‘WHALER’ JOINS THE HALL OF FAME
ROBERT ‘Whaler’ Doyle was the most shocked person in the room when he was recently presented with the ‘Pat Snell’ Hall of Fame Award.
The popular sports stalwart was caught completely unawares as representatives of Rathnew AFC bestowed upon him the highest accolade the club can award.
Whaler thought he was visiting the packed clubhouse at Merrymeeting, Shamrock Park, to see his son Trevor hand over the Republic of Ireland international jersey he wore while playing against England back in 2003. Instead, he found himself in the spotlight.
The club decided to honour Whaler for his wholehearted commitment to football in Rathnew. He collected the award from Euan Snell, the son of the late Pat Snell, who the award is named after.
Whaler inherited his love of sports, particularly football, from his father Ned, mother Nan and grandparents, Rob and Bridie Byrne.
That love of football is something Robert and his wife Kay have instilled in their own family and among those at the presentation were their children Karen, Siobhan, Robert Jr, Trevor and Mark, as well as their 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild, Ben.
The large gathering also got the chance to watch some archive footage of five matches played in the 1970s and 1980s.
As part of the celebrations, Trevor Doyle donated his Irish jersey to the committee of Rathnew AFC and it will proudly hang on the walls of Shamrock Park for all to admire.
Trevor caused England all sorts of problems as he helped Ireland to an historic 4-0 victory.