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Andes survivor to make rugby tour

Thursday, 28 February 2008

DUBLIN will be the venue for a unique rugby tour next month when a surviving hero of the 1972 Andes plane crash will visit with his rugby team for a number of games.
Old Christians Past Pupils’ Rugby Club members, joined by Dr Roberto Canessa, will take part in four games during the tour from March 12 to 19.
The Uruguayans will open the tour with a match against the Lansdowne Football Club under 20s team, followed by a senior team match on Saturday, March 15.
Two days later, on St Patrick’s Day, there will be another under 20s and senior game against Skerries RFC.
The highlight of the tour will be Dr Canessa’s address and presentation to a private luncheon at Croke Park on Wednesday, March 12.
Dr Canessa is an internationally renowned speaker on motivation, teamwork and personal potential, and his presentation will offer the guests an opportunity to learn about the power and determination of a group whose belief and hope helped them in their struggle for survival.
The harrowing 72-day ordeal that he, friends and family endured in the Andes after a plane crash in 1972 is central to his presentation, which will explore the miraculous escape they eventually made.
Their amazing story was told in the bestselling book and subsequent film, ‘Alive’.
Tour organiser Michael Branagan explained why Dr Canessa will be coming to Dublin for the rugby tour.
“The connection with Dr Canessa developed during a holiday to Uruguay in 2006 by a Skerries group including Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan, my father-in-law, and my family,” Mr Branagan said.

“We travelled to Uruguay to launch Hugh’s book, In the Shadow of the Ombú Tree, based on his great grandparents’ elopement to Uruguay some 150 years ago, and learned of the Old Christians and Andes disaster connection during our visit to Stella Maris, a school founded by the Irish Christian Brothers.”
Dr Canessa and his Old Christians’ teammates were subsequently invited to visit Ireland to play rugby by Michael and Hugh who have since worked tirelessly with a voluntary committee to make the invitation a success.
Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan said there was already a great buzz surrounding this tour in Skerries.
“We hope it will extend further through the county, encouraging those who aren’t usually interested in rugby to attend the events we have planned,” he stated.
The tour will also include a presentation to Skerries Community College and a Civic Reception at Ardgillan Castle.
Unsurprisingly, for a nation who won the inaugural football World Cup there will also be a soccer match against the visiting side held at The Park in Skerries Town.
International and Heineken Cup referees, Donal Courtney and Rob Debney will referee the matches against Lansdowne and Skerries.
All funds raised through the lunch are being used to fund the Old Christians Past Pupils’ Rugby Club visit, with a donation also being made to the Uruguayan Rugby Injury Fund.
Limited tables for the luncheon are still available at a cost of e125 per person or e1,000 for a table of eight.
To make a reservation please contact Jacinta O’Rourke on 086-8364572, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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