Club Notes: Cork Hellhounds To Compete In Union Cup This Weekend

Our latest edition of club notes comes from Cork Hellhounds RFC.

By Scott De Buitléir.

Cork Hellhounds RFC, Cork’s LGBT-inclusive rugby team, is travelling to Birmingham this weekend to take part in the European gay rugby championships, the IGR Union Cup.

The Union Cup, organised by International Gay Rugby and hosted this year by the Birmingham Bulls, will have over 40 gay and inclusive rugby teams from across Europe travelling to England to take part. This will be the first time the Hellhounds will take part in an IGR tournament, having been a member of IGR since their ratification by Munster Rugby and the IRFU in June 2021.

The Cork Hellhounds were founded in 2020 as an inclusive rugby club, with the support of both the Gay Project (Cork’s community centre for gay, bi, and queer men) and Munster Rugby.

They have since become a core part of Cork’s LGBT community, hosting tag rugby tournaments as part of the Cork Pride festival, and regularly collaborating on friendly games and training sessions with local rugby clubs such as Fermoy RFC, Clonakilty RFC, and the Sunday’s Well Rebels mixed ability rugby team.

The Hellhounds have already played host to visiting IGR teams including Belfast Azlans and most recently, Glasgow Raptors, winning against both teams on home ground. The Hellhounds train weekly in Mahon, and all are welcome to take part, including straight allies and those with no prior rugby experience. The club currently offers a men’s contact rugby team, as well as a mixed gender tag rugby team during the summer months.

“We can’t wait to travel to Birmingham and represent Cork as a debutant team at the Union Cup this year”, said Scott De Buitléir, Vice-President and Communications Officer for Cork Hellhounds RFC.

“Months of preparation and training have led us to this moment, and we have a great group of players and supporters travelling to show the rest of the gay and inclusive rugby community what being a Cork Hellhound is all about.

“We’re also delighted and humbled by the level of support from the Cork community as we raises funds for our Union Cup campaign, from bake sales to kiss-a-hound auctions at Chambers earlier this year! It has been a lot of fun to get here, and we’re looking forward to the weekend ahead.”

For more information, visit corkhellhounds.ie or search for Cork Hellhounds RFC on Instagram or Facebook.