Old Crescent
Encyclopedia
Old Crescent is a senior rugby
club in Limerick
.
Old Crescent grew out of the Crescent College
Munster School's cup
team of 1947. Fr Gerry Guinane, who trained rugby in the College, saw great potential in that winning team and persuaded them to stay and play together. In September 1947 it became a member club of the Munster Branch
of the Irish Rugby Football Union
. In 1952 the club was promoted to senior club membership of the Branch and the ‘Ginner’s’ formidable negotiating skills were more than useful in the process. Father Guinane remained deeply involved with the club until his death.
Membership was initially confined to past pupils of Crescent College SJ, however it has been an 'open club' for many years. Contact is closely maintained with the school and we are always willing to help promote rugby there. Pupils and past pupils are encouraged to play with the club.
Father Guinane’s belief in the original team was justified as in 1950/51 it reached the Munster Junior Cup final losing out to Cork Constitution
five points to three and in 1954/55 again won through to the Munster Senior Cup final losing out in the end to UCC
. Over the years progress on the field was mixed. In 1961/62 under the captaincy of Billy Leahy the club again reached the Munster Senior Cup Final only to lose to Bohemians. In 1976 the club won it’s first senior trophy, the Limerick Charity Cup.
In 1991/92 Old Crescent won the Munster Senior League and went on to defeat the winners of the Leinster, Connacht, and Ulster Senior Leagues, Clontarf, Galwegians, and NIFC respectively. Old Crescent, Clontarf and Galwegians won promotion to the All Ireland League. Malone, CYMS and Sundays Well lost their places. In 1995 / 96 under the captaincy of Diarmuid Reddan and the coaching team of Larry Greene, Jed O'Dwyer and John Hogan, the club won the Division 2 title going undefeated in the league campaign and achieved promotion to Division 1.
The team held their position in Division 1 for 2 years, then regained their place for a season in 1999 / 2000. Since then the team has been a constant challenger for promotion many times coming within a game of this. At junior level, the 3rd XV captained by Mike O'Mara and managed by Eugene O'Riordan captured National honours by winning the Junior 2 Millennium Cup in 2001 / 2002.
Shared (2) 1999 (Sunday's Well) and 2000 (Young Munster)
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
club in Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
.
Old Crescent grew out of the Crescent College
Crescent College
Crescent College Comprehensive SJ is a secondary school located on a section of 40 acres of parkland at Dooradoyle, Limerick, Ireland. The college is one of a number of Jesuit schools in Ireland.- History :...
Munster School's cup
Munster Schools Senior Cup
The Munster Schools Senior Cup or Munster Senior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU. The competition is currently sponsored by Avonmore....
team of 1947. Fr Gerry Guinane, who trained rugby in the College, saw great potential in that winning team and persuaded them to stay and play together. In September 1947 it became a member club of the Munster Branch
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
of the Irish Rugby Football Union
Irish Rugby Football Union
The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...
. In 1952 the club was promoted to senior club membership of the Branch and the ‘Ginner’s’ formidable negotiating skills were more than useful in the process. Father Guinane remained deeply involved with the club until his death.
Membership was initially confined to past pupils of Crescent College SJ, however it has been an 'open club' for many years. Contact is closely maintained with the school and we are always willing to help promote rugby there. Pupils and past pupils are encouraged to play with the club.
Father Guinane’s belief in the original team was justified as in 1950/51 it reached the Munster Junior Cup final losing out to Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution is a club, based in Cork. It was founded by staff of the Cork Constitution. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were looking for activities to pursue on Saturday afternoons. In the summer, cricket was played, while in the winter, rugby was the designated...
five points to three and in 1954/55 again won through to the Munster Senior Cup final losing out in the end to UCC
University College Cork - National University of Ireland, Cork
University College Cork is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland. The university is located in Cork....
. Over the years progress on the field was mixed. In 1961/62 under the captaincy of Billy Leahy the club again reached the Munster Senior Cup Final only to lose to Bohemians. In 1976 the club won it’s first senior trophy, the Limerick Charity Cup.
In 1991/92 Old Crescent won the Munster Senior League and went on to defeat the winners of the Leinster, Connacht, and Ulster Senior Leagues, Clontarf, Galwegians, and NIFC respectively. Old Crescent, Clontarf and Galwegians won promotion to the All Ireland League. Malone, CYMS and Sundays Well lost their places. In 1995 / 96 under the captaincy of Diarmuid Reddan and the coaching team of Larry Greene, Jed O'Dwyer and John Hogan, the club won the Division 2 title going undefeated in the league campaign and achieved promotion to Division 1.
The team held their position in Division 1 for 2 years, then regained their place for a season in 1999 / 2000. Since then the team has been a constant challenger for promotion many times coming within a game of this. At junior level, the 3rd XV captained by Mike O'Mara and managed by Eugene O'Riordan captured National honours by winning the Junior 2 Millennium Cup in 2001 / 2002.
Honours
- Munster Senior League (2) 1992 and 1997
Shared (2) 1999 (Sunday's Well) and 2000 (Young Munster)