President Address

It is a great honour and a privilege to be chosen as president of City of Armagh RFC for the 2023-24 season. An honour made even more special in this historic year where we ascend to the top flight of Irish rugby in Division 1A, however I am merely standing on the shoulders of the giants that have preceded me in this post. Congratulations to my predecessor, Tom Galbraith on his memorable year in office.

The journey has been fast and furious but it is not over yet. We must strive to maintain our momentum and continue with the great work conducted over the past few years. As a life member, it has been wonderful to witness the growth and development of the club over the years. From small beginnings we have evolved into a large and diverse entity, a family and a community.

Our club as a whole, is thriving and we have hundreds of players from minis, youth, senior men and now our development of the women’s game. This will be one of the main areas of focus in the coming months and it is our intention to establish a senior woman’s team as soon as possible. We intend to give all players within the club, at whatever level they play, the best facilities, the best coaching and the best chance of success that we can.

Therefore, development of the clubhouse and grounds continues and new coaching structures have been put in place at youth level. We are still moving forward. All this takes a lot of time and unfortunately money and we are blessed with and extremely grateful to our generous sponsors.

Our sponsors have been extremely supportive over the last few years and I thank them all for their continued support. They are key to our success and progress. In return, can I ask all members to support the businesses that support us.

Our volunteers also give up their time and skills freely and a huge thank you to one and all. More are needed however, so please let us know if you can help.

May I wish everyone involved with the club, coaches, managers, volunteers, sponsors, supporters and especially players, a safe, memorable, but most of all enjoyable season.

Make friends and memories. Keep up the support and the hard work.

Yours in Rugby,

Niall Chapman

President - City of Armagh Rugby Club