AIL Division 1 1998-99
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
| Garryowen (SF) | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 236 | 140 | 16 |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 265 | 170 | 16 |
| Buccaneers (SF) | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 196 | 202 | 16 |
| St. Mary’s (SF) | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 215 | 177 | 14 |
| Landsdowne | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 189 | 177 | 14 |
| Shannon | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 221 | 164 | 12 |
| Young Munster | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 134 | 135 | 9 |
| Terenure | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 174 | 193 | 9 |
| Ballymena | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 190 | 223 | 8 |
| Clontarf | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 198 | 246 | 8 |
| Blackrock (R) | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 183 | 232 | 8 |
| Galwegians (R) | 11 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 110 | 263 | 2 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 24.04.1999 | Garryowen | 19 | St. Mary’s | 17 |
| 25.04.1999 | Cork Constitution | 32 | Buccaneers | 20 |
| Final | ||||
| 02.05.1999 | Cork Constitution | 14 | Garryowen | 11 |
AIL Division 1 1999-2000
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
| St. Mary’s (SF) | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 285 | 121 | 37 |
| Terenure (SF) | 11 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 235 | 229 | 36 |
| Landsdowne (SF) | 11 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 155 | 149 | 34 |
| Ballymena (SF) | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 267 | 284 | 33 |
| Garryowen | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 145 | 199 | 31 |
| Cork Constitution | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 259 | 259 | 28 |
| Young Munster | 11 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 175 | 243 | 25 |
| Shannon | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 222 | 229 | 23 |
| Buccaneers | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 205 | 195 | 22 |
| Dungannon | 11 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 238 | 252 | 20 |
| De La Salle Palmerston (R) | 11 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 149 | 235 | 14 |
| Clontarf (R) | 11 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 195 | 324 | 4 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| Terenure | L | Landsdown | W | |
| 14.05.2000 | St. Mary’s | 32 | Ballymena | 22 |
| Final | ||||
| 21.05.2000 | Landsdowne | 22 | St. Mary’s | 25 |
AIL Division 1 2000-01
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Dungannon | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 244 | 137 | 0 | 1 | 25 |
| Cork Constiution | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 170 | 109 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| St. Mary’s College | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 139 | 106 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Garryowen | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 158 | 139 | 0 | 1 | 17 |
| Young Munster | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 124 | 79 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Ballymena | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 171 | 187 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 145 | 167 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| De La Salle Palmerston | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 125 | 149 | 0 | 1 | 13 |
| Belfast Harlequins | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 163 | 186 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Galwegians | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 130 | 114 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Buccaneers | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 92 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Landsdowne | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 121 | 134 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Clontarf | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 178 | 200 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Shannon | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 157 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Terenure College | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 116 | 209 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Old Crescent | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 103 | 138 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Note: Season cancelled due to outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth Disease.
AIL Division 1 2001-02
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 302 | 173 | 0 | 0 | 48 |
| Shannon (SF) | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 347 | 200 | 0 | 2 | 44 |
| St. Mary’s College | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 266 | 265 | 0 | 3 | 37 |
| Garryowen (SF) | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 304 | 218 | 0 | 2 | 36 |
| Clontarf (SF) | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 263 | 178 | 0 | 1 | 33 |
| UCD | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 321 | 345 | 0 | 1 | 31 |
| Galwegians | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 278 | 246 | 0 | 2 | 30 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 357 | 339 | 0 | 4 | 30 |
| Buccaneers | 14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 277 | 256 | 0 | 4 | 28 |
| Ballymena | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 247 | 251 | 0 | 4 | 28 |
| Terenure College | 13 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 245 | 272 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Landsdowne | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 272 | 308 | 0 | 5 | 27 |
| Dungannon | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 229 | 261 | 0 | 2 | 24 |
| Co. Carlow | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 239 | 339 | 0 | 1 | 23 |
| De La Salle Palmerston (R) | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 243 | 376 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| Young Munster (R) | 14 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 194 | 357 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 13.04.2002 | Cork Constitution | 43 | Garryowen | 17 |
| 13.04.2002 | Shannon | 15 | Clontarf | 12 |
| Final | ||||
| 04.05.2002 | Cork Constitution | 17 | Shannon | 21 |
AIL Division 1 2002-03
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Clontarf (SF) | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 447 | 235 | 8 | 1 | 61 |
| Landsdowne (SF) | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 442 | 277 | 8 | 2 | 58 |
| Ballymena (SF) | 15 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 458 | 239 | 6 | 2 | 54 |
| Buccaneers (SF) | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 323 | 244 | 2 | 2 | 46 |
| Shannon | 15 | 8 | 1 | 6 | 365 | 261 | 3 | 4 | 41 |
| Belfast Harlequins | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 305 | 255 | 2 | 3 | 41 |
| Galwegians | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 346 | 349 | 7 | 2 | 41 |
| Garryowen | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 295 | 282 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Cork Constitution | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 372 | 82 | 6 | 2 | 36 |
| St. Mary’s College | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 344 | 366 | 3 | 4 | 33 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 341 | 377 | 6 | 4 | 30 |
| Dungannon | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 278 | 332 | 2 | 4 | 30 |
| Co. Carlow | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 289 | 383 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| UCD | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 327 | 443 | 4 | 2 | 26 |
| UL Bohemian (R) | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 272 | 444 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| Terenure College (R) | 15 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 193 | 508 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 04.05.2003 | Landsdowne | 3 | Ballymena | 10 |
| 04.05.2003 | Clontarf | 20 | Buccaneers | 6 |
| Final | ||||
| 11.05.2003 | Ballymena | 28 | Clontarf | 18 |
AIL Division 1 2003-04
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 14 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 287 | 251 | 5 | 0 | 51 |
| Shannon (SF) | 14 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 199 | 167 | 4 | 1 | 49 |
| Belfast Harlequins (SF) | 14 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 361 | 219 | 6 | 2 | 48 |
| Buccaneers (SF) | 14 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 315 | 193 | 3 | 3 | 48 |
| Ballymena | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 249 | 186 | 3 | 4 | 41 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 14 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 257 | 236 | 0 | 4 | 40 |
| Garryowen | 14 | 8 | 1 | 5 | 260 | 286 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
| Co. Carlow | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 304 | 282 | 5 | 5 | 32 |
| Clontarf | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 251 | 243 | 2 | 7 | 31 |
| UCD | 14 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 226 | 294 | 1 | 4 | 27 |
| Landsdowne | 14 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 251 | 305 | 0 | 4 | 22 |
| Dungannon | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 185 | 249 | 1 | 3 | 20 |
| Galwegians | 14 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 213 | 355 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| St. Mary’s College (R) | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 212 | 316 | 0 | 5 | 19 |
| Dolphin (R) | 14 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 227 | 350 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 02.05.2004 | Cork Constitution | 20 | Buccaneers | 6 |
| 02.05.2004 | Shannon | 27 | Belfast Harlequins | 13 |
| Final | ||||
| 09.05.2004 | Cork Constitution | 16 | Shannon | 22 |
AIL Division 1 2004-05
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Shannon (SF) | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 395 | 195 | 6 | 1 | 51 |
| Garryowen (SF) | 13 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 286 | 196 | 3 | 1 | 48 |
| Belfast Harlequins (SF) | 13 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 309 | 148 | 4 | 2 | 46 |
| Clontarf (SF) | 13 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 225 | 197 | 4 | 2 | 38 |
| Ballymena | 13 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 338 | 224 | 5 | 3 | 36 |
| UCD | 13 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 275 | 238 | 1 | 3 | 34 |
| Dungannon | 13 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 212 | 270 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| Cork Constitution | 13 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 233 | 247 | 1 | 4 | 27 |
| Galwegians | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 236 | 333 | 2 | 3 | 23 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 13 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 209 | 248 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
| Buccaneers | 13 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 196 | 358 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
| Dublin University | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 207 | 246 | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Co. Carlow | 13 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 210 | 329 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| Landsdowne | 13 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 175 | 267 | 0 | 4 | 18 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 30.04.2005 | Garryowen | 8 | Belfast Harlequins | 15 |
| 30.04.2005 | Shannon | 21 | Clontarf | 11 |
| Final | ||||
| 07.05.2005 | Shannon | 25 | Belfast Harlequins | 20 |
AIL Division 1 2005-06
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Garryowen (SF) | 15 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 379 | 180 | 5 | 0 | 61 |
| Clontarf (SF) | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 403 | 222 | 10 | 3 | 61 |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 384 | 216 | 6 | 2 | 56 |
| Shannon (SF) | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 357 | 200 | 4 | 0 | 56 |
| UL Bohemian | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 345 | 309 | 5 | 2 | 49 |
| Belfast Harlequins | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 328 | 330 | 5 | 2 | 39 |
| Buccaneers | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 305 | 261 | 2 | 5 | 37 |
| Landsdowne | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 337 | 311 | 3 | 1 | 32 |
| UCD | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 295 | 286 | 3 | 5 | 32 |
| Ballymena | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 307 | 313 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
| St. Mary’s College | 15 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 250 | 305 | 1 | 2 | 29 |
| Dungannon | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 264 | 357 | 3 | 2 | 29 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 213 | 376 | 0 | 5 | 23 |
| Galwegians | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 208 | 343 | 2 | 5 | 19 |
| Dublin University (R) | 15 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 265 | 399 | 2 | 3 | 17 |
| Co. Carlow (R) | 15 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 191 | 423 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 06.05.2006 | Clontarf | 26 | Cork Constitution | 6 |
| 06.05.2006 | Garryowen | 20 | Shannon | 21 |
| Final | ||||
| 13.05.2006 | Clontarf | 3 | Shannon | 30 |
AIL Division 1 2006-07
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 369 | 227 | 5 | 1 | 60 |
| Clontarf (SF) | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 325 | 188 | 6 | 3 | 51 |
| Garryowen (SF) | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 297 | 175 | 4 | 4 | 48 |
| UL Bohemian (SF) | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 306 | 187 | 5 | 3 | 48 |
| Shannon | 15 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 317 | 200 | 4 | 2 | 48 |
| Dungannon | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 261 | 299 | 3 | 4 | 37 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 348 | 416 | 9 | 4 | 37 |
| Terenure College RFC | 15 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 267 | 353 | 3 | 1 | 36 |
| Landsdowne | 15 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 246 | 263 | 1 | 2 | 33 |
| St. Mary’s College | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 237 | 269 | 2 | 2 | 32 |
| Galwegians | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 287 | 324 | 3 | 5 | 28 |
| UCD | 15 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 279 | 372 | 1 | 4 | 27 |
| Ballymena | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 265 | 298 | 3 | 7 | 26 |
| Dolphin | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 251 | 307 | 1 | 5 | 26 |
| Belfast Harlequins (R) | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 186 | 266 | 1 | 4 | 25 |
| Buccaneers (R) | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 209 | 306 | 0 | 2 | 22 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 28.04.2007 | Clontarf | 15 | Garryowen | 28 |
| 28.04.2007 | Cork Constitution | 21 | UL Bohemian | 18 |
| Final | ||||
| 05.05.2007 | Cork Constitution | 15 | Garryowen | 16 |
AIL Division 1 2007-08
| P | W | D | L | PF | PA | TB | LB | Pts | |
| Cork Constitution (SF) | 15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 327 | 133 | 3 | 1 | 58 |
| Shannon (SF) | 15 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 329 | 177 | 5 | 3 | 56 |
| Garryowen (SF) | 15 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 295 | 157 | 4 | 1 | 55 |
| Clontarf (SF) | 15 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 285 | 233 | 3 | 4 | 47 |
| Blackrock College RFC | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 319 | 285 | 4 | 3 | 43 |
| Dolphin | 15 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 269 | 273 | 2 | 1 | 39 |
| UL Bohemian | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 252 | 208 | 3 | 4 | 35 |
| Old Belvedere | 15 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 307 | 282 | 3 | 7 | 34 |
| St. Mary’s College | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 240 | 270 | 2 | 3 | 33 |
| UCD | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 255 | 337 | 2 | 3 | 33 |
| Ballymena | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 230 | 267 | 1 | 6 | 27 |
| Terenure College | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 228 | 309 | 2 | 7 | 25 |
| Dungannon | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 242 | 309 | 1 | 5 | 24 |
| Galwegians | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 171 | 241 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| Landsdowne (R) | 15 | 4 | 1 | 10 | 181 | 280 | 2 | 3 | 23 |
| Greystones (R) | 15 | 4 | 0 | 11 | 202 | 371 | 0 | 2 | 18 |
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 03.05.2008 | Cork Constitution | 17 | Clontarf | 3 |
| 03.05.2008 | Shannon | 6 | Garryowen | 31 |
| Final | ||||
| 11.05.2008 | Cork Constitution | 18 | Garryowen | 8 |
AIL Division 1 2008-09
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| Semi-Finals | ||||
| 25.04.2009 | Cork Constitution | 6 | Clontarf | 25 |
| 25.04.2009 | Shannon | 16 | Garryowen | 12 |
| Final | ||||
| 09.05.2009 | Shannon | 19 * | Clontarf | 19 |
Note * Shannon won on first try rule after extra-time.
Report
The Irish Rugby Football Union introduced a knockout Top Four Playoff system to the All-Ireland League division 1 in 1998-99, with Cork Constitution becoming the first non-Limerick side to win the Division 1 title defeating Garrowen 14-11 in the Final, and then the following year St. Mary’s, from Rathmines in Dublin, became the first non-Munster club to win, triumphing 25-22 over Landsdowne in the 1999-2000 Final.
The 2000-01 season was cancelled following an outbreak of foot-in-mouth disease, and in 2001-02 Shannon won again, with Ballymena capturing a first league title for Ulster in 2002-03. Shannon won the three-in-a-row from 2003-04 to 2005-06, before Garryowen also won it for Limerick in 2006-07, with Cork Constitution keeping it in Munster in 2007-08. Shannon won on the first try rule after extra-tome in 2008-09.
For the 2009-10 season Division 1 was split into Divisions 1A and 1B.
References
Images
[1] Irish Rugby Football Union (2017) IRFU Logo [Internet] Available from: http://cdn.soticservers.net/tools/images/teams/logos/100×100/126a.png [Accessed 13 March 2018]
Newspapers
[2] Anon. (1999) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, April 19, 1999. Pg. 46-47
[3] Anon. (1999) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, April 26, 1999. Pg. 36.
[4] Anon. (1999) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 3, 1999. Pg. 37.
[5] Anon. (2000) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 1, 2000. Pg. 32.
[6] Anon. (2000) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 15, 2000. Pg. 32.
[7] Anon. (2000) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 22, 2000. Pg. 32.
[10] Anon. (2002) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 6, 2002. Pg. 30.
[11] Anon. (2003) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 5, 2003. Pg. 32.
[12] Anon. (2003) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 12, 2003. Pg. 34.
[13] Anon. (2004) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 3, 2004. Pg. 42.
[14] Anon. (2004) “The A-Z of Weekend Sport | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 10, 2004. Pg. 50.
[19] Anon. (2009) “Factfile | Rugby”Irish Independent. Monday, May 11, 2009. Pg. 55 (p. 31 Sport)
Websites
[8] IRFU (2020) League Tables [2000-2001] to [2008-2009] [Internet] Available from: https://www.irishrugby.ie/all-ireland-leagues/men/league-tables/ [Accessed 3 August 2020]
[9] IRFU (2020) Fixtures & Results [D1SF][D1F}[2001-2002] to [2008-2009] [Internet] Available from: https://www.irishrugby.ie/all-ireland-leagues/men/fixtures-results/ [Accessed 3 August 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Richard Declan Mulcahy, Nora Mulcahy & Vinny Kingston
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 11 August 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.