Tipperary town Olympian returns to a hero's reception in her home town

Olympian Amee-Leigh Murphy Crowe returned home to a heroes reception in Tipperary town on Saturday, August 3.

Murphy Crowe who began playing rugby aged 15 at her local club, Clanwilliam RFC, came back to her home grounds to be welcomed by club members and members of the local community in Tipperary town.

A piper played her into the grounds where she was met by an array of flags, bunting and lots of colourful banners, to recognise her achievements on the world stage.

Club officers were there to greet her along with her 94 year old athletics coach Breeda Christie, who was looking every bit as young as she was when she was coaching Amee-Leigh at 8 years of age over 20 years ago.

Also present was the Club President Liam Downey, who presented her with a bouquet of flowers, and her former club coach, Padraig Culbert, who outlined some of the international achievements of Amee-Leigh, the flying Irish winger who scored three tries in Ireland's opening two games at the Olympics.

Speaking at the reception Amee-Leigh thanked Breeda Christie for her coaching expertise and described her as "Tipp town's national treasure".

"I can't thank you enough for helping me make my way to rugby and to Paris 2024," said Amee-Leigh.

Pat Ryan, who was compere for the reception, asked Amee-Leigh a few questions about her career and he began by asking her what brought her into rugby.

"I was doing an individual sport for quite a long time and coming into secondary school I wanted to get involved in team sports. I enjoyed being part of a team as they can become your best friends and your family. When I met my boyfriend Niall, I saw that his family were big rugby fanatics and they influenced me a lot including taking me to games at Thomond Park and I became a massive Munster fan. Clanwilliam offers a welcoming and warm community and they were really good people to be around. I really enjoyed spending time at Clanwilliam and I had great fun at training, even in the rain! I would never change the journey that I have been on for anything," said Amee-Leigh.

Speaking about her journey, Amee-Leigh went on to say that it was quite an honour to have had a journey like that: "To be able to have a journey like that, to be able to play underage and then to play for your province is such an honour, and the destination of playing at the Olympics. The main part of that journey is how I actually got there in taking all those steps and working hard for Ireland. One thing my parents have taught me is make sure and enjoy your life as some people don't get life for that long."

Amee-Leigh went on to speak about her career highlights: "For me in January when we won in Perth (first World Series win), there is no other feeling than being the best in the world and that has been the highlight of my career to date. To be able to say at that moment that you were the best team in the series, was just something so special. To be able to do it against Australia, where they were at home with a home crowd, was just a wonderful moment. Our captain Lucy Mulhall is an inspiration. She epitomises what a good person is and she has taught me how to be a good person. If you are a good person first you will become a good rugby player, and she has taught that to us all. She is a real class athlete and she has a never say die attitude."

Before she went off to meet the supporters and to sign autographs, Amee-Leigh extended thanks to her family, her boyfriend, her team mates and to the community of Tipperary town and district, who had shown such support to her during her preparations and during the games.

In conclusion she had some words of advice for younger people: "I never though as a child that I would end up on a rugby pitch. I thought I would go to the Olympics to be an athlete and I didn't, and that dream sank for a few years until I found the Rugby Sevens Programme. Never give up on your dreams. I had always dreamed of being an Olympian and to do it is extra special. It is really hard if you have a dream and you want to achieve something that high. It is not going to be handed to you and I never expected anything in my life to be handed to me, but if you have a massive dream you just have to dig into it and don't stop believing in it, even if it is a rainy Tuesday night or a Sunday when you want to stay. Just think about the end goal and if you can achieve that goal then you will make my heart content in knowing that you gave it the very best shot."