Barnhall RFC
| Full name | MU Barnhall Rugby Football Club |
|---|---|
| Union |
IRFU Leinster |
| Nickname(s) | The Blue Bulls |
| Founded | 1969 |
| Ground(s) | Parsonstown, Celbridge |
| President | Sam Cawley |
| Coach(es) | Dean Hakaraia |
MU Barnhall Rugby Football Club is a rugby club in Parsonstown, Leixlip, County Kildare, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. The club has a very successful history and one of the largest youth rugby programmes in Ireland. MU Barnhall has 7 senior teams including an under 20's team, a ladies team and underage teams from 19's to 13's at youth level, and 12's to under 8's at minis level. The club currently plays in the Division 2B of the AIL League.
Barnhall Rugby Club was founded on 16 May 1969 by employees of Irish Meat Packers, Barnhall, Parsinstown, Leixlip, County Kildare. The first full season was 1969/70 when Barnhall played in the J5 O’Connor Cup. At the start of the following 1970/71 season, the committee decided to find games for a second team. The rationale for this move was that the club had no chance of progression or even survival unless a second team was put on the field. Since 1999 Barnhall have established themselves as an All-Ireland League team having spent most of their time in Division Two. 2008 brought Relegation to Parsonstown. Having narrowly avoided relegation for a second consecutive year in 2009. In 2010, the club changed its name to NUIM Barnhall, reflecting the club's tie-in with the National University of Ireland, Maynooth; and in 2015 to the current MU Barnhall, reflecting the university's change of style to 'Maynooth University'.
Barnhall currently play in Division 2B of the AIL League
Over the years notable players have included Trevor Brennan.
MU Barnhall RFC have a large underage rugby programme. The mini-section in the club has players from under-8's level to under-13's.
The youth teams from under 13's to under 19's follow the IRFU's Long Term Player Development Plan(LTPD) and the emphasis moves from participation and fundamentals to learning to play the game and learning to train for the game. The under 19's team play in the Under-19 Premier League. Barnhall were very successful in the Under 16(now Under 17) competition winning the All Ireland in 2005/2006 and runners up in 2001 and 2006/1007. The 2005/2006 squad also went on to win the All-Ireland competition.
In 2007 Barnhall entered the Leinster Women's league for the first time. Managed by Jennie Coleman and coached by Keith Bewley and Kevin Sheil the team went as far as the final in their inaugural year losing out to Longford in the final at Malahide.
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