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, and the highest amateur level. 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.http://www.irishrugby.ie/6855_20932.php
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 and 2A are relegated to Divisions 1B, 2A and 2B respectively while the winners of Divisions 1B, 2A and 2B are promoted up one division. From 2026–27 Division 2B is divided into North and South sections with the winners of each section playing-off for the Division 2B title. 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 Division 1B/2A. The 9th place team in 2A along with the loser of the 2B play-off and runners-up in 2BN and 2BS enter a play-off competition with the winner playing in Division 2A the following season.
The 10th placed teams in each section of Division 2B play-off and the loser is relegated from the league to their respective Provincial qualifying league and are replaced by the winner of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship. The winner of the play-off plays the runner-up of the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship with the winner playing in Division 2B the following season.
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 2B of the A.I.L. for the following season. The runner-up plays against the winner of the Division 2B relegation play-off and the winner of this play-off will also play in Division 2B 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.Irish Times. (1990). New League structure is exciting challenge, 17 September, Sport, page A6Irish Times. (1991). On Rugby: All-Ireland League highlight of the season, 30 April, page 18Irish Times. (1995). Imperative for Ireland that AIL continues, 10 October, page 16 The AIL was expanded to four divisions in 1993–94,Sunday Independent. (1994). Insurance Corporation AIL, 10 April, Sport, page 22L with small variations in the numbers of teams per division in subsequent seasons.Irish Examiner. (1995). AIL Tables, 3 April, Sports, page 16Sunday Independent. (1996). Insurance Corporation League, 28 April, Sport page 8
In 2000–01 the league was restructured to three divisions, each with 16 teams.Irish Independent. (2000). Top clubs facing choice over season's start time, 15 December, Sport, page 21 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.Irish Times. Rugby News: Existing format of AIL to be scrapped, 21 February, Sport Supplement, page B3Irish Independent. (2004) IRFU reveal blueprint to overhaul club structures, 22 February, Sport, page 2 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.Irish Times. (2010). Rugby News: New Format for All-Ireland League, 29 July, page 22 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.
Previous winners 1990/91 – 1996/97 From 1991 to 1997 the team finishing top of Division 1 were crowned league champions. SeasonTitle No. ChampionsPts Runners-upPts 1990–91 1st Cork Constitution 14pts Garryowen 12pts 1991–92 1st Garryowen 14pts Shannon 12pts 1992–93 1st Young Munster 13pts Cork Constitution 12pts 1993–94 2nd Garryowen 16pts Cork Constitution 14pts 1994–95 1st Shannon 20pts Blackrock College 14pts 1995–96 2nd Shannon* 16pts Garryowen 16pts 1996–97 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. SeasonTitle No. ChampionsResult Runners-upTable toppersFinishing positionof Champions 1997–98 4th Shannon 15-9 Garryowen Shannon (24pts) 1st 1998–99 2nd Cork Constitution 14-11(aet) Garryowen Garryowen (16pts) 2nd 1999–00 1st St Mary's College 25-22 Lansdowne St Mary's College (37pts) 1st 2000–01 1st Dungannon 46-12 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (57pts) 3rd 2001–02 5th Shannon 21-17 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (52pts) 2nd 2002–03 1st Ballymena 28-18 Clontarf Clontarf (61pts) 3rd 2003–04 6th Shannon 22-16 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (51pts) 2nd 2004–05 7th Shannon 25-20 Belfast Harlequins Shannon (51pts) 1st 2005–06 8th Shannon 30-3 Clontarf Garryowen (61pts) 4th 2006–07 3rd Garryowen 16-15 Cork Constitution Cork Constitution (60pts) 3rd 2007–08 3rd Cork Constitution 18-8 Garryowen Cork Constitution (58pts) 1st 2008–09 9th Shannon* 19-19(aet) Clontarf Cork Constitution (52pts) 2nd 2009–10 4th Cork Constitution 17-10(aet) St Mary's College Cork Constitution (46pts) 1st 2010–11 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. SeasonTitle No. ChampionsPts Runners-upPts 2011–12 2nd St Mary's College 66pts Clontarf 64pts 2012–13 1st Lansdowne 68pts Garryowen 50pts 2013–14 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. SeasonTitle No. ChampionsResult Runners-upTable toppersFinishing positionof Champions 2014–15 2nd Lansdowne 18-17 Clontarf Lansdowne (65pts) 1st 2015–16 2nd Clontarf 28-25 Cork Constitution Clontarf (64pts) 1st 2016–17 5th Cork Constitution 25-21 Clontarf Lansdowne (58pts) 4th 2017–18 3rd Lansdowne 19-17 Cork Constitution Lansdowne (71pts) 1st 2018–19 6th Cork Constitution 28-13 Clontarf Cork Constitution (73pts) 1st 2019–202020–21 cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2021–22 3rd Clontarf 29-23 Terenure College Clontarf (77pts) 1st 2022–23 1st Terenure College 50-24 Clontarf Clontarf (76pts) 2nd 2023–24 7th Cork Constitution 33-22 Terenure College Terenure College (70pts) 2nd 2024–25 4th Clontarf 22-21 Cork Constitution Clontarf (66pts) 1st 2025–26 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 (2026–27)
Division 1A
Team Location Stadium Capacity Ballynahinch Ballynahinch Ballymacarn Park 1,000 Castle Avenue 3,200 Temple Hill 1,000 Aviva Stadium (Back Pitch) 1,000 Ollie Campbell Park 1,000 Old Wesley Dublin (Donnybrook) Donnybrook Stadium 7,000 Templeville Road 4,000 Lakelands Park 3,000 UCD Bowl 3,000 Tom Clifford Park 1,000
Division 1B
Team Location Stadium Capacity Blackrock College Dublin (Blackrock) Stradbrook Road 4,000 City of Armagh Armagh Palace Grounds 1,000 Dublin College Park 200 Dooradoyle 1,500 Highfield Woodleigh Park 4,000 Instonians Belfast Shawsbridge Sports Complex 1,000 MU Barnhall Leixlip Parsonstown 1,000 Naas Naas Forenaughts 3,000 Nenagh Ormond Nenagh New Ormond Park 1,000 UCC Mardyke Arena 5,000
Division 2A
Team Location Stadium Capacity Ballymena Ballymena Eaton Park 1,000 Cashel Cashel Spafield 2,500 Dungannon Dungannon Stevenson Park 1,000 Galway Corinthians Corinthian Park 1,000 Galwegians Crowley Park 2,000 Greystones Greystones Dr Hickey Park 1,000 Queen's University Belfast Dub Lane 1,000 Shannon Limerick Thomond Park 25,100 UL Bohemians Limerick (UL) UL4G1,000 Wanderers Dublin (Ballsbridge) Merrion Road 1,000
Division 2B (North)
Team Location Stadium Capacity Ballyclare Ballyclare The Cloughan 1,000 Banbridge Banbridge Rifle Park 1,000 Clogher Valley Fivemiletown The Cran 1,000 Enniskillen Enniskillen Ardgart 1,000 Malahide Malahide Estuary Road 1,000 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
Division 2B (South)
Team Location Stadium Capacity Bective Rangers Dublin (Donnybrook) Donnybrook Stadium 6,000 Bruff Bruff Kilballyowen Park 2,000 Buccaneers Athlone Dubarry Park 10,000 Clonmel Clonmel Ard Gaoithe 4,000 Dolphin Musgrave Park 8,008 Enniscorthy Enniscorthy Ross Road 1,000 Midleton Midleton Towns Park 400 Monkstown Dublin (Sandymount) Sydney Parade 1,000 Old Crescent Rosbrien 4,000 Thomond Limerick (Moyross) Liam Fitzgerald Park 1,000
Sponsorship