History 1 of 5

1. Ulster Honours


Ulster Rugby Honours

Senior Ulster
Barry Calvert
Nigel Carr
Phillip Matthews
Iain Moles
Alistair Moles
Garth Calow
Wesley Campbell
During the 1980s, Ian Wallace (prop), Garson Mowat (scrum half), John Horner (hooker) and Hugh McCaughey (hooker) were involved as replacements for Senior Ulster and played on several Ulster President XVs.

Numerous players were capped by Ulster before joining Ards.
Richard Barker when at Dungannon
Stewart Porter when at Malone
Rab Irwin when at Ballymena; played for Barbarians when at Ards
Shane Stewart when at Ballymena
Andrew Matchett when at Ballymena
Scott Young when at Ballymena; capped by Junior Ulster when at Ards
Dani Boyd, one of the original Ards Ladies, was capped by Ulster when at Harlequins

Junior Ulster
Willie Shanks
Jimmy Rodgers
James Russell
Bert Jordan
Billy Heron
Eric Gourley
Denis Calvert
George Ferguson
Derrick Nash
Will Barker
Bobby Bishop
Crosby Cleland
Peter McKibbin
Wilbert ‘Salty’ Thompson
Reggie Haddock
Colin Anderson
Eric Gordon
Clarke Millar (son of Harry Millar)
Simon Baillie
Geoff Garrett
Stewart Paul
Scott Young
Nigel Carr, Clarke Millar, Wesley Campbell, Reggie Haddock and Barry Calvert represented Ulster League Sections 2 to 19 against the Ulster B team.
Mervyn Tweed when at Ballymoney
Michael Lawton when at CIYMS

Ulster Women’s Barbarians
Victoria Presho

Ulster Age-grade Levels
Abi Carson Ulster U16 Girls’ 7s
Callum O’Hanlon U16 Clubs
James McDowell U17 Clubs
Chris Agnew U18 Youth
James Kirkpatrick U18 Youth
Mark Banford U18 Youth
Colin Thompson U18 Youth
Shane Barr U18 Youth
Mark Wallace U18 Youth
Chris Jordan U18 Youth
Oliver Glenn U18 Clubs
Joel De’Pledge U18 Clubs
Jason Forsythe U19 Colts
Wilbert ‘Salty’ Thompson U19
Gary Chambers U19
Iain Moles Ulster U19
Garson Mowat Ulster U19
Nigel Carr U19
Calarke U19
Brian McGimpsey U20
John Horner U20
Peter Chalmers U20
Garvin Heron U20
Michael Lawton U20
Nigel Carr U23

Other Honours

John P Hamilton
In 1950 John was elected as the Ards representative to the IRFU Ulster Branch Junior Committee, a position he held for 40 successive years. In 1998 John was made made an Honorary Vice President of the IRFU Ulster Branch, one of very few that have ever been awarded.

David (D.A.) McMaster
In recognition of his success at Ards, D.A. was appointed coach to the Ulster team in season 1991/92, a position he held for 3 seasons during which time Ulster won the Interprovincial Championship twice and shared it with Leinster once.

Brian McLaughlin
Brian was Irish National skills coach for three years, winning two Triple Crowns in 2006 and 2007 before becoming Ulster coach 2009/10 – 2011/12 taking Ulster to the 2012 European Cup Final (unfortunately lost to Leinster). He played in the Ards side that won the Ulster Senior League in 1983/84 and was captain when the Ulster Senior Cup was won in 1986/87.

Robin Cole
Robin served on the IRFU Ulster Branch and Clubs Committees for many years before becoming President of the IRFU Ulster Branch in 2012/13. His maternal grandfather, H E Emerson, was President of the Irish Rugby Football Union in 1937/38. Robin had previously held many positions in the club and was President of Ards in season 1987/88, the year the club won the Ulster Senior Cup for the second time.