21-736: Rainey Rugby Football Club is situated in the market town of Magherafelt , County Londonderry , Northern Ireland playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League . At present, they field 3 senior men's teams, 1 senior women's team and 3 youth teams (the Rhinos) under-18s, under-16s and under-14s as well as a girls under-14s side. The club was founded in 1928 as Magherafelt RFC. It was renamed Rainey Old Boys RFC in 1947 in recognition of its connection with Rainey Endowed School . When former Rainey Endowed School coach Dawson McConkey joined
42-595: A central diamond forming the heart of the town. During The Troubles in the late 20th century, 11 people were killed in or near Magherafelt in connection with the conflict. The town had its own Magherafelt District Council . On 1 April 2015, it was merged with Cookstown District Council and Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland becoming Mid-Ulster District Council . The Mid Ulster District Council has 40 councillors of which five are elected by
63-730: A tight game in the semi final, they travelled to Stradbrook to take on Irish Rugby Kingpins, Blackrock College RFC in the final. Rainey achieved promotion to Division 2A of the Energia AIL with a 35-21 victory on a sunny day in Stradbook in one of the most famous days in the club's history. History was also created 8 months later in December 2019 when Rainey won the Ulster Senior League for the first time in their history. After an enforced break from competitive rugby due to
84-504: Is a town and civil parish in County Londonderry , Northern Ireland . It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 Census . It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, economic and political hub of the area. It is part of Mid-Ulster District . Magherafelt has been documented as a town since 1425. An earlier name for the area was Teach Fíolta - ‘Fíolta’s (monastic) house’. This would suggest that there
105-976: The Rainey Old Boys Rugby Club and Magherafelt Sky Blues F.C. There is also the Mid Ulster Athletic Club, the Mid Ulster Swimming Club and the Magherafelt District Motorclub. The town of Magherafelt encompasses the Super Data Zones of Magherafelt_A, Magherafelt_B and Magherafelt_C according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. At the time of the 2021 census, there were 9,071 people living in Magherafelt. Of these: At
126-423: The 2011–12 season. Finishing 4 points behind second place and promotion. In the 2012–13 they won AIB Division 2B , going undefeated in the league the whole season, winning 14 and drawing 1. Having scored more points, as well as conceding less, than any other team in the whole All-Ireland League, they gained promotion in some style. In what was to be the most successful season in the club's history, they also reached
147-1745: The 2018/19 season. Roberts made his Welsh debut against South Africa in November 2021. Local musician and former 1st XV Waterboy and Ballboy, J.C Stewart filmed part of a music video for MTV at the club in November 2019. The club was renamed Rainey RFC in 2023. Chairman : Bobby Carmichael ( Ireland ) President : Arnold McLean ( Ireland ) 1st XV Team Manager : Gerry McCann and Simon Andrews ( Ireland ) Director of Rugby : Brian Smyth ( Ireland ) 1st XV Head Coach : Tim Barker ( Ireland ) 1st XV Assistant Coach : Nicky Stirling ( Ireland ) Club Captain : Daniel O'Neill ( Ireland ) 2nd XV Coach : Timmy Andrews ( Ireland ) 2nd XV Captain : Diarmuid Devlin ( Ireland ) 3rd XV Captain : Hugh Mulholland ( Ireland ) Dr A.A McConnell - Ireland Nathan Amos - [REDACTED] Israel Bradley Roberts - [REDACTED] Wales Harry Steele - Ireland Paul Pritchard - Germany Conor Brockschmidt - Germany Mark Harbison - British Virgin Islands Paul Kelly - Bermuda Stephen McKinstry - ( Ireland Under 19s ) Stephen Beattie - [REDACTED] United States Under 19s Michael Glancy - ( Ireland Under 21s ) and Hong Kong National Team Connor Lavery - ( Ireland Under 19s ) John McCusker - Ireland U18s Jack McIntosh - Ireland U18s Mark Lee - Ireland U18s Magherafelt Magherafelt ( / ˌ m æ h ə r ə ˈ f ɛ l t , ˌ m æ k ə -/ MA -hə-rə- FELT , MAK -ə- ; from Irish Machaire Fíolta , meaning 'plain of Fíolta', pronounced [ˈmˠaxəɾʲə ˈfʲiːl̪ˠt̪ˠə] )
168-619: The B40 when the road opened. Magherafelt railway station opened on 10 November 1856, shut for passenger traffic on 28 August 1950 and shut altogether on 1 October 1959. There are seven primary schools serving the area. Local secondary schools include St. Mary's Grammar School , Saint Pius X College, Rainey Endowed School , Sperrin Integrated College and Magherafelt High School. Magherafelt has several sporting teams, including Magherafelt Reds, O'Donovan Rossa Magherafelt GAC ,
189-739: The Ulster Qualifying League in 2005, but lost the playoffs for promotion to the All-Ireland . The following season they won the All-Ireland Junior Cup, and secured senior status by winning the AIL promotion playoffs. 2006-07 was Rainey's first season in senior rugby, and they finished seventh in Division 3 of the All-Ireland League , and sixth in the Ulster Senior League . Coach John Andrews left at
210-703: The club as player-coach in the mid-1960s, success began to follow, and by the mid-1970s they were a leading club in Ulster junior rugby. In 1982 they toured the Bahamas , and in 1983 they won the Ulster Towns Cup for the first time, with a team featuring forme Ireland international Harry Steele and Ulster regular Alan McLean. Club President from 1984 to 1990 was Bertie McConnell, a member of Ireland's 1948 Grand Slam -winning side. Coached by former Ballymena RFC number eight John Andrews, they were champions of
231-531: The club who also contested their first ever Senior Cup final in Ravenhill in December 2012 where they were beaten by a strong Ballymena side. Richard Boyd remained as head coach assisted by John Andrews until 2015. John Andrews was Head Coach between 2015-2021 and over that period was assisted by Damien Campbell and Terry McMaster. Following relegation due to a re-jigging of the leagues in 2016, Rainey were promoted to 2B once again in 2017 by beating Tullamore in
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#1732782675029252-422: The coronavirus pandemic, Rainey competed in Division 2A of the Energia AIL in 2021/22 season and were unfortunately relegated to 2B following a play off loss to Nenagh Ormond. Rainey finished 6th in Division 2B of the Energia AIL in the 2022/23 and finished top of Section 1B of the Ulster Senior League in the same season. The team finished 7th Division 2B of the Energia AIL in the 2023/24 season. In May 2024, it
273-694: The electors of Magherafelt. In the 2019 Mid Ulster District Council election , the five elected councillors included two members of Sinn Féin , one member of the SDLP and two members of the Democratic Unionist Party . It is located within the Mid Ulster (Assembly constituency) in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency) . The current MP is Francie Molloy of Sinn Féin . At
294-534: The end of the season to coach Dungannon RFC . replaced by former Ireland international Willie Anderson , then by Rhys Botha as player-coach in 2008. Rainey Old Boys finished 10th in AIB Division Three in the 2008–09 season. Rainey Old Boys finished 10th again in AIB Division Three in the 2009–10 season and 6th in AIB Division Three in the 2010–11 season. The following season they narrowly missed out on promotion to AIB Division 2A , coming 5th in
315-476: The final of the Ulster Senior Cup against all the odds, knocking out giants of ulster rugby Dungannon R.F.C. and Malone R.F.C., both away from home, en route to Ravenhill. Chris Campbell and Richard Boyd took over the coaching reigns of the club until 2013 after the 1st XV gained promotion into 2A after an undefeated season in 2B winning 14 matches and drawing 1. This was a highly successful season for
336-520: The foot of Broad Street is located The Bridewell . This building previously housed the town's court-house and gaol (jail). The name Bridewell is a common name in Britain and Ireland for a prison (see Bridewell Palace ). It has since been refurbished and now houses the town's library and tourist centre. Magherafelt lies on the A31 route which connects the south west of the province (Tyrone, Fermanagh) to
357-412: The north east (Coleraine, Ballymena etc.). Traffic from north and south used to pass through the town centre frequently leading to considerable congestion. In the 1970s a bypass was proposed route which was eventually funded in 2013 and completed in 2016. The road is a single-carriageway around the eastern edge of the town connecting Moneymore Road and Castledawson Road. The old road through the town became
378-417: The playoff final at Hatrick Park. There was heartbreak the following year when a last minute Navan try at Hatrick Park prevented them from gaining promotion to 2A in 2018. This heartbreak was soon forgotten about the following season when the 1st XV regrouped for the 2018/19 season and performed consistently all year to secure a place in the playoffs for the 3rd season in a row. After beating Greystones away in
399-767: The time of the 2011 census, there were 8,805 people living in Magherafelt. This represented an increase of 5.2% on the Census 2001 population of 8,372. Of these: Tim Barker (rugby union) Tim Barker (born 19 June 1981) is an Irish former rugby union player, who played in the second row for Ulster , Glasgow Warriors and Castres Olympique . He started out at playing club rugby at Dungannon and represented Ireland at under-age levels up to under-21, before signing his first professional contract with Ulster in 2003. He moved to Glasgow Warriors in 2005, where he played for one season before returning to Ulster in 2006, then signing for Castres in 2007. He returned for
420-538: Was a monastic settlement here under the leadership of Fíolta. The site of the medieval parish church may be marked by the ruins of a later church and graveyard at the bottom of Broad Street. The Salters Company of London was granted the surrounding lands in South Londonderry in the seventeenth century as part of the Plantation of Ulster . Subsequently, the town began to take on its current shape with
441-592: Was announced that former Ulster, Glasgow and Castres second row, Tim Barker would be the Head Coach for the 2024/25 season. Tim had previously played for Rainey for many years and had been an assistant coach for the previous 2 seasons. Hooker Bradley Roberts was called into the Ulster Rugby squad in November 2020 and made his debut away to Edinburgh on 30th November 2020. He follows in the footsteps of fellow Rainey man Tommy O'Hagan who played for Ulster in
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