St. Mary's College RFC & The Moran Cup
Our club's history in Junior rugby's oldest J3 competition — final by final, from the inaugural win in 1949.
The Moran Cup began in 1949. Until the 1948–49 season there had been no competition for the Third As, so P.V. Moran, President of the Leinster Branch, decided to fill the gap and put up the Moran Cup for competition at the end of that season.
The Moran Cup has traditionally been a J3 XV cup competition. In more recent times, it is the cup contested by teams in Metro League Division 4 & 5.
St. Mary's College RFC have reached the Moran Cup Final 12 times, winning on 10 occasions — 1949, 1950, 1979, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2010, 2015 & 2018 — and being losing finalists on 2 occasions — 1985 & 1996.
St. Mary's have the distinction of being the first club to win the Moran Cup, taking the trophy in its inaugural year with an unbeaten 3rd A XV captained by Matt Gilsenan.
We've tried to put together information on all of our previous finals below. If anyone has any memories of winning or losing finals to share, please send them to archives@smcrfc.com and they'll be added below.
Click any final to expand team photos, line-ups and match reports. Winning finals are marked in green; a gold tag marks a season where the Moran Cup formed part of a J3 League & Cup Double.
1949 Matt Gilsenan — beat Wanderers 9–3 Won
Inaugural Moran Cup Winners, 1948–49.
Back: C. O'Neill, P. McDermott, R. Burke, Fr. A. Seagrave, M. Murphy, A. Cusack, F. Fennel
Centre: J. Ryan, D. O'Sullivan, J. Fearon, M. Gilsenan (Captain), W. Scott, R. Maher, M. Clancy
Front: K. Gilmer, M. Cronin
Until the 1948–49 season there had been no competition for the Third As. P.V. Moran, President of the Leinster Branch, decided to fill the gap and put up the Moran Cup for competition at the end of the season. It attracted a huge entry — including the free-scoring and unbeaten St. Mary's 3rd As, captained by Matt Gilsenan.
This was the first public evidence of the leadership qualities of Gilsenan, who would go on to hold almost every administrative office in the club, having enjoyed an illustrious playing career as a wing forward and club captain. Still fresh out of school, he was hugely influential in leading the 3rd A XV to that unbeaten run, averaging 30 points per game. Gilsenan's captaincy inspired a brand of exciting rugby that saw them overcome Old Belvedere 12–8 along the way, before beating Wanderers 9–3 in the final.
(Team photo caption and season narrative from the club's Centenary Book.)
Still needed: any further match detail from the 1949 final.
1950 Willie Scott — beat Dublin University 19–6 Won
Moran Cup Winners, 1949–50.
Back: K. Wall, M. Murphy, P. O'Beirne, J. Connaughton, J. Sullivan, R. Burke, S. Doughan, R. Maher, J. Ryan
Front: D. Duffy, A. Bolger, W. Scott (Captain), L. Downs, C. O'Neill, M. Gilsenan
St. Mary's retained the Moran Cup in 1950, beating Dublin University 19–6. The early days of the '50s brought meagre rewards elsewhere in the club, with the 3rd As under Willie Scott keeping the flag flying by retaining the trophy.
(Team photo caption and season detail from the club's Centenary Book.)
Still needed: a fuller match report from the 1950 final.
1979 Niall Woodcock — beat Curragh 19–3 Won J3 Double
Club's first win in the J3 League / Moran Cup after 29 years — 1978–79.
Back: J. Carvill (Manager), P. Dean, C. O'Hagan, E. Wigglesworth, K. O'Doherty, J. O'Connor, C. Shanley, B. Laigey, T. Kennedy, P. Moran (Coach)
Front: P. McCarthy, P. Opperman, M. Joyce, N. Woodcock (Captain), T.W. Brooder (President), F. O'Donnell, T. O'Rourke, L. Naughton
The J3s did the club proud under the captaincy of Niall Woodcock. Coached by Paddy Moran and managed by John Carvill, they completed the J3 League and Moran Cup double for the first time — and it was all the more welcome because the Moran Cup had not been won by St. Mary's since 1950, a gap of 29 years.
(Team photo caption and season narrative from the club's Centenary Book.)
Still needed: a fuller match report from the 1979 final.
1982 beat Blackrock College 9–6 Won J3 Double
St. Mary's beat Blackrock College 9–6 to take the Moran Cup in 1982, part of a J3 League and Cup double that season.
(Result and double confirmed by the club's Centenary Book honours tables.)
Still needed for 1982: captain's name, team line-up (a caption for the photo above), and a match report.
1985 Lost to Old Belvedere Lost
St. Mary's reached the Moran Cup final in 1985 but finished as losing finalists to Old Belvedere.
Still needed for 1985: captain, final score, match report, team photo and line-up.
1988 beat Lansdowne 9–4 Won J3 Double
St. Mary's beat Lansdowne 9–4 to win the Moran Cup in 1988, part of a J3 League and Cup double that season.
(Result and double confirmed by the club's Centenary Book honours tables.)
Still needed for 1988: captain's name, team line-up, match report and a team photo.
1994 beat Old Wesley 25–16 Won J3 Double
St. Mary's beat Old Wesley 25–16 to win the Moran Cup in 1994, part of a J3 League and Cup double that season.
(Result and double confirmed by the club's Centenary Book honours tables.)
Still needed for 1994: captain's name, team line-up, match report and a team photo.
1996 Losing finalists Lost
St. Mary's reached the Moran Cup final again in 1996 but finished as losing finalists.
Still needed for 1996: opponent, final score, captain, match report, team photo and line-up.
2000 C. Smyth — beat Dundalk 15–9 Won
Moran Cup Winners, 1999–2000.
Back: C. Costello, A. Costello (Manager), J. McGettrick, P. Gilbourne, D. Bagnall, C. Kelly, S. O'Reilly, C. Egan, M. Neary, P. Power, K. McGinley, P. Lane, D. Swift (Coach)
Front: S. Brennan, E. Conway, C. Smyth (Captain), B. Spring (President), A. Graham, C. Kearney, C. Tanning
Absent: G. Ebbs, P. Tucker, A. Shirley, C. Walsh, A. Harrison
St. Mary's beat Dundalk 15–9 to win the Moran Cup in 1999–2000, captained by C. Smyth, coached by Donal Swift and managed by A. Costello.
(Team photo caption and result from the club's Centenary Book.)
Still needed: a match report from the 2000 final.
2010 beat Terenure 10–0 Won
Energia Park, Donnybrook, Friday 23rd April 2010. St. Mary's beat Terenure 10–0 in the final to win the Moran Cup, keeping their opponents scoreless. The J3s came through an unbeaten campaign, scoring 107 points and conceding just 26 across four matches.
Path to the final
| Round 1 | 26.03.2010 — Malahide 3–25 St. Mary's (Estuary Rd) |
| Round 2 | 11.04.2010 — St. Mary's 38–10 MU Barnhall (Templeville Rd) |
| Semi Final | 16.04.2010 — St. Mary's 34–13 Greystones (Templeville Rd) |
| Final | 23.04.2010 — St. Mary's 10–0 Terenure (Energia Park, Donnybrook) |
Still needed for 2010: captain, coach/manager, winning XV line-up and a match report.
2015 beat Terenure 32–9 Won
Energia Park, Donnybrook, Friday 17th April 2015. St. Mary's beat Terenure 32–9 to win the Moran Cup, scoring five tries to none in a dominant final display. It capped a superb campaign in which the J3s won all four matches, scoring 135 points along the way — including a 43–0 opening-round shutout of CYM and a two-point thriller away to Lansdowne.
Path to the final
| Round 1 | 29.03.2015 — CYM 0–43 St. Mary's (Terenure Rd North) |
| Round 2 | 07.04.2015 — Lansdowne 26–28 St. Mary's (Ballycorus Rd) |
| Semi Final | 10.04.2015 — St. Mary's 32–15 MU Barnhall (Templeville Rd) |
| Final | 17.04.2015 — St. Mary's 32–9 Terenure (Energia Park, Donnybrook) |
Team — the final
Replacements: 16. Sean Carroll, 17. Garreth Hennessy, 18. Conor Hurley, 19. Caolan Smith, 20. Peter Timmons.
(Results and team sheets from Leinster Rugby Sportlomo.)
Still needed for 2015: captain, coach/manager, a match report and a team photo.
2018 beat De La Salle Palmerston 18–13 Won
Energia Park, Donnybrook, Friday 13th April 2018. St. Mary's beat De La Salle Palmerston 18–13 to win the Moran Cup for the tenth time — the club's most recent success in the competition.
Path to the final
| Round 1 | Bye |
| Round 2 | 09.02.2018 — St. Mary's 14–8 Monkstown (Templeville Rd) |
| Semi Final | 06.04.2018 — St. Mary's 18–12 Coolmine (Coolmine RFC) |
| Final | 13.04.2018 — St. Mary's 18–13 De La Salle Palmerston (Energia Park, Donnybrook) |
Team — the final
Replacements: 16. Christopher Kane, 17. David Balfour, 18. Padraig Nestor, 19. Peter Timmons, 20. Brendan Flood.
The David Lyons at 10 and 15 are two different players.
(Results and team sheets from Leinster Rugby Sportlomo.)
Still needed for 2018: captain, coach/manager and a match report.
Every winner since the competition began in 1949. St. Mary's wins highlighted. This list is incomplete — only the St. Mary's years are confirmed so far.
Most successful clubs in the competition's history.
These totals are incomplete. St. Mary's figure of 10 is confirmed, but the other clubs' counts cover only the years currently recorded in the Roll of Honour above — 34 years are still to be confirmed, so the real totals will be higher.