Teams · Women's Rugby
Women's Rugby — "Three Saints"
A joint team with St Mary's College RFC, Guinness RFC & DLSP FC
St Mary's College RFC's Senior Women's team plays as "Three Saints" — a joint team made up of players from St Mary's College RFC, Guinness RFC, and DLSP FC. New members are always welcome — for more detail, contact Sarah Fallon here.
Competitions
St Mary's first fielded a women's team in the 2002-03 season and went straight into the Women's All-Ireland League. They won Division 2 in 2009, spent eight seasons in Division 1, and won the first Paul Flood Memorial Cup, three All-Ireland Plates and the Leinster Plate. For three seasons from 2012-13 the club also ran a second XV.
After dropping out of the AIL in 2017 the team bounced straight back as Leinster League champions in 2018. They played one more AIL season, then the section paused from 2019 to 2022. Sarah Brennan-Fallon re-established it in 2022-23. Former Guinness RFC players joined in 2023-24 (the "Mary G's"), De La Salle Palmerston joined in 2024-25, and since 2025-26 the three clubs have played together as Three Saints.
The club's women's titles. The Honours page lists them live from the master Club Honours list.
All-Ireland League champions, promoted to Division 1
Leinster — the inaugural competition
For Division 1 sides out of the Cup
Plus AIL promotion play-off win
The inaugural competition
Click a final for the team, scorers and photos where we have them.
2008 All-Ireland Bowl Final — Lost v UL Bohemians Runners-up
Paul Flood's side reached the All-Ireland Bowl final against the reigning AIL champions UL Bohemians and, although beaten, "put up a storming performance" (Leinster Rugby). The final was played at Navan.
Captain: Paula Fitzpatrick
2009 Women's AIL Division 2 Final — Won 17–0 v City of Derry Won
Saturday 25 April 2009 · Dubarry Park, Athlone
James Maguire Archive (SmugMug)
City of Derry's bus broke down on the way and they togged out on board to keep the delay short. They held St. Mary's out for 25 minutes before solid rucking, a strong lineout and good back-line movement told. The win brought promotion to Division 1 and capped 11 straight league wins.
Captain: Paula Fitzpatrick · Coaching: Garreth Crawford
Scorers: Tries: Aoife Thompson, Muireann Walsh, Paula Fitzpatrick; conversion: Sue Hughes
Source: Leinster Rugby (27 Apr 2009), IRFU and the club yearbook.
Photo gallery →2010 Paul Flood Memorial Cup Final (inaugural) — Won 5–0 v Old Belvedere Won
Sunday 28 February 2010 · Templeville Road
The Leinster Branch named its new women's cup after Paul Flood, the St. Mary's winger of 33 years who had coached the women's team until his death in 2008. Fittingly the first final was played at Templeville Road, with the Flood family present, and St. Mary's won it. Pool wins: Longford 7-0, Cill Dara 45-0, Tuam (walkover), Rathdrum 57-3.
Captain: Paula Fitzpatrick
2011 Women's All-Ireland Plate Final — Won 19–7 v City of Derry Won
After losing to Tralee in the Cup, St. Mary's beat Navan 23-10 and got a walkover from Clonmel to reach the final.
Captain: Paula Fitzpatrick · Coaching: Des Jackson, Gordon Matthews
2013 Women's All-Ireland Plate Final — Won 38–5 v Portlaoise Won
Saturday 6 April 2013 · Clanwilliam RFC
James Maguire Archive (SmugMug)
The All-Ireland Plate for the second time in three years, in the club's tenth season of women's rugby. Route: New Ross 12-0, walkover from Ballincollig.
Captain: Anne-Marie Donovan · Coaching: Rodney O'Donnell
Photo gallery →2014 Paul Cusack Cup Final (J1 XV) — Lost 3–20 v CYM Runners-up
Saturday 29 March 2014 · MU Barnhall
The second team's big day. In the semi-final at Anglesea Road the J1s trailed Old Belvedere 11-3 before tries by scrum-half Louise Kavanagh (converted by Brigid Collins) and centre Majella Cox won it 15-11.
Leinster Rugby's semi-final report →2015 Women's All-Ireland Shield Final — Lost 5–22 v Queen's University Runners-up
Saturday 28 March 2015 · Templeville Road
James Maguire Archive (SmugMug)
Wins away to Nenagh Ormond (32-12) and New Ross (19-5) earned a home final on the women's finals day at Templeville Road.
Captain: Emma Kiernan
Photo gallery →2016 Women's Leinster Plate Final — Won 15–5 v Old Belvedere Won
Sunday 6 March 2016 · Blackrock RFC
James Maguire Archive (SmugMug)
Aoife Moore scored inside five minutes, match-day captain Emma Kiernan added a second after strong carrying by Carol Staunton, and a big defensive effort kept Belvedere out until after half-time. Shayne Richardson sealed it in the dying seconds.
Captain: Grainne Egan (Emma Kiernan on the day)
Scorers: Tries: Aoife Moore, Emma Kiernan, Shayne Richardson
Source: match report by Leah Hayden.
Read the match report → Photo gallery →2016 Women's All-Ireland Plate Final — Won 18–0 v Thurles Won
Saturday 2 April 2016 · Anglesea Road
A walkover from Tuam in the semi-final, then a clean-sheet win to complete a Leinster and All-Ireland Plate double — the club's third All-Ireland Plate.
Captain: Grainne Egan · Coaching: Daragh O'Kelly, Ian Robinson
2018 Leinster League Division 1 Final — Won 25–0 v Railway Union J1 Won
Sunday 8 April 2018 · Naas RFC
Top of the table by 11 points after 14 games, St. Mary's led 19-0 at half-time and kept a clean sheet. Out-half Sarah Duignan was Player of the Match.
Coaching: Philip Lynch, Gareth Logan
Replacements: Leah Hayden, Sarah Callaghan, Michelle Carroll, Amy Moran, Dairine Frawley, Elizabeth Brophy, Laura Power
Scorers: Tries: Niamh Fitzgerald, Paula Fitzpatrick, Aoife Moore; Shayne Richardson 2 conversions, 2 penalties
Source: club report (June 2018), Leinster Rugby review and team sheet.
Leinster Rugby's finals-day review →2018 All-Ireland Plate Final — Lost 19–29 v Blackrock College Runners-up
Saturday 24 March 2018
Reached via a 17-14 semi-final win over Highfield.
Captain: Aoife Moore
2018 AIL Promotion Play-off Final — Won 20–10 v Tralee Won
Saturday 21 April 2018 · Portlaoise RFC
15-5 up at half-time, St. Mary's held on to win back their All-Ireland League place, replacing Tullamore for 2018-19.
Captain: Aoife Moore · Coaching: Philip Lynch, Gareth Logan
Scorers: Tries: Paula Fitzpatrick 2, Emma Kiernan; Shayne Richardson conversion and penalty
Source: IRFU (25 Apr 2018).
2018 Paul Flood Cup Final — Lost 24–46 v Suttonians Runners-up
Thursday 3 May 2018 · Energia Park, Donnybrook
Against a Suttonians side in only their fourth season, the Division 1 champions led through Christy Haney's converted try, but Suttonians led 22-7 at the break. Paula Fitzpatrick moved to out-half for the second half and Orla Fitzsimons scored from a lineout take, but Suttonians pulled away.
Replacements: Leah Hayden, Melissa Hayden, Sarah Callaghan, Karen Plunkett, Amy Moran, Elizabeth Brophy, Michelle Carroll, Dairine Frawley
Scorers: Tries: Christy Haney, Orla Fitzsimons, Niamh Fitzgerald, Aoife Thompson; Shayne Richardson 2 conversions
Source: Leinster Rugby report and team sheet.
Leinster Rugby's report →2019 Metro Flood Lite Cup (inaugural) — Won Won
The last trophy before the section paused: the first Metro Flood Lite Cup.
Captain: Aoife Moore
2025 Division 5 & 6 Cup Round 1 — Won 19–12 v Clontarf Won
Sunday 30 March 2025 · Templeville Road
The amalgamated DLSP/St. Mary's/Guinness side's first cup win. Clontarf led through Niamh Kenny's try before Scholastique Veyssiere and Kate Giblin scored, and replacement Shayne Richardson burst over late in the final quarter to win it.
Replacements: Niamh Rowe, Shayne Richardson
Scorers: Tries: Scholastique Veyssiere, Kate Giblin, Shayne Richardson; Holly Williams 2 conversions
Source: Leinster Rugby first-round recap.
Leinster Rugby's cup preview →Every season from 2002-03, with results and tables from the club's membership books and Leinster Rugby (team sheets from 2013). Dark chips are trophy-winning seasons. No team was fielded from 2019-20 to 2021-22.
Women's 1st XV (St Mary's → Mary G's → Three Saints)
Women's 2nd XV (J1s)
Club members capped for Ireland women, from the club's caps list.
| Carol Staunton | Ireland | The club's first women's international. Captain 2016-17. |
| Gillian Nolan | Ireland | Capped 2010-11 (Six Nations). Captain 2011-12. |
| Paula Fitzpatrick | Ireland, Barbarians | Captained Ireland; 2014 World Cup (4th) and 2015 Six Nations winner; Leinster Women's Player of the Year 2012; two Barbarians caps (2019). Club captain 2007-11. |
| Orla Fitzsimons | Ireland | 2014 World Cup and 2015 Six Nations. Captain 2013-14. |
| Grainne Egan | Ireland | Capped 2015 (Connacht). Captain 2015-16. |
| Emma Hooban | Ireland | Capped 2019 (Leinster). |
Interprovincial players
Leinster: Debbie Clarke (the first, 2004-05), Kiera-Jane Crawford, Anne Carroll, Sarah Brennan, Paula Fitzpatrick, Caitriona Bergin, Gill Nolan, Una O'Murchu, Orla Fitzsimons, Michelle Ross, Ann-Marie Rooney, Emma Hooban, Christy Haney. Connacht: Lyndsey O'Neill, Niamh Fitzgerald, Louise Kavanagh, Grainne Egan. Munster: Aoife Moore, Ciara Scanlan.
The club's 2017 history also records IRFU sevens contracts for Molly Scuffil-McCabe, Megan Williams and Chloe Blackmore.
From the club's list of women's captains. The full list lives on the Past Captains page.
| 2002-03 | Samantha Howe |
| 2003-04 | Gillian Fullerton |
| 2004-05 | Susan Carty |
| 2005-06 | Anne Carroll |
| 2006-07 | Debbie Clarke / Sarah Brennan |
| 2007-08 to 2010-11 | Paula Fitzpatrick |
| 2011-12 | Gillian Nolan |
| 2012-13 | Anne-Marie Donovan |
| 2013-14 | Orla Fitzsimons |
| 2014-15 | Emma Kiernan |
| 2015-16 | Grainne Egan |
| 2016-17 | Carol Staunton |
| 2017-18 and 2018-19 | Aoife Moore |
Women's team players Aoife Thompson and Paula Fitzpatrick drove the first girls' youth rugby in 2011-12, and girls' youths restarted for good under Sarah Fallon (now Brennan-Fallon) in 2014-15. Today girls play from the minis (U6 to U12) through youth rugby (U14 to U18) to Three Saints.
The girls' U14s won Leinster Division 4 in 2023, and the U16s won their Leinster League final in 2026. At U16 and U18 the girls often play with neighbouring clubs: with MU Barnhall (2022-23), in the CDS squad with Coolmine, DLSP and Seapoint (2023-24), and since 2023-24 with De La Salle Palmerston as De La Marys. In the Leinster Girls (U18) Cup, CDS went out 7-37 at Mullingar in 2024 and DLSM, with 12 St Mary's players, lost to Dundalk in 2025. In 2026 De La Mary's won 42-12 at Navan in the first round of the Noeleen Spain (U18½) Cup.
Laoise Devlin, Anna Brennock and Aimée Breen played for Leinster U18 Girls in 2020-22.
Women's rugby galleries in the James Maguire Archive on SmugMug.
Have a team photo, programme, result or team list we are missing — especially the early Division 2 seasons (2002-2008), the 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2016 finals, or the 2019 Flood Lite Cup? Please email archives@smcrfc.com.
Records & History
Season-by-season records of the Women's 1st XV since 2002-03 and of the Women's 2nd XV (J1s), who played from 2012-13 to 2014-15.
Women's Rugby — From the Archive
Newspaper reports, match programmes and photo galleries for the women's teams, from the club archive and the James Maguire photo archive. Click to open — the cuttings open as PDFs.
Press cuttings & programmes
Photo galleries
Have a newspaper cutting, programme or photo we are missing? Please email archives@smcrfc.com.
Latest News
Match reports and news tagged for Women's Rugby appear here automatically.