Irish_Elite_League
All-Ireland Rugby League Championship
Football league
The All-Ireland Rugby League Championship was first played for in 1997 under the title All-Ireland Challenge Cup. Since then it has also been known as the All-Ireland League, Elite League and the All-Ireland Championship. It is a rugby league competition involving teams from Ireland. At one point it was called the McGettigans All-Ireland League for sponsorship reasons[1]
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| Founded | 1997 |
|---|---|
| Country | Republic of Ireland + Northern Ireland |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Promotion to | none |
| Relegation to | none |
| Current champions | Banbridge Broncos (1 title) |
| Most championships | Treaty City Titans (8 titles) |
The first domestic rugby league club in Ireland were the Dublin Blues. They were a club founded in 1989 by Brian Corrigan [2]
Following the formation of the Ireland national side in 1995 a league competition was mooted to aid further development. So 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 a surprise winner 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 as the sport grew the league changed from regional leagues Leinster and Munster into a top division Elite League underpinned by local leagues.
By 2010 regional leagues were brought back followed by a series of play-offs. On 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
Six teams are contesting the RLI Premiership
| Club | City/County | Country |
|---|---|---|
 Dublin City Exiles |
Dublin | Republic of Ireland |
 Banbridge Broncos |
Banbridge | Northern Ireland |
 Galway Tribesmen |
Galway | Republic of Ireland |
 Longhorns RL |
Dublin | Republic of Ireland |
 Cork Bulls |
Cork City | Republic of Ireland |
Three teams are contesting the RLI Womens' Premiership
| Club | City | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Galway Tribeswomen | Galway | Republic of Ireland |
| Dublin City Exiles | Dublin | Republic of Ireland |
| Banbridge Broncos |
Banbridge | Northern Ireland |
| Year | Winning team | Score | Losing team | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Dublin Blues | – | Tallaght Tigers | [4] |
| 1998 | Northside Saints | 48–24 | Dublin Blues | [4] |
| 1999 | Dublin Blues | 24–18 | Cork Bulls | [4] |
| 2000 | Churchtown Warriors | – | [4] | |
| 2001 | Cork Bulls | 16–12 | Dublin City Exiles | [4] |
| 2002 | Dublin City Exiles | 26–18 | Dublin Blues | [5] |
| 2003 | Dublin City Exiles | 28–26 | Dublin Blues | [6] |
| 2004 | Clontarf Bulls | 32–30 | Dublin Blues | [4] |
| 2005 | Treaty City Titans | 36–30 | Kildare Dragons | [7] |
| 2006 | Treaty City Titans | 24–10 | Carlow Crusaders | [4] |
| 2007 | Treaty City Titans | 38–22 | Carlow Crusaders | [4][8] |
| 2008 | Carlow Crusaders | 24–80 | Treaty City Titans | [4] |
| 2009 | Treaty City Titans | 33–26 | Carlow Crusaders | [4] |
| 2010 | Treaty City Titans | 52–24 | Dublin City Exiles | [4] |
| 2011 | Treaty City Titans | w/o | Carlow Crusaders | [4][9] |
| 2012 | Country Cowboys | 28–24 | Ballynahinch Rabbitohs | [4] |
| 2013 | Treaty City Titans | 36–16 | Dublin City Exiles | [4] |
| 2014 | Barnhill Butchers | 25–24 | Treaty City Titans | [4][10] |
| 2015 | Treaty City Titans | 28–18 | Longhorns RL | [4] |
| 2016 | Galway Tribesmen | 36–34 | Ballynahinch Rabbitohs | [4] |
| 2017 | Longhorns RL | 46–60 | Belfast Met Scholars | [4] |
| 2018 | Longhorns RL | w/o | Belfast Stags | [4] |
| 2019 | Longhorns RL | – | ||
| 2020 | Longhorns RL | 24–10 | Galway Tribesmen | [11] |
| 2021 | Galway Tribesmen | – | [12] | |
| 2022 | Dublin City Exiles | – | ||
| 2023 | Banbridge Broncos | – | ||
Men's winners
| # | 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 |
Winners:
- 2021 - Dublin City Exiles
- 2022 - Dublin City Exiles
- 2023 - Dublin City Exiles
- "History". Rugby League Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 March 2016.
- "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.
- "Longhorns take charge to see off Tribesmen". Galway Advertiser. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2024.