Munster Junior League (rugby union)

Munster Junior League

Sport	Rugby Union
Instituted	1991;35 years ago (1991)
Inaugural season	1991–92
Number of teams	38
Region	Munster ( Ireland)
Holders	Thomond (2024–25)
Most titles	Richmond (5 titles)
Website	https://www.munsterrugby.ie/domestic/

The Munster Junior League is an annual Rugby Union competition for clubs with Junior status based in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is one of 4 provincial qualifying leagues for the All-Ireland League. The league typically runs from October to March each season with a break over the Christmas period. Thomond are the current title holders having retained their title in 2025 winning the league with a 100% record. ^[1]

History

The Munster Branch of the I.R.F.U. held the first pan Munster league competition for Junior clubs in 1991–92 and it has been held every season since (with the exception of the 2020–21 season which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic ^[2] ). In 1996 due to the expansion of the All-Ireland League, the league winners (Richmond) were promoted directly to the A.I.L. In the following seasons the league winners along with the winners of the Connacht J1 League, Leinster League and Ulster Rugby Championship qualified for the A.I.L. Round Robin competition in which the winners were promoted to the A.I.L. and the runners-up advanced to a play-off match for promotion.

Further expansion of the A.I.L. meant the league winners in 2011 (Cashel) gained promotion directly ^[3] while the Round Robin series returned the following year. Since 2022 the series was replaced by the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship. Overall, the winners of the league have gained promotion to the A.I.L. on 11 occasions.

In the 33 seasons of the league 15 different clubs have won the league with Richmond, from Limerick being the most successful with 5 titles. ^[4] Clonmel are the only club to have won 3 titles in-a-row. ^[5]

Format

The league has had several formats down through the years but since 2023–24 it has reverted to the format that was used just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams play in 3 divisions with 14 clubs each in Divisions 1 and 2 and the remaining teams in Division 3. The league uses a single round robin format with teams being awarded points based on the standard Rugby union bonus points system.

The team finishing top of Division 1 are declared champions and qualify for the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship. The top 4 teams in Division 1 qualify for the following season's All-Ireland Junior Cup.The bottom 2 teams in Divisions 1 and 2 are relegated while the top 2 teams in Divisions 2 and 3 are promoted. ^[6]

Specific detailed rules apply where:

• If the league winners gain promotion to the All-Ireland League then the 5th placed team will take their place in the All-Ireland Junior Cup.
• The number of clubs relegated from Divisions 1 and 2 may change depending on whether clubs are promoted to or relegated from the All-Ireland League.

Winners

• 1991–92: Thomond
• 1992–93: Bandon ^[7]
• 1993–94: Youghal ^[8]
• 1994–95: Kilfeacle & District
• 1995–96: Richmond†
• 1996–97: Midleton ^[9]
• 1997–98: Midleton† ^[9]
• 1998–99: Thomond†
• 1999–00: Bruff
• 2000–01: Clonakilty† ^[10]
• 2001–02: Highfield† ^[11]
• 2002–03: Bruff ^[12]
• 2003–04: Bruff† ^[12]
• 2004–05: Nenagh Ormond† ^[13]
• 2005–06: Youghal ^[14]
• 2006–07: Crosshaven
• 2007–08: Cashel ^[15]
• 2008–09: Cashel ^[15]
• 2009–10: Richmond ^[16]
• 2010–11: Cashel† ^[3]
• 2011–12: Richmond ^[17]
• 2012–13: Richmond ^[16]
• 2013–14: Kanturk† ^[18]
• 2014–15: Clonmel ^[19]
• 2015–16: Clonmel ^[20]
• 2016–17: Clonmel ^[5]
• 2017–18: Bandon ^[7]
• 2018–19: Clonmel† ^[21]
• 2019–20: Kilfeacle & District ^[22]
• 2020–21: cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021–22: Newcastle West ^[23]
• 2022–23: Richmond ^[4]
• 2023–24: Thomond ^[24]
• 2024–25: Thomond† ^[1]

† Also gained promotion to the All-Ireland League

Roll of honour

	Team	Titles	Seasons
1	Richmond	5	1995–96, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2022–23
2	Clonmel	4	2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19
	Thomond	4	1991–92, 1998–99, 2023–24, 2024–25
4	Bruff	3	1999–00, 2002–03, 2003–04
	Cashel	3	2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
6	Midleton	2	1996–97, 1997–98
	Youghal	2	1993–94, 2005–06
	Bandon	2	1992–93, 2017–18
	Kilfeacle & District	2	1994–95, 2019–20
10	Clonakilty	1	2000–01
	Highfield	1	2001–02
	Nenagh Ormond	1	2004–05
	Crosshaven	1	2006–07
	Kanturk	1	2013–14
	Newcastle West	1	2021–22

Teams

• List of teams in Munster Junior League as of 2025

Team	Location	Home Ground	Colours
Abbeyfeale	Abbeyfeale	The Grove	Black and yellow
Ballincollig	Ballincollig	Tanner Park	Black and white
Bandon	Bandon	Old Chapel	Royal blue and white
Bantry Bay	Bantry	Ballycommane	Red and blue
Carrick-on-Suir	Carrick-on-Suir	Tybroughney	Red and blue
Castleisland	Castleisland	Crageens	Red and blue
Charleville & District	Charleville	Shandrum	Red and white
Clanwilliam	Tipperary	Clanwilliam Park	Black and amber
Clonakilty	Clonakilty	The Vale	Red and green
Cobh Pirates	Cobh	The Paddocks	Black and white
Crosshaven	Crosshaven	Myrtleville Cross	Black, white, blue
Douglas	Cork (Douglas)	Castletreasure	Green and black
Dungarvan	Dungarvan	Ballyrandle	Blue and white
Ennis	Ennis	Drumbiggle Road	Red and black
Fethard & District	Fethard	Town Park	Navy and white
Fermoy	Fermoy	The Showgrounds	Forest green and yellow
Galbally-Mitchelstown	Galbally	Killinane	Red, white, black
Kanturk	Kanturk	Knocknacolan	Green and white
Kinsale	Kinsale	Snugmore	Blue, white, green
Kilfeacle & District	Kilfeacle	Morrissey Park	Sky blue and navy
Killarney	Killarney	Aghadoe	Red and black
Killorglin	Killorglin	Ballymalis	Navy and blue
Mallow	Mallow	Parkadillane	Green and black
Muskerry	Ballyanly	Ellis Park	Blue
Newcastle West	Newcastle West	Cullinagh	Black and white
Old Christians	Glanmire	Rathcooney	Black, red, yellow
Richmond	Limerick (Rhebogue)	Canal Bank	Green and white
Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne	Muiríoch	An Baile Loiscthe	Red and white
Scariff	Scariff	Cravens Field	Black and white
Skibbereen	Skibbereen	The Showgrounds	Red and white
St. Mary's	Limerick (Corbally)	Grove Island	Blue and white
St. Senan's	Shannon	Jimmy Slattery Park	Black and white
Sundays Well	Cork (Ballyphehane)	Musgrave Park	Red, white, green
Thurles	Thurles	Loughtagalla Park	Black and white
Tralee	Tralee	O'Dowd Park	Blue and white
Waterpark	Waterford	Ballinakill	Black and red
Waterford City	Waterford	Kilbarry	Navy and white
Youghal	Youghal	Frogmore	Black and amber

Source: Munster Rugby Red Book

Current season (2025–26)

Division 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Kilfeacle & District	8	7	1	0	211	145	+66	32	20	5	0	35	All-Ireland Provincial League Championship & All-Ireland Junior Cup 1
2	Sundays Well	9	6	1	2	204	131	+73	29	13	4	2	32	All-Ireland Junior Cup
3	Clonakilty	8	6	0	2	192	145	+47	30	18	4	1	29
4	Mallow	8	6	0	2	190	159	+31	25	24	4	1	29
5	Kanturk	8	4	1	3	195	167	+28	30	24	4	2	24
6	Richmond	8	5	0	3	156	167	−11	21	24	2	1	23
7	Newcastle West	9	4	0	5	212	236	−24	31	34	4	3	23
8	Bandon	9	4	0	5	217	197	+20	32	25	4	2	22
9	St. Mary's	8	4	0	4	175	159	+16	22	22	2	2	20
10	Clanwilliam	8	3	0	5	209	211	−2	29	32	4	3	19
11	Old Christians	9	3	0	6	203	227	−24	29	33	3	3	18
12	Thurles	8	2	0	6	152	209	−57	19	29	2	4	14
13	Skibbereen	8	1	1	6	179	210	−31	27	31	3	4	13	Relegation to Division 2
14	Muskerry	8	1	0	7	129	261	−132	17	38	1	3	8

Updated to match(es) played on 18 January 2026. Source: Munster Domestic Rugby - Junior League Division 1
Rules for classification: 1) league points; 2) most wins; 3) most draws 4) most bonus points; 5) most try bonus points; 6) most losing bonus points; 7) lowest points deducted; 8) points difference in league; 9) points difference in matches between tied teams ^[25]

¹ If the League Champions gain promotion to the All-Ireland League then the 5th placed team will take their place in the All-Ireland Junior Cup.

Division 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Crosshaven	9	9	0	0	318	94	+224	49	11	6	0	42	Promotion to Division 1
2	Kinsale	9	8	0	1	330	149	+181	54	26	8	0	40
3	Waterpark	9	7	0	2	262	187	+75	37	22	5	0	33
4	Youghal	9	6	0	3	265	213	+52	37	28	6	1	31
5	St. Senan's	8	6	1	1	220	181	+39	28	24	3	0	29
6	Ennis	8	4	1	3	261	179	+82	34	23	4	2	24
7	Carrick-on-Suir	9	4	0	5	240	239	+1	29	35	5	3	24
8	Charleville & District	9	4	0	5	210	211	−1	28	28	2	3	21
9	Ballincollig	8	3	0	5	196	200	−4	28	30	4	1	17
10	Fermoy	9	2	2	5	151	266	−115	19	40	2	1	15
11	Cobh Pirates	8	2	1	5	169	208	−39	22	30	1	1	12
12	Castleisland	8	1	1	6	154	228	−74	23	34	2	1	9
13	Fethard & District	9	1	0	8	138	311	−173	21	46	1	0	5	Relegation to Division 3
14	Abbeyfeale	8	0	0	8	118	366	−248	19	55	1	0	1

Updated to match(es) played on 18 January 2026. Source: Munster Domestic Rugby - Junior League Division 2
Rules for classification: 1) league points; 2) most wins; 3) most draws 4) most bonus points; 5) most try bonus points; 6) most losing bonus points; 7) lowest points deducted; 8) points difference in league; 9) points difference in matches between tied teams ^[25]

Division 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Killarney	6	6	0	0	206	95	+111	34	14	6	0	30	Promotion to Division 2
2	Tralee	7	5	0	2	209	122	+87	31	14	3	2	25
3	Scariff	6	4	0	2	188	109	+79	29	18	3	0	19
4	Killorglin	6	4	0	2	159	138	+21	24	21	3	0	19
5	Galbally-Mitchelstown	6	3	0	3	97	129	−32	15	20	2	0	14
6	Douglas	6	3	0	3	83	94	−11	11	13	0	2	14
7	Dungarvan	6	2	0	4	94	135	−41	14	20	1	2	11
8	Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne**	6	2	0	4	89	156	−67	13	23	1	1	8
9	Waterford City*	6	2	0	4	47	116	−69	7	21	0	1	7
10	Bantry Bay	7	0	0	7	75	153	−78	9	23	0	3	3

Updated to match(es) played on 18 January 2026. Source: Munster Domestic Rugby - Junior League Division 3
Rules for classification: 1) league points; 2) most wins; 3) most draws 4) most bonus points; 5) most try bonus points; 6) most losing bonus points; 7) lowest points deducted; 8) points difference in league; 9) points difference in matches between tied teams ^[25]

* Waterford City deducted 2 points for giving walkover to Tralee

** Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibhne deducted 2 points for giving walkover to Waterford City

See also

• Munster Junior Cup

References

1. "Thomond RFC celebrate perfect Munster Junior League winning season". Limerick Leader . 11 March 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
2. "Latest COVID-19 Guidelines For Clubs And Schools". munsterrugby.ie. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
3. McGreal, Ciaran (16 September 2016). "Club Focus: Tipp top club build from the ground up". Irish Independent . Retrieved 27 October 2025.
4. Keaveney, Mal (7 March 2023). "Richmond claim Munster Junior League title". Limerick Post . Retrieved 27 October 2025.
5. "Denis Leamy leads Clonmel to remarkable Munster three-in-a-row". www.the42.ie. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
6. "Energia Men's Junior Cup". www.irishrugby.ie. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
7. "Bandon crowned Munster Junior League Division 1 champions". The Southern Star . 25 March 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
8. "Date set for Munster Junior League Final". www.munsterrugby.ie. 8 February 2006. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
9. "Midleton RFC Roll of honour". midletonrugby.com. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
10. "Clonakilty RFC Club history". clonakiltyrugby.ie. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
11. "Highfield Hoping for Better Luck this Weekend". www.irishrugby.ie. 12 April 2002. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
12. "Weekend Rugby Roundup". www.munsterrugby.ie. 15 March 2004. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
13. "Nenagh Ormond Roll of honour". www.nenaghormondrfc.com. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
14. "Youghal Team Profile". www.irishrugby.ie. 7 April 2025. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
15. "Weekend Junior Roundup". www.munsterrugby.ie. 23 February 2009. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
16. "Richmond win Munster league". Limerick Leader . 25 February 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
17. "Richmond claim Munster league". Limerick Leader . 13 February 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
18. Leogue, Joe (3 April 2014). "Kanturk's date with destiny". The Corkman . Retrieved 30 October 2025.
19. "Clonmel take first Munster Junior League title". Irish Examiner . 9 March 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
20. Allen, Olan (21 March 2025). "Clonmel and Abbeyfeale celebrate title wins". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 30 October 2025.
21. "Clonmel hold their nerve to capture Munster Rugby League title once again". www.tipperarylive.ie. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
22. "Tipperary's Kilfeacle rugby club presented with Munster junior club award". www.tipperarylive.ie. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
23. King, Conor (22 March 2025). "Newcastle West add League honours to Challenge Cup title". Limerick Post . Retrieved 30 October 2025.
24. "Draw Made For All-Ireland Provincial League Championship Semi-Finals". www.irishrugby.ie. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
25. "Munster Branch IRFU Regs. 2025–26 - League placings" (PDF). www.munsterrugby.ie. Retrieved 3 November 2025.

External links

Official website