Benny Henry leading out the Mallow Barbarians RFc team for a game against Garrowen last June at Mallow RFC grounds. Pic S Murphy.
Benny Henry recently received a Volunteer Recognition Award from the Munster Branch of the IRFU, to honour his work with Cope Foundation and Mallow RFC in setting up Mallow Barbarians, one of the first disabled tag rugby teams in Munster. In September 2013, the IRFU Rugby Committees appointed a working group to establish a standardised inclusive framework and the resources necessary for the playing, coaching and promotion of rugby for individuals with disabilities, and in early 2015 contact was made between the Cope Foundation and Mallow RFC to discuss the establishment of an adapted tag-rugby team in Mallow. A partnership was formed between these organisations, and the official launch of Mallow Barbarians was held on Thursday 25th June, 2015 in Mallow Rugby Club, where the new team played a game against a team from Garryowen RFC.
The responsibility for the management and completion of the adapted tag rugby project in Mallow was in the hands of Paula Reilly and Breda Corcoran of Cope Foundation, and Eamonn Gardiner and Ben Henry of Mallow Rugby Club. Ben Henry was appointed Coach and Equality/Inclusiveness Officer. The formation of the new club is just the beginning of a movement for equality and inclusiveness. As one of the first clubs in Munster to embrace this challenge, Mallow RFC is proactive in assisting other cubs to join the movement. Ben Henry of Mallow RFC has written a Coaching Manual and designed a template of the implementation process to, and the club has presented these to the IRFU for consideration. The objective of the project is to create a hub in Mallow for adapted tag-rugby in North Cork, to encourage and facilitate other rugby clubs through the implementation process, to lead the way by example in creating an environment of equality and inclusiveness, and to play in Thomond Park.
Benny Henry was born in Dundalk, Co. Louth, in March, 1952, the third child in a family of eight children. In 1971 he joined Clarke’s Shoes as a trainee management accountant, and in 1976 he moved to the UK where he worked in industry at management level. In 1980 he moved to Germany where he worked in industry, and he returned to Ireland (Mallow) in 1984 and joined Mallow RFC. He also married around this time, and has two sons, Brian, 27, and Cormac, 19. He coached juvenile rugby for eight years with Mallow RFC. In 2006 he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a condition he challenges with a positive attitude. He has worked as a volunteer with Mallow Citizens’ Information, Mallow Credit Union, and the Cope Foundation.