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| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1996 |
| No. of teams | 12 |
| Most recent champion(s) | Gonzaga College (8th title) |
The Leinster Schools Rugby Senior League is a rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU. It is played before Christmas, after which the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup is played. It is a 12 school competition played by the strongest schools outside of the "Big Six”. [1] The so-called "Big Six" of Leinster schools rugby (Blackrock College, Clongowes Wood College, St Mary's College, Dublin, Terenure College, Belvedere College and St Michael's College, Dublin) do not participate in the competition, although St Michael's College, Dublin used to participate in the competition winning it in 1998. [ citation needed ] For the most part it is participated in by mostly private schools but 4 public schools participate in it as well. Schools in the league often provide the biggest form of competition to the "Big Six" in the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup. Schools that participated in the league, outside of the "Big Six" that has gone to win the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup: Cistercian College, Roscrea (2015) [2] against Belvedere College, Newbridge College (2020, shared with Clongowes Wood College due to COVID-19 pandemic) [3] and Gonzaga College (2023) against Blackrock College. [4]
Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. One of five Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland, it had 450 students in 2019.
Belvedere College S.J. is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous notable alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. Alumni and teachers at Belvedere played major roles in modern Irish literature, the standardisation of the Irish language, as well as the Irish independence movement – both the 1916 Rising and the Irish War of Independence. The school's notable alumni and former faculty include two Taoisigh, one Ceann Comhairle, several cabinet ministers, one Blessed, one Cardinal, one Archbishop, one signatory of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, two Supreme Court Justices, one Olympic medallist, thirty Irish international rugby players and numerous notable figures in the world of the arts, academia and business. Belvedere College forms the setting for part of James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'
Blackrock College is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. It was founded by French missionary Jules Leman in 1860 as a school and later became also a civil service training centre.
Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus, one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Ireland. The curriculum is traditional, with a broad general programme of subjects including Latin and Greek at Junior Cycle and the opportunity in Senior Cycle to study eight subjects for the Leaving Certificate.
St Michael's College is a voluntary Catholic boys' school, with an associated primary school, located on Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4, Ireland. Founded in 1944 by the Congregation of the Holy Spirit as a second feeder school along with Willow Park, it was initially a primary school to Blackrock College. The first eight pupils were transferred from Willow Park. The next September, 58 boys were enrolled. In 1952 the first secondary school pupils were admitted. Following expansion in the 1960s and 1970s, the school developed both a primary and secondary school. It has been extensively expanded, including the opening of a cafeteria, a sports pavilion, as well as new classrooms and a new gym.
The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887.
Newbridge College, the Dominican College Newbridge, is a co-educational private fee-paying voluntary secondary school in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, run by the Roman Catholic Dominican Order. The Dominican Friars founded Newbridge Dominican College in 1852 as a boarding school for boys. Today, still run by the Dominican Fathers, Newbridge College is a mixed day school with a student population of almost 1,000 pupils. It is also the home of a resident Community of Dominican Friars - the Priory and Church being centred between the two wings of the College buildings.
The Leinster Schools Junior Challenge Cup is an under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the IRFU.
The Leinster Senior Cup is a major rugby competition in Ireland, involving all senior rugby clubs in Leinster, i.e., clubs from Leinster competing in the All-Ireland League. From 2006 until 2016 it was known as the Leinster Senior League Cup during the period when the Leinster Senior League had been discontinued, but reverted to its traditional name for the 2016–17 season upon the revival of the Senior League. From 2011 to 2016 only the top senior teams competed and those in the lower divisions of the All-Ireland League competed for the Leinster Senior League Shield.
Old Belvedere R.F.C. is a senior Irish rugby union club based on Anglesea Road in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Ireland. Old Belvedere was originally founded in 1918–19 by former pupils of Belvedere College. Old Belvedere enters senior men's teams in the All-Ireland League, the Leinster Senior League and the Leinster Senior Cup. In 2010–11 they were All-Ireland League champions. Between 1940 and 1946 the club won the Leinster Senior Cup seven times in a row. This remains a competition record. Old Belvedere also enters men's and women's teams in various senior, junior and youth leagues.
The Leinster Senior League, inaugurated in 1971–72, is a rugby union competition for senior clubs in the Irish province of Leinster. It has traditionally been ranked second in importance to the Leinster Senior Cup. It declined in importance due to the formation of the All-Ireland League and growth in importance of the Heineken Cup and was eventually merged with the Senior Cup, sometime before 2006, before being revived in 2016.
Robert Kearney is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for 15 years for Leinster followed by a six-month stint in Australia, playing for Perth based side Western Force. He also played over a decade for the Ireland national rugby union team with whom he earned 95 caps, and went on two British & Irish Lions tours in 2009 and 2013. As a youth he also played rugby union for Clongowes Wood College and Gaelic football for Louth in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship.
Edward Michael Joseph "Ned" Byrne is a former Irish Gaelic footballer and rugby player. He played hurling with his local club James Stephens and the Kilkenny senior inter-county team in the 1970s, and between 1977 and 1978 represented Ireland at rugby union.
Fergus McFadden is a retired professional rugby union player who played for Leinster & Ireland. He played both as a centre and on the wing.
Fionn Carr is an Irish rugby union former player. He played primarily as a wing but could also play at fullback. Carr played most of his professional career for Irish province Connacht in the Pro12. He also played for another Irish province, Leinster. Carr represented Ireland at Schools, Under 19 and Under 21 level, as well as at international 'A' level and the Ireland national rugby sevens team.
The Leinster GAA Post-Primary Schools Senior A Hurling Championship, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in the province of Leinster, and has been contested every year, except on two occasions, since 1918.
Jordi Murphy is a former Irish international rugby player. He played for provincial and United Rugby Championship side Ulster as a loose forward, and played for the Ireland national rugby union team.
Des Dillon is an Irish rugby union footballer. Dillon emerged as a schoolboy talent at Clongowes Wood College. He was captain of the Clongowes Wood College Senior Cup Team that won the Leinster Schools Cup in 1998. He played backrow and second-row for Leinster Rugby until he retired in 2007. He continued to play at amateur level for Blackrock College RFC in the AIL, becoming the club's captain. He played 67 times in total for Leinster Rugby, scoring 4 tries.
{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/gonzaga-claim-schools-senior-league/