Rockwell Senior Rugby Team
Rockwell and rugby go together in the public mind. This is so despite
the fact that cricket was once as strong in the college. Hurling has also
made an impact: the first Harty Cup to be played in 1918 was won by
Rockwell and it was captured on a number of occasions after that. Gaelic
football has also had its place and become more prominent in recent
years. Athletics have had a long and impressive history and the College
of Science Cup was won so often that at times it seemed a college possession. Despite all these impressive achievements in other sporting areas
rugby dominates in the public mind as well as within-the college grounds.
This continues to be so after a decade that has seen few victories coming
the way of Rockwell.
This domination of the game of rugby can be measured in many ways. The records for the year 1963-64 show that 70 games
were played by the college in all
grades against outside opposition.
In the year 1959-60 Pat Leyden
played twenty-six games, won fifteen,
drew one, lost ten and had
252 points scored for and 200
against. In the year 1980-81 the
Junior Cup team put in about one
hundred and fifty hours practice
between September and the first
round. Andrew Butler, Matt O'
Mahony and Jim Harrington
played on Junior and Senior Cup
teams for four consecutive years
and never suffered a defeat.
Between them they won twelve
cup medals. The college has won
the Munster Schools cup on
twenty occasions. Between 1897
and 1981 sixteen past pupils of
Rockwell have been capped for
Ireland.
The Seniors
Of all the memories associated with Rockwell and rugby the most exciting surround the senior teams that
represented Rockwell for years in the
Munster Senior cup. These teams are
remembered for stirring encounters
against Garryowen and Cork Constitution
and for great personalities like the
Ryan brothers. These teams were made
up of past pupils, professors and prefects and the odd student who had the size and strength of a man. Rockwell
entered a team for the first time in
the Munster Senior Cup in 1894 and
played yearly until 1916. That year
marked the end of an era. Fr. John
Byrne became President in 1916 and
cricket and rugby gave way to Gaelic
football and hurling. Rockwell didn't
re-enter the Senior Cup for another
twelve years and played in it for a few
years in the early thirties. During this
long period they failed to have their
name inscribed on the cup. There is no
explanation for this failure. In contrast
to this succession of defeats are the
many victories of Garryowen, especially
in the pre-war period.
First Entry
Rockwell played in the first round
of the Munster Senior Cup in 1894
and went out by a single score to Garryowen. "A notable event was the entry
to the tourney of that plucky but unlucky
club - Rockwell. They ran the
redoubtable Limerick club to a single
score - a performance suggestive of
many a hard fight between the same
clubs in succeeding seasons."
Rockwell weren't long making an
impact in the province. In the year
1896 the really noteworthy event of the year was the ending of Garryowen's
long tenure of the cup. After a very
exciting game Rockwell knocked them
out by a single point. Rockwell were
favourites for the final but were beaten
unexpectedly by University College,
Cork.
The 1897 season produced some stirring events. For the third time in succession
Rockwell and Garryowen were
drawn together. Unfortunately a very
regrettable scene occurred at the Market's
Field, the venue for the game. As
Mick Ryan himself stated it: "On leaviing the field I received the full force of
a desperate kick on the point of the hip.
I fell to the ground but managed to
seize my assailant by the leg and, on
rising, I asked the Garryowen captain if
he knew him. He admitted he did. I was
carried to the dressing room in great
pain and was in intense agony on the
journey home." The conduct of the
crowd all through the match was hostile
to Rockwell and the referee.
Insults poured in from the touchline
and incitements to violence were frequent.
After the match several members
of the Rockwell team were assaulted
and struck. Paddy Kavanagh received a
violent blow on the back of the head. Another
was struck in the eye and many
kicked in the shins. Help came from the
R.I.C. who escorted the players back to the hotel.
There was an investigation by the I.R.F.U. into the affair and the committee decided (1) no representative match be played in Limerick Market Fields until it was properly fenced, (2) the club on whose ground the match is played is responsible for the spectators behaviour and (3) in future any misconduct towards players or referee will be severely dealt with. It all sounds very familiar!
The Ryans
The mention of Mick Ryan brings up
the story of the famous brothers, Mike
and Jack Ryan. They were legends in
their own lifetimes and the legend
hasn't faded in the meantime. Mike
was capped 17 times for Ireland
between 1897 and 1904 and Jack 14 times over the same period. Mike was
chosen in 1905 but refused to play because
Jack wasn't picked. Mike didn't
begin to play rugby until he was 24
years old and brother Jack was already
playing. Both started off as backs but
soon changed to the forwards. Both
played on the Triple Crown team in
1899 when Ireland defeated England,
Scotland and Wales for the first time.
Press accounts of the Triple Crown
matches gave prominence to the contribution
of the Ryans. In every second
line we find the same note. "Mike Ryan
came through on a couple of occasions
in grand style". "The Ryans put in a lot
of work and were assisted by Ahern and
McCoull". "Of the forwards Mike Ryan
and Jack were far and away the best,
the elder brother being always on the
ball". "Mick Ryan's play was brilliant,
especially in the second half, when he
knocked the English backs about like
nine pins. He was simply irresistible and
the soft surface of the field bore a deep impression of many a Saxon's form that Mick laid low".
Mike and Jack Ryan (Rockwell's Famous Internationals)
The Scottish Match
Against Scotland the well publicised
incident happened: Mike Ryan slung the
biggest Scottish man, McEwan, into the
spectators. "He was playing a great
game. Now, from our twenty-five he
meant to get through, I saw him
coming, teeth bared, jaw set, determination
written all over him. Five yards
from me he hurled himself for me. I
got one arm well round him, swung
around with him and let go; he sailed
out into the crowd. There was a great
hush for a moment in which you would
have heard a pin drop. It was looked on
as a prodigious feat of strength, but it
was his own size and speed that helped
me. He resumed the game nothing the
worse".
Only five players played in all three matches - Louis Magee, James Sealy, Billy Byron, and the two Ryans. "Jack and I returned home. At the Racecourse Cross we were held up by all Rockwell. To a man they had turned out to welcome us. They took the horse from between the shafts and insisted on pulling us all the way to the college we loved, though our hands ached from all the fierce handclasps we received."
Jakes McCarthy, an outstanding
sportswriter of the time, once described
a famous try by Mike Ryan with the
memorable phrase "crossing the line,
his frame festooned by Saxons". The
Ryans dined in Rockwell twice a week
and played rugby with the boys. They
were known for their gentleness and
never hurt a student. Mike was particularly
popular and Jack was the orator.
Jack is remembered starting a speech in
his good Tipperary accent: "There are
moments in life . .." and the crowd
applauding so much that he had to
begin three times. Mike played for Bective
at the time because a player could play for two teams in different provinces.
Bective was one of a small number of Catholic clubs.
Last Game
Mike played his l3st game of rugby
1912 for a wager. He hadn't played for
years: "Mr. O'Flaherty, Science Professor
in Rockwell, laid me a wager that
if I played in Rockwell I would not
score. I took him on. Rockwell boys
on the touchline made almost as much
noise as all the spectators at an International.
I had put on a good deal of
avoirdupois and did not feel quite up to
International form. I am afraid that the
winning of the wager did not seem a
possibility. However I kept going.
About five minutes from the end my
chance came. One of our centres cut
through nicely. I think he could have
got over on his own, but he elected to
send to me. I took the pass somehow
and attained the line. It was the most
memorable and, I think, the most
applauded score of my life, but nothing
would induce me to accept another
wager".
Withdrawl
The Ryans were the backbone of the
Rockwell team. In the Munster Cup
in 1898 Rockwell and Garryowen once
more came together in the semi-final.
Rockwell had a very fine team but they
only succeeded in drawing and consequent
on the dissatisfaction felt at the
decision of the Cup Committee regarding
the replay, Dr. Crehan, President of
Rockwell, withdrew his team. It was an
unfortunate debacle because Rockwell
ought to have won the cup. In the following
year they did beat Garryowen
only to be defeated by D.C.C. Rockwell
reached the final in 1901 but were
beaten by Garryowen. Rockwell were
regarded as the best team in 1902 but
were beaten by Garryowen in a replay
of the second round.
De Valera
One of the players on the 1904 team was Eamon de Valera, who spent the year 1904-05 as a teacher of mathematics at the college. He was known as "the lanky Spaniard" and was paid £25 for his year's work. He lived in the college. "With Jack Barrott he helped to form a three-quarter combination which helped Rockwell to the final of the Munster cup and earned for him a place in a Munster trial for the inter-provincial team. It is possible that he came closer to an Irish cap than was realised at the time. Ireland was looking for a full-back and de Valera was tried out of his usual place in that position. His opposite number later played full-back for Ireland for many years. But de Valera's great chance eluded him. A high kick came his way with the field spreadeagled. If he could have caught it he would almost certainly have scored a spectacular try. But it bounced off his chest and the opportunity did not return." Looking back later he realised that this was the first indication of defective eyesight. So after this he found difficulty reading and took to glasses, which he always wore subsequently.
A Walkover
In 1907 Rockwell got a walkover from Cork Constitution as a result of
a row about a venue but were beaten
by Garryowen in the final. The 1910
competition opened with two very
hot and exciting struggles between
Rockwell and Garryowen. The reply of
the first round took place in Clonmel.
Four hundred and seventy Garryowen
supporters travelled by special train to
the match. Rockwell crossed the line
once in the game. "Towards the close
of the match, when Garryowen were
unable to equalise and the match was
lost, their supporters became aggressive
in the epithets they started hurling at
the referee . When the final whistle
sounded a very unseemly scene took
place. The referee was instantly surrounded
by a number of persons who
adopted a very menacing attitude towards
Mr. O'Regan". He was saved by
the intervention of some prominent
persons. Later years and equal efforts
failed to bring success to Rockwell.
After a lapse of twelve years when the team took part again in 1928 and for a few subsequent years after that victory continued to elude them. However, any history of the game in Munster must remember the name of Rockwell and the great brothers who made the name famous. Fr. Dan Murphy, at 91 , still alive with memories from those pre-war days sums it all up when he says: "Rugby filled our lives; rugby players were our heroes".
Tipperary Association Yearbook 1981/82, pp 37-39