Ciarán Gaffney
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Ciarán Gaffney
Ciaran Gaffney (born 6 May 1995) is a former rugby union player from Ireland. He played as a fullback or on the wing, and also played at centre in his youth career. Gaffney last played for Italian side Zebre in the Pro14, having come through the academy of Irish side Connacht. Born in Dublin, Gaffney was educated in the Bish in Galway and the Cistercian College in Roscrea and also studied at NUI Galway. He represented Ireland in under-age rugby, playing up to under-20 level. A serious back and neck injury sustained while playing for Zebre against his old side Connacht at the Galway Sportsgrounds ended his playing career at the age of 23. Early life Gaffney was born in Dublin, and grew up in Galway. He went to school in the St Joseph's Patrician College (commonly called "the Bish") in the city for his Junior Certificate, and moved to the Cistercian College in Roscrea for his fifth and sixth year. Gaffney returned to his home city for his third level education, studying comm ...
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Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, part of the Wicklow Mountains range. Dublin is the largest city by population on the island of Ireland; at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the city council area had a population of 592,713, while the city including suburbs had a population of 1,263,219, County Dublin had a population of 1,501,500. Various definitions of a metropolitan Greater Dublin Area exist. A settlement was established in the area by the Gaels during or before the 7th century, followed by the Vikings. As the Kingdom of Dublin grew, it became Ireland's principal settlement by the 12th century Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest in the British Empire and sixth largest in Western Europ ...
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Galway Sportsgrounds
Dexcom Stadium (formerly The Sportsground) is the home of Connacht Rugby. It opened in 1927 and has been used to host Connacht Rugby matches since. Dexcom Stadium is able to hold up to 8,129 people without temporary seating. When greyhound racing takes place at the stadium and adjoining premises, they trade as the Galway Greyhound Stadium. History 20th Century In 1928, the Sports Ground or the Sports Field as it was also known opened. The first rugby team to use the ground was Galwegians RFC who used the ground after moving from the Grammar School grounds. In the 1930s, it hosted the varsity matches and Connacht Senior Cup matches for the University of Galway. Renovations (2011–2016) Up until 2011, the regular capacity of The Sportsground was 5,500. The stadium was modified and extended in 2011, and again in 2016, instigated by the success of Connacht Rugby. The facilities include the: * Main Stand – which has enclosed corporate facilities and covered terrace unde ...
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Irish Examiner
The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Republic of Ireland, Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork (city), Cork, though it is available throughout the country. History 19th and early 20th centuries The paper was founded by John Maguire (MP), John Francis Maguire under the title ''The Cork Examiner'' in 1841 in support of the Catholic Emancipation and tenant rights work of Daniel O'Connell. Historical copies of ''The Cork Examiner'', dating back to 1841, are available to search and view in digitised form at the Irish Newspaper Archives website and British Newspaper Archive. During the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War, the ''Cork Examiner'' (along with other nationalist newspapers) was subject to censorship and suppression. At the time of the Spanish Civil War, the ''Cork Examiner'' reportedly took a strongly pro-Francisco Franco, Franco tone in its ...
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Nigel Carolan
Nigel Carolan (born 27 December 1974) is a rugby union coach from Ireland. He is currently the Assistant coach to Scottish United Rugby Championship side Glasgow Warriors. He was previously a Backs coach at Connacht. Before becoming a coach Carolan represented Connacht as a player, but was forced to retire due to injury in 2000. Early life Carolan is a native of Galway and was a student in St. Joseph's Patrician College in the city. After finishing school, he attended Galway-Mayo IT studying marketing. He later studied systems analysis at NUI Galway. Playing career Carolan played primarily as a wing, but was also used at centre during his career. He represented both Galway Corinthians and Galwegians at amateur level. In 1996, at the outset of the professional era Carolan was a part of Warren Gatland's Connacht side. He played for the side in the Interprovincial Championship and the European Challenge Cup until 2000, when a neck injury forced him to retire at the age of 26. ...
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Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of the four primary branches of the IRFU and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Ulster, comprising Northern Ireland ( Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry and Tyrone) and three counties in the Republic of Ireland which are Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan. Prior to professionalisation, Ulster were a representative amateur team taking part in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship. They have also competed in the now defunct Celtic Cup (2003–05). Their development team, Ulster A, formerly known as the Ulster Rav ...
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Pro12
The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in South Africa, and the BKT United Rugby Championship in the competition's other territories, the split branding mirroring the format previously adopted in Super Rugby. The Championship represents the highest level of domestic club or franchise rugby in each of its constituent countries. The Championship is one of the three major professional leagues in Europe (along with the English Premiership and the French Top 14), the most successful teams from which go forward to compete in the highest-level continental club competitions, the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. Since 2022–23 South African teams have been eligible to qualify for European competitions. Name The tournament has had a number of names as it has grown, bo ...
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Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where adult men's Ireland national rugby union team, Irish rugby union international matches are played. In addition, the Union also owns the Ravenhill Stadium in Belfast, Thomond Park in Limerick and a number of grounds in provincial areas that have been rented to clubs. History Initially, there were two unions: the Irish Football Union, which had jurisdiction over clubs in Leinster, Munster and parts of Ulster and was founded in December 1874, and the Northern Football Union of Ireland, which controlled the Belfast area and was founded in January 1875. The IRFU was formed in 1879 as an amalgamation of these two organisations and branches of the new IRFU were formed in Leinster, Munster and Ulster. The Connacht Branch was formed in 1900. The IR ...
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Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and for the Galway county teams. Galway is one of the few dual counties in Ireland, competing in a similar level in both hurling and football codes. Prior to amalgamation of the hurling and football county boards into one county board, each of the two codes were previously run by their separate boards in Galway, which was unusual for a dual county. The county football team was the first from the province of Connacht to win an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), but the second to appear in the final, following Mayo. It contests the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship via the Connacht Senior Football Championship. It is currently in Division 1 of the National Football League. The county hurling team contests the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship via the Leinster Sen ...
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Gaelic Football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or palming the ball into the other team's Goal (sport), goal (3 points) or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar above the ground (1 point). Players advance the ball up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing, and soloing (dropping the ball and then toe-kicking the ball upward into the hands). In the game, two types of scores are possible: points and goals. A point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. Two points are awarded if the ball is kicked over the crossbar from a 40 metre range marked by a D-shaped arc, signalled by the umpire raising an orange flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball ...
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Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup
The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887. Attendances are high for a schoolboy competition, with up to 25000 present at the final. This match traditionally took place on Saint Patrick's Day at Lansdowne Road. In 2008, the final was played at the Royal Dublin Society Grounds (RDS) after Donnybrook proved to be too small for the 2007 final, (Lansdowne Road was closed for redevelopment) and has been the home since. Since the move to the RDS and live television coverage, the attendance has decreased and is now typically 10,000 to 14,000. Blackrock College are the most successful school in the cup's history, having won 72 times, more than all other teams combined. History Three schools have won the cup at their first attempt; Blackrock College in the competition's maiden year in 1887, Castleknock College who won the ...
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