"we are very proud of the effort and resolve that all our squad, of 40+ players, have put in this Season and of everything they have achieved over the last 3 years"

- Daniel Walsh Head Coach Athy U9s

Our club is growing with an ambitious future with teams starting from the Cubs (U6) all the way through to our Senior Men and Women's Teams. We are based at the Showground in Athy, Co. Kildare and on an average weekend, we could have several hundred mini's and youth's players pulling on the Jersey to represent the club. The Clubs success has always been built on the strong foundations set with our Mini's and Youth's teams and the commitment and dedication of the volunteers and coaches who keep the heart of the club beating.

We have also had the honour in recent years of having 2 former players, who have come through the ranks from Mini's rugby onwards, being capped for Ireland, in Joey Carbery (37 Irish caps, including the first famous victory against the All Black's) and Jeremy Loughman (5 Irish caps).

Athy's Rugby history also has a distinct link with London Irish Amateur RFC, with the incoming London Irish Amateur RFC President, Chris Kane, having played Flanker for Athy RFC along with our current club President, David Hendy, whilst in his prime, in the mid to late 1980's! We certainly hope it's not the last time we see Chris in our club colours!

This will be the first year, Athy RFC have taken part in the London Irish Amateur Mini's Festival and we are honoured to be bringing 14 of our U9's players over to represent the Irish at the Festival, which celebrates 125 years of London Irish Heritage, and perhaps we can restore the pride in the Irish Jersey after the English spoiled our Grand Slam hopes earlier this year.

Regardless, we are very proud of the effort and resolve that all our squad, of 40+ players, have put in this Season and of everything they have achieved over the last 3 years to get to this point. Their progress and development is testament to the energy and enthusiasm they all bring, week in and week out, and we are sure that the 14 players who are travelling to London will give it their all when they face their opponents on the 28th April in Hazelwood.

We hope that this may be the beginning of a deeping of the relationship between our respective clubs, given our long (and shared) history and over the coming years, the expectation is that further teams will have the opportunity to travel to London and take part in this wonderful event and build lasting memories for the children (and parents) and a develop further their love for the sport.

Perhaps at some stage in the future, we can return the favour and give some of the teams we meet and play against this weekend a "Céad Míle Fáilte" to the Showground!