PLENTY OF CLUBS up and down the country had cause for celebration at the end of another cracking campaign of domestic rugby in Ireland, but MU Barnhall RFC have had more reasons than most to enjoy themselves.
The headline achievement for the Kildare club was promotion into Division 1B of the men’s All-Ireland League for next season, the highest level the club has achieved in its history.
It has been a long time coming, with Barnhall suffering promotion play-off defeat for the last three successive years. Back in 2020, they seemed to be cruising towards direct promotion before Covid-19 hit and the league was cancelled.
All that hurt along the way fed into something special this season. They got the job done with a dominant campaign in Division 2A, winning 16 of their 18 games and skipping the play-off altogether.
Head coached by former Connacht and Ireland A hooker Adrian Flavin, the Barnhall men’s team also won the Leinster Senior League in September, a success that indicated good things were to come in the AIL.
Flavin has been nominated for AIL men’s coach of the year at tomorrow’s awards ceremony, while place-kicking fullback Neil Byrne and powerful centre Shane Mallon, formerly of Connacht, are up for Division 2A player of the year.
The MU Barnhall U20s sealed the club’s first-ever U20 All-Ireland title last month, beating UCD in the final of what is known as the Fraser McMullen Cup.
The All-Ireland decider saw Barnhall avenge their defeat to UCD in the final of the JP Fanagan Premier 1, the U20 league competition for Leinster clubs. Barnhall won more games than anyone in the regular season, with club legend Tom McKeown in charge.
The list of MU Barnhall successes goes on. The club’s Seconds won the J1 Metro Plate, while the Fourths claimed titles in Metro Division 10 and the Guilfoyle-James Cup.
Former Connacht man Shane Mallon was brilliant in 2A. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Meanwhile, the Barnhall women’s team had a superb campaign as they won Leinster League Division 1 and earned promotion into next season’s All-Ireland League for the first time.
Niamh Fitzgerald’s side secured their place in the expanded 12-team AIL in style by hammering Shannon 53-7 in the promotion play-off. The women’s team also won the All-Ireland Junior Cup in dominant fashion, their fourth such title.
As well as those eight trophies at women’s, men’s, and U20 levels, there have been successes through the age-grade teams at the club.
“It has been a season like no other,” is how MU Barnhall director of rugby Sam Cawley puts it.
The MU stands for Maynooth University, with whom Barnhall RFC – the club that famously produced Trevor Brennan – began working in 2005 and then more formally partnered with in 2010 to create a rugby scholarship programme that also saw the club’s name change.
Young students studying at Maynooth University have the chance to play U20 and senior rugby with Barnhall in the nearby town of Leixlip, and it has proven to be a match made in heaven.
Rob Holt, the man who captained Barnhall to promotion this season, was among the first crop of young players to join. Now in his 30s, the scrum-half has just led his club into Division 1B. Many more have followed in his footsteps since 2010.
The aforementioned U20s head coach McKeown is the key figure in managing things on this front. He is Barnhall’s most capped player, with more than 200 AIL appearances, and previously worked as a community rugby officer with Leinster Rugby.
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Since 2016, he has been the rugby development manager at Maynooth University, as well as continuing to play and now coach with Barnhall. Not only is he the U20s head coach, but he is also an assistant to Flavin for the AIL side.
Tom McKeown is a key figure in MU Barnhall. MU BarnhallMU Barnhall
McKeown, who is also head coach for Clongowes Wood College in the schools game, has had a front-row view of how the partnership between MU and Barnhall has grown increasingly productive.
“It’s obviously a lot of hard work from a lot of people in the club, but I think one of the big factors has been the improvements in the university side of things, in terms of offering more courses,” says McKeown.
“First off, we started to get a lot more people in through the school of business and then, the last couple of years, the introduction of things like sports science and nutrition.
“That type of stuff has been a game-changer in terms of attracting school leavers and then obviously on top of that, rugby players.
“That has allowed us to build a stronger U20s programme and then that has fed through nicely to the AIL.”
Cawley mentions how crucial the support for this partnership has been from both Barnhall’s executive and the university’s advisory board, with everyone on the same page.
MU Barnhall now attract players, male and female, from every county in Leinster and even some from Connacht.
Most of them come to the club after playing in the youths age-grade pipeline, rather than in the schools system. There’s the odd player from Newbridge College, Castleknock College, Kilkenny College, or King’s Hospital, but most come from the club game.
The sales pitch from McKeown and co. is that they have a clear pathway to playing AIL rugby if they can kick on with their development. Division 1B rugby and the U20s’ success will surely help convince more.
“You could probably say their ceiling is a bit higher in terms of they’re just a little bit more rough and ready than the schools players, who can obviously be a bit more polished,” says McKeown.
The Barnhall 'Butchers' team had a great season. MU BarnhallMU Barnhall
“And that’s exciting. You get players in, they’re very competitive. They’re like sponges, they’ll take as much on as they can. And they love being involved in the environment.”
As well as having an influx of players to the club on the scholarship programme, it’s worth noting that Barnhall bring plenty of their own homegrown players right through their age-grade system into the U20s and senior set-ups.
“They’re not all in the university,” says Cawley, who originally hails from Sligo but has been with Barnhall since moving east in 1989.
“Some of them are apprentice electricians, apprentice carpenters.
“There were seven or eight in the 23-man squad for the Fraser McMullan final who would have come right through the youth system, which is very important.”
The MU Barnhall U20s have gone from being a middling side in the second tier of the JP Fanagan to being the All-Ireland champions. The club also has a second team at U20 level who play in the third tier of the JP Fanagan competition.
And young players making the transition up to senior level have largely been well set to make an impact.
Two Barnhall players – Sean Walsh and Luke Fogarty – have been in the Ireland U20s set-up this season, while Ciaran Enright, Jack Castles and Adam Gray are part of the Irish Universities squad to face France this Friday in Lyon.
The U20s and AIL coaching staffs work closely together. Flavin’s senior coaching team includes former Leinster wing Darren Hudson, McKeown, and JP Botha.
McKeown heads up the U20s coaching team, assisted by Rob Mullen, who also works in a development role with Leinster Rugby, as well as Eoin Hogan, Botha, Dan Murphy, who is vice-captain for the senior team, and physio Lee Sherlock.
“We have a bit of consistency,” says McKeown. “We added JP this year as a scrum coach for both teams and that was transformational.
“Adrian has been with the club for 10 years, so we’ve had a lot of consistency in terms of the coaching staff.
Adrian Flavin was AIL Coach of the Year in 2019 after Barnhall's promotion from Division 2B. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
“We’ve also had a lot of consistency in terms of the people around the club, so we’ve seen what works well, but we’ve also done things badly in the past, and we’ve learned from those mistakes.”
Barnhall have done their best to retain players after they graduate from university, even if there is natural turnover.
The club helps players to find internships and job opportunities, which means they can stay in the area, with Cawley also pointing out that Maynooth, Leixlip, and the surrounding region have become increasingly attractive for young families.
The club’s Fourths side, the ‘Butchers’ team, is a far more social one and they play at Metro 10 level, ensuring those without high-flying aspirations can stay in the game and keep enjoying their rugby.
The improvement of the women’s team in MU Barnhall is another point of major pride.
At one stage in recent years, the women’s side had been relegated to Leinster League Division 3, but they will be dining at the top table in the expanded Women’s AIL next season.
Lots of Barnhall’s young players are making waves elsewhere, with back row Aoife Corcoran part of the Ireland U21s squad, as well as helping the IRFU’s Wolfhounds to Celtic Challenge success recently.
Others have starred for the Leinster and Connacht inter-provincial teams, so the likes of Tracey Talbot, MU Barnhall’s co-ordinator of women’s rugby, are pleased with the progress on this side of the club.
So this season was one of delight and success for MU Barnhall. And it’s a sign of their ambition that everyone is already thinking ahead to making more progress next season.
“We’re obviously trusting there’s a good gang of lads coming up from the U20s who will supplement what we have,” says McKeown of the challenge of taking on the high-quality Division 1B.
“Of course, we’ll recruit one or two players if we have the right opportunities.
“We’ll improve a few bits and pieces, try to make the most of the off-season from a strength and conditioning perspective, improve the lads we have, and maybe enhance the video analysis side of things.”
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'A season like no other' - MU Barnhall celebrate trophies across the club
PLENTY OF CLUBS up and down the country had cause for celebration at the end of another cracking campaign of domestic rugby in Ireland, but MU Barnhall RFC have had more reasons than most to enjoy themselves.
The headline achievement for the Kildare club was promotion into Division 1B of the men’s All-Ireland League for next season, the highest level the club has achieved in its history.
It has been a long time coming, with Barnhall suffering promotion play-off defeat for the last three successive years. Back in 2020, they seemed to be cruising towards direct promotion before Covid-19 hit and the league was cancelled.
All that hurt along the way fed into something special this season. They got the job done with a dominant campaign in Division 2A, winning 16 of their 18 games and skipping the play-off altogether.
Head coached by former Connacht and Ireland A hooker Adrian Flavin, the Barnhall men’s team also won the Leinster Senior League in September, a success that indicated good things were to come in the AIL.
Flavin has been nominated for AIL men’s coach of the year at tomorrow’s awards ceremony, while place-kicking fullback Neil Byrne and powerful centre Shane Mallon, formerly of Connacht, are up for Division 2A player of the year.
The MU Barnhall U20s sealed the club’s first-ever U20 All-Ireland title last month, beating UCD in the final of what is known as the Fraser McMullen Cup.
The All-Ireland decider saw Barnhall avenge their defeat to UCD in the final of the JP Fanagan Premier 1, the U20 league competition for Leinster clubs. Barnhall won more games than anyone in the regular season, with club legend Tom McKeown in charge.
The list of MU Barnhall successes goes on. The club’s Seconds won the J1 Metro Plate, while the Fourths claimed titles in Metro Division 10 and the Guilfoyle-James Cup.
Meanwhile, the Barnhall women’s team had a superb campaign as they won Leinster League Division 1 and earned promotion into next season’s All-Ireland League for the first time.
Niamh Fitzgerald’s side secured their place in the expanded 12-team AIL in style by hammering Shannon 53-7 in the promotion play-off. The women’s team also won the All-Ireland Junior Cup in dominant fashion, their fourth such title.
As well as those eight trophies at women’s, men’s, and U20 levels, there have been successes through the age-grade teams at the club.
“It has been a season like no other,” is how MU Barnhall director of rugby Sam Cawley puts it.
The MU stands for Maynooth University, with whom Barnhall RFC – the club that famously produced Trevor Brennan – began working in 2005 and then more formally partnered with in 2010 to create a rugby scholarship programme that also saw the club’s name change.
Young students studying at Maynooth University have the chance to play U20 and senior rugby with Barnhall in the nearby town of Leixlip, and it has proven to be a match made in heaven.
Rob Holt, the man who captained Barnhall to promotion this season, was among the first crop of young players to join. Now in his 30s, the scrum-half has just led his club into Division 1B. Many more have followed in his footsteps since 2010.
The aforementioned U20s head coach McKeown is the key figure in managing things on this front. He is Barnhall’s most capped player, with more than 200 AIL appearances, and previously worked as a community rugby officer with Leinster Rugby.
Since 2016, he has been the rugby development manager at Maynooth University, as well as continuing to play and now coach with Barnhall. Not only is he the U20s head coach, but he is also an assistant to Flavin for the AIL side.
McKeown, who is also head coach for Clongowes Wood College in the schools game, has had a front-row view of how the partnership between MU and Barnhall has grown increasingly productive.
“It’s obviously a lot of hard work from a lot of people in the club, but I think one of the big factors has been the improvements in the university side of things, in terms of offering more courses,” says McKeown.
“First off, we started to get a lot more people in through the school of business and then, the last couple of years, the introduction of things like sports science and nutrition.
“That type of stuff has been a game-changer in terms of attracting school leavers and then obviously on top of that, rugby players.
“That has allowed us to build a stronger U20s programme and then that has fed through nicely to the AIL.”
Cawley mentions how crucial the support for this partnership has been from both Barnhall’s executive and the university’s advisory board, with everyone on the same page.
MU Barnhall now attract players, male and female, from every county in Leinster and even some from Connacht.
Most of them come to the club after playing in the youths age-grade pipeline, rather than in the schools system. There’s the odd player from Newbridge College, Castleknock College, Kilkenny College, or King’s Hospital, but most come from the club game.
The sales pitch from McKeown and co. is that they have a clear pathway to playing AIL rugby if they can kick on with their development. Division 1B rugby and the U20s’ success will surely help convince more.
“You could probably say their ceiling is a bit higher in terms of they’re just a little bit more rough and ready than the schools players, who can obviously be a bit more polished,” says McKeown.
“And that’s exciting. You get players in, they’re very competitive. They’re like sponges, they’ll take as much on as they can. And they love being involved in the environment.”
As well as having an influx of players to the club on the scholarship programme, it’s worth noting that Barnhall bring plenty of their own homegrown players right through their age-grade system into the U20s and senior set-ups.
“They’re not all in the university,” says Cawley, who originally hails from Sligo but has been with Barnhall since moving east in 1989.
“Some of them are apprentice electricians, apprentice carpenters.
“There were seven or eight in the 23-man squad for the Fraser McMullan final who would have come right through the youth system, which is very important.”
The MU Barnhall U20s have gone from being a middling side in the second tier of the JP Fanagan to being the All-Ireland champions. The club also has a second team at U20 level who play in the third tier of the JP Fanagan competition.
And young players making the transition up to senior level have largely been well set to make an impact.
Two Barnhall players – Sean Walsh and Luke Fogarty – have been in the Ireland U20s set-up this season, while Ciaran Enright, Jack Castles and Adam Gray are part of the Irish Universities squad to face France this Friday in Lyon.
The U20s and AIL coaching staffs work closely together. Flavin’s senior coaching team includes former Leinster wing Darren Hudson, McKeown, and JP Botha.
McKeown heads up the U20s coaching team, assisted by Rob Mullen, who also works in a development role with Leinster Rugby, as well as Eoin Hogan, Botha, Dan Murphy, who is vice-captain for the senior team, and physio Lee Sherlock.
“We have a bit of consistency,” says McKeown. “We added JP this year as a scrum coach for both teams and that was transformational.
“Adrian has been with the club for 10 years, so we’ve had a lot of consistency in terms of the coaching staff.
“We’ve also had a lot of consistency in terms of the people around the club, so we’ve seen what works well, but we’ve also done things badly in the past, and we’ve learned from those mistakes.”
Barnhall have done their best to retain players after they graduate from university, even if there is natural turnover.
The club helps players to find internships and job opportunities, which means they can stay in the area, with Cawley also pointing out that Maynooth, Leixlip, and the surrounding region have become increasingly attractive for young families.
The club’s Fourths side, the ‘Butchers’ team, is a far more social one and they play at Metro 10 level, ensuring those without high-flying aspirations can stay in the game and keep enjoying their rugby.
The improvement of the women’s team in MU Barnhall is another point of major pride.
At one stage in recent years, the women’s side had been relegated to Leinster League Division 3, but they will be dining at the top table in the expanded Women’s AIL next season.
Lots of Barnhall’s young players are making waves elsewhere, with back row Aoife Corcoran part of the Ireland U21s squad, as well as helping the IRFU’s Wolfhounds to Celtic Challenge success recently.
Others have starred for the Leinster and Connacht inter-provincial teams, so the likes of Tracey Talbot, MU Barnhall’s co-ordinator of women’s rugby, are pleased with the progress on this side of the club.
So this season was one of delight and success for MU Barnhall. And it’s a sign of their ambition that everyone is already thinking ahead to making more progress next season.
“We’re obviously trusting there’s a good gang of lads coming up from the U20s who will supplement what we have,” says McKeown of the challenge of taking on the high-quality Division 1B.
“Of course, we’ll recruit one or two players if we have the right opportunities.
“We’ll improve a few bits and pieces, try to make the most of the off-season from a strength and conditioning perspective, improve the lads we have, and maybe enhance the video analysis side of things.”
Onwards and upwards for MU Barnhall.
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Maynooth University MU Barnhall Onwards and Upwards Sam Cawley success Tom McKeown