Munster Supporters Club For Irish Emigrants Established

Sports - Rugby

Thursday, 07 October 2010 09:01

Written by Pat Flynn

As Munster prepare to head to London this weekend for their first Heineken Cup clash of the season, a new branch of the Munster Rugby Supporters Club (MRSC) has already begun to amass a sizeable membership in the English capital.

Established by Munster supporters forced into exile by the recession here, it had been hoped that the new London Branch would be launched this weekend to coincide with the province's clash with London Irish in Reading on Saturday, however the committee has been so overwhelmed with interest that it has been finding it difficult to find a venue big enough to cater for the club.

The MRSC, with its head office in Cork, was established in 1999 with branches since being set up in Dublin, Brussels and the USA. The supporter's club now has a total membership of over 13,000.

London Branch chairman Jay Briganti said: "Given the recession going on at home, a large number of Irish, like myself, have been forced to come to London to work so it’s a good opportunity to tap into those increased numbers. The support offered to us over here thus far has been amazing. It seems Munster rugby has a place in many people's hearts, and this is probably fortified somewhat by those of us in exile."

"Our goal as a club is basically to establish a central base in London for watching all Munster games and then extend activities into various other natural area’s including pooling travel to Munster games in the UK as well as pooling ticket purchases for those matches. The club has massive potential in a number of area’s and we feel we can be a vibrant part of the Munster brand going forward by keeping people in touch with the team and pooling our resources to support them on the road in the UK," Mr Briganti added.

The club has already met for Munster's recent Magners League matches however numbers have now swelled to such an extent that the committee is having difficulty finding a venue big enough to accommodate them.

"We have had to put off our official launch but London is just so big, more time is required to find the right venue not just for now, but as we continue growing. It is great for us that we have the first game of the season near London. It seems Munster's fist match every year in the Heineken Cup is in England with Northampton last year and Wasps and Sale previously," he added.

Ian Buckley, Chairman of the Munster Rugby Supporters Club, said: "For a number of seasons it has been our intention to launch a branch of the MRSC in London. Up to now, an opportune moment had not presented itself. Over the Summer we received correspondence from some members who were relocating to London, asking about a London Branch. It seemed to be a natural step to take, considering we have branches in Dublin, Brussels and USA, and the ever increasing number of people from these shores moving across the water to find work."

"An initial email was sent to our membership and news items on our website inviting expressions of interest. It snowballed from there and within weeks the London Branch was formed and as a committee we had no hesitation in welcoming the London group to the fold and this is supported by MRSC manager Jennifer Kiernan," Mr Buckley added.

"Spreading the red I suppose you could call it. There’s no doubt the London Branch will be an excellent addition to the MRSC," Mr Buckley said.

Last May, current Magners League table toppers Munster were crowned "Best Supported Team in the Magners League" while the Red Army is known in Europe as the best travelled support of any team.