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| St Kevin's Old Boys | |
|---|---|
| Name | St Kevin's Old Boys |
| Founded | 1941 |
| Location | Dublin |
| Ground | Malahide Road |
| League | Leinster Branch |
| Capacity | 2,000 |
St Kevin's Old Boys is an amateur rugby club based in Dublin with historic ties to alumni of St Kevin's College, Dublin. The club competes in provincial competitions administered by the Irish Rugby Football Union and fields multiple senior, junior, and youth sides. Over decades the club has produced players and administrators who have connections to institutions such as Leinster Rugby, Ulster Rugby, Munster Rugby, and national structures including Ireland national rugby union team.
The club was established in the early 1940s amid a landscape shaped by organizations like Lansdowne Football Club, Blackrock College RFC, St Mary's College RFC, and Skerries RFC. Early fixtures involved matches against teams such as Dublin University Football Club, Clontarf F.C., Terenure College RFC, and Old Belvedere RFC. Governance interactions included the Leinster Branch and events like the Provincial Towns Cup and Leinster Senior Cup. Through the 1950s and 1960s the club navigated changes influenced by personalities linked to Michael Cusack-era revivalists and administrative figures who later associated with IRFU committees. In later decades the club engaged with tours to regions including Connacht, Munster, and Ulster, and staged friendlies versus touring sides connected to clubs like Harlequins, Wasps RFC, Bath Rugby, and London Irish.
Home matches are played at the Malahide Road ground, developed alongside local authorities and landowners who negotiated leases similar to arrangements seen at Donnybrook Stadium and Carlow RFC facilities. The site includes pitch drainage and maintenance practices comparable to those at Ravenhill and training pitches used by Leinster Rugby academy squads. Support amenities mirror community club standards found at Skerries RFC and Garryowen Football Club with a clubhouse, changing rooms, gym facilities, and spectator stands resembling smaller venues such as Athlone RFC and Tullamore RFC grounds. Investment cycles paralleled funding patterns encountered by clubs after events like Rugby World Cup tournaments and infrastructure grants coordinated with organizations like Sport Ireland.
The club fields senior XVs, reserve sides, minis and youth teams across age grades, engaging in competitions administered by the Leinster Branch and cup formats like the All-Ireland Cup and regional leagues comparable to those contested by Tullamore RFC, Railway Union RFC, Naas RFC, and Shannon RFC. Youth development follows pathways linked to provincial academies such as Leinster Rugby Academy and intersects with secondary schools competitions involving Blackrock College, St Michael's College, Dublin, Belvedere College, and Cistercian College, Roscrea. The club has also hosted sevens tournaments in the mould of events attended by clubs like Skerries RFC and invited sides from England national rugby union team-affiliated clubs and university sides like Trinity College Dublin.
Alumni have progressed into professional ranks and other fields, with connections to provincial teams including Leinster Rugby, Munster Rugby, Ulster Rugby, and high-performance programs linked to Irish Rugby Football Union. Several former players have been associated with international fixtures alongside names from Brian O'Driscoll-era squads, Paul O'Connell, Keith Wood, Ronan O'Gara, Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray, Johnny Sexton, and Rob Kearney via shared competitions. Club figures have moved into coaching roles at clubs like Connacht Rugby and institutions such as UCD RFC, Gonzaga College, St Mary's College RFC, and sports management positions with entities including Sport Ireland and provincial academies. Administrators and volunteers have liaised with organizations such as IRFU Referees Society and local councils paralleling roles taken by personnel at Old Belvedere RFC and Clontarf F.C..
The club maintains community ties through partnerships with schools like St Kevin's College, Dublin, community groups similar to Local Sports Partnerships, and charity initiatives mirrored by efforts from Irish Cancer Society fundraisers and local campaigns supported by clubs such as Garryowen Football Club and Skerries RFC. Social events and volunteer-driven activities resemble those hosted by Lansdowne Football Club and Old Wesley RFC, including coaching clinics that coordinate with provincial development officers from Leinster Rugby and outreach programs with organizations like Sport Ireland and Department of Transport for safe travel initiatives. The club's alumni network interfaces with higher education institutions such as University College Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, and Dublin City University to support player education and dual-career pathways.
Category:Rugby union clubs in Dublin (city)