The decision made this week by the IRFU has resulted in upheaval and boisterous protests organised by local players and supporters across the Dublin Four and wider Leinster area.
The decision made late this week by the IRFU comes as a result of the recent spike in cases. All training, matches and other scrub-cap related activities will remain suspended until further notice. The move was not received well by locals of D4 and beyond. Protests against the decision have taken place on a daily basis over the past week. As the protests around the UCD Bowl and greater Belfield area remained particularly aggressive, residents were warned by both the local Donnybrook Garda Station and UCD Estates to avoid these rioting hotspots.
Sergeant William of Donnybrook Garda Station stated that several public order units had been required in the area during the past week. He recalled the presence of a large group of young males wearing Leinster, Trinity and UCD jerseys who were “wailing non-stop, hurling rugby balls through windows and forcefully climbing over railings into Donnybrook Stadium”.
Dr. Charles Fitzwilliam, of Belfield Clinic, Stillorgan, stressed the health risks of the recent riots in relation to Covid-19 and also emphasised his disapproval of the recent decision stating “I’m a Leinster rugby man myself and was once even an Ad Astra bm; this personal experience, coupled with my Trinity cumulated medicinal knowledge, allows me to conclude that a lack of rugby in this community will lead to a downward spiral of physical and mental health along with social order”.
Local resident of Belfield campus and rugby supporter Neen Loughlin commented on the recent controversy surrounding the suspension: “I just like, can’t man; first they take away fleecers, and now they’re taking her [rugby] away too? What’s next like, the oxygen around us?!”. He also mentioned the pristine legal influence that his father possessed in the area and spoke of the possibility for a solution involving a petition and or legal action led by his father, a solicitor who studied in UCD’s Sutherland School of Law.
Aoibh Beag – Fan of Leinster Rugby and Ad Astra Boys
