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The Branch Committee was also delighted to recognise
the following appointments:
Stephen Hilditch
President of the IRFU
Ian McIlrath
Junior Vice President of the IRFU and Chairman of
the IRFU Rugby Committee
Alan McGonigle
Ireland U19 Team Manager
John McKinney
Ireland Schools Team Manager
David Dobbin
Vice Chairman IRFU Oversight Board
for the 2023 RWC Bid.
THANKS
First of all I wish to thank all of those volunteers
and members of staff who have provided so much
information for inclusion in this Ulster Branch Annual
Report. Some of it even arrived on time. One of
my main tasks has been to collate their work into a
consolidated report as much, indeed most, of the
material contained in this report is the work of others
including Bryn Cunningham, Richard Clingan, Barney
McGonigle, Greg Irwin, Stephen Crooke,Chris Webster,
Barry Willis, Jamie Turkington, Chris Shields, David
Johnston, Neal Johnston, Fiona Hampton, Gareth
Adams, Colin Hunter and Towy Neale. With so many
contributors, it was inevitable that some items and
issues have been addressed more than once. However,
of greater concern than duplication, is omission.
Hopefully, this report is comprehensive, but if anything
of importance has been left out, the responsibility is
mine.
We are all aware of the fantastic contribution made
to rugby in Ulster by a host of volunteers, both at
Club and at Branch level. On behalf of the Ulster
Branch I have great pleasure in thanking all of those
volunteers, including our Club and School players and
administrators, for their commitment to our great sport.
During this, my first season as Branch Honorary
Secretary, I have, for a variety of reasons, worked with
some members of staff for the first time. In thanking
our CEO Shane Logan for his efforts, I can assure him
that from my experience I have found his staff to be
extremely knowledgeable and utterly committed to the
cause of Ulster Rugby and would thank them also. This,
of course, includes the members of staff I had worked
with prior to taking up my new appointment.
Our President John McKibbin, often with the assistance
of his wife Moira, has represented the Branch with
distinction this season. I doubt if even he knows how
much time he has spent on rugby business, and he is
deserving of our thanks.
David Dobbin is stepping down after an extended spell
of seven years as Chair of the Management Committee.
Much has been achieved during his time in post,
including most notably, the incredible redevelopment
of Ravenhill into the Kingspan Stadium. While the
Professional Game understandably merited a lot of
his attention, he also took a great interest in Domestic
Rugby. As mentioned earlier in this report, the IRFU
has funded a full time Club Services Officer, as a direct
result of last season’s successful Club Development
Pilot. This pilot scheme, which was David’s brainchild,
is just one example of the many positives he has
brought to Ulster. While we are losing David from
committee, he remains very much involved in rugby by
way of his position as Vice Chair of the IRFU Oversight
Board for the 2023 RWC Bid. We thank David for his
expertise and commitment to the Ulster Branch and
hope to see him back at the Kingspan Stadium in the
near future.
Billy Lavery, a former President of both the Ulster
Branch and the I.R.F.U., decided to resign from his
positions as Trustee of both organisations. Billy has
put in an inordinate amount of work over the years, for
which we offer our appreciation. Of course, as a Past
President of the Ulster Branch, we will hopefully still see
him at future Branch Committee meetings.
The other Officers of the Branch and the Chairmen of
Committees also devote many hours to their various
functions. We thank them all, as well as the members of
their committees and working parties.
Our representatives on the IRFU Committee, Gerry
Drennan, John Robinson, John McKibbin and Gordon
Hamilton, prior to his resignation, are to be thanked
for their efforts. Their time commitment in travel time
alone is very demanding, apart from the work they do in
Committee.
It is a simple fact that without referees, there would
be no matches. The Ulster Branch is grateful to the
U.S.R.F.R. whose members travel the length and
breadth of Ulster to ensure that games are played. It is
disappointing to note that referee abuse, not only from
players, but also from spectators, is still in evidence. As
identified earlier in this report, the longest suspension
handed out this season by the Disciplinary Committee
was twenty six weeks, and that was for referee abuse.
The Branch will continue to support our referees and
come down hard on future offenders.
On a personal note, being new to the job, I have leaned
heavily on a number of people during the season. I
would therefore like to thank Robin Cole, Hugh Logan,
Billy Lavery, Stephen Crooke and Stephen Elliott, all of
whom have been more than helpful with their advice
and guidance. President John McKibbin, having been
elected as one of our Branch representatives to the
I.R.F.U., was all set for a third successive season of
double-jobbing. However, he ended up triple-jobbing,
having, by default, taken on the unofficial position of
assistant secretary, which probably took up more of
his time than that his two official positions combined.
My special thanks go to John for all of his assistance
throughout the season.
Finally, I am grateful to Lesley McGaughey for her
experience, guidance, assistance and perseverance in
the compilation of this report.
I am pleased to present to you the Annual Report of the
Ulster Branch for 2016/17 and commend it to you for
your acceptance.
Denis Gardiner
Honorary Secretary
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