Tullamore Rugby Club to celebrate golden jubilee of iconic Provincial Towns Cup success

This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of Tullamore Rugby Club's most famous victories, their Provincial Towns Cup win in 1976.

The Towns Cup was a notoriously difficult competition to win in those years, containing over 25 of the top provincial towns in Leinster. Tullamore had only been successful twice before, in 1946 and 1960 so it was a fantastic achievement to win it.

Rugby was a very different game in the 1970s. Games were very physical and at times worse. It was very much a game of territory with a lot of tactical kicking. Scores were generally low, being won by 3-0 or 6-3 regularly. Tries were a scarce commodity.

Tullamore had been building steadily in the '70s but it all came together in 1976. The basics of the team were sound. They were brilliantly led by captain Mick Clavin who had a great air of authority. A solid scrum with two excellent props in Seamus Egan and David Orr. A big mobile pack well able to get around the pitch. A tight defence who conceded very little. A good place kicker in Matt Geraghty which proved crucial in tight games. 

The campaign began in February with a home game against The Curragh who had reached the final the previous year. It was a game dominated by Tullamore but Geraghty’s radar was off on the day. It took a brilliant try by winger Jack Williams with 10 minutes to go to decide the game. Geraghty converted from the touch line for a final score of 6-0.

The second round saw Tullamore away to bitter rivals North Kildare in Kilcock. A typical bruising dog eat dog game ensued. At the end Tullamore got over the line 9-6 thanks to 3 penalties by Matt Geraghty. There were a lot of sore bodies for days afterwards. 

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On then to the quarter final which saw a difficult long away trip to Wexford. This proved a dour game where Tullamore made lots of mistakes before winning 6-0 with 2 Geraghty penalties.

Semi final time had arrived with better weather at the beginning of April. The venue was Athy and the opponents were Kilkenny. This was Tullamore’s best performance of the competition. After 10 minutes they opened the scoring with a back row move when Geraghty broke from the back of a 5 yard scrum to his right and passed back inside to brilliant scrum half Roy Cobbe This move had broken down numerous times in the quarter final which brought plenty of criticism but this time it worked a treat as Cobbe crashed through a few tackles to score a wonderful try. The conversion made it 6-0 and Tullamore were on their way. Tullamore controlled the second half and lovely passing by the centres ended with Brian Adam’s scoring under the posts. The conversion made it 12-0 and Tullamore were in the final. 

The big day came on the last Sunday of April. The venue was Portlaoise and the opponents were Drogheda. A huge crowd attended as Tullamore had now captured the imagination of the whole county. The game was ruined by a very strong wind. Tullamore had first use of the gale but it was a day when their much vaunted pack played second fiddle for long stages. Drogheda dominated but their kicker missed 3 penalties from the 25 into the tricky wind.

On Tullamore’s first serious attack after 20 minutes Geraghty landed a great penalty from 40 yards for the lead but Drogheda equalized from the tee straight away. The score of the game came just before half time. After a loose ball from a line out Roy Cobbe scored a stunning drop goal from 30 yards for a 6-3 interval lead.

In a tense second half Tullamore’s pack finally hit their stride and pinned Drogheda back for long periods. The next score was crucial and it came after 25 minutes when Geraghty kicked a smashing penalty from 30 yards into the wind for a 9-3 lead. Ollie Hughes then hit the post with a drop goal attempt. The last 10 minutes saw Drogheda throw everything at Tullamore but but the defence as they had all year tackled everything that moved and Tullamore were cup champions on a 9-3 scoreline.

Brilliant celebrations followed as Mick Clavin received the Cup. A week of parties and sing songs followed. At a gala banquet in the Bridge House hundreds gathered to acclaim their heroes. Previous winning captains Frank Egan and Tom Murphy addressed the gathering as well as representatives from other Midland clubs. Outstanding prop Seamus Egan was named player of the year. It was also an outstanding year for Matt Geraghty who scored an incredible 159 points that season.

Later in the year 5 members of the team were picked for Leinster who beat Munster. They were Roy Cobbe at scrum half and four of the pack Orr, McGlinchey, Clavin and Geraghty. 

Captain Fantastic 

Tullamore’s outstanding captain was Mick Clavin from Lynally, between Mucklagh and Rahan. A teak tough second row he represented Leinster on many occasions. He was a master tactician and innovator and led the team for many years. Mick also played in a County senior football final for his club, losing to Tullamore in 1973 and is a first cousin of the centre half back on the Offaly 1971/1972 All-Ireland senior football champions, Fr Nick Clavin. He was an outstanding all round sportsman. 

On the weekend of January 24/25 the team are travelling to Westport by train for a reunion dinner and catch up. The stories should be good.

Pictured above: The Tullamore squad that won the Provincial Towns Cup in 1976.

Back L to R, Paddy Galvin, Seamus Egan, Matt Geraghty, Tom Darcy, John Cahill, Jack Williams, Paddy Carragher, David Orr. Front L to R Gerry McGlinchey, Pat Heffernan, Billy Payne, Mick Clavin, Ollie Hughes, Roy Cobbe, Brian Adams.