| About the Irish |
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Brisbane Irish Rugby Football Club origins can be traced back to 1994, and now hails as one of the best Irish exiles rugby clubs outside of the hallowed turf of Lansdowne Road. The BIRFC has a short and impressive history and has built its player base over the past five seasons and evolved into a force in Queensland Suburban Rugby. The club originated as the Terrace Old Boys in 1994 until 1996 when a meeting at Dooley`s Irish Pub gave birth to the Brisbane Irish. The club continued to operated out of Gregory Terrace`s Tennyson playing fields until 1999 when the club moved for one season to Kenmore. In 2000 the Brisbane Irish did not compete and regrouped and in 2001 thanks largely to Paul Quaglia, Tom Nicol and Brendan Yantsch the club reformed and operated out of Purtell Pk at Bardon in partnership with the West (Brisbane) Junior Rugby League Club until 2007 when the club relocated to Memorial Park, Enoggera where they currently reside. The club was formed mostly because there was a need to gather all the Guinness drinking rugger types in Brisbane together so that all the Irish and not so Irish could come together for a good hard game of Rugby and talk about it for weeks over a pint or two. The Irish with an attractive brand of running rugby have captured the imagination of the Queensland Rugby faithful with their bold approach to the game - and have met with enormous success both on and off the field. In 2003 the Irish expanded the club with 1st and 2nd Grade teams competing in the Brisbane Club Rugby Division 2 competition. In 2005 the Irish 1st Grade team qualified for the club's first ever Grand Final and were runners up. In 2006 the club qualified both 1st and 2nd grade teams in the finals with the 2nd XV qualifying for the Grand Final and were also runners up before going on to win the Scotney Cup Premiership in 2008. In 2007 the club expanded once again and introduced a 3rd grade team as well as an Over 35's side the "Brisbane Irish Rovers" who compete in the QLD Over 35's competition. The Irish now boast one of the biggest suburban club's in Brisbane and provide opportunity for rugby players at all levels and ages in Senior rugby. From its humble beginnings in Irish pubs around Brisbane, the Brisbane Irish have strived to provide all Brisbane rugby folk with an enjoyable club to play rugby and the opportunity to experience the thrills our great game can offer. |