“Student Life at King’s Inns extends beyond Classrooms and Textbooks” says Hugh McDowell

The community spirit that exists around King’s Inns is that student life extends beyond classrooms and textbooks. Activities such as dining and mooting provide an informal and friendly atmosphere in which students can mix with each other as well as with the wider legal community. In particular, the academic year 2014/2015 has provided students with fantastic opportunities to demonstrate their sporting prowess and enthusiasm.

On January 23rd, the men’s soccer team (under the stewardship of Rory Mulvanney) travelled to Santry for a showdown with Blackhall Place. A heavy defeat was put down to lacklustre preparations, heavy traffic en route to Santry, and the after–effects of Christmas over–indulgence. Speaking to local media after the match, Mr Mulvanney expressed his relief that the ‘goals against’ statistic was kept to single digits.

On 6th February 2015, our mens’ rugby team took on our future colleagues at the Law Library, with the much–coveted Diarmuid O’Donovan Cup at stake. The match was played at Lansdowne RFC, and the two sides were treated to the luxury of using the changing rooms at the Aviva Stadium beforehand. The King’s Inns team, led by captain Fergus O’Higgins, took an early lead but a Law Library try on the stroke of half–time left the us trailing at the interval. Not to be deterred, the King’s Inns weathered an early storm in the second half, before centre Neal Flynn broke through from the 22 yard line and scored under the posts. A valiant defensive effort followed, but in the dying seconds of a puzzlingly generous period of injury time, the Law Library broke through and took the match with the last play of the game. The Inns players consoled themselves at the post–match drinks reception in the Lansdowne clubhouse, where Sara Moorhead SC presented the Law Library with their trophy.

The following Monday, a much depleted King’s Inns outfit were no match for the pace and power of the Blackhall Place team in Donnybrook. A heavy defeat was attributed to the mental and physical exertion of the defeat to the Law Library and the revelry which followed.

Within recent weeks, some of the summer sports have come to the fore. The ladies’ hockey team took on the Law Library at Pembroke Hockey club, and were defeated 4–2. Again, the much–famed collegiality of the Bar was demonstrated by the convivial atmosphere at the post–match drinks reception. The Law Library also inflicted defeats on the King’s Inns their duals in golf (resurrected after an absence of some years) and cricket.

It has not all been doom and gloom, however. A mixed tennis team organised by Una Nesdale managed to defeat Blackhall at Claremont LTC in April, thereby undermining our philosophy that winning is irrelevant and that it’s the taking part that counts. Over the coming weeks, our tag rugby outfit will take on teams from the Bar Council at Harold’s Cross, with the success of the tennis team acting as inspiration.

While results have not always gone our way, the enthusiasm and competitiveness demonstrated by all who participated in various sports throughout the year has brought much enjoyment and excitement to the King’s Inns. None of this would have been possible with the hard work and dedication of Ellen O’Brien, the LSDSI’s Sports Secretary for 2014/2015. She has contributed hard work, organisation skills, and even family members to the King’s Inns sporting cause, and for that the entire student body is grateful.