Early years The Irish Women's Rugby Football Union was established in 1992. Ireland made their international debut on 14 February 1993 with an away friendly against . This was also Scotland's first international. The match was played at
Raeburn Place in front of a crowd of over 1,000. The Ireland team was coached by
Alain Rolland while the Scotland coaches included
Sandy Carmichael. Scotland won 10–0 with two tries from their captain, Sandra Colamartino. Ireland's first captain was Jill Henderson. A year later, on 14 February 1994, Ireland made their home international debut when a return match was played at
Ravenhill. This time Scotland won 5–0. In 2001 the IWRFU became affiliated to the
Irish Rugby Football Union, in 2008 it effectively merged with the IRFU and since 2009 the IRFU has managed the women's national team.
Rugby World Cup Ireland have competed in every
Women's Rugby World Cup since making their debut in the second tournament in
1994. They made their World Cup debut on 13 April 1994 with an 18–5 win against a
Scottish Students XV. This was also Ireland's first competitive match in any competition. Ireland's best performance at a World Cup tournament came in
2014 when they finished fourth after defeating
New Zealand and winning
Pool B. After defeating the
United States 23–17 in their opening pool game, Ireland faced New Zealand, the
2010 Women's Rugby World Cup winners in their second game. With tries from
Heather O'Brien and
Alison Miller and two conversions and a penalty from
Niamh Briggs, Ireland defeated New Zealand 17–14. It was just the second match New Zealand had lost in a World Cup tournament. It was the first time the Ireland women had played New Zealand and they became only the second Irish team, after
Munster in 1978, to defeat a New Zealand national rugby union team. The result has been described as "one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history". Ireland subsequently qualified for the semi-finals with a 40–5 win against
Kazakhstan. Ireland eventually finished fourth in the tournament after losing 18–25 to in the third place play-off. They failed to qualify for the
2022 Rugby World Cup, after ending in third place of the qualifying round of September 2021 in Italy.
Six Nations Championship Ireland made their debut in the
Women's Six Nations Championship, then known as the Women's Home Nations Championship, in the inaugural
1996 competition. They played their first game against on 21 January 1996. Ireland won their first championship in
2013, winning both a
Triple Crown and a
Grand Slam at the same time. In their opening match of the campaign, Ireland beat 12–10. Then on 9 February 2013 they defeated for the first time.
Alison Miller scored a hat-trick of tries as Ireland won 25–0. On 23 February 2013 they clinched their first Triple Crown with a 30–3 win against Scotland. On 8 March 2013 Ireland effectively won the championship after they defeated France 15–10. It was confirmed the following day after failed to defeat England. Ireland eventually finished four points clear of runners-up France. Ireland secured the Grand Slam with a 6–3 away win against Italy on
Saint Patrick's Day. Two penalties from
Niamh Briggs gave Ireland their fifth win in a row. In
2015, Ireland won their second championship and second Triple Crown in three years. They won the championship on points difference over France, after both teams had won four of their five matches. Ireland had to win their final game, against Scotland, by a margin of 27 points or more to win the title and achieved this with a 73–3 win. The result is also Ireland's biggest ever win.
FIRA Women's European Championship Ireland has also competed in the
FIRA Women's European Championship. They first played in the tournament in
1997. Their best performance in this tournament was a third-place finish in
2008. In
2004 they won the Plate competition after defeating 20–12 in the final. == Players ==