Cappamore man elected as Chairman of the board of Tug of War Ireland

MULCAIR Tug of War Club coach Eddie O’Malley has been elected for a second two-year term as Chairman of the board of Tug of War Ireland.

Since the Cappamore native’s first term as Chairman 2019, the organisation has been rebranded  as Tug of War Ireland (TOWI) and has created a five year strategy for the development of the sport from 2021 to 2025. 

“It is a hugely marketable sport that can be enjoyed by everyone  - eight to eighty! There is an opportunity now to sell the sport to Irish people for all the benefits that come with it. Social, mental, physical, enjoyment. There is also the opportunity on a higher competitive level, to take international and national titles home,” Eddie said.

The sport nationally has achieved compliance with Sport Ireland Code of Governance for Sport, which provides opportunities to have a properly resourced sport in terms of funding and governance. The challenge now is to create a link between tug of war and the general public, in order to allow the sport to reposition itself centrally in communities -  a place it occupied so solidly in previous generations. This is the board’s focus now.

In December, the inaugural Limerick Tug of War Championships took place in Garryowen Rugby club. This event was important in terms of giving fledgling clubs the opportunity to compete for the first time.

This is one of the steps taken to reintroduce tug of war at community level in an effort to offset the decline in festival pulling. This decline relates to insurance issues. Happily this is being resolved now by the board of TOWI as, going forward, insurance for community events under supervision of TOWI has been secured.

TOWI has also turned to schools in a bid to develop the sport in that sector.  School Development officers have been hugely successful in the Schools Development Programme, culminating in the first Post Primary Schools National Championships which is due to take place this year.

Eddie O’Malley’s connection with the sport can be traced to his very early, formative years. “As a child, I remember walking down the road, to the  crossroads in Dromkeen on a Saturday night watching a weekly extravaganza as local tug of war teams took part. It was a great sporting occasion”.  He continues, “It was so enjoyable to watch, with huge crowds there. There was such a sense of  community spirit”.

Many years later in 2005. Eddie, his brother John and a number of fellow rope enthusiasts, formed a team to participate in a local summer festival. O’Malley is nostalgic about those early years, “At that stage, festival tug of war was a very popular thing to do. Every summer Sunday, that group of friends travelled to TOW events up and down the country.”

After ten years, the team was registered with the Irish Tug of War Association and Eddie himself became very active in the governing aspect of the sport during this time. These hardy boys, whimsically referred to these days as ‘The Original 8’, were the beginnings of the now highly successful Mulcair Tug of War Club, with members going on to win British & Irish medals as well as a number of national titles.

Currently, Mulcair TOW Club, based in Cappamore, is a 20-strong club, with men’s, women’s and mixed teams. At present, the squad is preparing for international competitions such as the Felton Eccles International Event in May in Bristol, the British and Irish Championships in Wales in August and the European Championships in September, as well as numerous national events over the summer season. 

“We, in Tug of War Ireland, are looking forward to welcoming new members and new clubs to the Tug of War community. We are also looking forward to exciting and rejuvenating times for the sport”.

So, it would appear that tug of war is not just about the elite levels; club, schools and community events are all vital to Tug of War Ireland and the development of the sport. 

For further information on any of the above, message the Mulcair Tug of War Club Facebook page, or visit www.tugofwarireland.com