Provost Patrick Prendergast became an honorary member of the Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) today. DUFC is Trinity’s rugby club and encompasses both the men’s and women’s teams.
Prendergast was presented with the honorary membership by the club’s Chairman, John Boyd, and the club’s President, Roger Brownlee. Tweeting about the membership, Prendergast said he was “pleased” to accept it.
Brownlee played for the club in the 1960s and in his retirement has returned to Trinity both as a student and as president of DUFC. Boyd is a former player, captain and president of DUFC.
DUFC is one of Trinity’s oldest clubs, dating back to 1854 and was also one of the first sports clubs to be founded. It boasts a long and colourful history and its main pitch sits in the centre of Trinity making it an ever-present feature on campus.
The modern-day men’s team will start back on the September 17th with a home game against Terenure College in College Park. Their season ended dramatically last year, scraping a win against Terenure in College Park to avoid relegation from the top club division.
The women’s team missed out on a division four title last year after a 29-12 defeat to Wanderers FC. It has been a momentous year for women’s rugby in Ireland as the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup was hosted in University College Dublin (UCD). DUFC will undoubtedly want to capitalise on the newfound popularity of women’s rugby on the back of the World Cup. Both teams are currently hard at work preparing for the 2017/18 season.
Usually, membership of DUFC is not cheap. The club offers a gold membership worth €1500 a year for three years, a silver membership worth €42 a month for three years, a bronze membership worth €20 a month for three years and finally an 1854 associate membership worth €150 a year for three years. These memberships offer numerous perks and benefits such as access to the 1854 “virtual clubhouse”, which acts as a place for supporters and alumni to engage with each other and to create social and business networks.
