Wednesday, February 20, 2008




Gay men don't like sport. Or at least that's what a lot of people think. So, imagine how surprised they're going to be this June when one of the biggest amateur sports events in the world comes to Ireland.




The Bingham Cup, commonly known as the gay rugby world cup, is named after Mark Bingham, one of the men who tried to stop the hijack of Flight 93 on September 11th. Bingham played for the San Francisco Fog, the first gay rugby team to be accepted into the California Rugby League.




To date, the Mark Bingham Cup has been hosted by London (2004) and New York (2006) and this year it's coming to Dublin.




The bid to host the Cup was won by Dublin team, the Emerald Warriors against competition from Paris and the current cup holders Sydney.




The Emerald Warriors RFC was established in 2004 to provide gay, bisexual and hetrosexual men the opportunity to take part in rugby union.




When the competition took place in New York, some thirty teams from around the world took part. The Dublin tournament is expected to smash that figure. So far over 600 participants have already registered! It has also received some major main stream recognition. Bookmakers Paddy Power are the main sponsors of the event.




The Mark Bingham Cup will take place at the DCU Sports Complex in Dublin 12th - 15th June 2008.




5 comments:

  1. Gay Rugby????

    I'm in, sexy guys (with man hams Milan) sporty, but gay so well groomed!

    Yummy!

    And in case my BF is reading this...they are gay so it's ok for me to drool!!

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  2. Anyone interested in a countdown of rugby players as has been suggested to me by another member of our little group?

    By the way, the guy pictured in the post is Barry Meegan, the current Mr. Gay Ireland.

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  3. Even straight rugby is pretty gay isn't it? All that grappling and testicle gripping.

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  4. JM - my thoughts exactly, ruggers are all over each other as it is. It's funny how sport of one of the last bastions to embrace homosexuality..unless you're a lesbian tennis player.

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