Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 3, 2026

All-Ireland League (rugby union)

The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior mens rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was inaugurated in the 1990–91 season.

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All-Ireland League
Current season or competition:
2025–26 All-Ireland League (rugby union)
SportRugby union
Instituted1990 (1990)
Number of teams50
Nations
HoldersSt Mary's College (3rd title) (2025–26)
Most titlesShannon (9 titles)
Websiteirishrugby.ie/all-ireland-leagues

The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior mens rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league was inaugurated in the 1990–91 season.

Cork Constitution F.C are the only club to have constantly retained their status in Division 1 since 1990/91. All other clubs in the league have experienced relegation.

The league is the second highest level of rugby union in Ireland, as professional teams representing the four provinces of Ireland play in the United Rugby Championship.

Division 1 sides may field no more than two professional players in their matchday sides, and only one may be a forward. Division 2 sides may not field professional players. Foreign professional players may not play in the League. Cork Constitution, the inaugural winners, are the only club to have retained top division status since the inception of the league.1

Format

The League consists of 5 divisions of 10 teams each playing a double round-robin competition using the standard Rugby union bonus points system. The season runs from mid-September until mid-April, with an approximately four-week break in matches from mid-December to early-January. At the completion of the league phase the top 4 teams in Division 1A qualify for the play-off semi-finals, with the two winners meeting in the final.

The 10th placed teams in Divisions 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B are relegated to Divisions 1B, 2A, 2B and 2C respectively while the winners of Divisions 1B, 2A, 2B and 2C are promoted up one division. The 9th placed team in Division 1A along with the 2nd to 4th placed teams in Division 1B enter a play-off competition with the winner playing in Division 1A the following season. This same play-off competition also applies to the other divisions.

The 10th placed team in Division 2C are relegated from the league to their respective Provincial qualifying league and are replaced by the winner of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship. The 9th placed team in Division 2C play the runner-up of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship with the winner playing in Division 2C the following season.2

All-Ireland Provincial League Championship

The All-Ireland Provincial League Championship is contested by the winners of the four provincial qualifying leagues in Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster. They are drawn to play in two semi-finals with the winners meeting in the final, where the winner will play in Division 2C of the A.I.L. for the following season. The runner-up plays against the 9th place team in Division 2C and the winner of this play-off will also play in Division 2C of the A.I.L. the following season.

History

Prior to 1990, there was no national league in Ireland. Each of the four provincial unions had its own cup and league tournament. In 1991, after almost five years of discussion and consultation with clubs, the All-Ireland League (AIL) was introduced with two divisions, division 1 with 9 clubs and division 2 with 10 clubs.345 The AIL was expanded to four divisions in 1993–94,6 with small variations in the numbers of teams per division in subsequent seasons.78

In 2000–01 the league was restructured to three divisions, each with 16 teams.9 After the 1995 introduction of professionalism in rugby union, the IRFU increased the importance of the provinces, which from 2002 participated in the Celtic League (now the United Rugby Championship) as full-time teams rather than ad hoc selections of club players. Therefore, the best Irish players no longer played in the AIL. In 2004 the IRFU proposed scrapping the All-Ireland League and reintroducing a provincial league system in 2005–06 which would act as qualifiers for a curtailed three division AIL structure in the second half of the season, but this model did not receive the support of clubs or rugby pundits.1011 In 2007 the IRFU agreed that the structure of the All-Ireland League would remain as three divisions with 16 clubs each for seasons 2008–09 and 2009–10. In 2009–10, division 1 was split into 1A and 1B with eight teams in each as a trial and then continued in season 2010–11.12 In 2011–12 division 1A and 1B had 10 clubs each and divisions 2 and 3 were reformatted as divisions 2A and 2B with 16 clubs in each division.12

Previous winners

1990/91 – 1996/97

From 1991 to 1997 the team finishing top of Division 1 were crowned league champions.

Season Title No. 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Pts 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up Pts
1990–9113 1st Cork Constitution 14pts Garryowen 12pts
1991–9214 1st Garryowen 14pts Shannon 12pts
1992–9315 1st Young Munster 13pts Cork Constitution 12pts
1993–9416 2nd Garryowen 16pts Cork Constitution 14pts
1994–9517 1st Shannon 20pts Blackrock College 14pts
1995–9618 2nd Shannon* 16pts Garryowen 16pts
1996–9719 3rd Shannon 24pts Lansdowne 18pts

* Shannon finished ahead of Garryowen on Points Difference

1997/98 – 2010/11

From 1998 to 2011 the league title was decided via play-offs, with 4 teams qualifying for the semi-finals and the winners of the Final were crowned league champions. From 1998 to 2009 the top 4 teams from Division 1 qualified for the semi-finals while for 2010 and 2011 the top 3 teams from Division 1A along with the winner of Division 1B qualified for the semi-finals.

Season Title No. 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Result 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up Table toppers Finishing position
of Champions
1997–9820 4th Shannon 15-9 Garryowen Shannon (24pts) 1st
1998–9921 2nd Cork Constitution 14-11
(aet) 		Garryowen Garryowen (16pts) 2nd
1999–0022 1st St Mary's College 25-22 Lansdowne St Mary's College (37pts) 1st
2000–0123 1st Dungannon 46-12 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (57pts) 3rd
2001–0224 5th Shannon 21-17 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (52pts) 2nd
2002–0325 1st Ballymena 28-18 Clontarf Clontarf (61pts) 3rd
2003–0426 6th Shannon 22-16 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (51pts) 2nd
2004–0527 7th Shannon 25-20 Belfast Harlequins Shannon (51pts) 1st
2005–0628 8th Shannon 30-3 Clontarf Garryowen (61pts) 4th
2006–0729 3rd Garryowen 16-15 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (60pts) 3rd
2007–0830 3rd Cork Constitution 18-8 Garryowen Cork Constitution (58pts) 1st
2008–0931 9th Shannon* 19-19
(aet) 		Clontarf Cork Constitution (52pts) 2nd
2009–1032 4th Cork Constitution 17-10
(aet) 		St Mary's College Cork Constitution (46pts) 1st
2010–1133 1st Old Belvedere 20-17 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (47pts) 2nd

* Shannon won on first try rule

2011/12 – 2013/14

From 2012 to 2014 the team finishing top of Division 1A were crowned league champions.

Season Title No. 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Pts 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up Pts
2011–1234 2nd St Mary's College 66pts Clontarf 64pts
2012–1335 1st Lansdowne 68pts Garryowen 50pts
2013–1436 1st Clontarf 64pts Old Belvedere 63pts

2014/15 – Present

Since 2015 the top 4 clubs in Division 1A qualify for the league semi-finals with the winner of the final crowned league champions.

Season Title No. 1st place, gold medalist(s) Champions Result 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up Table toppers Finishing position
of Champions
2014–1537 2nd Lansdowne 18-17 Clontarf Lansdowne (65pts) 1st
2015–1638 2nd Clontarf 28-25 Cork Constitution Clontarf (64pts) 1st
2016–1739 5th Cork Constitution 25-21 Clontarf Lansdowne (58pts) 4th
2017–1840 3rd Lansdowne 19-17 Cork Constitution Lansdowne (71pts) 1st
2018–1941 6th Cork Constitution 28-13 Clontarf Cork Constitution (73pts) 1st
2019–2042
2020–2143 		cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021–2244 3rd Clontarf 29-23 Terenure College Clontarf (77pts) 1st
2022–2345 1st Terenure College 50-24 Clontarf Clontarf (76pts) 2nd
2023–2446 7th Cork Constitution 33-22 Terenure College Terenure College (70pts) 2nd
2024–2547 4th Clontarf 22-21 Cork Constitution Clontarf (66pts) 1st
2025–2648 3rd St Mary's College 46-31 Clontarf St Mary's College (65pts) 1st

Roll of honour

Team Wins Runners up Winning seasons Runners-up
Shannon 9 1 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09 1991–92
Cork Constitution 7 10 1990–91, 1998-99, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2023–24 1992–93, 1993–94, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2006–07, 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2024–25
Clontarf 4 9 2013–14, 2015–16, 2021–22, 2024–25 2002–03, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2022–23, 2025–26
Garryowen 3 6 1991–92, 1993–94, 2006–07 1990–91, 1995–96, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2007–08, 2012–13
Lansdowne 3 2 2012–13, 2014–15, 2017–18 1996–97, 1999–00
St Mary's College 3 1 1999–00, 2011–12, 2025–26 2009–10
Terenure College 1 2 2022–23 2021–22, 2023–24
Old Belvedere 1 1 2010–11 2013–14
Young Munster 1 0 1992–93 —
Ballymena 1 0 2002–03 —
Dungannon 1 0 2000–01 —
Blackrock College 0 1 — 1994–95
Belfast Harlequins 0 1 — 2004–05

Teams (2025–26)

Division 1A

Location of teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 1A
Location of Dublin teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 1A
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ballynahinch Ballynahinch Ballymacarn Park 1,000
Clontarf Dublin (Clontarf) Castle Avenue 3,200
Cork Constitution Cork (Ballintemple) Temple Hill 5,000
Lansdowne Dublin (Ballsbridge) Aviva Stadium (Back Pitch) 1,000
Nenagh Ormond Nenagh New Ormond Park 1,000
Old Belvedere Dublin (Ballsbridge) Ollie Campbell Park 1,000
St Mary's College Dublin (Templeogue) Templeville Road 4,000
Terenure College Dublin (Terenure) Lakelands Park 3,000
UCD Dublin (Belfield) UCD Bowl 3,000
Young Munster Limerick (Rosbrien) Tom Clifford Park 1,000

Division 1B

Location of teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 1B
Location of Dublin teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 1B
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Blackrock College Dublin (Blackrock) Stradbrook Road 4,000
City of Armagh Armagh Palace Grounds 1,000
Dublin University Dublin College Park 200
Garryowen Limerick (Dooradoyle) Dooradoyle 1,500
Highfield Cork (Bishopstown) Woodleigh Park 4,000
Instonians Belfast Shawsbridge Sports Complex 1,000
Naas Naas Forenaughts 3,000
Old Wesley Dublin (Donnybrook) Donnybrook Stadium 7,000
Queen's University Belfast Dub Lane 1,000
UCC Cork (Mardyke) Mardyke Arena 5,000

Division 2A

Location of teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 2A
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ballymena Antrim Eaton Park 1,000
Banbridge Banbridge Rifle Park 1,000
Cashel Cashel Spafield 2,500
Dungannon Dungannon Stevenson Park 2,500
Galway Corinthians Galway (Castlegar) Corinthian Park 1,000
Greystones Greystones Dr Hickey Park 1,000
MU Barnhall Leixlip Parsonstown 1,000
Old Crescent Limerick (Rosbrien) Rosbrien 4,000
Shannon Limerick Thomond Park 25,100
Wanderers Dublin (Ballsbridge) Merrion Road 1,000

Division 2B

Location of teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 2B
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Buccaneers Athlone Dubarry Park 10,000
Clogher Valley Fivemiletown The Cran 1,000
Enniscorthy Enniscorthy Alcast Park 1,000
Galwegians Galway (Renmore) Crowley Park 2,000
Malone Belfast Gibson Park 1,000
Navan Navan Balreask Old 4,000
Rainey Magherafelt Hatrick Park 1,000
Skerries Skerries Holmpatrick 1,000
Sligo Strandhill Hamilton Park 1,000
UL Bohemians Limerick (UL) UL4G 1,000

Division 2C

Location of teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 2C
Location of Dublin teams in the 2025–26 All-Ireland League Division 2C
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Ballyclare Ballyclare The Cloughan 1,000
Bective Rangers Dublin (Donnybrook) Donnybrook Stadium 6,000
Belfast Harlequins Belfast Deramore Park 1,000
Bruff Bruff Kilballyowen Park 2,000
Clonmel Clonmel Ard Gaoithe 4,000
Dolphin Cork (Ballyphehane) Musgrave Park 8,008
Malahide Malahide Estuary Road 1,000
Midleton Midleton Towns Park 400
Monkstown Dublin (Sandymount) Sydney Parade 1,000
Thomond Limerick (Moyross) Liam Fitzgerald Park 1,000

Sponsorship

The All-Ireland League was not sponsored in the initial season, but was sponsored for six years by Insurance Corporation of Ireland.495051 The League was sponsored by Allied Irish Banks from 1998 to 2010,525354 Ulster Bank from 2010 to 2019,5556 2018/19 season was not sponsored and Energia since the 2019–20 season.57

Season Sponsor
1990–1991 No Sponsor
1991–1998 Insurance Corporation of Ireland
1998–2010 Allied Irish Banks
2010–2019 Ulster Bank
2018–2019 No Sponsor
2019–Present Energia
See also

See also

References

References

  1. http://www.irishrugby.ie/6855_20932.php
  2. "Energia Mens Regulations 2024–25" (PDF). irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  3. Irish Times. (1990). New League structure is exciting challenge, 17 September, Sport, page A6
  4. Irish Times. (1991). On Rugby: All-Ireland League highlight of the season, 30 April, page 18
  5. Irish Times. (1995). Imperative for Ireland that AIL continues, 10 October, page 16
  6. Sunday Independent. (1994). Insurance Corporation AIL, 10 April, Sport, page 22L
  7. Irish Examiner. (1995). AIL Tables, 3 April, Sports, page 16
  8. Sunday Independent. (1996). Insurance Corporation League, 28 April, Sport page 8
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External links