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This
Auction is now Closed
Only one Irish
Rugby side has ever beaten the mighty All Blacks, and that was
Munster In 1978.
In
2008, Limited Edition Prints celebrating this unique piece of
Munster Rugby history were produced by artist, Neil O’Dwyer.
From this Limited Edition of 380, a small number of
22 Prints have
been
kindly
signed by all the Munster players of
that day,
including coach Tom Kiernan.
As these are the only ones in existence, they are very special.
One of these Signed Prints has recently been
auctioned online here, in
aid of the three
Bike
Africa
charities
which are: St. Gabriel’s (
Limerick
), Self Help Africa and
OAM
Sports
Academy
for underprivileged children in
Cape Town. On behalf of the Bike Africa Team, many thanks to
all who
supported this venture, and especially to 'Fairplex' who came
out on top, with a very generous bid.
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Celebrating
this historic occasion in Munster’s proud rugby tradition by being the only team to defeat
the mighty All Black touring side of 1978, this Print
captures the euphoric celebrations at the final whistle,
with some key moments and individuals from the game itself.
The central
image shows the celebrating Moss Keane, flanked by
try scorer Christy Cantillon, with Les White
on his other side. Tony Ward, who converted the try,
and kicked two drop goals on the day, also features. Brendan
Foley is also shown in
the
lineout against the All Blacks Andy Haden. The legendary
Kiwi Captain, Graham Mourie, can be seen in
the lower left hand corner. Moving across left to right
shows Pat Whelan turning to celebrate Cantillon’s
try. Jimmy Bowen’s great try-making run is shown
next, and Seamus Dennison’s crunching tackle on Stu
Wilson which was felt by everyone in Thomond
Park, also features. Above this, the All Black Haka is performed
before the game. The other Munster
players, Captain Donal Canniffe, Greg Barrett,
Colm Tucker, Moss Finn, Seamus Dennison, Donal
Spring, Larry Moloney, Gerry McLoughlin and Coach, Tom
Kiernan are also depicted.
This
All Black side had high hopes of
going one better than the great Kiwi side of 1905 who
had been beaten only once on tour.
Munster, by being the only side in 1978 to beat them, put a spoke
in the works and prevented them from achieving this rare
distinction.
They
played themselves into Irish
Rugby
folklore forever.
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| BIKE
Africa
2009
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| Last
May 2009, four adventurous Irishmen set off on a cycle which
was not for the fainthearted. Starting in Addis Ababa
in Ethiopia, they cycled all the way south through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique,
Zimbabwe, and South Africa
to Cape Town. They then flew back to Addis Ababa and cycled north
through the Sudan, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Turkey, Greece,
Italy, France, England and home to Ireland, a total distance
of approximately 16,100
kilometres. They covered an average
of 90 kilometres a day, with some scheduled breaks to
‘recharge the batteries’ and visit the charities that
are benefiting
from their efforts. |
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The Bike Africa 2009 Team
From
left: David Burns
(Coleraine), Maghnus
Collins Smyth (
Limerick
), Brian O’Shea
(
Limerick, who had to return to college), and Alan
O’Dwyer from Clonoulty, Co.Tipperary.
To
date, nearly 40,000 Euro has been raised with all proceeds
going directly to the charities. The lads totally funded their own expenses. Their journey can be viewed
on
www.bikeafrica2009.com
and is well worth a visit. |
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