By 
STRABANE Rugby Club’s glittering champagne reception which took place on Thursday has been hailed as ‘a brilliant night’s craic’.
The night, the first in a series of year-long events to celebrate the local sports club’s centenary, saw past and present members, as well as locals interested in getting to know the club’s history, congregate to marvel at memorabilia and listen to anecdotes of ears gone by.
Club president, Robert Dillon, explained, “It was a brilliant night, to be honest; far too good.
“Around 150 people attended, and many arrived in who weren’t even associated with the club after hearing about the event through the Strabane Historical Society.
“Everyone enjoyed hearing the stories and seeing memorabilia from our history.
“We also had people come from Limavady, Enniskillen, and one person travelled from England to be there.
“They tried to get everyone to leave at half 11, but we could have stayed on rightly,” he joked.
“We would like to thank everyone for coming and making the night special; the Alley Theatre for hosting the event; and deputy mayor, Angela Dobbins, for also being in attendance and presenting the club with a beautiful crystal trophy, which will take pride of place in a trophy cabinet which is filling up nicely.”
Thursday night was the first of many events planned for 2023, including a trip to Gortin for club members and their families, and an end-of-year gala, currently planned for December. Next up, however, is a bus trip, which will see 100 people head to the Kingspan Stadium at the weekend to see Ulster take on Sale in the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The club’s Under-12 side will also be taking to the pitch for a mini match at half time to show off their skills.
Robert also reported that the Under-14 side, which took on what he describes as ‘a very large Malone side’ in the hunt for silverware last weekend, unfortunately lost out to the Belfast side, but praised the team saying, ‘we’re going in the right direction all the time’.
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere
SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT EDITION TODAY
and get access to our archive editions dating back to 2007(CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE)