A protest vigil by members of religious orders at the Irish Rugby Football Union's headquarters in Lansdowne Road looks for the proposed rugby tour of South Africa to be cancelled.
Armed with banners and slogans 'Apartheid Rugby Is Not Sport' the priests, brothers, nuns and other protesters intend to hold a continuous vigil.
According to Jesuit Clerical Student Mr. Chris Harrison
To express our solidarity and to show that we are prepared to give a Christian witness to let the IRFU know that they do not go to South Africa with the goodwill of many many of the Irish people and that we wish to condemn them... if they proceed with the tour
He warns that the tour may harm the good work already done by the Church in South Africa and hopes it is never too late for the IRFU to cancel the trip. He appeals to the players,
To think about what they are doing and to think about what's at stake for those oppressed peoples in South Africa.
He also suggests that the government could intervene and withdraw the passports of players intending to travel to South Africa.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 8 April 1981.
