St. Mary's College RFC & The D.P. Smyth Blitz

The D.P. Smyth trophy was first played for in 2000, and St. Mary's J5s were its first winners.

Still needed: the date, the teams taking part, the final and the St. Mary's team.

St. Mary's J5s won the blitz for a second time, beating Clontarf in the final.

Still needed: the date, the score and the team.

St. Mary's J5s reached the final (club records, season 2005-06).

Still needed: the winners and the final score.

The J5s organised the blitz and finished as runners-up. The 2006/07 season report singled out the organisation of the blitz, and the competitiveness shown in it, as the season's highlight, with special thanks to John Carvill, John Pyne and Frank Kennedy for their help in arranging it.

Still needed: the winners and the final score.

Saturday 26 April 2008 at Templeville Road. Five teams took part: Terenure, CYM, Accenture and two St. Mary's sides. Each played two games, with the top two going into the final and the others into a play-off. Terenure and CYM made the final, which a strong Terenure side won by two points; Accenture won the play-off against the two St. Mary's teams. The referees were Dave Donohue and Carl O'Meara.

"We are grateful to the Smyth Family for putting forward this cup. Next season we hope to win the cup back from Terenure and have it in its rightful place inside the club." (J5 captain Maurice Davin's season review)

Played at Templeville Road at the end of the season, with St. Mary's, Terenure and CYM entered. The club's reunion booklets record the J5s as finalists.

Still needed: the winners and the final score.

Saturday 1 May 2010 at Templeville Road, played 10-a-side. The fixtures sheet has St. Mary's, Terenure and Barnhall; the club's fixture notice had also invited Clontarf, Malahide and Stillorgan. The reunion booklets record the J5s as finalists.

St. Mary's squad: Mossy Davin, Ross Kelly, Ian Kelly, Ian McCarthy, Michael Mannion, Tony Makonda, Andy Fitzpatrick, Paul Whyte, Gary Crawford, Chi Yuen Hui, Nick Cunningham, Seb, Stephen Joyce, David Millard, Marco Pietri, Ian Smith, Caolan Reid.

Still needed: the winners and the final score.

On Saturday 14 May 2011 the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz took place in Templeville Road. The mixed weather did not dampen the spirits of the five teams taking part: hosts St. Mary's College RFC, Terenure, Tallaght, DLSP and CYM.

The pool games were very competitive, with the local Dublin 6W neighbours making it to the final once again. This was a strongly fought match. An early try by Terenure proved to be the winning score of the game and saw them take the 2011 title.

Two grandsons of D.P. Smyth, Colin Smyth and Alan Godfrey, who both played for St. Mary's on the day, were on hand to present the cup to Terenure. The referees were Colm Roche, Bernard Doyle and Tony Heaney.

St. Mary's: 15 Olan Cleary, 14 Chris Doyle, 13 Caolan Smith, 12 Richard Pyne, 11 Stephen Cushen, 10 Andy Fitzpatrick, 9 Ciaran Murphy, 8 Paul Travers, 7 James Hynes, 6 Anthony O'Hanlon, 5 David Browne, 4 Maurice Davin, 3 Alan Godfrey, 2 Steve Walkin, 1 Colin Smyth.

Friday 4 May 2012 at Templeville Road, ten days after the J5s won the O'Connor Cup, with St. Mary's, Terenure, Parkmore and the Leprechauns. The reunion booklets record the J5s as finalists.

St. Mary's squad: Chi Yuen Hui, Conor O'Beirne, Dave Balfour, Dave Daly, David Browne, David Neville, David-Owen Mahon, Eoin Ward, Fergal Ward, Gareth Lloyd, Gary Weldon, Gavin Sheridan, Guillermo Ferreiro Neto, James Hynes, Joey Morrin, Karl Waine, Marco Pietri, Maurice Davin, Padraig Fox, Rodrigo Camargo Pucci, Sean Gilheaney, Steve Conboy, Tahar Horchani, Vincent Murray.

Still needed: the winners and the final score.

The annual D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz took place in Templeville Road on Friday evening, 15 March 2013. Taking part, as well as our J5s, were our Vets, Terenure and a touring side from Buenos Aires. Three grandsons of D.P. Smyth played this year: Colin Smyth, Alan Godfrey and Andrew Godfrey.

Terenure and Buenos Aires made it to the final. Notably, the Vets were the only team to beat the tourists on the night, with a try from Colin Smyth converted by Barry Shortle. Buenos Aires beat Terenure to take the title. The tourists also played a friendly against an Ireland XV on the night.

Saturday 26 April 2014 at Templeville Road. Clontarf, Monkstown and Stillorgan were drawn in the pool with St. Mary's; the results show the J5s playing Clontarf and Stillorgan twice each.

St. Mary's squad: Alan Moughty, Barry Coyle, Cillian Walsh, Colin O'Neill, Conor O'Beirne, Conor Ryan, David Gough, David Neville, David-Owen Mahon, Gareth Lloyd, James Hynes, James McHugh, James Walsh, Mark Byrne, Maurice Davin, Paul Bolger, Richard Fagan, Shane Fanning, Stephen Murray, Tim Henderson, Tom Keogan, Tom O'Reilly, Vincent Murray.

On Friday 24 April 2015 the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz took place in Templeville Road. This year the entrants were Clontarf, Stillorgan and CYM as well as our own J5s. The referees were Dudley Philips and Marco Pietri, and the pool games were 15 minutes each.

In the first round the J5s beat CYM 14–5 and Clontarf beat Stillorgan 10–0. Next the J5s beat Clontarf 12–0 while CYM beat Stillorgan 19–0. In the final round of pool games the J5s won 10–0 against Stillorgan to go into the final. CYM and Clontarf finished 0–0, and five minutes of overtime still could not separate them, so tries scored decided it and CYM went into the final. In the third-fourth play-off Clontarf beat Stillorgan 5–0.

The final finished 0–0 at the end of normal time, and even two periods of extra time were not enough to separate the teams. The game had been spent mostly in the CYM half, with Mary's battering the line but not quite able to make it over. To separate the teams, a drop-kick shoot-out was required. The first round of three kicks ended 2–2. Then into sudden-death kicks! Both missed in front, both missed to the left. CYM missed out right. The pressure was on. Up stepped Tom Keogan, who landed the kick!

Finally, after a few seasons of trying, St. Mary's J5s were the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz winners for 2015.

St. Mary's squad: Aaron Hudson, Caolan Smith, Christopher Kane, Colin O'Neill, Conor Ryan, David Daly, David Dixon, David Neville, Eric Dunne, Gareth Lloyd, Gary Masterson, Jack Madden, James Bourke, James Walsh, John Whelan, Matt Moloney, Michael Daly, Owen Clery, Richard Fagan, Shane Fanning, Stephen Mellon, Tahar Horchani, Tom Keogan.

On Saturday 23 April 2016 the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz took place in Templeville Road. The Smyth family were represented by Dermot's grandchildren Colin and his sister Max, and great-grandchildren Colin's son Tim, who was ball boy for the day, and Max's daughter Alex.

Taking part were St. Mary's J5, Clontarf and Stillorgan, with a Baa Baa's team made up of players from both St. Mary's and Clontarf. Each team played each other once in the pool stages, in games twenty minutes long. Marco Petri and J4/J5 coach Michael O'Flaherty were the referees.

The opening games saw Clontarf beat Stillorgan 12–5, while in a tough opening game St. Mary's beat the Baa Baa's 5–0 with a try from second row Shane Fanning. In the second round Stillorgan overcame the Baa Baa's 14–5. It was a very tight game between St. Mary's and Clontarf: St. Mary's took an early lead with a try by Lyons converted by Ciaran, and that is the way it remained until the final play of the game saw Clontarf go over to score. The drop kick was successful to earn them a 7–7 draw with the hosts. In the final round Clontarf beat the Baa Baa's 19–0 and St. Mary's finished the pool stages strongly with victory over Stillorgan 17–7.

The final saw St. Mary's and Clontarf take each other on in another very tight game. The sides couldn't be separated over the twenty minutes, which finished 0–0, so ten minutes of extra time were needed. The extra time looked like finishing the same way, but late on Ciaran took a well-placed drop goal in the Clontarf twenty-two to give St. Mary's a 3–0 lead, and that is the way it finished a couple of minutes later. St. Mary's retained the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz, having won it in 2015.

The D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz 2017 took place in Templeville Road on Saturday 13 May 2017. Dermot's grandson Colin and great-grandson Tim represented the Smyth family. Taking part were St. Mary's J5, Stillorgan, Tallaght and Terenure, each playing each other once in fifteen-minute pool games. The referees were Susan Carty and Colin Burkley.

The opening games saw St. Mary's beat Stillorgan 14–0 and Terenure win 12–0 against Tallaght. In the second round St. Mary's met neighbours Terenure in a very tight game, while Stillorgan beat Tallaght 12–0. In the final round St. Mary's beat Tallaght 22–0 and Terenure beat Stillorgan 5–0. The Shield final was won 15–5 by Stillorgan against Tallaght, a close match despite the scoreline.

Then the Cup Final, another D6W derby! In another very tight game between the sides, St. Mary's were the eventual winners by one try, winning the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz for the third year in a row. Captain Gary Masterson lifted the trophy.

Saturday 19 May 2018 at Templeville Road, a three-team blitz with Emerald Warriors and Clontarf. A fourth win in a row for the J5s, captained by Padraig Fox, in the season they also won Metro League Division 11.

The 2019 edition of the D.P. Smyth J5 Blitz took place on Thursday 18 April 2019 (Holy Thursday) in Templeville Road. The Smyth family were represented on the day by Dermot's grandson Colin and great-grandson Tim.

Taking part were St. Mary's J5, Emerald Warriors and DLSP. In this three-team blitz each team played each other once in the pool stages, in twenty-minute games, with the pool winner going straight to the final and the other two teams playing off to make the final. Colin Burkley and Marco Petri were the referees.

St. Mary's beat Emerald Warriors and followed that up with a win over DLSP to make the final. DLSP beat Emerald Warriors in the play-off to reach the final. In a closely fought final St. Mary's overcame DLSP to hold on to their title for another season: five wins in a row.

The 2020 competition was due to take place on Thursday 9 April 2020, marking the 20th season of the competition. Over the years it had been won by St. Mary's and Terenure seven times each, while Clontarf and our Argentine visitors in 2013, Club Buenos Aires Rugby, had each won once.

The 2020 blitz, planned for 9 April 2020, was not played because of Covid-19.

Saturday 14 August 2021 at Templeville Road, the first rugby back after Covid. With no J5 that season, St. Mary's were represented by the J4s. The 2021 reunion booklet called it losing "to our nemesis's Terenure in the Final", ending the run of five wins in a row.

The referees were Cian Ormond, Arthur Dupont and Rhys Doyle.

The 2023 edition took place on Saturday 6 May 2023 in Templeville Road. Entrants on the day were our own St. Mary's College RFC team (the J4s), the Silverbacks, Terenure and Lansdowne.

We were delighted that the Smyth family were represented on the day by Dermot's grandson Colin and great-grandson Tim, the fourth generation of Smyths to wear the blue. The club was represented by President Gareth Roche, who presented the Plate to J3 captain Richard Fagan.

The blitz returned as a pre-season competition on Saturday 20 September 2025 at Templeville Road, organised by Michael O'Flaherty, with Emerald Warriors and Newbridge among the clubs taking part.

Still needed: the winners, the results and the St. Mary's team.