There has been a change of president in Carlow Rugby Club this week with Tom Crotty taking over from Edel Gibbons.
Speaking to KCLR’s Sunday Scoreline, the new president said that he was honoured to be in the job.
“I was thrilled when I heard the news. I couldn’t believe it at all. It’s a wonderful club and it’s an honour and a privilege to be the president of Carlow Rugby Club,” said Crotty.
Crotty has a number of goals for his presidency and he pinpointed two areas that are top of his list of priorities.
He said: “The number one goal is to get the club back on its feet during Covid, firstly by getting the teams back up and playing and secondly to start recruiting and promoting the clubs to families in the area.”
The new president revealed that there has been a great uptake in the club since rugby returned and is hoping to see a return of big numbers when the new season starts in Septemeber.
“We had great numbers coming back after being off for so long. It’s GAA time and summer camp time at the moment so we’ve let a lot of our players off. Hopefully we’ll have them back in September.”
He also explained why the upcoming ‘Give it a Try’ initiative is crucial in getting more girls involved in rugby.
“The ‘Give it a Try’ initiative is an 8-week program that goes on for an hour every Monday for young women aged 6-12.
“It aims to show these young women what rugby entails and showing them the fundamentals in a non-contact safe environment.”
Crotty went on to highlight a charitable cause for club member Martin Dunphy who suffered a tragic accident in May.
“There are 16 past and present players doing a parachute jump in aid of the Martin Dunphy trust.
“Martin is a member and a player/coach who was in an accident last May and we’re trying to raise funds for his care, so that will be on go fund me if anyone can spare a few pound.”
You can donate to the Martin Dunphy Fundraiser at this link.
