Congratulations to Helen O’Reilly who has been selected as an assistant referee for this year’s Womens Rugby World Cup to be held in Ireland.
We also extend our congratulations to former Leinster referee Sean Gallagher and to Munsters Joy Neville who have been selected on the referee panel for the same tournament.
This article appeared in the Scarlets PRO 12 Match Day Program
It is our busiest time of year with schools cup, towns cup and leagues coming to an end. The Leinster Schools Senior cup, sponsored by our own sponsors Bank of Ireland, moved into the quarter final stages last week and there were a number of great games. The appointments were as follows:
Gonzaga v Roscrea – Brendan Cutriss
Clongowes v St Mary’s College – Cillian Hogan
Blackrock College v Terenure College – Brian McNiece
Belvedere v St Michaels – Helen O’Reilly.
Well done to all referees on great performances. The cup now moves into the semi-final phase. After defeating Roscrea in an 11-try thriller to qualify for their first ever Senior Cup semi-final, Gonzaga were the first team out of the hat. They were drawn against Blackrock College, the school with more Senior Cup titles to their name than any other. This meant the two teams left were the holders, Belvedere College, and 2014 finalists, Clongowes Wood College.
Left to Right: No 5 Ross Hannan TJ Simon Owens President David MacDonald Referee Brian MacNeice Sub Referee Brendan Cuttriss No 4 Susan Carthy JVP Bryan O Neill
The man with the famed moustache, Norman Carter, Roscrea RFC refereed his last on field game on Sunday. Well done Norman and thank you for your many years of service both on and off the field. 
What: AGM Notification
When: Thursday 27th April 2017
Where: Old Wesley RFC, Donnybrook, Dublin 4.
Please be advised that the Annual General Meeting of the ARLB will be held at Old Wesley RFC by kind permission at 7:30 pm, on Thursday the 27th April, 2017.
Any Nominations for Membership of the Executive Committee, must be submitted to the Honorary Secretary on the relevant form within fourteen days of the date of issue of this notice. Forms are in your inbox.
Please help our refereeing colleague Damian Poder in his brave fight against cancer. Damian was diagnosed with bladder cancer in October 2016. He underwent an 11 week period in hospital where he had a kidney, his bladder and prostate removed. After this surgery another tumour was discovered in his bowel. He is currently at home and under the care of the community care team in Blackrock hospice. Damain will hopefully be taking part in an immunotherapy clinical trial due to start in early May.
Support at: https://www.gofundme.com/dpff17
JCT Bank of Ireland Cup Final Replay – Team of 5:
Referee: Brian MacNeice
TJ1:Brendan Cuttriss
TJ2: Simon Owens
4th Official: Susan Carty
5th Official: Ross Hanan
Senior Challenge Cup Final Team
L to R: Barry Armstrong, David MacDonald (President ARLB), Paul Haycock, Barry O’Keeffe, David Williams, Jonathon Geoghegan.
As you know, we regard our Annual Dinner as one of the main highlights of our year. It is a celebration of the 2016/17 season that, so far at least, has been highly successful for the ARLB. That success is entirely due to your efforts, both on and off the pitch. The Dinner is also where we get to meet up with the other members of OUR club and renew friendships that are otherwise not easy to maintain. We will also honour 3 deserving members of our Association with Awards.
This year, the Dinner is taking place on Saturday April 1st, in Lansdowne FC, just a few hours after we watch Leinster play Wasps in the Quarter Final of the ERCC. Amongst others, we will be joined by the President of the IRFU, former International Referee Stephen Hilditch, who is also an excellent speaker. “Legendary” rugby player Ross O’Carroll Kelly will reply to the toast on behalf of the guests, which should be interesting!
Referee: Paul Haycock
Sub Referee: Barry O’Keeffe
Touch Judge: David Williams
No.4 : Barry Armstrong
No.5: Jonathon Geoghegan
TMO: John Carvill