Irish rugby players, professional and amateur, will have woken this morning to a very different sporting landscape as their governing bodies called a halt to all playing activity in response to the growing threat of Covid-19 on these shores.

Despite another day of caustic soundbites from government officials, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) are increasingly confident that their future will be secured in the coming weeks.

Details of correspondence and government letters on the 1989 rugby tour controversy have been released by the National Archives as part of the 30-year rule.

The Irish government was “outraged” after the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) took part in a rugby event in apartheid South Africa, state papers have revealed.

Rugby is a less elitist sport in Munster than in any other part of the country, a new report has found.

There has been a sharp increase in the number of women being injured in rugby, the first of its kind study shows.

The IRFU have described claims made by The Times (UK) journalist Stephen Jones as 'scurrilous and untrue'.

Back in May 2009, the rugby analyst Liam Toland wrote a brilliant column on what it was like to be in Croke Park when the ground was full for a Leinster against Munster Heineken Cup semi-final.

Sport Ireland has announced a multi-year investment of more than €3 million in National Governing Bodies of Sport through the re-launch of the Women in Sport Programme.

Shoppers have described the scene of the fire which caused extensive damage to Douglas Village Shopping Centre car park this evening.

Never mind the trip to Japan, Ireland’s rugby stars will have racked up plenty of miles before the World Cup even starts and that is just the way Robbie Henshaw likes it.

Rugby players in an Irish Open Pro-Am are not an unusual sight. Along with GAA stars and jockeys, they are a staple of the pre-tournament entertainment at this annual stop on the European Tour.

The European Champions’ Cup emerges from hibernation next week offering a ray of sunshine for those Irish players hung out to dry after the deluge and days of cascading criticism.

Last weekend, the Leinster, Leicester, and Ireland rugby player Dominic Ryan joined a worrying and lengthening list of professional rugby players forced to retire prematurely.

A rugby club is poised to embark on a near-€1m development plan which includes construction of a new all-weather pitch and a running track.

Former Ulster rugby player Paddy Jackson has been signed to French side Perpignan.

Stuart Olding has signed a two-year deal with Brive to end his search for a club following the termination of his Ulster and Ireland contracts.

The story of the anthems offers a sharp insight into how a United Ireland has been imagined by too many of those who profess to desire it as something that is united only in geography but not in much else, writes Paul Rouse.

An open letter to the Ireland and Ulster rugby leadership demanding that Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding never play rugby for the province or national team again has appeared in a Northern Ireland newspaper.

Ulster and the Irish Rugby Football Union have said winger Craig Gilroy is now the subject of an internal review and will not be playing for his province this weekend.

Paddy Jackson’s solicitor yesterday stated the rugby player’s priority in the wake of his acquittal on rape charges was to return to work but the Ireland fly-half will not make an immediate comeback on the field of play.

Ireland expect Tadhg Furlong and Iain Henderson to prove their fitness in time to face Scotland.

A Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) was presented to a naval service officer for “bravery which went above and beyond the call of duty” when he led a boarding party onto a drug-running yacht during atrocious weather.

Two Ireland and Ulster rugby stars are due to go on trial accused of rape.

The relationship between sport and the media changed in Ireland on Christmas week in 1880.

Sport has always played a vital role in Irish society. If there is injustice we should speak out about it as we do in all other walks of life, writes Ryle Dwyer. 

Irish Rugby Football Union chief executive Philip Browne says Ireland should not bid to host a Rugby World Cup while the parameters to stage the competition remain as they are.

How did the voting work?

South Africa is expected to be awarded the right to host Rugby World Cup 2023 ahead of Ireland and France in London today.

Rory Best believes Ireland’s meticulous player management should stop many more top stars following Simon Zebo’s lead in moving to France for next season.

Former international rugby referee David McHugh has launched High Court proceedings against the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) over the governing body's decision to dismiss from his employment.

The Irish Rugby Football Union have defended their decision to hand the next Ireland's women's head-coach a six-month contract on a part-time basis.

Criticism of the Irish Rugby Football Union continues to mount following a decision to downgrade the position of head coach for the national women’s team as advertised on a part time/casual basis and for just six months.

Norita Duggan, a top club rugby coach, has expressed serious criticism of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) after its latest edict on how to approach the development of the women’s game in Ireland.

The alleged rape victim of two Ireland and Ulster rugby stars may be questioned during a pre-trial hearing, a lawyer has said.

France has placed finances above everything in a bid to host Rugby World Cup 2023 ahead of rivals Ireland and South Africa, writes Barry Coughlan of the Irish Examiner.

Evidence from three witnesses is to be challenged during the rape case against Ireland and Ulster rugby star Paddy Jackson, his lawyer said.

The rape case against two Ireland and Ulster rugby players will be back in court later.

Two Ulster and Ireland rugby stars are due in court later to face rape charges.

Seven years on from their last visit, Manchester United return to Dublin tonight and the decline in form of the former Premier League kingpins hasn’t diminished their support in Ireland.

Sport Ireland Chief Executive John Treacy says the body will lobby WADA to close the appeal loophole that allowed Brendan O’Sullivan, the Kerry GAA footballer who failed an anti-doping test last year, to play for seven months in the middle of his ban.

Ulster and Ireland players Paddy Jackson, 25, and Stuart Olding, 24, strenuously deny the offence, which was alleged to have happened in Belfast last June.