Not unlike an episode of Father Ted, the Tackle the Globe project is currently searching everywhere from rugby clubs to parochial houses in a bid to find an Irish priest or seminarian who can play rugby.

The project aims to focus on 15 grassroots male and female rugby players from across the world who come from unimaginably diverse backgrounds but share the one passion . . . rugby.

The Tackle the Globe project consists of a team of journalists, photographers and filmmakers who have already travelled much of the world interviewing rugby players to coincide with the Rugby World Cup.

They have already persuaded an Argentinean gaucho (cowboy), a Namibian diamond miner, a Scottish salmon farmer, a Canadian forest-firefighter and a bungee jumper from New Zealand to participate in the project.

Jeremy Hart of the Tackle the Globe team said, "We have got people from all over the world to participate in this project but we have not managed to get an Irish person yet. We initially tried to get somebody who played rugby and worked for the Guinness brewery to participate, but we could not find one. After that we thought that an Irish rugby-playing priest would be perfect for the project but so far we have not found one."

Amy Lucas, coordinator of the project, added: "It would be a real loss if we couldn't include it in our project."

However, the Tackle the Globe group's search for an Irish rugby-playing priest is not a completely off-the-wall idea, as Ireland did have a Triple Crown-winning priest in the past. Monsignor Canon Thomas Gavin, the only priest to play rugby for Ireland, enjoyed a string of victories with the Irish side and was in the team that defeated England and lifted the Triple Crown in 1949.

The Archbishop of Dublin had tried to prevent the young priest from playing until Cardinal Griffin intervened. Gavin never considered representing England, even though it was his place of birth. He was proud of his Irish roots . . . his father hailed from Westport, Co Mayo and his mother came from Ballaghaderren, Co Roscommon.

One of Gavin's most notable moments was the visit of the pope to Coventry in 1982, which he helped to organise.

He served at the parish of St Thomas More in Coventry for 26 years.

If you are an Irish rugby-playing priest, or know one, Tackle The Globe asks you to email amy@incword. com.