| Rugby league in Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Country | Ireland |
| Governing body | Rugby League Ireland |
| National team | Ireland |
| Nickname | Wolfhounds |
| First played | 1934[a] |
| National competitions | |
Rugby league is ateam sport played inIreland on anall-Ireland basis.
In May 1934Wigan beatWarrington 32–19 in an exhibition match inDublin. Twenty years later, in May 1954, Warrington were again defeated byHalifax in bothBelfast (34–15) and Dublin (23–11).[citation needed]
Modern-day Rugby league in Ireland really began in 1989 when Brian Corrigan founded theDublin Blues Rugby League,[1] consisting mostly ofrugby union players who wanted to stay fit over the summer. The Blues competed against touring teams fromBritain, scoring a number of victories overBritish amateur opposition.
In early 1995, the BritishRugby Football League development arm financed the position of a Development Officer for Ireland, providing a boost to the development of the game.[citation needed]
A student's framework was also established with teams representing Ireland at the Student's Rugby League World Cup in Australia in 1992 and the UK in 1996 comprising Ireland based and UK based players. In 1996 the tournament was based in Warrington, England and several members of the Irish national champion Dublin Blues represented the Ireland Student Team against USA, Western Samoa, New Zealand, Japan and Wales. These includedPhelim Comerford, Gavin Lee,Gavin Gordon Robert McDonnell, Paul Ryan, Damien Murphy, Dara MacCarthy (Top Try Scorer 1996/97) andSean Cleary.[citation needed]
In 1995 Ireland formed its first competitive team to play against theUSA in Washington DC onSt. Patrick's Day. Ireland won 24–22.
In 1996, the inaugural Ireland "State of Origin" series was established between Northern Ireland and the Republic where representatives of the club teams engaged in the All-Ireland competition played for each region over a 3 match competition. The inaugural winner was the Southern team. Some of the players involved in the State of Origin series from both regions over the next few years included some of the original players with Rugby League in Ireland:Eric Doyle,Phelim Comerford,Rickey Smith,Innes Gray,Brian Carney,Sean Cleary,Gavin Gordon,Conor O'Sullivan,Garret Molloy, Mick Molloy, Alan Cuffe, Rody Corrigan, Phelim Dolan, Dan McCartney, Mark Cashen andMick Browne.[citation needed]
Competitive matches were established between teams inLeinster andUlster: Schoolboy matches were played betweenDublin andBelfast schools, Open Age Clubs competed against each other in the All-Ireland Challenge Cup. Teams included Belfast Wildcats and Bangor Vikings fromUlster. FromLeinster there were Dublin-based Dublin Blues, North Side Saints, Tallaght Tigers,[2] Churchtown Warriors, Seapoint Sharks and Bray-based East Coast Panthers. From Munster the Cork Bulls were formed.[citation needed] Northside Saints and Cork Bulls had a number of successes, but the long-established Dublin Blues were always pre-eminent and there or thereabouts when it came to the trophy presentations.[citation needed]
The modern-day Rugby League Ireland was formed in 2001 initially in Leinster and Munster conferences, prior to this the competition was known as Ireland Rugby League,[3] though after a season the league reverted to a national competition for two seasons before the conferences were reintroduced for 2004.
In 2006 the Leinster and Munster conferences were abandoned in favour of an all-Ireland league, but conference play was reintroduced for the 2007 season, this time on a north–south basis, below the Elite division.
For 2008 two national divisions operate, the Carnegie League and the Emerald Rugby National Conference.
In 2009 the Emerald National Conference has been replaced by the Emerald League run on a merit league basis.[4]
In 2010 the Provincial Conferences were re-instated with the Leinster, Munster and Ulster Conferences. A total of 17 teams competed during the season.
The Conference Champions wereBallynahinch Rabbitohs in Ulster,Dublin City Exiles in Leinster, andTreaty City Titans in Munster.[citation needed]
In 2011 an academy was set up inLimerick where talented players would be identified to sign with Super League clubs, 4 were eventually signed acrossSt Helens R.F.C.,Castleford Tigers andLeeds Rhinos.[5]
In Ireland thegoverning body isRugby League Ireland (RLI).
The RLI Premiership is the top division of men's rugby league in Ireland.Currently, there are 5 teams competing.
| Club | Location |
|---|---|
| Longhorns |  Dublin |
| Cork Bulls | Cork |
 Galway Tribesmen | Galway |
 Dublin City Exiles | Dublin |
 Banbridge Broncos |  Banbridge |
The RLI Women's Premiership is the top division of women's rugby league in Ireland. The competition began in 2021. It currently has 3 teams competing.
| Club | Location |
|---|---|
| Galway Tribeswomen | Galway |
| Dublin City Exiles | Dublin |
| Banbridge Broncos | Banbridge |
There are two Ireland national rugby league teams –Ireland andIreland A. Ireland is the primary team which is made up of Irish players who compete in leagues across the globe whereas Ireland A is made up of players who play in the amateurIrish Elite League only. Irish players are also eligible for theGreat Britain national team.
Ireland also has a strong students team who competed in the 2008 Students world cup and finished 2nd in the student's 4 nations tournament in 2009. Ireland finished 2nd again in the student's 4 nations tournament in 2023 beating Wales and Scotland in a strong showing for the team.
There are two weekly rugby league newspapers in the UKRugby Leaguer & League Express andLeague Weekly and two monthly magazines,Rugby League World and Thirteen Magazine. Most of their content covers the sport in Britain, Australia and New Zealand but Irish rugby league is also covered. These publications are usually only available by subscription in Ireland.
International rugby league magazine covers all rugby league internationally and has featured Ireland's domestic season, road to the world cup and interviewedLuke Ambler.[6]
A rugby union publication called Emerald Rugby covers rugby league in Ireland each month.
BBC Sport own the rights to broadcast a highlights package called theSuper League Show which was first broadcast in Northern Ireland in 2008. Prior to this it had only been broadcast in the North of England.[7]Rugby League Raw is not broadcast in Northern Ireland despite the BBC owning the rights to do so. The BBC covers the Rugby LeagueChallenge Cup from the rounds in which the top clubs enter.
BBC Radio 5 Live andBBC Radio 5 Sports Extra carry commentary from a selection of Super League matches each week.
LiveSuper League andNational Rugby League games are shown onSky Sports Arena with highlights also being shown on the channel.[8][9] From the 2022 season, 10 liveSuper League games per season will be shown onChannel 4, the first time the league will be shown on terrestrial television.[10]Championship games are shown onPremier Sports, with one game a week being aird.[11]
Setanta Sports Ireland broadcast highlights of the 2005 and 2006 pre-season Dublin challenge matches, and the 2005 European Nations Cup, on its Sports Weekly and Sports Monthly programmes.
Manchester basedChannel M show some National League and amateur rugby on their Code XIII programme.
Since its formation in 1997, winners of theRLI Premiership have been eligible to play in theRugby Football League'sChallenge Cup. Results of Irish teams are:[12]
| Year | Club | Round | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Dublin Blues | R1 | Lost to Dewsbury Moor 32-7 |
| 1999 | Northside Saints | R1 | Lost to Siddal 90-10 |
| 2000 | Dublin Blues | R1 | Lost to Farnworth 54-2 |
| 2001 | Bangor Vikings | R1 | Lost to New Earswick 36-20[13] |
| 2002 | Cork Bulls | R1 | Lost to Dewsbury Celtic 18-35 |
| 2003 | Dublin Exiles | R1 | Lost to Birkenshaw 56-0 |
| 2018 | Longhorns | R1 | lost to West Hull 58-10 |
| 2019 | R1 | Lost to Lock Lane 16-10 | |
| 2020 | R1 | Lost to Normanton Knights 30-24 | |
| 2022 | Galway Tribesman | R1 | Lost to Pilkington Recs 36-10 |
| 2023 | Dublin City Exiles | R1 | Beat Hammersmith Hills Hoists 42-8 |
| 2023 | Dublin City Exiles | R2 | Lost to Orrell St James 68-14 |
| 2025 | Longhorns | R1 | Lost to Ince Rose Bridge 56-12 |
TheIreland national wheelchair rugby league team has existing since 2012 under the governance ofRugby League Ireland. The first games in Ireland came in 2024 whenGalway hosted the 2024Celtic Cup, with Ireland setting up their first domestic competition, an inter provincial league, a few months later.[14][15] The 2024 inter provincial league saw Leinster beat Munster 58–30 in November.[16]
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