Mullingar The Destination For #EnergiaAIL Men’s Promotion Hopefuls

The cream of junior rugby talent will be on show on Saturday week at Mullingar Rugby Club, which has been confirmed as the venue for the eagerly-awaited All-Ireland Provincial League Championship semi-finals.

The March 28 double header is a crucial step towards gaining promotion to the Men’s Energia All-Ireland League for next season, as the four provincial league winners commence battle in the play-offs.

Boyne and Kilfeacle & District will kick off the action at Mullingar’s Shay Murtagh Park at 1pm, before Enniskillen and Creggs, who lost at the semi-final stage last year, take to the pitch for their clash at 3pm.

Kevin McCleery’s Boyne team are fresh from winning the Leinster League Division 1A title, just twelve months after being crowned Division 1B champions. It was Boyne’s first top-flight success since 2011, when they last reached the All-Ireland League, the start of a six-year spell at senior level.

Their semi-final opponents next week, Kilfeacle & District, went one better than last year to lift the Munster Junior League Division 1 trophy for the first time since 2020. Driven on by captain Kevin Kinane, Shane Luby’s charges have also qualified for the Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Cup final.

Enniskillen, meanwhile, finished 12 points clear of closest challengers Dromore to claim the Ulster Rugby Championship 1 crown. Alastair Keys’ side have been knocking on the door the last few years, and have Robert Baloucoune, one of Ireland’s Six Nations stars, coaching their backs this season.

Kolo Kiripati’s Creggs outfit edged out Dunmore last Sunday to win a fourth successive Connacht Junior League Division 1A title, giving them another shot at bringing the club, situated on the Galway/Roscommon border, back to the All-Ireland League for the first time since 1998.

The two winning teams in Mullingar will advance to the All-Ireland Provincial League Championship final on Saturday, April 11, the prize on offer being a place in the restructured Division 2BN or Division 2BS for 2026/27. The venue will be selected once the two finalists are known.

Bective Rangers, last season’s All-Ireland Provincial League Championship winners, and Thomond, who beat Omagh Accies in the promotion/relegation play-off decider, are currently sitting in the top three of Division 2C, showing the strength of junior club rugby across the provinces.

ALL-IRELAND PROVINCIAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS:

Saturday, March 28 –

BOYNE v KILFEACLE & DISTRICT, Mullingar RFC, 1pm

ENNISKILLEN v CREGGS, Mullingar RFC, 3pm