Montreal Irish Rugby Football Club
Encyclopedia
Montreal Irish Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada.
had gained a valuable new patron. But the club did not take long to show that it was able to more than hold its own in Quebec Rugby, finishing respectably the first season and winning the league in its second and third seasons, 1958 and 1959.
To date, 1969 was undoubtedly the most successful year in the club’s history. Not only did they open a club house and grounds at Ste-Julie but they also won both the Senior Cup and the League and supplied six of the seven backs to the Quebec Provincial team.
- and over the years the club has been proud to have had five of their members play for Canada.
In spite of fielding some very good first fifteens during the seventies, the Cup and League eluded the club and they had to be content with frequent enjoyable and successful tours: Bermuda
in 1970 and 1975, Bahamas in 1974, Jamaica
in 1976 and Ireland
in 1977 to celebrate their twentieth anniversary.
The second team has always been successful winning either the Intermediate Cup or league a conservatively estimated dozen times. The club feels that this has been because the Montreal-Irish has always been an enjoyable club to belong to, whether as a star, a rookie or a has-been. This is probably why the fourths of the late seventies evolved into the Old Boys team of the eighties, welcoming into their midst many veterans of other Montreal and outside-Montreal clubs and leading to the club being joined in the London Golden Oldies tournament by members and friends from across Canada (and probably in London by a few returned exiles).
The club is very proud of their grounds in Ste-Julie, complete with clubhouse expanded in 1984. The number of top class club teams who have visited Ste-Julie is much too great to list here and their annual international tournament held the first weekend in September invariably features excellent Rugby from North American and overseas teams. Some recent winners have been Nottingham, Old Belvedere, Manchester University and Boston RFC.
It is impossible to select individuals from the host of members who have made the club what it is today. Suffice to say, they have come from all hemispheres and all parts of Canada. It is a far cry from the day at te club's second A.G.M. when it was proposed that the name of the club be changed because it was discriminatory to their lone non-Irish member.
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada.
1950s
When the Montreal Irish played their first game in September, 1957, it was suggested that the Art of Coarse RugbyMichael Green (humorist)
Michael Green is a British journalist and author of humorous books. He is best known for The Art of Coarse Rugby, The Art of Coarse Acting and other books with similar titles.-Career:...
had gained a valuable new patron. But the club did not take long to show that it was able to more than hold its own in Quebec Rugby, finishing respectably the first season and winning the league in its second and third seasons, 1958 and 1959.
1960s
By the early sixties, they were fielding a good second team and were usually in the top two places In both Senior and Intermediate leagues but it was not until 1966 that they finally won the Quebec Senior Cup, followed by the League again the following year.To date, 1969 was undoubtedly the most successful year in the club’s history. Not only did they open a club house and grounds at Ste-Julie but they also won both the Senior Cup and the League and supplied six of the seven backs to the Quebec Provincial team.
1970s
The club continued to grow and prosper in the seventies, fielding as many as four league teams in some seasons and starting a junior program which was highlighted by an under-18 tour to Jamaica in 1981. The juniors have also contributed many players to provincial teams and at least 3 have played on the Junior Canada team. The club has nearly always had strong representation on the Senior Quebec team - now the Quebec CaribouQuebec Caribou
The Quebec Caribou are a rugby union club based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Drawing players from rugby clubs throughout Quebec, the Caribou compete against other provincial teams in the Rugby Canada Super League....
- and over the years the club has been proud to have had five of their members play for Canada.
In spite of fielding some very good first fifteens during the seventies, the Cup and League eluded the club and they had to be content with frequent enjoyable and successful tours: Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
in 1970 and 1975, Bahamas in 1974, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in 1976 and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1977 to celebrate their twentieth anniversary.
1980s
The club celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1982 in even more fitting fashion by winning both the Senior and Intermediate Cups with the players celebrating by visiting the Bahamas the following spring.The second team has always been successful winning either the Intermediate Cup or league a conservatively estimated dozen times. The club feels that this has been because the Montreal-Irish has always been an enjoyable club to belong to, whether as a star, a rookie or a has-been. This is probably why the fourths of the late seventies evolved into the Old Boys team of the eighties, welcoming into their midst many veterans of other Montreal and outside-Montreal clubs and leading to the club being joined in the London Golden Oldies tournament by members and friends from across Canada (and probably in London by a few returned exiles).
The club is very proud of their grounds in Ste-Julie, complete with clubhouse expanded in 1984. The number of top class club teams who have visited Ste-Julie is much too great to list here and their annual international tournament held the first weekend in September invariably features excellent Rugby from North American and overseas teams. Some recent winners have been Nottingham, Old Belvedere, Manchester University and Boston RFC.
It is impossible to select individuals from the host of members who have made the club what it is today. Suffice to say, they have come from all hemispheres and all parts of Canada. It is a far cry from the day at te club's second A.G.M. when it was proposed that the name of the club be changed because it was discriminatory to their lone non-Irish member.