a 4th final appearance in this competition, winning it in 2001 and 2015 (beaten finalists in 2011). Clondalkin last won it in 2019 so it is important to them as well.

Should be a great game so we need your support.

It is an important competition and sets the team up nicely for next season - Tullow RFC won it last year and in the Towns Cup final this year!

Clondalkin moved to a new ground this season and the new address is

Kingswood Farm, Kingswood Cross, Baldonnell, Co. Dublin, D22 Y9H9

The other semifinal sees Athy RFC take Skerries RFC, in Athy

by Bill Duggan

Congratulations to Niall Murray

Congratulations to our valued and long serving club member, Niall Murray, who has been certified as a valued volunteer for the 2022/23 season as part of the IRFU Spirit Of Rugby Volunteer Awards.

Niall has been an integral and knowledgeable part of the coaching structures here at the club for many seasons at all levels and in the recent past was instrumental in organising the memorial cycles to raise funds for Cancer Ireland in memory of fellow club member Declan Mahon.

Niall embodies the true spirit of what it means to be a volunteer and a member of Ashbourne Rugby Club. his commitment to club and community is at the core of everything we do and he is completely deserving of this recognition.

Congratulations Niall, well deserved.

IrishRugby Leinster Rugby Irish Cancer Society

by Bill Duggan

Big Semifinal on Sunday

Lets turn out and support @ashbournewomen1 Womens team on Sunday at home to @tallaght_rugby

@leinsterwomensrugby

by Bill Duggan

Condolences to the Family of Pat Bobbett on his passing!

It is with the greatest of sadness that I must recount the death of Pat Bobbett.

Jack Conlan writes:

Pat was an Ashbourne Rugby Club man from year dot.

He was Club President, Club Trustee, Ashbourne team selector, Leinster Juniors team selector, joint founder of the Ashbourne junior section with Tim O'Connor, referee and most famously - touch judge.

Pat invented the "sin bin" in Ashbourne for junior players long before the professional game. He also operated as the "referee's assistant", on occasion. A referee was so concerned about his exertions in this role on one occasion, that he suggested he should take an "early shower".

Pat was a passionate man, maybe deriving from the Huguenot genes and he was passionate about Ashbourne Rugby Club.

If there was a title of "Mr. Ashbourne Rugby Club", surely it belongs to Pat. He had a profound influence on the strategic decisions of the club. He epitomised the ethos of rugby and the concept of being a member of a club. Within the club, he was colorful, charismatic, convivial and democratic.

He flew the ARFC flag throughout Leinster rugby. His welcome and generosity with visitors to the club was well recognised by all.

Pat was a recruiter of players and he always kept an eye out for possible new talent at Mass, on Sunday. Rory Gleeson was such a find.

He played for Bective Rangers FC in his time and was very proud of winning a County football medal with Curragha

He also also a leader in the IFA , some years back.

In the days of one pitch in Ashbourne - generously provided by St Andrews Athletic Club, the pitch invariably became water logged and unusable.

Pat a man of land and of the land, stepped in and provided 2 pitches on his farm. I witnessed one of the greatest centres/outhalf for Ireland and the Lions- Paul Dean, play in Pat's field (The Priest's acre). The match was between Eamonn Walshe's famous thirds team and St Mary's.

One of my own fell in a drain and came out drenched from head to toe, on another occasion.

Pat's family are now an institution in Ashbourne rugby. His sons, grandsons and grand-daughter are playing or have played for Ashbourne. His grand-daughter Judy, has played for Ashbourne and Ireland and is currently a coach in the club.

We have lost a legend.

Our condolences go to Alice, John, David, Pat, Charles, Stuart, Grant and all the family.

Former Club Captain Tim O'Connor writes:

Desperately sad news. Another giant oak of the Ashbourne RFC forest down. Your tribute is superb, thank you for it.

You capture so many elements of a legendary figure and wonderful human being. As you say, Pat and I started the Schoolboy Section in 1975, just a year into the life of the Club.

To be clear, Pat was the senior man in our duo in every sense! He was a natural leader and his generosity of spirit shone through every conversation. He knew that the young lads were the future of the Club and he was as passionate on the side-lines of a school-boy match as he was with the seniors. Of course it helped also that he had a big car for the necessary ferrying to matches!

He was also very good as you say at recruiting others to the cause and his addition of wonderful colleagues like Fran Bebbington, Tom Gannon, John May and others to the Schoolboy Section was a critical part of building the foundations of the Club.

You describe his characteristics brilliantly and all I can say is that it was an absolute privilege to have spent those years alongside him, learning from him and being inspired by him. What a legacy he leaves.

Of course the biggest loss of all is to Alice and the wonderful family they reared together – the Waltons were only trotting after them. Our deepest sympathies to them all and to all the Club.

Leaba i measc na naomh go raibh ag Pat.

Funeral Mass at Ashbourne Church at 11:00, on Saturday morning.

Club members asked to meet outside the AIB to form a guard of honour for Pat!

Full details on RIP.ie

May he Rest in Peace.

by Bill Duggan

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