Rugby nursery returns to early ways

Gaelic Games: The recent determined embrace of Gaelic football by one of rugby's great nurseries is far from unprecedented and can produce benefits for both codes, reports Gavin Cummiskey

What's the link between Michael Cusack and the front parlour of Blackrock College? Well, that's where the founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association conducted many a meeting, which contributed to the organisation's founding at Hayes's Hotel, Thurles, in November 1884.

Gaelic Games flourished in Blackrock for a long time thereafter. Between 1912 and 1923 the school's main sporting endeavour was hurling. So much so - rugby diehards please avert your eyes - that the sacred Junior Cup team was disbanded from 1914 to 1921.

The pinnacle of hurling success came in 1935 with the Leinster Senior Colleges title. But with this success came the attention of the ultra-traditionalists. The ban on those playing "foreign" sports was strongly enforced back then. Instead of going from strength to strength, Blackrock's relationship with the GAA fragmented. The strong bond with rugby attracted opposition to the school's participation in hurling.

For decades, students have had to be satisfied with an end-of-term blitz to whet their GAA appetites, but now, after more than two generations, Gaelic football has returned in earnest with an under-16 team entered in the Dublin Colleges League.

Cusack was not the last teacher in the rugby-dominated environs to have a close relationship with the GAA. The current gamesmaster, Fr Joe Gough, is a native of Gowran - whose most famous son is DJ Carey. When he was first at the school in the late 1960s and early 1970s he played hurling with Kilmacud Crokes. The hurl was only laid aside when the missions intervened.

"When I was a prefect in the 60s we had more Gaelic players in the school than rugby players. This was because the rugby focus centred mainly on the Junior and Senior Cup teams," said Fr Gough.

"There would have been up to 450 boarders back then, plenty of country fellas from big GAA backgrounds. These guys were from Kerry, Donegal and even Kilkenny so the demand to play Gaelic games was as strong as other sports."

So why the sudden return? Principal Alan MacGinty is the driving force. He pointed to important outside influences - including the fact that just last autumn former student Mark Vaughan was a member of the Dublin Minor football side that made it to the All-Ireland final. "I suppose Mark was the catalyst in many ways, but there are many others. His club, Kilmacud Crokes, won both the minor A and B Dublin championships this year and there were nine Rock lads spread across the two teams. I thought we better start to cater for it."

There is little doubt that attitudes towards the GAA have changed in recent years. In Dublin, especially, Gaelic football is thriving. The Croke Park effect has enticed people from other sectors. You do tend to find the Blackrock old boys mostly in the corporate boxes of the new sporting citadel, but they are slowly infiltrating the general populace. Soon they'll be on (the refurbished) Hill 16.

It's a unique period for the school, what with so many students playing football and soccer outside. The Mount Merrion football club supplied the bones of the Blackrock under-18 side that won the All-Ireland soccer title last year - while even Kilmacud Crokes supplied two of them, including Vaughan.

A sociological study on why families are sending their kids to fee-paying schools in recent years may be required to explain the changes, but there is a readymade theory.

Many kids get their first experience of sport in national primary schools and during the summer. Two of the best places to send them are GAA clubs like Kilmacud Crokes and Cuala on Dublin's southside. The set-ups are expertly organised, and while the competition from soccer is there, the mini-rugby attraction is waning.

Due to their proximity, Kilmacud and Blackrock have always had an overlap of players. MacGinty touched base with the school's neighbours via an intermediary, Jim Murphy, a member of the parent's board whose son Neal has played rugby and football for both school and club.

"Crokes has a fantastic set-up," said MacGinty "It is catching kids from all around the area. The GAA has become more fashionable. Also it's complementary to rugby, it's not going to replace it."

Maurice Leahy, a Kilmacud player and coach, was drafted in to train the Blackrock under-16s, while teacher Tom Ryan is the manager. The club provide the home pitch - the rugby parameters just would not suffice.

It is not just a passing phase, more an awakening from a long hibernation. Gaelic Games are part of the school's proud history. Yet rugby is still sacrosanct.

"It collates itself with rugby, that's part of the reason behind the move," said Fr Gough. "In future years we may introduce an under-18s side. This is how soccer started in the school. A group of players who actively played outside of the school formed a team and now we are the All-Ireland champions.

"Transition year is a time when we can do a number of things. We felt we weren't doing enough for our Gaelic Games. The boys seem to be enjoying it, so we'll take it from here."

The first season has ended. On reflection it will be seen as a success. Under the captaincy of Cian O'Sullivan, Blackrock beat neighbouring colleges Benildus and Oaklands in early challenge matches. In their historic first league match, they lost to Coláiste Eoin by a single point. A further defeat to Old Bawn CS ensured there would be no progress to the latter stages. Pride was restored, however, with wins over Coláiste Éanna and Clonkeen.

Cuala and Crokes supplied plenty of able bodies, but there were several who picked up the game from scratch. These are mostly rugby players just out of the Junior ranks, not yet ready for the step-up to Senior. A year of ball skills can do no harm.

"They were very raw when I got them," said coach Leahy. "Apart from the six or seven club players, it was mostly rugby players. Natural athletes, who are big, strong and not afraid to go for the ball. But the thing that really struck me was the team spirit."

Although the boarding school has shrunk significantly, the rural influence is still there in the shape of Wicklow natives Daniel Dowling and Brian Cawley.

The GAA has also taken note. John Costello, Chief Executive of the Dublin County Board, expressed the hope the move would enable the multi-talented to play both games. "The number of rugby schools playing Gaelic football is on the increase. Let's hope that this is a sign that some of these schools will be less restrictive in their scheduling of rugby training and games when it concerns young players who are attempting to play club football and hurling."

New bonds are being formed. In the bad old days, you could always spot the GAA men at local soccer matches, their caps pulled down to their chins to avoid recognition. Since the ban's abolishment in the 1970s, Gaelic footballers and hurlers have been generally free to play other codes with impunity.And as calls for Croke Park to open its doors grow louder, Blackrock is a prime example of how any lingering barriers can be broken down.

Some things never change, but some do.