St Mary's College RFC Yearbook 2020-21

A PROFILE OF NIALL RYNNE
President Leinster Branch IRFU 2017-18
Extracted from St. Mary’s College RFC Yearbook 2017-18
Introduction
It was 1983 and a young man arrived at St
Mary’s College RFC, having just graduated
from Templeogue College, across the road. He
was Niall Rynne. Niall was one of six Rynne
brothers, close friends and competitors. While
at Logue, Niall, or Rynner to the wider public,
excelled in all respects. He captained his
school senior cup team and was in all arenas,
a true sportsman. He is intensely proud of his
Templeogue College origins and, since leaving
has been involved in PPU activity, including a
spell as president of the PPU. He actively
supports all aspects of Logue activity.
He crossed the road and there found his new
home, St Mary’s College RFC, where he was
to thrive and indeed where he continues to so
do. The moment he arrived it was clear that
he was going to be a leader. The defiant
sparkle in his eyes and the easy smile, marked
him out; not to mention the clarion voice
which defies deafness and defines his inner
spirit. That same voice that can match a
complete kop, can charm at will, or switch to
Niall Rynne
70
memorably melodic song of the highest
quality. He became immediately popular and
remains universally so in the club and wider
social circles.
Rugby
Quickly making his mark on the U19 team as a
backrower, the following season Niall was
selected to captain the U19s. The first season
at the club he also played in a Fox cup
campaign, getting to the final
He then had a long and successful rugby
career, ever commanding attention and
contributing in an outstanding way. On the
field he fearlessly epitomised the soul of the
club. A lot of his rugby was played on the
junior teams, which gave him a deeply-held
empathy with the junior game and he has
become a staunch defender and champion of
all junior rugby. He did play at senior level,
and particularly remembers, with pride and
nostalgia, playing in the Leinster Senior Cup,
at Lansdowne Road.
He captained the third XV twice, winning the
league and cup and he also captained a J3
league winning team. He won nine medals in
all, a hefty haul; including three Fox Cup
medals, alongside many veteran club legends
like, Popey, Dave Donohue and Declan
Fanning. He played in several other finals. He
continued to play, even up to recent seasons,
always willing to put on the boots to help out
a team found short. Additionally, he
frequently refereed junior games, when called
upon. Rynner proved to be a motivational
coach too, and was part of the coaching team
of the U20s in 1994-5.
He was also involved in rugby administration
and was co-director of rugby in the season
2002-03, with his good friend and fellow
Logue alumnus, Kevin Conboy. He later
became the club’s junior representative to the
Leinster Branch IRFU, where he was highly
regarded and hard-working. He made a