Strabane Rugby Club celebrates centenary

STRABANE Rugby Club, a mainstay of local sporting life for 100 years, is, this year, celebrating its centenary in style, beginning with a champagne reception tonight (Thursday) in the Alley Theatre.

The event, which will see club members past and present attend a fun-filled evening packed with memories and memorabilia, will also be attended by the Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Sinn Fein’s Sandra Duffy.

As current club president Robert Dillon explained, “The night will see a collection of memorabilia – shirts, programmes, old photographs and much more – on display from our inception a century ago. Even if you’re not interested in rugby, this is certainly something that will be of interest from an historical point of view. I know that members of the Strabane Historical Society have expressed an interest in attending. The second part of the evening will have George Snodgrass, Winston Patterson and myself in conversation, reminiscing about old times with anecdotes of our time playing with the club.

“Everyone involved with Strabane Rugby Club is looking forward to it immensely. We’ve always spanned a broad spectrum of people within Strabane district and I would doubt that there’s anyone who doesn’t have some sort of connection to us.

“As club president, it’s an absolute honour to be at the helm for our centenary. I’ve followed great men and players after playing for 27 years and now as a coach and president. Here’s to another hundred years of this great club.”

The champagne reception planned for tonight is only the beginning and a raft of events are planned for throughout the year to mark the centenary, including fun days, charity walks and culminating in a gala ball at the end of the year.

The club has already tasted success this early in 2023, with the U-14s having won their league just last week, and are also in the hunt for further silverware against Belfast club, Malone, in the coming weeks.

The reception will take place tonight from 7.30pm at the Alley Theatre with all members past and present – and any members of the public wishing to attend – welcome for what promises to be a great night.