As another calendar year of rugby draws to a close and we approach Christmas, I want to take a moment to reflect, to say thank you, and to look ahead with optimism. Over the past few months, we’ve celebrated wins, learned from defeats, and shared plenty of moments that reminded us why this club means so much to all of us. Week in, week out, people give their time, energy, and passion to ensure that this club continues to thrive, often without thanks or recognition.
To our players and coaches across all levels: thank you for your commitment, your hard work, and for representing the club with pride. To our volunteers, committee members and match-day helpers, this club simply could not function without you. Your efforts behind the scenes are the backbone of everything we do.
To our supporters, neighbours, families & friends, thank you for your loyalty, your encouragement, and for standing with us through the highs and the lows. Your support makes a real difference.
A special thank you to all our sponsors whose support is vital to the success and sustainability of our club. Whether it’s funding equipment, supporting our teams at every level, or helping us invest in facilities and development, your backing makes a real and lasting difference. Therefore, a huge thank you to Zurich, Peugeot, Heineken, Howden, Kirby Group, SparksWealth, Hopkins Ward, MMPI, Causeway Capital, Joe Leddin Finance for your ongoing support, continued commitment and generosity.
Christmas is also a time to remember those within our wider rugby family who may be facing challenges, or who are no longer with us. We hold them and their families in our thoughts at this time.
As we look ahead to the New Year, we do so with confidence and ambition - determined to build on what we’ve achieved, to support one another, and to continue strengthening this great club both on and off the field. On behalf of the committee and officers, I wish you and your families a very happy, peaceful, and healthy Christmas, and every good wish for the New Year and what 2026 might bring.
Gavin Lee President 2025-26 Lansdowne FC
LFC Teams Review:
Men’s 1st Team
At the half-way mark and straight after a strong victory over St Marys we currently sit in 3rd place on 30 points. Clontarf are on top with 37, with St Mary’s narrowly behind on 33. Terenure make up 4th place with Con in 5th, both on 27 points. Looking to the new year, we start with St Marys at home in our third “Friday night lights” fixture, on Friday 9th January. What better way to shake off the turkey excesses than come down to support the lads. Places are still available for the pre-match dinner. Click here to book your space.
Women’s 1st team: Our women’s team have had a roaring start to the season with 7 wins out of 7. This is a huge achievement with a notable increase on players. They sit top of the Leinster League Division 5 table. We wish coach John Tobin and Manager Steve Rooney continued success for the remainder of the season. We have high hopes of achieving silverware this year.
U20’s: The U20’s are currently in 4th place on 26 points. Barnhall are top, followed by UCD and Clontarf. Injuries have hit the team hard lately, but they have had some sterling performances, most notably the win against Barnhall. Hopefully with some rest and recouperation they will come back fresh and ready for the second half of the year. There is a great buzz in the team this year and they are working hard for each other.
J1’s: Our J1’s are currently in second place on 29 points, tucked in behind league leaders Clontarf on 36. They have played 9 games and won 5. Injuries again have not helped the team lately, but fingers crossed the Xmas break will bring back some much-needed numbers into the squad.
J2’s: The J2’s are playing some outstanding rugby this year. They currently sit top of the table on 43 points with Old Wesley behind on 32. Interestingly they have scored 7 4-try bonus point wins out of their 9 games!
J3’s: Similar to the J2’s, the J3’s are at maximum points. 7 games, 7 wins and 7 x 4-try BP’s. They sit top of the table on 35 points, ahead of Wanderers, on 32 points.
J4’s: Our J4’s are also sitting top of their league table on 20 points after 5 games. They are very strong this season and we wish them all well for the remainder of the league season, as we quickly heard for the Cup runs.
2025 Events overview: We have had some fantastic events this season so far with the highlight for me being the Lansdowne Lions lunch in the Zurich room and also the Brian Corrigan / Brian Carney lunch at the Ballynahinch game.
Attendance overall at the AIL games has been good, and we will be building on garnering further support for the first XV team, by continuing the Kids clubs to encourage our M&Y parents to bring the kids along to the matches.
We had a very busy schedule in November for the International series and had some wonderful guest speakers – Morgan Turinui for the Australia game & Jacques Nienaber for the South Africa game.
In November we also had our wonderful annual Ecumenical Service, supported by the wonderful Rathmines Folk Band. Well done to Joseph Davy and John Kearney for organising a fantastic event.
Last weekend, Santa paid a visit to our Minis & Youths teams and was making his list of all the requests the kids wanted for Xmas. Well done to Stephanie Ojo for arranging a wonderful morning for the kids.
2026 Events:
6 Nations 2026 Looking ahead to 2026, we are gearing up for the upcoming 6 Nations campaign. If you are interested in purchasing individual tickets or corporate packages, please contacts Elayne Power on: elaynepower@lansdownerugby.com.
LFC Business Lunch 2026: The Lansdowne FC Annual Business Lunch will this year once again take place in the RDS Concert Hall on Friday 23rd January. Richie Boucher, Chairman of CRH is the guest speaker this year and will be interviewed by journalist Richard Curran. Further details on how to reserve your space at this fantastic events can be found here.
6 Nations - France v Ireland: French Themed Night The opening fixture for this year’s 6 Nations series will see Ireland take on France in Paris on Thursday 5th February. With such a strong cohort of French members in Lansdowne we thought it only fitting for them to arrange a French themed evening. So, we are inviting all member down to the club that evening for what will no doubt be a crunch fixture, where we can sample some French wine, cheese & culture. Save the date: Thursday 5th February 2026.
3 Castles Players Ball: This year the Annual 3 Castles Players Ball will take place in the Zurich room on the 13th February. What better way to warm up for Valentines Day than to bring your partner to meet the other teams. Contact the office for more details on how to reserve your space.
6 Nations England v Ireland: We will be hosting a gathering of LFC members in London the night before the England v Ireland fixture in London on Friday 20th February in Richmond. The Venue is TBC but please make a note of this in your diaries. We would love to see anyone living in London attend this event, or if you are travelling over for the game please come along.
1st XV v Young Munster - Father & Child(ren): We will be hosting a father & children day at the Young Munster game. This is a great opportunity to bring your young supporters down to Lansdowne and have them experinece match day. More details to follow.
Lansdowne Annual Club Dinner 2026:
This year our annual club dinner will be moved forward to the slightly earlier date of 21st March. Further details will be available in the New Year. Please note this date in your diaries for now.
Annual Women of Lansdowne Lunch 2026: This year, our hugely popular women of Lansdowne lunch will be held in the Zurich room on Friday 17th April. Tickets will be on sale from 13th Jan. For more details see here
