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Current season, competition or edition: 2024 Rugby League Ireland season#RLI Premiership | |
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| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1997; 27 years ago (1997) |
| No. of teams | 5 |
| Country |  Ireland |
| Most recent champion(s) | Banbridge Broncos (2023) |
| Most titles | Treaty City Titans (8 titles) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | RLI Championship (via request) |
The RLI Premiership is the top tier of domestic rugby league in Ireland founded in 1997.
The competition was founded as the "All-Ireland Challenge Cup", and has undergone many name changed in history having also been named the "All-Ireland League", "Irish Elite League", "All-Ireland Championship", and "All-Ireland Rugby League Championship" before being named its current title.
History
The first domestic rugby league club in Ireland were the Dublin Blues. They were a club founded in 1989 by Brian Corrigan.
Following the formation of the Ireland national side in 1995 a league competition was mooted to aid further development. In 1997, the first Rugby League tournament began in Ireland. Under the title "All-Ireland Challenge Cup" eight clubs, Belfast Buccaneers, Tallaght Tigers, Churchtown Warriors, East Coast Panthers (from Bray), Bangor Vikings, Dublin Blues, Northside Saints, and Cork Bulls chased the first ever title. Fittingly the oldest club Dublin Blues lifted the trophy.
Northside Saints (from Dublin) won the following season before Dublin Blues won the title for the second time. 2000 brought victory for another Dublin club in Churchtown Warriors before Cork Bulls briefly ended the Dubliners dominance. Dublin City Exiles won the first of two consecutive titles, both against Dublin Blues in 2002.
Clontarf Bulls were surprise winners in 2004, the next campaign saw the emergence of Treaty City Titans (from Limerick) as a truly dominant force they would go on and win six of the next seven championships, many of which saw them go undefeated. In the season they didn't win they were runner-up to Carlow Crusaders in 2008 a side they had beaten in the previous two finals.
During this time, in 2006, the competition moved away from the provincial league system with national playoffs to pursue a single national league.
In 2010, the field Country Cowboys won their first title in 2012, it was back to the norm in 2013 as Treaty City Titans lifted their 7th title.
The Titans had to settle for runners-up the next season as Barnhall Butchers won for the first time. Treaty City Titans after an indifferent campaign won again in 2015 and in 2016 we were guaranteed a new name on the trophy as debutant finalists Galway Tribesmen overcame 2012 runners-up Ballynahinch Rabbitohs.
Source:
In 2015, only 56% of fixtures were completely, with a slight rise to 67% in 2016. Several clubs returned from hiatus in 2017 due to a financial boost caused by the national team qualifying for the 2017 World Cup.
Current teams (2024)
| Club | Location |
|---|---|
 Dublin City Exiles
|
 Dublin
|
 Banbridge Broncos
|
 Banbridge
|
 Galway Tribesmen
|
Galway
|
 Longhorns RL
|
Dublin
|
 Cork Bulls
|
Cork
|
List of finals
| Year | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Dublin Blues | – | Tallaght Tigers | |
| 1998 | Northside Saints | 48–24 | Dublin Blues | |
| 1999 | Dublin Blues | 24–18 | Cork Bulls | |
| 2000 | Churchtown Warriors | – | ||
| 2001 | Cork Bulls | 16–12 | Dublin City Exiles | |
| 2002 | Dublin City Exiles | 26–18 | Dublin Blues | |
| 2003 | Dublin City Exiles | 28–26 | Dublin Blues | |
| 2004 | Clontarf Bulls | 32–30 | Dublin Blues | |
| 2005 | Treaty City Titans | 36–30 | Kildare Dragons | |
| 2006 | Treaty City Titans | 24–10 | Carlow Crusaders | |
| 2007 | Treaty City Titans | 38–22 | Carlow Crusaders | |
| 2008 | Carlow Crusaders | 24–80 | Treaty City Titans | |
| 2009 | Treaty City Titans | 33–26 | Carlow Crusaders | |
| 2010 | Treaty City Titans | 52–24 | Dublin City Exiles | |
| 2011 | Treaty City Titans | w/o | Carlow Crusaders | |
| 2012 | Country Cowboys | 28–24 | Ballynahinch Rabbitohs | |
| 2013 | Treaty City Titans | 36–16 | Dublin City Exiles | |
| 2014 | Barnhill Butchers | 25–24 | Treaty City Titans | |
| 2015 | Treaty City Titans | 28–18 | Longhorns RL | |
| 2016 | Galway Tribesmen | 36–34 | Ballynahinch Rabbitohs | |
| 2017 | Longhorns RL | 46–60 | Belfast Met Scholars | |
| 2018 | Longhorns RL | w/o | Belfast Stags | |
| 2019 | Longhorns RL | – | ||
| 2020 | Longhorns RL | 24–10 | Galway Tribesmen | |
| 2021 | Galway Tribesmen | – | ||
| 2022 | Dublin City Exiles | – | ||
| 2023 | Banbridge Broncos | – |
Winners by club
| # | Club | No. | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Treaty City Titans | 8 | 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2015 |
| 2 | Longhorns RL | 4 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 |
| 3 | Dublin City Exiles | 3 | 2002, 2003, 2022 |
| 4 | Dublin Blues | 2 | 1997, 1999 |
| Galway Tribesmen | 2016, 2021 | ||
| 6 | Banbridge Broncos | 1 | 2023 |
| Barnhill Butchers | 2014 | ||
| Carlow Crusaders | 2008 | ||
| Churchtown Warriors | 2000 | ||
| Clontarf Bulls | 2004 | ||
| Cork Bulls | 2001 | ||
| Country Cowboys | 2012 | ||
| Northside Saints | 1998 |
See also
References
- "History". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
- "Rugby League Ireland Plans for Expanded Domestic Season".
- ^ "List of RLI trophies". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021.
- "Exiles Team For Grand Final". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2002.
- "Exiles Make It Two In a Row". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 October 2003.
- "Dragons lose out on All Ireland crown in 11 try thriller". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 22 November 2005.
- "Titans make it Three in a row with final quarter burst". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007.
- "All Ireland Called Off". Rugby League Ireland. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011.
- "Barnhall Butchers Crowned All Ireland Champions".
- "Longhorns take charge to see off Tribesmen". Galway Advertiser. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- "Rugby League All Ireland Grand Final". 26 August 2021.
External links
| Rugby league in Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Federation | |
| National Teams | |
| Domestic Competitions | |
| RLI Premiership | |