Connemara RFC is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

team based in Clifden,

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

. They play in Connacht Junior League in Division 1A. The club colour is all black, based on the colours of a popular fishing fly called the Connemara black. The club formerly played senior rugby for over a decade.

History

The Old Connemara Blacks Rugby football was played in the

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

area as early as the 1920s. Those employed in the Marconi Station played the game of rugby and took on Clifden in some friendly games. In the 1940s, Colleges such as Blackrock and Castleknock as well as Clongowes had a fair representation of Connemara youth. St. Josephs College, Garbally Park, Ballinasloe also had a very strong Clifden/Connemara contingent of students. All of those colleges at that time provided a pool of eager but idle rugby players, itching for a game, especially throughout the school holidays. This in turn brought about the formation of a new rugby team called the "Connemara Blacks", named after the famous fishing fly. Those credited with the idea of this team formation are James B. Joyce (known in rugby circles as "Dusty Foot") and the Oughterard Brothers Jim Joyce and Dr. Paddy Joyce. They contacted players and arranged fixtures with Galway Corinthians and Westport. The inaugural fixture was against Corinthians, at Woods’ Field in Clifden on St. Stephen’s Day 1946 which resulted in a 6-6 draw. The Connemara Blacks had their first win when they defeated Westport by 11-8 on 6 January 1947. Various members of the original Connemara Blacks went on to represent their Province, and play for some top clubs in the country and in England, especially

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

Origin of the club name

The club is named after a type of fishing fly called the Connemara Black.

Current squad

Noticeable Ex Players

Tiernan O'Halloran Tiernan O'Halloran (Irish name: ''Tiernan Ó hAllaráin''; born 26 February 1991) is a professional rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a fullback or on the wing. O'Halloran currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht i ...

Troy Nathan Troy Nathan (born 9 October 1983) is a professional New Zealand-born rugby union player. Coming through Kelston Boys High School 1996-2001 representing New Zealand age grade at Rugby, Touch Football and Softball. In 2001 at the age of 17 year ...

* John O'Brien (Galway GAA Football) * Oisin Heffernan (Nottingham R.F.C)

References

Connemara RFC

Connemara RFC FB

Connacht Junior Rugby Connemara Club Page
Rugby union teams in Ireland Rugby union clubs in County Galway Rugby clubs established in 1946 {{Ireland-rugbyunion-team-stub