Club History
Although the club was officially founded in 1875, there is evidence of the game of rugby being played in Armagh in 1870, as the following report from the “Armagh Guardian” of September 1870, would substantiate:
“FOOTBALL – The season opened on Saturday last by a match on the Mall between Twelve of the Royal School and Mr. J. Fox’s Twelve including the following:
“RSA – H. Moore (Capt.) G. Leonard, H. Littledale, W. Johnston, H. Hartford, C. Stanley, J. Reeves, R. Cochrane, H. Hains, W. Fox, R. Sandford and D. Cochrane.
“Mr. Fox’s 12 – JCK Fox (Capt.), Capt. F. Harris, E. Stanley, R. Millar, C. Millar, Capt. Tusker,
O. Vandelour, T. Rudkin, J. Allen, W. Alexander, W. Fullerton and B. McGuickin.
“The game resulted in favour of the School Twelve by one goal and two touches down, the former being got by C. Stanley and the two latter by C. Leonard and R. Cochrane.”
This would seem to suggest that the game of rugby has an old and venerable tradition in Armagh.
In the same period, cricket had already established itself firmly in the Primatial City and it is to a member of the Cricket Club that we are indebted for the most concrete evidence that we have in our possession as to the actual date of the founding of the Rugby Club. Writing to Mr. Delmege Trimble of the “Armagh Guardian” in 1943, Mr. William J. Girvan, who was secretary of the Cricket Club in 1888, stated that he “was an original member of the Armagh Rugby Football Club founded in 1875 and had been Hon. Secretary of both clubs”.
In 1888, Bassetts “County Armagh” published in that year states that the club had by then 33 members who paid an annual subscription of 7/6, quite a substantial sum in those days.
Success came quickly to the young club when the Towns Cup was won in 1889/90. But initial success was followed by a period when hockey in the city was in the ascendancy. However, by 1905, the rugby code had been revived by men like Bob Whitsitt, Tom Gray and Percy Watson. Success was slow in coming to the club, but when it did, it came with a bang. In 1909-10 not only did Armagh win the Towns’ Cup once again but they also added the Junior Cup, a double rarely recorded, before or since. Apparently, that Towns’ Cup victory was achieved only after an epic struggle against Carrickfergus. The first clash, played on the North RFC Ground, ended in a scoreless draw, despite extra time. There was still no score after the first period. Another period saw the stalemate continue, so a third period was played. Armagh made the vital break through and after that there was no holding them. The Cup was carried through the Primatial City in triumph, with all sides of the community joining in the jollifications that followed.
For a short period between the wars, Armagh played in the Senior League with only moderate success. The Club then reverted to Junior status and has more than held its own ever since, no honour in Junior Rugby having escaped them.
When Armagh celebrated their centenary in 1975, members could look back with pride on the achievements of a truely fine club. The Ulster Town’s Cup had been won on six occasions, the Junior Cup three times and the Championship of the Junior League, The Past Players’ Cup, five times. Remarkably in the mid-seventies, the club fielded seven adult teams. Seamus Duffy published a magnificent history of the club, covering the highs and lows of the Orchard County club.
Many players have won representative honours, the most famous being the great Bobby Barnes, who while still an Armagh player, won international honours in 1934 against Wales, and was a key figure in a famous Irish victory in Belfast. The next Armagh member to play for Ireland was Brian McCall and he helped win the Triple Crown in 1985. More recently, Irish International and British Lion, Tommy Bowe played his first senior rugby match for Armagh after leaving the Royal School and before he went off to university.
In 1973 the club relocated to the Palace Grounds where a splendid clubhouse was built alongside three playing pitches. In 1981 the club achieved senior status and defeated Instonians 20-19 in their first home match. In 1997 the club played in the All-Ireland League for 4 years before returning to junior rugby. Success continued at junior level on and off the pitch and Armagh won promotion back to senior status and the All-Ireland League in 2011.
In 2000, the club celebrated its 125th anniversary with Des Fitzgerald updating the club history book with his review of the previous 25 years.
The senior team has won four promotions in the All-Ireland League, reaching Division 1A in 2023.
The First XV made history in 2016-2017 by winning the Ulster Senior League, (Stevenson Shield) for the first time and this feat was repeated in the 2017-2018 season. In addition, the First XV won the Ulster Senior cup for the first time ever in 2018 and since then, the team won the cup for an amazing three seasons in a row. City of Armagh RFC also created history by appearing in the All-Ireland Bateman Cup Final in 2019 when they were runners up to Munster side, Garryowen.
History was also made in April 2023 when the First XV won Division 1B of the Energia All Ireland League and gained promotion to Division 1A, the top tier of Irish Club rugby. City of Armagh girls also had a successful season, with the U18 Girls winning the Ulster Cup and the U16s winning the Ulster Plate.
In April 2024, the First XV completed their first season in Division 1A, finishing in eighth place and securing their status in the league for the 2024-2025 season.
