Will the real John Hodnett please stand up?

BY KIERAN McCARTHY

WHEN Munster rugby star John Hodnett popped into Carbery Rangers’ clubhouse in Ardagh with the URC trophy, he posed for a unique photo.

The former Ross footballer, who was man-of-the-match in Munster’s URC final triumph against the Stormers in South Africa, was flanked by four more men called John Hodnett – and they are all related.

It’s time to explore this family tree.

To simplify this, we’ll refer to Munster man John Hodnett as John the Rock, which is his nickname. (The origins of ‘The Rock’ date back to John’s early hurling days with Carbery Rangers when his coach Ger O’Donovan called him John the Rock because of his similarities to Cork legend Diarmuid ‘The Rock’ O’Sullivan). 

So, John the Rock’s grandfather was also called John Hodnett, from Froe in Rosscarbery. His grandfather’s brother is Con Hodnett whose son is also called John Hodnett, well known locally as an auctioneer; he is one of the men in the photo.

The brother of John the Rock’s father Dan is also called John Hodnett (or John Froe); that’s the Munster star’s uncle. So now we have three John Hodnetts, but there are more.

John the Rock’s grandfather had a first cousin Charles Hodnett who previously owned a pub in the square in Rosscarbery; Charles’ son is also a John Hodnett (John Chops), and his son is also called John Hodnett (John Chips), who would be a distant relative to John the Rock. That’s the five John Hodnetts in the one photo.

The relations didn’t stop there, as family and friends turned out for John the Rock’s quick visit with the URC trophy. His cousins Paul Hodnett and Brian Hodnett were also there, and John the Rock also took the URC trophy to his grand-aunt Fan.

He had been keeping fit in the rugby off-season by joining training with the Carbery Rangers senior football team before linking back up with Munster for pre-season.