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Online Webinar: Wednesday 12th May @ 19:00
Sporting Pride, the association tasked with getting the LGBTQ+ community active, have partnered with the Emerald Warriors Rugby Football Club and the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to continue its successful Standing Proud in Irish Sport webinar series with a group discussion on the topic of inclusivity and diversity in rugby. The event will be streamed live by the wonderful team at Gay Community News (GCN) as part of their ongoing In & Out festivities.
Representatives from both the Emerald Warriors and the IRFU will be present on the evening to share their knowledge and upcoming plans, as well as taking viewers through their experiences of rugby from their own unique perspectives.
Three Emerald Warriors will speak at the event:
Phillip Purcell - Vice President
Eamon McConomy - Treasurer
Darren Morrin - Coach
Representing the IRFU is their Disability & Inclusion Officer - David McKay
We are also delighted to have Ulster Rugby’s Women and Girl’s Rugby Coordinator Eliza Downey hosting this interview. An experienced athlete in her own right, Eliza will guide the panel through a number of different topics, including (but not limited to):
A history of the Emerald Warriors, their exciting new strategy and what you stand to gain from joining the club
The benefits of rugby for participants - physical, social and mental
The work of the IRFU in promoting rugby and LGBTQ+ community participation in their sport
The visibility of LGBTQ+ community members in rugby, with a focus on men in rugby
Taking place on Wednesday 12th May @ 19:00, the interview promises to be a lively discussion with panellists talking openly and honestly about their personal experiences and much more.
Towards the end of the live interview, viewers will have the opportunity to ask the panel questions via the forum, a unique offering that enables interaction with the participants.
Karina Murray, the Events Coordinator of Sporting Pride, says
“Sporting Pride has long held the belief that our community’s sports clubs play a crucial role in promoting sport to everyone, regardless of gender identity and/or sexuality. The Emerald Warriors have proven themselves to be a leader in the area of diversity & inclusion and we are excited to hear what they have planned for the coming months. The addition of the IRFU’s Diversity & Inclusion officer to the panel will bring an added bonus in terms of input from a National Governing Body on what they can offer our community members”
To watch this ground-breaking free webinar, go to GCN’s live streaming links below on Wednesday 12th May @ 19:00
About the Panel
Eliza Downey – Presenter - Rugby / Gaelic Football
A former All Ireland winning Gaelic football and International Rugby athlete and current Coordinator of Women & Girl’s rugby, Eliza has had quite a varied career on and off the pitch, working in the public, private and non-for-profit sectors.
Eliza is passionate about developing others. She has over 10 years’ experience as an athlete, leader, and performance coach supporting and developing personnel within the Performance environment.
She has represented her country at the 2010 Women’s Rugby World Cup, captained her county to historic wins and stood on the steps of Croke Park raising the cup on All Ireland final day.
Through sport she has enjoyed the sweet taste of success while pushing through bitter disappointment with all these experiences shaping her unique approach and mindset for future goal setting and challenges.
Phillip Purcell - Rugby / Emerald Warriors
Phillip has played rugby for nearly 20 years, beginning at the age of six (6), playing at different levels throughout his rugby career from junior club to senior club along with playing for Munster development in his early teenage years. Phillip captained the first international team to play at his home club, old christians RFC, in Cork before taking a break from playing rugby for a short number of years due to a neck injury.
Phillip found his love for Rugby once again when he moved to Dublin a numbers of years ago when he discovered the Emerald Warriors, an LGBT+ inclusive club based in Dublin, and has since moved from being a player to committee member to more recently, being appointed to Vice President of the Club.
Darren Morrin - Rugby / Emerald Warriors
Darren has been involved in rugby for over 21 years. He is currently the head coach of the Emearld Warriors RFC and also plays AIL 2B with Malahide RFC. He has worked with Leinster Rugby as a CCRO (Club Community Rugby Officer) and coached and managed a number of teams and schools over his coaching career. He has played all his rugby career with Malahide RFC and been involved with them on their journey from Leinster League Division 3 to AIL 2B and still making progress.
Eamon McConomy - Rugby / Emerald Warriors
Eamon joined the Emerald Warriors in 2007. He was new to rugby but found the club provided the perfect environment to be taught/coached the skills needed to succeed and enjoy the game.
Currently he is the Treasurer for the club and in the past was captain for two years.
The club has provided life long friends both on and off the pitch.
David McKay - Rugby / Disability & Inclusion Officer, Irish Rugby Football Union
David’s role within the IRFU is to support the development of inclusive & diverse rugby and to promote opportunities for people that come from a marginalised groups to access the game. With a strategic overview of all disability & inclusion programs being run across the 4 provinces and at a national level. He also provides support & training to all our volunteers & staff.
A Ballymena native, having played the game for over 24 years, he has worked in the community and voluntary sector before taking up a development role at Ulster Rugby which has led to his current role.
About the Hosts
Sporting Pride
Founded in 2018, Sporting Pride is Ireland’s sport, fitness and exercise body, tasked with inspiring the LGBTQ+ community to get active. Research shows that 55% of LGBT men and 56% of LGBT women are not active enough to maintain good health, compared with 33% and 45% respectively of the general public. As a member of the EGLSF and the Federation of Gay Games, Sporting Pride also offers LGBTQ+ sportspeople the opportunity to represent Ireland in international competitions. For more: www.sportingpride.ie
The Emerald Warriors
The Emerald Warriors are an LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby football club based in Dublin. Founded in 2003, they have excelled both on and off the field. In recent years they have hosted one of rugby’s most inclusive rugby tournaments, The Union Cup, which included a women’s tournament for the first time ever. They also offer support to their club members through their Folláine Wellbeing programme. The Warriors are launching strategy and we are excited to hear more about what this club has to offer. Find out more at www.ewrfc.ie
GCN
GCN is the national LGBTQ+ press in Ireland operating since 1988. GCN reflects queer life in Ireland and is delighted to collaborate with Sporting Pride and the Emerald Warriors to facilitate this vital conversation about the LGBTQ+ experience in the sports arena and how we can all work together to make sport a more inclusive space and accessible for the LGBTQ+ community. GCN are currently running a fundraiser to support their ongoing work. To find out more about their #GCN100KinMay visit their event information page!
Sporting Pride Events Contact
Karina Murray: karina.murray@sportingpride.ie
With thanks to the Bank of Ireland Begin Together fund and the Community Foundation of Ireland
