Old Belvedere Rugby Football Club

I am proud to serve as President of Old Belvedere RFC for the 2022/23 season and I would like to extend a warm welcome to all players, officials and supporters visiting Ollie Campbell Park throughout the season.

Belvo is a big and diverse club. We provide playing opportunities for approximately 750 players on a weekly basis. We have four men’s teams, two women’s teams and two U20s teams. We also have vibrant mini rugby and youths’ sections for both boys and girls.

Our senior men’s team play in Division 1B of the AIL. Head coach Ben Manion, his coaching team along our men’s club captain James Bollard, and team managers Gerry Cruise and Barry O’ Carroll are leading our quest for promotion to Division 1A.

Our senior women’s team play in Division 1 of the AIL with leadership from Jonathan Garth, Ailis Mardon-Egan, Tania Rosser, Cathy Murphy and our women’s club captain Jenny Murphy and vice-captain Lesley Ring. We are one of only two clubs in Ireland with a Senior Men’s and Women’s Team in Division 1.

This year, our U20s squad is under the expert direction of head Coach Kieran Hurrell, manager Paul Dowling and chair of U20s rugby Declan O’Dowda. Paul Taaffe continues as Head Coach and chair of Junior Rugby.

The scale of our minis section is something to behold each Sunday morning. From minis to youths where Steve O’Leary is chair and Ariel Robles is our club community rugby officer with a brief to further develop our youth’s section and provide a pathway for mini rugby players outside of the traditional schools’ system.

At Old Belvedere, we are all about “Development”. All the coaches and managers involved across the club as well as our doctors, physiotherapists and administrators are focused on player development including style of rugby, skills, fitness, nutrition and most importantly their confidence, their belief in each other and their belief in the ethos of our club. This is led from the front by our full time Director of Rugby, Quenton O’Neale.

Behind the scenes, our officer team is packed with talent and commitment including our Chairman, James McCarthy, our Honorary Secretary, Paul Nugent and our Honorary Treasurer, John Murphy. We are ably supported by senior Vice President Alan Wallace and junior Vice President Paul Dowling.

We continue to contribute to the wider rugby community with Tony O’Beirne on the IRFU committee, Sharon Barrett at Leinster and Yvonne Nolan at World Rugby.

None of our club’s activities would be possible without the dedication and commitment of our staff and volunteers without whose input, the club would not function. The young lads in our “Men’s Shed” are inspirational. We are grateful for their efforts.

We are committed to delivering the ethos, facilities and investment required to ensure that our players, our members, and our visitors enjoy their time in Ollie Campbell Park.

Finally, no different to other clubs, we depend hugely on the generosity of our sponsors and the continuity of our business partners and companies that trust us with their brands. A special thank you for your valued contribution to Old Belvedere.

Non nobis solum nati sumus

(Not for ourselves alone are we born - Cicero)

Frank Quinn

President

OBRFC 2022- 2023