The
Dalvey Cup Club
Story
Est. 1990
Our Story
When I look back to where the Dalvey Cup Club began, I could never have imagined the journey it would take us on.
In 1990 I opened a Pub on Salford Quays Sam Platt’s my best friend who is no longer with us, Mr Pete Bills, presented me with the very first Dalvey Cup. It was a simple gift, but it meant the world to me. From that day on, whenever a friend celebrated a special birthday, retirement or milestone, I would give them a Dalvey Cup. It became my way of recognising friendship, loyalty and life’s special moments and remembering Absent Friends.
Then in 2006 everything changed.
Our Journey Began With
An Act of Kindness
A young rugby player from De La Salle Rugby in Salford, Chris McGuirk, suffered a devastating spinal injury during a match and was left a quadriplegic.
Our community came together in an extraordinary way and over the course of twelve months raised £250,000.
Rather than simply handing Chris the money, we chose to give him something that would last a lifetime – a specially adapted home built on land we purchased for him.
As the house was nearing completion, Chris asked me a question that would change the future of the Dalvey Cup forever:
“What can I give to all the people who have helped me?”
Without hesitation, I replied,
“Give them a Dalvey Cup”
That single conversation became the inspiration for the Dalvey Cup
Club.
I decided to number every Dalvey Cup, create the Club’s rules and build a community based not on status or success, but on friendship, respect, generosity and giving something back.
Extraordinary Things
Extraordinary People
We now have a website ‘Dalvey Cup Club Members List’ and we are proud to have more than 770 members, each one playing a part in a story that continues to grow. Together we celebrate life’s achievements, support one another through difficult times and help those in our local communities who need us most.
We now have a website ‘Dalvey Cup Club Members List’ and we are proud to have more than 770 members, each one playing a part in a story that continues to grow. Together we celebrate life’s achievements, support one another through difficult times and help those in our local communities who need us most.
What makes the Dalvey Cup Club special is not the cup itself, It is what the cup represents.
It represents kindness without expectation.
It represents ordinary people doing extraordinary things when they come together.
Every month many of our members contribute just £5. Individually it may seem a small gesture, but together those contributions become life changing.
In 2025 we helped raise in the region of £20,000 for good causes. This year, with the support of our first Charity Golf Day, our members, sponsors and friends, we hope to raise more than £75,000 for local charities.
Our ambition is to become a registered charity, enabling us to help even more people in the years ahead. But whatever the future holds, our values will never change. The Dalvey Cup Club has never been about trophies. It has always been about people.
It is about celebrating friendship, creating memories, supporting our communities and leaving the world a little better than we found it, but most importantly it’s about remembering ‘Absent Friends’.
To every member who proudly owns a numbered Dalvey Cup, thank you. You are part of something truly special.
I hope these few words reminds you that every act of kindness, no matter how small, has the power to change someone’s life.
Together, we are more than a club.
We are a family.
John W.D. Camilleri
Founder Dalvey Cup Club
7th August 2026
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