O’Driscoll to help mark 150 years of Carrick RFC

Former British and Irish Lions star Brian O’Driscoll will be the special guest at a gala dinner set to be held at the Titanic Centre, Belfast, in June.

O’Driscoll, who skippered Ireland for eight years and captained the Lions in the 2005 tour of New Zealand, has already proven a big draw for local fans after tickets for the event sold out within days.

The ex-Leinster star’s C.V. is overflowing with record-breaking achievements. He is the most-capped player in test history, making eight appearances for the Lions and 133 in the green of Ireland.

He’s also Ireland’s record try-scorer, having landed 46 scores in an unforgettable international career which included 2009’s Six Nations Grand Slam success before signing off by winning the championship again earlier this year.

O’Driscoll will hold a question and answer session at the club’s big bash which will be compered by rugby commentator Jim Neilly.

Carrick RFC president, Bill Crymble, told the Times: “It’s quite a coup for us to have Brian O’Driscoll coming along. We have new kits ordered to mark the anniversary and we are going on tour, but this is the highlight of the year.”

He added: “We launched the event at our recent Sportsman’s Dinner held on a Friday evening and by Monday morning we were sold out. We have 430 guests coming along.”

On the playing side of things, the club’s First XV has set its sights on achieving promotion to Qualifying 1 in 2015 and having a good run in the Towns’ Cup.

“We are there or thereabouts at the minute,” added Crymble. “We have a couple of big games coming up over Christmas and just shortly after that against the teams in front of us - Omagh and Coleraine.”