The rugby community, caring and coming together for a great cause
Niall McCool, seriously injured in 1999 aged 21 playing for City of Armagh RFC, was the guest of honour along with his daughter Grace at the IRFU Charitable Trust 2025 Rugby Lunch kindly sponsored by Aon. Just over 300 guests made their way to the InterContinental Hotel in Ballsbridge on a blustery afternoon on Friday 14th November to support those who were desperately unfortunate to suffer a catastrophic injury on a rugby pitch.
Since his injury, Niall spoke passionately about how the Trust, and by extension the Rugby Community, have been a huge support to him and his young family; and in particular regarding their new home: “The Charitable Trust helped me immensely with the new house … more accessibility, such as ramps to the front and back doors, and a whole new front door to widen it for access. The team at the Charitable Trust don’t just do things – they care. They are interested in your life and we have been blessed to have that constant support.”
The support from Aon, who have sponsored the Rugby Lunch for many, many years is greatly appreciated and we were delighted to welcome Peter Brady and Hugh Foley from Aon, as well as their guests, including IRFU Charitable Trust Trustee Billy Dawson, Declan O’Rourke and Stephen McCarthy from Aviva – another great supporter of Irish rugby – to share in the afternoon of fun. Thank you all again for the support.
The support from all the rugby fans in attendance was palpable, as complete silence accompanied the video introduced by the IRFU Charitable Trust Chair, Michael Whelan, featuring our guest of honour Niall, his wife Pamela and their three daughters Erin, Miriam and Grace. Please take the time to listen to their story and watch their video on this page very kindly created by Trust’s Video Partner Get Broadcasting.
Thank you to everyone who attended the Lunch, who kindly donated to our Live Auction, Silent Auction and Raffle; and of course to those of you who very generously took part in the Raffle, bid on the Auctions and congratulations to those of you who won the superb prizes on offer including the very substantial Hamper provided by the Trust’s Christmas Hamper Partner Aldi. Many thanks again to our auctioneer and great supporter to the Trust, Keith Lowe from DNG who attended with his wife Jill – and many thanks to Jill as well for kindly donating a surprise 8th Lot in the Live Auction! Thank you one and all again for your unfailing support for those who have been seriously injured playing the game we love.
The afternoon kicked off with a drinks reception kindly sponsored by our long term supporters Guinness and Henry Anderson from Bacchus Vinos; thank you to the team at Guinness and to Henry. Once guests were seated for Lunch our wonderful MC, Alan Shortt commenced proceedings with the always fun “Heads or Tails” whittling the number down to two people – Gar Dickson on the Aon table, and Cliff Beirne Head of Care for the IRFU Charitable Trust – both of whom generously decided to donate the Heads or Tails hamper to the Auction. Thank you firstly to Donnybrook Fair, who were in attendance, for donating the hamper, secondly to both Darren and Cliff who very kindly donated the hamper back to the Trust, and thirdly to Michael McLoughlin, a guest of IRFU Charitable Trust Trustee Pat O’Connor, for bidding on and winning the hamper!
MC Alan Shortt then introduced Michael Whelan to the stage who thanked everyone, and in particular the event sponsor – Aon, inviting Peter Brady from Aon to say a few words after IRFU President John O’Driscoll said a few words, entertaining everyone with a couple of very funny stories from his playing days. John specifically mentioned Ollie Campbell who then took to the stage to speak about a unique Lions Legends Jersey, on display on its very own stand, which was up for grabs in the Silent Auction. Take the time to have a read of the Table Card on this page which includes the Lions Legends Jersey as well as the other 29 amazing Silent Auction Lots. Again, many thanks to all who donated so generously to our Silent Auction; and a particular shout out to artist Roy Lyndsay who donated a print of his famous “Winning Try” painting capturing a celebrating Conor Murray in Soldier Field in 2016 as Robbie Henshaw scores. The print was made that bit extra special when the celebrating Conor Murray made his way to the InterContinental that afternoon to sign the print – proof of which you can see in the photos on this page!! Thank you to Roy, to Conor and to the bidders, including the highest bidder Mike Sullivan for your generosity.
The staff at the InterContinental were once again outstanding – 5 star luxury surroundings matched by 5 star service and 5 star food! Thank you again to the InterContinental, to Nicky Logue and to all his staff, and in particular to the wonderful Eilish Kealy, for once again hosting a great Lunch. Just after starters were served, Manila Strings strolled around the room serenading guests – many thanks to Slattery’s of Beggars Bush for sponsoring the entertainment for the afternoon.
The Q&A with very special guests Linda Djougang – Ireland’s highest capped current women’s player, and Cian Healy – Ireland’s all time highest capped player, joined Q&A Host Nigel Osborne on stage for a very insightful and entertaining session. Both Linda and Cian were asked for their prediction with both choosing an Irish win; with Cian very nearly predicting the exact final score! Thank you to both Linda and Cian for joining us and for being so generous with your time and in particular for taking the time to speak with Niall and his daughter Grace as well as seriously injured players Bernard Healy and Mark Governey who were also both in attendance. Many thanks to Nigel who has always been a great supporter to the Trust and we wish Nigel and the team of Rugby Rowers the greatest of success as they attempt the “Four-in-a-Row” rowing world record next March which coincides with the inaugural IRFU Charitable Trust Rugby Rowers Corporate Championship.
Prior to Keith Lowe running the Live Auction, Alan Shortt took the time to speak with Niall at his table. Niall let everyone in attendance know more about the support the Trust have provided Niall and his family with, including the upcoming changes to his home to help with Niall’s mobility. Niall then spoke about another sport he and his family are passionate about – Hockey, mentioning that he coaches his three daughters. When Grace was asked by Alan how she found coaching by her dad to be, Grace very wisely spoke two words: “no comment” – much to the amusement of everyone!
Keith commenced the bidding on the 6 Tabled Live Auction Lots – which can be seen on this page. As mentioned above, Keith’s wife Jill very kindly donated and eight Lot; with another surprise Lot from Stellaer 212 – an incredible private jet experience with TWO lucky bidders to jet off in VIP style on a Private Jet with Stellaer 212 from Dublin Weston Airport to see Ireland take on England in the Guinness Six Nations in Twickenham next February including match tickets and overnight accommodation in The Westminster London. Many, many thanks to all who donated to the Live Auction Lots, in particular Bank of Ireland, Stellaer 212 and The Westminster London, Curio Collection by Hilton. Massive thanks to those who bid on and those who won the Lots; and of course a very heartfelt thank you once again to Keith for running a superb auction.
IRFU Charitable Trust Chair Michael Whelan said a final few words at the end of the event, thanking everyone and wishing all a safe journey home; and to those lucky enough to be going to the Aviva Stadium the following day to see Ireland take on Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies, an enjoyable match with hopefully the right result!
