Cobh Pirates RFC was founded in 1890, drawing players initially from the British Navy and the towns of Cobh & Monkstown. In 1924, the Club moved to our present grounds, the Paddocks, Newtown, Cobh. In 1934/35 they beat Charleville to secure Cork County Cup for the first of twenty one titles. Presentation Brothers College has been associated with the club throughout to the 1970s. In 1977 a juvenile section began with one team at u11, it has now grown to 330+ kids playing over 12 age grades from u5 to u19.
With the onset of the juvenile section, the fortunes of the club grew with many league and cups titles over the years. Recognition of players from the Club was rewarded with Munster Youth caps, with the highlight, Brendan Ronan, elevated to playing out-half on the u19 Irish Team that won the World Cup, which included Brian O’Driscoll & Donncha O’Callaghan among others from the current Irish Senior Squad. The product of the juvenile section over the years, also contributed greatly to the Club winning the Munster Junior Cup in 2006 for the first time. The Club’s first XV currently play in the Munster Junior League, Div 1, with all squad members products of the underage section. The Club has 11 players (8 from u15 & 3 from u17) on the Munster Cadets Programme. We commend Terenure RFC for organising the u13 European Tournament and wish all participants, sup- porters and clubs the very best of luck for a successful weekend of youth rugby.