Athy Rugby Club Players of the Past including Jack Doyle

Sports clubs in Athy did well in 2022. To the successes of the soccer players of Clonmullin AFC and the underage players of Athy GFC can now be added the recent achievement of the senior rugby players of Athy Rugby Club. Weeks ago the rugby team won the Hosie Cup, last won by the club 36 years ago. Competition wise the Rugby Club has gone through a relatively lean period in recent years. Founded, it is believed in 1880, the club won the Provincial Towns Cup in 1938, 1940, 1978, 1981, 1983 and 1984 and were winners of many other trophies over the years. Winning the Hosie Cup for 2022 was important for the club which had made great strides in recent years by extending the club’s playing facilities and opening rugby playing opportunities for youngsters and females. In the earlier years of the club’s history Athy Rugby Club had several players who won junior provincial caps. So far as I am aware the first Athy players to be honoured in this way were Jerry O’Neill and Robert Anderson in the 1920s and Dan Carbery in the early 1930s. The club’s successes in the 1938 and 1940 Towns Cup saw several club players gain junior provincial caps for the province. These included Norman Plewman, Des McHugh, Laurence Curran and they were followed in later years by many other players, including Cyril Osborne and Jack Ryan. John Minch of Athy, who played for a time with the local club, won five international caps playing for Ireland in 1912, while his brother Sydney was a reserve. Paddy Lawler who won many international caps playing for Ireland, came to Athy after his international playing career ended and played rugby with the Athy club. Another player who won four international caps for Ireland in 1921 was J.J. Bermingham, who following his short international career played for the Athy club. And of course, the present international Joey Carbery lived in Athy for many years and played for the Athy club, as did his Munster teammate Jeremy Loughman. Perhaps one of the more interesting players who played for Athy Rugby Club was Jack Doyle, known to generations of Athy folk as ‘Skurt’ Doyle. Jack as a young man joined the British Army and served in Alexandria, Malta and India. He played Gaelic football with Athy before enlisting and during his army career participated in many sports. He won the British army novice cruiser weight championship and came second in a marathon run over the Egyptian desert. He was also quite a useful cricket player and joined officers in regimental cricket matches. The first World War saw Jack Doyle, his brother Patrick and stepbrother Andrew Reilly serving overseas. The Doyle brothers were captured following the Battle of Mons and spent the rest of the conflict as prisoners of war. Jack on his release returned to his army base in England and during that time he played soccer on an English army team with first division team players Dickie Bond of Bradford City and Steve Bloomer of Derby County. After his discharge from the army in 1919 Jack returned to Athy and resumed his Gaelic football career with Athy GFC. His ability as a Gaelic footballer was recognised and he served as goalkeeper for Kildare senior county team from 1920 to 1922 and last played for Kildare in Croke Park in April 1922. He later took up rugby playing and was a member of the Athy Towns cup finalist losing teams of 1928, 1929 and 1930. Of the 1928 final a local newspaper noted ‘of the forwards the veteran Doyle who could be a father to any of the players, was without doubt the best.’ Jack continued to play rugby with Athy until 1934 when he retired, aged approximately 50 years. After that he continued his involvement with the local rugby club and with the Gaelic football club as a team trainer. The legendary Jack Doyle, better known and remembered as ‘Skurt’ Doyle died on 18th July 1953 aged 69 years. He made a remarkable contribution to Athy’s Rugby Club and the Athy Gaelic Football Club both as a player and as a team trainer. The sporting complex off the Dublin Road which houses Athy Rugby Club, the Gaelic Football Club, Athy’s Soccer Club, the Tennis Club and Badminton Club all on grounds formerly owned by the County Showground Committee is impressive for the extent and range of its facilities. Athy can surely claim to be the sporting capital of County Kildare in terms of its playing grounds and indoor sporting facilities. The town’s successes in the soccer, rugby and Gaelic football during 2022 are a source of great pride for the townspeople of Athy. The lecture series in Athy’s Arts Centre restarts after the Christmas break with an illustrated talk on ‘Athy and the Norman Invasion’ to be delivered by Clem Roche on Tuesday, 31st January at 8pm. Admission free.