Irish Examiner view: London Irish, champions of the exiled, face their own hour of need

It is to be hoped that they find their rescuers and that the club can continue to be a light for people seeking a home in sport 

Mick Crossan returned London Irish to London via a ground share with  Brentford. Picture: Paige Young

In these volatile times, sports clubs and teams can provide a glue crucial to the sense of identity and community spirit that holds us together.

In Ireland, the essentially local nature of our competitions has withstood, despite warnings to the contrary, the self-inflicted economic vicissitudes of the 21st century and has provided an important continuity to day-to-day life.

How much more difficult might it be for an enterprise which relies on the ebb and flow of the diaspora, which does not own its own ground, and which has changed venues three times in 15 years? 

Studying the fortunes of London Irish, a storied team that has provided a welcome to people from this country or away from home seeking companionship, or even a game, for the past 125 years, is a revealing tale of competitive pressures and generosity.

London Irish, “The Exiles”, are close to a takeover by an American consortium which needs to pass the Rugby Football Union’s “fit and proper persons” test before it can attempt to rescue the Premiership club, which is carrying around €35m in debt.

London Irish has provided a welcome to people from this country or away from home seeking companionship, or even a game, for 125 years. Picture: Tim Goode/PA  

This financial burden is before it begins repaying covid recovery loans to the British government.

The English game, like its Welsh counterpart, is undergoing a severe crisis of confidence. Two clubs — Wasps and Worcester Warriors — have already entered administration this season.

The London Irish majority shareholder, Mick Crossan, a founder of the Powerday waste management empire, is a man with substantial Irish lineage, born and brought up in north-west London to parents from Cavan and Galway. 

He has offered to give away his beloved club for free if new owners bring in the resources to develop it. 

When Crossan took charge, he enumerated several ambitions. He wanted to return them to London, which he achieved through a ground share at the new stadium of Premier League soccer team Brentford.

He wanted to re-establish its tradition as a broad church: “Everyone is welcome at London Irish — it’s about bringing the craic back. All the places that the Irish could congregate in London have gone. We don’t want to make this all about being Irish, we are called the Exiles for a reason; everyone who is not in their own country is an exile," he said.

The white knight investors are reputed to have links to other sporting organisations, but whether they can turn
London Irish, who are having a successful season by their lights and maintain an impressive conveyor belt of young players, into a 15-person version of ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ and a global brand is a tantalising question. Among Crossan’s other ambitions were: “Premiership winners, European champions, world-dominators...” 

Let us hope they find their rescuers and that the club can continue to be a light for people seeking a home in sport, however temporary.