Ashe receives prestigious award
Devin Toner began his illustrious rugby career as a mini player with North Kildare RFC. The club subsequently commissioned a special trophy to commemorate his association with North Kildare.
Now the Devon Toner Perpetual Award is presented annually to a person in recognition of the significant contribution that person has made to the development of rugby in the North Midlands area.
This year the award was presented to Tom Ashe of Naas RFC at the NBorth Midlands finals in Portlaoise RFC on Sunday.
Tom’s introduction to rugby came in the early 1980’s at the behest of one of the stalwarts of Naas RFC – Joe Kavanagh – who sold the social aspect of the club to Tom.
A natural prop Tom played with Naas for many years. His playing career was mainly as a member of the seconds with occasional outings with the firsts. During seasons 1985/86 and 1986/87 he captained Naas 3rds and during his playing career Tom won Lalor and Spiers Cup medals.
Tom’s commitment to rugby over the past 40 years is reflected firstly in his commitment to his home club. Apart from his prowess on the field he went on to serve in many positions. In the 2007/08 he was President/Chairman of the club. He has also served as Youths Chair, Chair of Facilities, Grounds Manager and Referees Liaison Officer. Once he retired from playing the game, he took up a new role as a touch judge where he served for in excess of 15 seasons.
In 1988 Tom joined John Walsh as the Naas representative on the North Midlands committee where he played an active part for the next 34 seasons. As Vice-Chair and Chair of the Area he represented the North Midlands on the Leinster Junior Committee, now the Metropolitan and Provincial Committee. He was elected the inaugural Chair of the Leinster Junior Committee where he served for two terms – 2013/14 to 2016/17.
In accepting the award Tom recognised the contribution of his colleagues at Naas RFC, Pat Brophy, Eric Ronaldson and Liam Rowan: and representatives of other Clubs in the Area including Ollie Delaney, Joe Flannagan, Trevor Waldrop who had provided with much advice and guidance in the early days.
Tom’s commitment was not just to the club, the Area and Leinster, he also was hugely involved as a support member of the IRFU logistics team. Having a vehicle with a towbar and a trailer, Tom was often seen, over a period of about 12 years, hauling the scrummaging machines to various training venues in Ireland, UK and ultimately at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
Tom was a frequent travelling supporter of both Leinster and Ireland. His travels took him to not only to Edinburgh, Twickenham, Cardiff, Paris and Rome but to some lesser known grounds across Europe. Tom also travelled to Australia supporting the Lions and was lucky enough to be in Chicago with Ireland for the New Zealand game.
In 1981 Naas RFC introduced an award to recognise the Club Person of the Year. Tom was the first recipient of Percy Lyons Shield. On Sunday he was recognised for his long service to the North Midlands Area.
