City of Armagh RFC

Paul Johnston

Club President

pauljohnston37@gmail.com 0790 0227600

It is a great honour to be the 2021-2022 President of City of Armagh R.F.C. and I’m very much looking forward to what I hope will be an enjoyable and successful year for our club.

The last eighteen months have been some of the most challenging any of us have known and as we tentatively move towards something like normality, my thoughts are very much with those of our members and their families that have been impacted by the pandemic.

Whilst we have had no meaningful rugby at the Palace Grounds since March 2020, our band of volunteers have worked in the background to keep the club moving forward during this time and preparing for what we hope will be an action-packed season. We are extremely lucky to have over 100 volunteers freely giving of their time week in week out to make our club a success and I offer my personal thanks to each and every one of them.

Special thanks needs to go to my predecessor James Scott, who agreed to take on the role of President for an additional year and in doing so provided much needed continuity during an uncertain period. I would also like to acknowledge the great work of our development committee.

As many of you will have seen we have recently completed the first phase of our ambitious redevelopment plan. Our aim is to have a club house and facilities that match the sustained success we have enjoyed on the field across all our teams over the last number of years and to lay the foundation for future success.

As a club we have much to be proud of but I hope and believe our best days are still ahead of us. Our ambition is to establish City of Armagh R.F.C as a leading club both in Ulster and Irish rugby for many years to come. To achieve this, we want to ensure our male and female adult teams have what they need to be successful both in terms of facilities and coaching and to redouble our focus on our fantastic mini and youth sections as they re-emerge from a long period of inaction.

Finally, a word to our sponsors who have been so supportive during the past eighteen months, we greatly appreciate your support and loyalty and look forward to repaying that support this season.

I wish everyone a safe and healthy season and look forward to seeing you down at the Palace Grounds.

Yours in Rugby,

Paul Johnston

President - City of Armagh Rugby Club