Dear Railway Union Member

It is our great pleasure to welcome everyone to a new year at Railway Union. Firstly thanks to everyone involved in running the Club and in helping us to continue its 106 years sporting legacy during 2009.

2010 is going to be a great year in Railway as we have some exciting new changes coming your way. Our new events calendar "Railway Rocks 2010" will be launched this March and we will be marking the occasion with a full day of sports and a celebration in the club house that evening. We will also be promoting Railway Union in the local area and hopefully attracting new members. Planning for the clubhouse renovations are well underway as are plans to improve offerings for our
Pavilion members to include a bridge club and hillwalking club.

2009 is over. May we remember 2010 for more sunshine, success on the sports field and all the enjoyment all Railway Members got from playing sport and attending great events at our club!

Martin Cowley, Chairman Railway Union
CRU Helping The People of Haiti

Rugby 6 Nations: Last weekend over forty players (aged 7 to 70) competed in a three hour social mixed doubles competition at the tennis courts as part of the a HAITI fundraising effort. Through the generosity of members in excess of €2000 was raised towards helping GOAL in relief efforts for the people of HAITI. Again, we would like to recognise Mary Burke for organising the event and everyone that attended. This was a tremendous result and we hope to follow in these footsteps by hosting an additional fundraising event in March to co-inside with the official "Railway Rocks 2010" events calendar launch. For photos of the event and details of the winners please visit the news archives - Click Here.
Head-2-Head with the Sports Nostradamus

Ireland vs France: Our very own Sports Nostradamus, John O'Donovan, goes head to head with our one of our favourite barman and tennis extraordinaire, Rory Kennedy, in predicting the outcome of some of the major international and Irish events.

John the "Sports Nostradamus" predicts: France to win the 6 Nations with Ireland in second place. Chelsea to win the Champions League. Del Potra to win the Australian Men's Open and Serena Williams to win the Ladies. Railway Union Ladies Hockey to be triumphant (once again) as the Irish Hockey League Champions.

Rory Kennedy predicts: Ireland to be the 6 Nations champs and Wales in second place. Considering their recent performance against the Boks this is not a bad option. Real Madrid as first choice to win the Champions League. Federer to clean up at the Australian and Venus Williams to be victorious in the Ladies. Railway Union Ladies Hockey as Irish Hockey League Champions (obviously).
Ladies Hockey Leinster Champions!

Hockey Celebration: The 1st team won the Leinster Senior League for the first time in the history of the Ladies Hockey Club (over 100 years!) and they also reached the final of the Leinster Senior Cup but were unfortunately beaten on penalties on the day and they also got to the quarter final of the Irish Senior Cup.
Our 2XI won their league - Senior Division 2 which is fantastic. They were also runners up in the final of the Irish Junior Cup which was played on 25 April 2009. The 3 XI came second in their league and have gained promotion to the next division. The 4 XI finished mid table. The 5 XI came third in their league. The 6 XI also came third and were beaten in the semi-final of their cup challenge. So a promising season was had by all.

Players from the Ladies Hockey Club were selected during the 2008/2009 season to represent their country and their province at different age levels. This involves even more training and commitment which the Ladies Hockey Club wishes to acknowledge. We are very proud of all our representative players.
This season all teams are performing well in their leagues with Cup matches coming up in the next few weeks. All teams are looking to outdo their achievements from last season. View the whole article in the news archive - Click Here.
Soccer Helps Fight Blinding Trachoma

Soccer 1ON 22nd November 2009, 72 Irish people including three Railway Union Soccer members, Lorcan Tiernan, Andrew Lowe and Clare O'Dea, took part in the Great Ethiopian Run i.e. running 10km at 10,000ft through the streets of Addis Ababa. This initiative raised in excess of €150,000 for ORBIS Ireland whose goal is to eliminate blinding trachoma in the Gamu Gofa region of Southern Ethiopia by 2012. In addition to the funds raised, the children from Railway Soccer Academy, and other teams, donated 104 jerseys and 20 soccer balls for children in the Gamu Gofa region.
In December the U10 team drew in an exciting friendly game against Dalkey United with a score of 2 all. With a changed team including two last minute recruits "borrowed" from Dave Grouse's U9s for this friendly, the U10s played out an exciting draw at home. Railway Union U8 won against Granada 1-0 in an important quarter final match. It was an important quarter-final between two teams which have done well this season. Both teams were playing really well.
Christian Farrell, Patrick Aiken, Elliot Haran and David Moran have been selected to play for an SDFL representative team.
Railway Cricketers Takes On the World

Cricket: This month three of our senior internationals, Trent Johnston, Niall O'Brien and Kevin O'Brien, are in the Irish squad for the four-day Intercontinental Cup against Afghanistan in Sri Lanka and also in the qualifiers in February for the World Twenty20 Cup in Dubai. Ireland is lined up to play 30 games this year.
In 2009 the 1st XI won the DGM Trophy and came second in the Senior League; the 4th XI reached the Junior Cup final; Under 11 Girls were League and Dorothy Doolan Cup winners and Under 11 B Boys won the Stockton Cup.

There are no current matches as our season runs from mid-April to mid-September. The only cricket activity in these months is on the other side of the world! Our players are keeping fit and extending their skill on the hockey, rugby and soccer pitches and some are taking it easy relaxing with their families.

Gerard O'Brien is cricket chairman for 2010; Gareth Carroll treasurer; Francis X. Carty secretary and Hadley Southall team secretary. Trent Johnston is 1st XI captain.

Come along to our Curry Night/Fun Trivia Quiz on Friday, 12 February.
Contact: David Carroll-
0868520582.
Men's Hockey - U16 Leading the Way Forward

Hockey Mens
Last season once again, it was Railway's U16s who had a very successful season. They were runners-up in the League and runners-up in the Cup. Carrying on from this five of our Railway U16s made the Leinster team which won the Interprovincial Tournament and three of these went to make the Irish team. This season we have two players on the U16s, and recently two players have been selected for Irish U18s.

Under the guidance of Paul Cooke (93 Irish Caps), these underage players have now been brought through into the 1st XI senior team. These young players are joining in with the older players like Mark and Peter English, Eoin MacArthur and the even older players like Kenny & then there is POB, in his 4th decade of senior hockey.

In addition to the outdoor game, the first team will also be competing in the inaugural National Indoor Trophy, with the qualifying rounds on Sunday 24th Jan in the NBA (afternoon). The finals take place on 6th & 7th February where hopefully the Club can repeat performances of recent seasons and qualify for Europe.

On the less serious side, the Vets made their biennial trip to the Golden Oldies Hockey Festival, this time in Adelaide Australia in Sep 09. The next Golden Oldies will be in Edinburgh, starting July 17th 2011.
Men's 1st Tennis Promoted to Class 1

Tennis: The tennis section had a successful 2009. In the Club Championships, Justin Purcell defeated Clive Douglas to retain the Men's Singles title. Eilis Jordan showed she had recovered fully from a calf injury sustained in the Hardcourt Championships to defeat Ruth Pettersen in the Ladies Singles final. Other prize winners in the Championship Events include Rory Kennedy and Justin Purcell (Men's Doubles), Joanne O'Reilly and Ruth Pettersen (Ladies Doubles) and Joanne O'Reilly and Scott Wilde (Mixed Doubles). Junior members figured strongly in club events, with Emma McErlean winning the hardcourt singles and Breifne Byrne undefeated in doubles in Summer League. There were many successful events for new members and the largest ever entry for the Hardcourt Championships in April.

League Teams:
Mens and ladies teams competed successfully in Dublin Lawn Tennis Council and other leagues. Highlights included the Mens 1st team reaching the semi finals of class 2, losing narrowly to a Monkstown team that included former world ranked tennis players. Four out of six ladies teams qualified from their sections in the Winter League, with the first and third teams achieving promotion to Classes 2 and 3 respectively. The senior league teams all performed well, with First Men's and Ladies teams featuring in playoffs. Ladies Charity League teams reached finals in Spring and Autumn. Charity League also enabled lots of members to obtain thier first experience of competitive league matches. The Junior U14 girls also starred, qualifying for the semi final of the junior league in October. For the full article, additional news and photos visit the news archives - Click Here.

Railway Union Rugby Legends:
2010 is going to be a very busy year for Railway Union Rugby as 1st XV are in the Super six competition of Leinster League Division 3 bidding for promotion to division 2. The 2nd XV are in Metropolitan J4 League Section C, and at halfway through the league are still in contention for the top spot. U17 XV is 3rd in their league behind Greystones (1) and Blackrock College RFC. So far they have had an excellent record and have won 4 out of 6 games this year. The whole team have gelled really well, with particular mentions for Captain Andy Barr, and other rising stars Eddie Doyle and Josh Fallon.

Union is delighted to have nominated two people jointly, Mick Dempsey and Charley Hurley for the Evening Herald Personality of the Month. With over 110 years of service between them to Railway Union they have certainly been a great asset to the club. Mick recently turned 80 and has been involved with Railway for 60 years in many capacities such as a captain, president and coach. Charlie has also dedicated many years to the club; the 70 year old has been with us for over 50 years. Both these gentleman have recently been inaugurated as Railway Union legends for all their dedication and involvement in the club for so many years.
News Flash - Railway Union Hockey 1XI Defeats Pegagus 3-1
Hockey 5th
The 4xi won their Cup match against Weston and are now in the semi final. They will play Suttonians in Railway on 14th Feb 2010. Also, the 1xi had a fantasic result against Pegagus on Saturday, beating them 3 - 1 at home, this is the first time in the history of Railway Ladies Hockey that we are in the Irish Senior Cup Final. The Irish Senior Cup will be an all Leinster final this year with the 1xi are due to play Loreto. Well done girls! Unfortunately, the 6xi went on tour to Mullingar but were unsuccessful in their cup match - hard luck ladies. We wish all teams continued success in both their leagues and Cups.

As this is the very first newsletter in this particular format we would appreciate your feedback on how you feel we can improve it and also the type of information you would like to receive on a monthly basis. As mentioned we will be launching the the "Railway Rocks 2010" events calendar in March so keep an eye out for next months newsletter, which will give you all the information about the event that will be held at the club.

Sincerely,

Railway Union Sports Club