History
The club traces its name to Shannon Buccaneers, a Leinster club founded in the early 1930s by Athlone native Diarmuid Murtagh. Shannon Buccaneers fielded high-profile players including 1938 British and Irish Lions captain Sammy Walker, and the club won the Leinster Towns Cup on two occasions before folding during the Second World War. [2] [3]
Rugby in the town was revived with the formation of Athlone Rugby Football Club in October 1951. According to club history, Athlone RFC was established following a meeting chaired by Dr Jim Keane in the Crescent Ballroom (attended by 37 people), with Keane as the club’s first president and Michael O’Meara as captain. [3] [2] Athlone RFC initially played on a number of pitches before acquiring its own grounds on the Ballymahon Road at Cornamagh, where a clubhouse opened in 1965; in the mid-1970s the ground was renamed Keane Park in honour of Dr Keane. [3] The club later moved to its current site in the mid-1980s, with facilities developed over time, including covered terracing erected in 1996. [3]
Athlone RFC won its first Connacht Senior Cup in 1955 and first Connacht Senior League title the following season, and continued to compete at senior and junior level within the Connacht branch. [3] Club records also note that Athlone played in Division 2 of the inaugural All-Ireland League, with Tommy Conlon scoring one of the first tries in the competition’s opening round. [3]
In 1993–94, Athlone RFC and Ballinasloe RFC amalgamated to compete in Division Three of the All-Ireland League, initially as Athlone/Ballinasloe RFC. The arrangement was formalised the following season and the name Buccaneers R.F.C. was adopted. [3] [2] Buccaneers won the Division Three title in 1995–96, and in 1997–98 they were coached by Eddie O’Sullivan; after a two-legged play-off against Dungannon, Buccaneers secured promotion to Division One. [3] [4] The club remained a fixture in the national league system thereafter, with periods in multiple divisions. [3]
The two-town amalgamation ended after the 2005–06 season when Ballinasloe withdrew and returned to competition in the Connacht junior ranks. [5] [3] [2] From 2006–07, all club teams were based in Athlone and the underage section adopted the Buccaneers name. [3]
In 2003, the club’s ground was renamed Dubarry Park following a sponsorship agreement with Dubarry of Ireland; club records state the redeveloped clubhouse and ancillary facilities were officially opened by then IRFU president Don Crowley. [3] Dubarry Park went on to host international underage rugby, including Ireland Under-20 Six Nations fixtures (with the IRFU noting multiple visiting nations playing in Athlone as part of the tournament schedule). [6]
On the field, Buccaneers secured promotion from Division Two in 2007–08, with IRFU coverage describing them as one of the promoted clubs at the conclusion of the regular season. [7] [3] The club later won Division 1B in 2016–17 to earn promotion to the top flight (Division 1A). [8] [9]
The club has also maintained an extensive underage structure. Club records state Buccaneers participated in the inaugural IRFU All-Ireland Under-20 league (1999–2000), won the All-Ireland Under-19 Cup in 2011, and expanded provision to include a women’s team from 2011–12 and girls’ rugby from 2014–15. [3]
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