Dr. D O’Brien
D O’Brien
The role he has played in rugby:
Dr Dermot O’Brien is universally known in the world of rugby as “D”. Having left school in 1958, D joined St Mary’s College RFC. In 1960, D was selected for the 1st XV for a trip to Malone, couldn’t afford the £5 fare (he being a poor student in UCD!) and played for the 2nd XV instead. That changed his life. He lost a kidney that day in an unfortunate accident and could never play rugby again. And so began his journey into all aspects of being a non-playing rugby volunteer.
In the 1960’s D could be seen doing whatever was needed – touch judge, manning the gate, working in the bar, bagman, assistant manager, running the “dances” and then gradually gravitating towards the administrative side of rugby.
In the late 60’s and all through the 70’s D sat on the club’s executive committee with various responsibilities. In the 80’s D went into team coaching, team management, and player mentoring, focussing on the 1st XV and the J1’s.
In the 90’s D set up the St Mary’s Rugby Council and chaired all things rugby throughout that decade.
In 2000, D became Junior Vice President and was appointed President of the Club in 2002/2003. Immediately following on from that he was appointed Director of Rugby where he remained until 2010. In the 5 years following that, D stayed on the rugby council and went back on to the club executive committee.
In the 90’s and 2000’s, in addition to what is already described in his volunteer work for the club, D was also involved with the Leinster Branch and the IRFU. He was chairman of both the All Ireland Senior Rugby Clubs Association and chairman of the First Division Clubs Association, from 1994 to 2004. D was also St Mary’s club representative to Leinster and the IRFU from 2010 to 2013.
From 2013 right up until the present, D has been on the Leinster Disciplinary Committee and simultaneously chairing the St Mary’s College RFC Disciplinary Committee. He is still on both.
The impact he has made on the rugby community:
From the above, it’s clear that D O’Brien has contributed hugely to St Mary’s, to Leinster, to the IRFU, and to rugby generally. The impact is immense.
D writes comprehensive match reports. Each report is about 600 words, is circulated to all members, and posted on the club website for all to read – including the opposition. St Mary’s has played circa 700 matches in the AIL Div. 1A and 1B. D has attended all but 2. So, he has written close to 700 reports. He also attends all J1 matches and again, writes reports. The feedback within the club and from the opposition is incredibly positive. Especially from those who can’t attend the matches. He brings communities together. The reports generate enthusiasm which in turn brings more and more to the next game and back to the club generally.
D travels to research possible foreign trips for the club. Not just the 1sts – but the Junior teams and St Mary’s Stars. The Stars are the inclusivity team recently established in the club by Robbie O’Neill in partnership with Stewart’s Care.
For the club’s centenary in 2000, D collaborated with Fred Cogley to write the 100-year history of the club. The feedback was enormous. It had a profound impact on all members, past and present. So much so, that D has been asked to write the 125th anniversary update this year.
Between the aforementioned match reports and the history of the club, it’s obvious the D O’Brien is a prolific writer. In addition to those items, D also writes player and non-player profiles for the St Mary’s yearbook, newsletters in times past, and is the club’s obituary writer.
The written word is something that lasts forever. Without it, so much history, so many stories, past glories, and indeed everything would be lost. By D capturing so much, people will have a permanent record in the archives to read now and in future times.
D is also the convenor of monthly meetings for the past Presidents of the club. He has been doing this for a long number of years. Prior to that, many former Presidents may not have been regular attendees at various club events, but now, the impact of the monthly meeting/lunch means that all of that fine knowledge and experience is once again available to the current club officers.
One area of D’s volunteering that shows tangible results and impacts is in the area of player mentoring. Since the very beginning of D’s life as a non-player, he has taken players aside to mentor them. Over the years, D is solely responsible for a large number of players continuing to play rugby when they may have become disillusioned as a result of injury, or, more likely, being dropped. At a time when players were simply dropped with no explanation, D would speak to them, explain why, and what they could do to improve areas within their game. Whilst this is the norm now at a senior level, for many years in the past both senior and junior players didn’t have the benefit of such mentoring.
D O’Brien has done and is doing incredible work for rugby. All work which is well done produces a positive impact. Some can be measured, some not. One thing is certain – all of D’s work is well done.
By Brendan Spring
