MIRFC 50TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM CALENDAR 2007 IN A NUTSHELL

January
Program Preparation
Frank Rooney 514-341-4454

February

• Training Begins ( Black Watch Armoury )

March

• St. Patrick’s Parade Unit Sunday Mar 18 th.

April

• Old Boys Dinner Friday Apr. 20 th.
• Toronto Irish Canadian RC Men and Women at Ste Julie Saturday 28 April.

May

• Start of season for men and women
• May 19, Visit of Bermuda Police RFC
• Blood Donor’s Clinic (postponed till Fall to combine with RHR BlackWatch- details to follow).

June

• Canada Day 35 th. Annual Golf Tournament Canton N.Y.
• Friday June 29 th.- Sunday July 1 st (or even Monday if you need the extra recovery time).

July

• Canada Day 35 th. Annual Golf Tournament Canton N.Y. Contact Jim Heaslip 514 737-8337
• Friday June 29 th.- Sunday July 1 st (or even Monday if you need the extra recovery time).

August

• 28 th. Labor Day Invitational Tournament. ( Ste Julie Grounds )
• Friday August 31 st.-Sunday September 2^nd. Contact Mike Magee 514-938-1088

September

• Teams (Men- Women ) Overseas Tour September 9 th - 19 th.

"HOME COMING ANNIVERSARY EVENTS"

• 21 st Friday : Welcome Pub Night, Hurley’s, 1225 Crescent Street, Complimentary hors d’oeuvre
  
• 22nd Saturday Game Day Ste. Julie then there is a Cocktail Reception followed by Dinner, at Molson’s, Contact person: Martin Buckle (514) 482-2493
  
• 23 rd Sunday
  
  1. 1:30 Intersquad Old Boy’s game: Massimo Pacetti XV Vs Craig McDevitt XV
  2. 3:30 Over 60s MIRFC vs Rest of Canada
     
     Captains: Paul Loftus (MIRFC) and Bob Henzel (ROC)
     Officials: Dave Hardy, Roy Harvey, Richard Clegg
     
     
• 24 th Monday Free Day
• 25 th Tuesday Lunch @ Capri Tavern, 2174 Saint Patrick Street, Pointe St. Charles
• 26 th Wednesday Free Day: Options: City Tour, Boat Trip on Saint Lawrence River, visit to Laurentians, Trip to Vermont, etc.
• 27 th Thursday Fall Classic Golf Tournament, Contact person: John Dennett (514) 626-7346
  
• 28 th Friday Free Day. Options: Lunch on Prince Arthur Street BYOB/W, Golf, Shopping
• 29 th Saturday 50th Anniversary Dinner Dance Banquet (Black Tie or dark suit), Contact person: Jerry Brennan (514) 783-1198
• 30 th Sunday Farewell Brunch. Trip to President’s Golf Tournament

October

• Men's Finals Quebec league (details to follow)

November

• 17th November Annual Banquet at La Plaza
• New York 7's (details to follow)

December

• AGM (details to follow)
  

Opening Ste Julie 21 April

Our fearless President has stopped by the clubhouse and noted that the fields and driveway are still covered in snow therefore we will be postponing the opening until Saturday, 21 April.

This won't give us a lot of time to get the clubhouse in shape before our first home game of the season (on 28 April against the Irish Canadians of Toronto) so we will need as many people as possible out.

Please let Jamie Lockwood or Eric Hough know if you intend to help out.

Thanks
Jamie VP Grounds

It's all over... till the next time

St Patrick's Day 2007 will be famous forever in the annals of Irish sporting history... as the day Ireland beat Pakistan in the cricket World Cup. The subsequent mysterious demise of the English coach of the Pakistan team will surely be turned into a low quality whodunnitt with Gerry Adams as the lead detective partnered with Ian Paisley as the CSI boss - well less likely things have happened so who knows!

As for the rugby, I can barely think about it even now (and not just because I can barely remember it). Ireland pipped at the post yet again by a higher scoring French team. Scotland did a manful job of resisting Les Bleus and when the Scots held out for a try near the end I thought the French were sunk but it was not to be. Aided by a generous Irish TV referee France emerged winners by 27 points and took the championship, too.

A less generous person might point out that if Ireland hadn't eased up on the Italians and let them score in injury time then the Championship trophy would be sitting next to the Triple Crown. Of course if they hadn't fallen asleep in the last minutes against the French at Croke Park the tournament wouldn't have gone this far even, but I wouldn't dream of being so unkind.

But if the Irish and Scottish results were disappointing the English performance in Cardiff was woeful. Oh, the pain, the agony of defeat, the humiliation of sitting next to Dai and Myron as the Welsh hordes trampled over England's weakling army. Where's King Edward when you need him?

One commentator noted that the tournament may have been short on quality but it was certainly full of tension. Though this is true it wouldn't seem to be a very good omen for the World Cup which looks set to head back down south after a brief sojourn in the northern hemisphere. The petty bickering between the European clubs and their respective unions is not going to help either. The Scottish clubs can barely survive as it is and the impact on their national side was all too obvious this year. Without the money from the European leagues there will be even less chance of Scotland re-emerging from the doldrums.

In the meantime rugby resumes at Ste Julie on 28 April with the visit of the Toronto Canadians - see you there.