By BrianC
May 25 2005

Each year we ask you to chose one of your fellow supporters to be Craic Supporter of the Season. Despite our occasional disagreements it has to be said that we have a truly wonderful set of supporters.

This is recognised widely in the rugby-supporting world. Any test of opinion that has been taken, however unscientific, has rated us the most friendly in the land 'By a country mile'. It is a reputation we have managed to retain despite a substantial growth in crowd numbers over the years. This reputation is a cornerstone of our club, one of its biggest assets and something that we guard jealously.

Craic Supporter of the Season 20045

The nomination committee comprises the three editors of this site during the 04/05 season BrianC, Griff and Subtel together with the previous seasons winners Reading Fatboy and OxonRob. For obvious reasons none of the nomination committee can be nominees.

There are undoubtedly a good number of people out there who do a lot of sterling work for London Irish that are not on this list. The problem is that we don't know them, that is why this is 'The Craic' supporter of the season. When we first pooled names we came up with ten different suggestions. This we have whittled down to a list of six. These six we are asking you to vote for, the poll is at the bottom of this article.

We had some difficulty last season with an attempt to rig the Supporter of the Season poll so this years one is being held on a commercial site, outside Sportnetwork. Participants are restricted to one vote each and all voting IP addresses will be logged. In the event of any attempt to rig this years poll it will be cancelled and the nomination committee will make the decision themselves.

The nominations for Craic Supporter of the Season 2004/5 are.....

Steve Rolls (Reading_Glasses) – Steve is landlord of one of our very favourite pubs The Allied Arms. In this roll his contribution to us, as supporters, cannot be understated. Always welcoming, Steve also acts as lost property office, left luggage center and merchandising outlet. Steve’s pub frequently hosts that popular beat combo, The Gagging Ferrets. By doing this he has become the main link man between the outside world and their somewhat elusive manager, Svengali. Those who have been to one of our Henley gatherings will also know that he mixes the meanest Pimms on the planet.

Martyn Cooper (Eek the Weeble) – Martyn is one of our more colourful supporters. Especially so when he dons his tutu at the Madstad for a cause, this he last did at our Saint Patrick's game where he raised a considerable sum of money at the same time as attracting a great deal of attention from the laydeez. He conceived the idea of the Fatbloke Sevens and is active in its organisation, indeed he is an active participant in all things fairy.

Claire Gozney (Mrs Goz) - Claire contributes to her fellow supporters in many ways. This season she put an inordinate amount of work in to ensure that we could be All Together at the London Double Header. At home matches she works as East Stand drummer (Believe me, it is hard work) and on coach trips to away games she is provider of the most wonderful sausage rolls to the masses. Claire has further contributed to the Craic by writing match reports of the highest calibre including perhaps our funniest one of the season Don’t Panic Captain Mainwaring.

Bill Newton (Bisach) - Bill is one of the doers rather than the politicians within the supporter base. I've rarely ever seen him without a camera in his hand, or cajoling people into a group to be photographed. Rarely seen without a smile on his face perhaps Bill's best known contribution to this family is his constant supply of videos, dvd's, photographs, whatever. All at no profit, indeed at cost, to himself. Last season Bill also organised the Craic sponsorship of three players. Bill is a qualified referee and, amongst other things, officiates at the Fatbloke sevens. Wherever London Irish are, Bill is.

Marie Hilliard (Mulledwinemarie) - Marie could perhaps most readily be described as The Queen of the Eastiebeasties. Ever present, ordering people to blow up balloons, eat sandwiches, buy wigs, tidy up or to just lighten up and enjoy themselves. The fact that she doesn't have an entry in last seasons 'Meet the Family' series is not down to modesty or shyness. She simply couldn't work out what she was going to put into the answers. Marie is arguably the highest profile single supporter in the club. She wasn't on the nomination list in 2003 as that year she was on the nomination committee. She was narrowly runner up last season.

Barry Buckley ( Baz of London Irish) - This season Barry took it upon himself to raise money for cancer research. Whereas others in our community would often do ‘normal’ things, such as abseiling down Twickenham, Barry went a step further. He undertook a Himalayan trek, raising £6000 in the process. This we came to know on the site as Baz Trek

So now it's down to us, the denizens of The Craic, to chose our supporter of the season. Not an easy choice is it? The link to the poll is HERE. Get voting!