Munster Rugby line out at City Hall

Representatives of Munster Rugby met with Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Fergal Dennehy last weekend for a special reception in advance of Munster’s clash with Gloucester in the Investec Champions Cup on Saturday 13 December.

Cllr Dennehy was joined by Sean Loftus, President of Munster Branch IRFU, Dr Ian Flanagan, CEO Munster Rugby, Wendy Keenan, Chairperson Munster Youths, and Ciara Meany, Marketing Munster Rugby, as well as Rebecca Loughrey, Director of Services, Cork City Council.

The match took place in front of a packed out Pairc Uí Chaoimh, and marks the third time this year a sport other than GAA has been played in the ground. It was also the first ever European fixture held at the ground.

Earlier this year, it played host to the Ireland women’s national team in their Euro 2025 qualifying campaign, and the Cork Super Cup between Cork City and Celtic last summer.

Munster emerged from the fixture victorious by a scoreline of 31-3. It was their second fixture in the competition after a 40-14 defeat to Bath on 6 December.

Cllr Dennehy said the hosting of a European match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was a “tremendous honour” and a “historic occasion” for Cork.

“Hosting a Champions Cup fixture at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh is a proud moment for our city and reflects the strong partnership between our sporting community.

“We look forward to seeing fans from across the province come together to support Munster in this exciting European campaign,” he said.

Munster currently sit at third in their Champions Cup pool, and still have Castres, Toulon, and Edinburgh to play. Their next match will be against Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship on 20 December away in Swansea.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.