1891: The Rathmines School 1, Wesley College 0: THERE WAS a whiff of controversy attached to Rathmines' victory as it was alleged that a centre by the name of Kenny was working in an office and therefore not a fully fledged pupil of the school.
A letter from Kenny’s parents satisfied the Branch and the result stood. His fellow centre and captain Frank Carnegie crossed for the game’s only score in an era when the scoring values were pointedly different. The Rathmines School were runners-up for the next two years as they had been in 1888. The school closed down in 1899.
1898
Wesley College 15, High School 0
DECLAN DOWNS, in his excellent history of the Leinster Schools’ Senior Cup, suggested: “Happiness to Wesley is a man named Hamlet”, a reference to the famous 1970s and 1980s television advertisement.
The Hamlet in question was George who led Wesley College to their only triumph in seven finals. He was one of three players who went on to play for Ireland, the others wing William Hinton and outhalf Trevor Robinson would also contribute handsomely in the final, scoring three tries. Wesley nearly lost two of their best players, the Organ brothers, Charles and William, the Christmas before the cup began as their father had been posted overseas. Player, pupils and masters rallied to ensure the pair stayed for the duration of the cup.
1899
St Columba’s 8 Blackrock College 5
IN THREE cup matches St Columba’s amassed over 100 points and conceded just eight; five of those came in the final against a Blackrock school that had already won the cup eight times since the competition was inaugurated in 1887. In the first round Columba’s thrashed St Mary’s 55-0 and hammered two-time winners Corrig School 34-3 in the semi-final. They lost only one match all season, a pre-cup friendly to Wesley, but were still underdogs when they faced Blackrock in the final. The match was played in a snowstorm with Shaw’s two tries, one of which was converted by wing Miller, enough to see them squeeze home.
1914
Mountjoy School 3, Wesley 0
THIS WAS a classic case of the underdog upsetting the odds as a Mountjoy team, giving away about a stone a man in the pack, produced a courageously defiant performance to claim a first cup success. Captain Nick Hurst grabbed the final’s only score, a second-half try. Mountjoy had beaten Blackrock 9-0 in the semi-final. This triumph went in some way to appease for the seven finals (1904, 1905, 1909, 1911, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1937) the school lost. The school, first located in Mountjoy Square, moved to the Malahide Road in the late ’40s, changed its name in 1969 to Mountjoy and Marine before three years later acquiring its present title of Mount Temple.
1932
Presentation Bray 6, Newbridge College 4
TWO YEARS earlier PBC Bray had given notice of intent when winning the Junior Cup, a team backboned by centre Jack Doyle (he played with diphtheria) and outhalf Aidan Bailey, both of whom went on to play for Ireland: indeed Bailey managed that feat while still a schoolboy. Bray went through the season unbeaten under the guidance of Brother Raymond Nealon. Another stand-out player was future Leinster centre Hadgy Murphy in a team noted for their expansive, attacking skills. They beat Terenure, Clongowes and defending champions Castleknock before squeezing out fellow final debutants Newbridge College.
1973
The High School 19, Belvedere College 7
A LITANY OF heartbreak and near misses had scuppered several High School teams in the past but with future Irish internationals John Robbie (pictured right) and Ian Burns at halfback, the Danum school managed to break their schools senior cup duck. If the aforementioned duo got top billing the school’s current head gamesmaster David Wright was arguably the outstanding player of the campaign. They beat Terenure (replay), Castleknock, St Mary’s (they included future Lions Tony Ward and Rodney O’Donnell) and stopped Belvedere from completing a hat-trick of outright victories in the final. Burns grabbed the individual honours that day with two tries and two drop goals.
1976
CBC Monkstown 3, Castleknock College 0
UNDER THE baton of coach Michael Mullen, assisted by former Irish internationals Paddy O’Donoghue and Joe Brady, CBC muscled their way onto the cup roll of honour. It was an athletic side, literally.
Jurgen Whyte was an All-Ireland triple jump champion, while the Keogh brothers, Mark and Brian, Michael Cryan, David Sharpe (sprint relay), Alan Jordan (hammer), Ken Sullivan (pole vault) and Eugene O’Connor (pole vault) excelled at various sports. CBC, with a light pack and speedy backs, beat King’s Hospital, Newbridge and High School before a Bernard Maloney penalty saw them squeeze home against favourites Castleknock. The Keogh brothers, scrumhalf Harry Buckley, Cryan and Ian “The Brat” Counihan all went on to play senior rugby.
2007
St Michael’s College 6, Clongowes Wood College 0
THE FINAL was played at Donnybrook in dreadful conditions, 12 months after St Michael’s had been denied by Blackrock in the decider. Noel Reid kicked two penalties to confirm a hard-fought victory for a St Michael’s team that was the best team in the competition. They qualified for the final by beating Kilkenny, surprise conquerors of Blackrock College, in the semi-final, having had a relatively straight-forward passage to that point. It was a case of third time lucky for St Michael’s in finals and a welcome taste of revenge as Clongowes had beaten them in the 1991 decider.
