Reunited with lucky Munster charm

PAUL O’CONNELL’S uncle and his wife flew out from Shannon yesterday with the Munster team for the big game against Benetton Treviso carrying a very special piece in their luggage thanks to the Irish Examiner.

Retired bank manger Bobby Quilty, a brother of Paul’s mother Sheila, and his wife Eleanor have followed Munster in all their European campaigns and were in South Africa when Paul captained the Lions.

Over the years they have amassed a fine collection of club and international metal rugby badges which Eleanor has pinned to her lucky hat.

During a visit to Limerick on December 11 for the Munster game against Perpignan at Thomond Park, Eleanor left her lucky hat in the back of a taxi.

The couple, who live in Killinick, Co Wexford, had given up hope of ever getting the hat back.

“We got a phone call from a woman, Marian Walsh who comes from Castleisland. She told me that on New Year’s Eve she was in a night club in Limerick when she saw a hat thrown on the floor. On picking it up she saw that it had a lot of rugby pins on it. She mentioned it to one of her family. He told her he had seen something in the Examiner about a woman losing her hat with rugby pins in Limerick,” Bobby said.

“So she googled and came up with the story which contained our phone number. She posted the hat back to Eleanor and placed the pins in a separate box, and posted them as well. Most of the pins were ok, and we were delighted.

“Other people who read the story sent us on pins they collect, so Eleanor has more pins than ever now on the hat which she will be wearing in Italy for Saturday’s game,” Bobby said.

Eleanor is delighted to have the hat back. “It’s a bit faded, but I’ve brought it to games for years, and when I lost it I thought that I’d just have to get another one and start a new collection of pins. It was a lovely surprise to get the phone call from Marian."