BUCCANEERS BUSINESS NETWORKING LUNCH
BUCCANEERS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB’S sixth Business Networking Lunch proved the most successful yet for the club with keynote speaker Nigel Owens MBE ensuring a full house at the event from the business, commercial, financial and sporting worlds in Athlone’s Sheraton Hotel.The legendary now retired rugby referee regaled the audience for the best part of an hour, unscripted, with tales of his journey into refereeing at 16, huge matches, intimidating players and stadiums, as well as the challenges of accepting who he was growing up in a tiny village in the Welsh hills. Chance provided opportunities for him which he took.
Welcoming the attendance, club president Lorna Stuart Trainor gave a brief history of rugby in Athlone from Ranelagh School via Shannon Buccaneers to the founding of Athlone RFC in 1951 and eventual evolvement into Buccaneers RFC in its current form. Many notable feats have been achieved over those years with Robbie Henshaw (who contributed a well-received video message to the event), Jack Carty, Jordan Conroy, Anna McGann and Darragh Murray following in the footsteps of Leo Galvin, Ray McLoughlin, Noel Mannion and the Rigney brothers among others.
But the club is so much more than the senior players and Buccs underage section is mushrooming with hundreds of youngsters playing rugby regularly. The club now has a membership of 900 and the wonderful facilities, that were opened in 2003, are the envy of many clubs. Buccaneers RFC is also doing its bit for sustainability with Led floodlighting installed in the recent past and 90+ solar panels now on the roof of The Bounty which will reduce energy costs considerably whilst helping the environment. So lots to be proud of around the club.
Lorna also thanked Garrett McGuinness and staff at the Sheraton Athlone Hotel for the first-class meal and service and to The Bounty Bar & Venue who sponsored the wine. Buccaneers also gratefully acknowledge all who supported the club through their attendance and patronage and she noted the efforts and enterprise of the event’s organisers, Eamonn Fagan, Ronan Bushell, Michael Kiely, Stella Devine, Padraig Giles, Liam Rattigan, Patrick O’Meara and Geraldine Kenny on producing another interesting and smartly-run occasion. Thanks too to MC James Heaslip (the Galwegians man enjoyed having a room full of Buccaneers under his control!) and to Tom O’Neill and Michael Silke on their work producing the loop on the big screens.
The audience prize for a pair of coveted tickets to Ireland’s Six Nations match against France plus two nights B&B with dinner one night at Dublin’s Hyatt Centric Hotel was won by Tom Meagher. Tom very generously donated this super prize back into the draw and Justin Lennon then became the lucky recipient! Tom McDonagh won second prize, a gift voucher sponsored by Elverys Sports.
