Last Thursday the death took place in Antrim Area Hospital of Jackie Coulter better known in Ballyclare and further afield as “Oul hand”. Jackie was one of only two remaining founder members of Ballyclare Rugby Football Club and just over a week ago had his eighty third birthday. He was the son of John and Edie Coulter who owned the Newsagents in the Square in Ballyclare in the last century. He played rugby as a pupil at Ballyclare High School over seventy years ago on an Under 14 team which is reckoned to be the first rugby side at the school -prior to then boys had played hockey and in deed had won the Ulster Schools hockey Cup on two occasions.
In 1949 Jackie was one of a small group of men who helped form Ballyclare R.F.C. known then as Ballyclarians. In those early days there was no clubhouse so the meeting place became Staffy Carmichael`s pub in Ballyeaston and it was there that the emblem of the White Hare was decided upon from a wonderful animal in a glass case still to be seen today in the same hostelry. The “Oul Hand” both played and went on tours with the club including one infamous trip to Galway and then in the seventies he travelled to Scotland with the old 3B XV and due to an injury to a key player he had to turn out in the pack against Cambuslang R.F.C. close to theage of 50!
Jackie and his late wife Joanna`s home at Margaret Avenue in the town became a base for b oys from Ballyclare High and they gathered to watch Irish international games-those same boys played alongside the “Oul Hand” and others on a very successful 3B XV that won the East Antrim Cup in 1971 and 1972 -they then went on to win the Schools Cup for the school in 1973 for the one and only time.
Some of the incidents in games involving Jackie proved to be often amazing -on one occasion he introduced a substitute when it was not only illegal but had not even been used at international level -he told the referee that this was a new law and quite acceptable -the upshot was a series of letters between the club Hon. Secretary and the Ulster Branch at Ravenhill . One can also recall a match in which his team started with sixteen men ! As he said “At the first scrum I could nae find a place for my heid” -he agreed to go off and ran the line in his club jersey and at one point was given a pass by one of the wingers who got an earful from him !
Jackie became an institution at the annual club dinner with a wonderful group of stories .Back in 1999 Stade Francais were training at Ballyclare for the European Cup semi final v Ulster. This coincided with the club`s Presidents Dinner and four officials from the Parisian club were invited./ As usual Jackie was on his feet with a great range of yarns -this time the Ulster President John Callaghan had to translate from the vernacular East Antrim tongue into English and then into schoolboy French ! The visitors remained non plussed.
Jackie Coulter was a real character both within the town and the club -he will be remembered in many ways. The players at the Cloughan have an Annual place kicking competition for the Coulter Cup given by Jackie thirty years ago and recently one of the pitches at the grounds has been named as the Coulter pitch. On Saturday past at all four matches involving Clare teams everyone paid tribute to his memory with a minutes silence.
The Ballyclare club turned out in force on Monday at his funeral service in Ballyclare Presbyterian Church and the sympathy from players and officials are extended to all the members of the Coulter family.
