Kinsale, Ireland is Newport's sister city in the Celtic land. Newport Rugby welcomes the Kinsale RFC to our City by the Sea over Memorial Day Weekend this May.

Newport Rugby first played Kinsale in March of 1999. The game started off with decent weather and a view from their pitch almost was as nice as the view from Fort Adams. Soon the weather turned windy with rainy, hitting us from the side with a force that almost knocked Keith "Clean" Bruneau over. The game was close and Newport wound up losing in the end due to some late night Guinness drinking contests at the hotel pub the evening before. The Man of the Match for Newport was Doug “The Good” O’Neill and some big guy named Tom from Kinsale. After the game a great time was had by all at the White House, including a rousing game of Funny Bunnies. Check out pictures from the 1999 matchup here.

This year's match is named the Paul Crowley Cup in honor of former State Representative, Paul Crowley. Rep. Crowley recently passed in 2007, but his spirit and support of the Newport RFC lives on. He played an integral role in establishing Kinsale as Newport's sister city.

The match is sure to be a memorable one and should not be missed. For more information, please contact us.

Download a match poster here.