Munster Rugby Awards 2026

The 2025/26 Munster Rugby awards took place at the Strand Hotel in Limerick with Alex Nankivell and Caitríona Finn scooping the top individual awards.

Mick Galwey was deservedly inducted into the Hall of Fame having contributed so much to Munster Rugby since making his debut 39 years ago.

See the full list of winners below.

Hall of Fame – Mick Galwey

Mick Galwey has made an extraordinary contribution to Irish rugby since making his debut for Munster 39 years ago in 1987.

One of just eight players in the professional era to have captained the men’s team on a permanent basis, Galwey was a key figure in Munster’s hugely successful transition from amateur rugby into the professional era.

As captain, Galwey led the province to two European Cup finals in 2000 and 2002 and helped Munster to the Celtic League title (now the URC) in 2003.

He made 136 competitive appearances for Munster (85 as captain) over 16 years and played in the famous win over World Champions Australia at Virgin Media Park in 1992.

He held an incredible record from 1995 until 2002 that saw him play 47 consecutive European Cup games for the province.

Before lining out for Munster, he was part of the Kerry panel that won an All-Ireland football title in 1986.

On the international front, he made his Ireland debut against France in 1991 and earned 41 caps, captaining the side on four occasions.

His performances for Munster and Ireland earned him selection on the 1993 British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand, where he made seven appearances.

He is a legend of Shannon RFC and won six All Ireland League and 10 Bank of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cups as a player with the club.

As a coach with Shannon, he won a further two All-Ireland League titles and two Munster Senior Cups.

Bank of Ireland Men’s Player of the Year – Alex Nankivell

Alex Nankivell has been named Bank of Ireland Men’s Player of the Year for the first time after a stellar third season as the province.

The New Zealander joined Munster from Chiefs in 2023 and immediately established himself as a key member of the squad with his committed and all-action performances.

His debut season at Munster saw Nankivell score three tries in 19 appearances and earn a place in the URC Elite XV.

The Maori All Blacks and All Blacks XV international scored four tries in 15 starts in his second year at Munster despite missing two months with a hamstring injury.

Last season, Nankivell made a huge contribution and featured in 20 games, earning three Player of the Match awards.

He capped off the season with appearances for the Barbarians against South Africa and Wales.

Bank of Ireland Women’s Player of the year – Caitríona Finn

Caitríona Finn continues her meteoric rise in Munster and Irish Rugby with her first Women’s Player of the Year award after an outstanding 2025/26 season.

Finn scoops the award after playing a key role for province and club as Munster won the 2025 Interprovincial Championship last August and UL Bohs won the 2025/26 AIL title in April.

She also featured regularly for the Clovers during the Celtic Challenge competition last season.

Finn made her Munster debut two years ago at the age of just 18 and was named Breakthrough Women’s Player of the Year last season.

Finn began playing rugby with Ballina-Killaloe RFC and Nenagh Ormond RFC before making the move to UL Bohemian RFC to play senior rugby.

On the international front, she has been named in the Ireland squad for the upcoming WXV Global Series.

She has started off the 2026/27 season in fine form and played a starring role as the Munster Women’s team stormed to their 17^th Interprovincial Championship in August.

Young Player Of The Year – Brian Gleeson

22-year-old Brian Gleeson’s second year as a member of the senior squad saw the back-row forward score four tries in 17 appearances over an impressive campaign.

The Tipperary man joined the Munster Academy in 2023 after coming up through the ranks at Thurles RFC and Rockwell College before impressing with Garryowen in the AIL and winning a Grand Slam with the Ireland U20s.

His first year in the Academy in the 2023/24 campaign saw Gleeson make 10 senior appearances, including a Champions Cup debut at the age of just 19, and win the Academy Player of the Year award.

His first year as a member of the senior squad in 2024/25 saw Gleeson make further progress with nine appearances, including three in the Champions Cup.

His standout performances early last season saw Gleeson receive a first call-up to the Ireland senior team in October 2025, but he was unable to join the squad due to injury.

It was his most productive season to date as he continued an upward trajectory, notching four tries in 17 appearances.

John McCarthy Academy Player of the Year – Max Clein

22-year-old Max Clein has shown great dedication and commitment throughout his three years in the Academy and will join the senior squad next year.

Clein, who has made a successful transition from flanker to hooker, made his Munster debut against Argentina XV last November having come up through the ranks at Garryowen, Villiers School and Crescent College Comp.

The Limerick man was a Pinergy Munster Schools Boys Senior Cup winner with Crescent College in 2022, lining out in the back-row alongside Ruadhán Quinn.

On leaving school, he switched position to hooker and made his AIL debut with Garryowen in October 2022.

Clein joined the Munster Rugby Academy in October 2023 and made his first senior appearance in the uncapped friendly against Harlequins in February 2024.

Along with his senior Munster debut against Argentina XV at Thomond Park last season, he also played five matches for Munster A in the Interprovincial Series and made 13 appearances for Garryowen in their 2025/26 All Ireland League campaign.

Breakthrough Women’s Player of the Year – Eve Prendergast

This year’s Breakthrough Player of the Year, presented by *insert sponsor*, is 20-year-old scrum-half Eve Prendergast.

Prendergast broke onto the scene during the 2025 Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship where she made her debut in the Round 1 win over Connacht. Her first three appearances were from the bench with her first start coming in the final as Munster beat Leinster 50-15 to claim the title.

Due to those impressive performances, the sniping scrum-half was selected to line out in the 2025/26 Celtic Challenge and was named on the bench for the Clovers against Gwalia Lightning.

Eve began playing rugby at 11 years old with New Ross RFC. By 16 she was selected to play with the South-East Leinster U18 team and went on to make the U18 Leinster squad in both 2022 and 2023. Eve made her first Munster Senior squad in 2025.

Now studying in Cork, Eve plays her rugby with Ballincollig RFC and has just finished her second season in the AIL.

Virgin Media Supporters’ Players Of The Year Awards

Alex Nankivell and Clodagh O’Halloran are this year’s winners of the Virgin Media Supporters’ Players of the Year Awards.

Nankivell joined Munster from Chiefs in 2023 and immediately established himself as a key member of the squad with his committed and all-action performances.

His debut season at Munster saw Nankivell score three tries in 19 appearances and earn a place in the URC Elite XV.

The Maori All Blacks and All Blacks XV international scored four tries in 15 starts in his second year at Munster despite missing two months with a hamstring injury.

Last season, Nankivell made a huge contribution and featured in 20 games, earning three Player of the Match awards.

He capped off the season with appearances for the Barbarians against South Africa and Wales.

With an impressive 31 caps to her name, Clodagh O’Halloran played a total of 194 minutes in the 2025 Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship, making 25 metres in carries and a total of 25 tackles across the campaign.

She also played an integral part in this year’s Interpros campaign starting all four games, scoring two tries and being named Player Of The Match against Ulster.

The UL Bohemian club woman was one of the most experienced members of this year’s squad and was able to provide cover in both the second and back row. She topped the charts with 17 lineout takes this season while also making four lineout steals.

On top of securing yet another Interpro title, O’Halloran was also a part of the UL Bohemian RFC team that completed a brilliant three-in-a-row of All Ireland League titles earlier this year.

Referee of the Year Award – Eoghan Cross

Eoghan Cross is the winner of this year’s Referee of the Year Award, presented by PBC.

Eoghan was born in Limerick and joined the Munster Association of Referees in 2016 having played at Ireland Schools level in 2011 while at Crescent College Comprehensive. He also played with Young Munster in the AIL.

His talent for refereeing was quickly identified, and he was promoted to the Interprovincial Access Group after one season in 2017. He was promoted to the National panel of referees for season 2018/19. After his first season he was promoted to Level 2 and refereed his first AIL Division 1 game in January 2020. He won his first nomination as Munster Referee of the Year that same year.

Eoghan continued his rise and was awarded with a professional contract when he was appointed to the High-Performance Panel in season 2021/22 making his debut in the URC that season. He has now become a regular URC referee and continues to be appointed to officiate across all European competitions. He has refereed at U20 World Cup level and at U20 6 Nations level.

In November 2025 he made his next international break through when he refereed his first Tier 1 senior international for Japan v South Africa. In this year’s 2026 Six Nations he was appointed to function as Assistant Referee at France v Italy and Wales v Italy.

He recently refereed Fiji v Wales on 4 July 2026, while also having assistant-referee roles for Fiji’s matches against England and Scotland. In August, he refereed Japan v Australia in Japan.

Eoghan continues to represent the Munster Association of Referees, Munster, and Ireland with great distinction.

Bank of Ireland Senior Club of the Year Award – Highfield RFC

Highfield RFC are the winners of this year’s Bank Of Ireland Senior Club of the Year award.

The Cork based club made history last season as they secured their first Bank Of Ireland Munster Senior Challenge Cup title in 58 years after defeating Shannon 19-17 in an exciting final in Temple Hill.

In the AIL, the Woodleigh Park outfit finished just outside the playoff places with 46 points.

At Junior level, they were winners of the Cork Charity Cup and runners-up in Munster Senior Clubs League Division One and the South Junior Two Cup.

Bank of Ireland Junior Club of the Year Award – Kilfeacle & District RFC

Kilfeacle & District RFC are the winners of this year’s Bank of Ireland Junior Club of the Year Award.

The club enjoyed great success last season as their men’s adult side were victorious in the Munster Junior League, Garryowen Cup and Munster Junior Clubs Challenge Cup.

They also reached the Semi Final stage of the Energia All-Ireland Provincial League where they were narrowly defeated by Leinster Junior Cup champions Boyne 36-28.

Alongside their senior side they also had two players feature for the Munster U19s this season as Patrick O’Connor and Cathal O’Mara received call ups.

Kilfeacle & District have invested heavily in their underage structures over the last number of years with many players on the club’s adult side recent graduates from their underage teams.

Pinergy School of the Year Award – Presentation Brothers College

Presentation Brothers College are the winners of this year’s Pinergy School of the Year award.

The Cork City outfit lifted the Pinergy Munster Schools Boys Senior Cup trophy for a record 33rd time after an impressive performance against St. Munchin’s College in the final.

The school also reached the final of the Barry Cup, McCarthy Group A and the U15 Spring League and were crowned champions of the NextGenLive Global Schools Challenge Series.

They also saw their players achieve Interprovincial honours with Eddie Dooley and Liam O’Brien selected for the Munster U19s and Matthew McCarthy and Ronan Dillon selected for the Munster U18 Boys Schools side.

Several of the school’s players also represented Ireland over the summer with Daniel Murphy, Rian Macfarlane O’Shea, David Nolan, and Alex Moloney among those involved for Ireland U18 Schools.

The school has continued to invest and make improvements to their rugby programme over the years which includes the upgrading of facilities.

Club Age-Grade Section of the Year Award – Midleton RFC

Midleton RFC are this year’s winners of the Club Age-Grade Section of the Year Award. The club has looked to adopt an ethos of enjoyment based on development and competitive continuous learning.

The club focused on the Munster Development core cornerstones with the two U14 boys teams, U14, U16 and U18 development girl teams. The club were supported by Munster’s Mike Pettman helped in coaching the coaches & harnessing the CCRO program with different schools.

The Club CWO Maire Dennehy & club Physio Collette Garvey led the off the pitch education for all underage coaches, establishing understanding on recovery times, return to play protocols and Child welfare priorities.

Over the past few seasons, the U16 and U18.5 boys’ squads are embracing spending and enjoying time in the Club. Feeding on the example of the Munster CSP pathway, these two groups are encouraged to take on gym programs, challenged to work on individual skills and attempt to mirror some of our senior squad’s attack, defence, contact, and set piece calls and shape.

While trophies do not define a season, six squads were in finals, the U16 boys won the Munster Clubs Boys U16 Cup in a gripping encounter with an excellent Nenagh Ormond team and the U18.5 boys won the Munster Clubs Boys U18.5 Plate.

Moving forward, the priority remains helping boys and girls to fall in love with Rugby and instilling the key values of respect and teamwork.

Club Mini Section of the Year – Clonmel RFC

Clonmel RFC are the winners of this year’s Club Mini Section of the Year Award.

Clonmel’s Minis section has gone from strength to strength over the past 10 years, growing from approximately 70 children training on Saturday mornings to almost 200 players at times during the past season. Led by Minis Coordinator Eamonn Dawson, a dedicated committee and a team of 36 coaches, along with numerous support coaches and volunteers, the club have created a welcoming environment where children can enjoy rugby and make friends.

Across six age groups, Clonmel regularly fields an average of three teams at each level, creating a strong pathway into youth rugby and the club’s senior teams. The annual U9 Spirit of Rugby Festival has become a particular highlight, with 52 teams taking part this year in a wonderful celebration of children’s rugby.

Clonmel RFC is well known for its warm hospitality and the lively, family-friendly atmosphere created when hosting blitzes and other events. Behind it all is a tremendous volunteer team, ensuring that every Saturday morning includes plenty of encouragement—and the all-important hot chocolate and treats.

A successful U12 tour to Wales this year helped strengthen friendships and the children’s connection with the club as they prepare to move from Minis into youth rugby. The club’s annual Munster Rugby Summer Camp, which attracts more than 150 children in the middle of summer, is another reflection of the enthusiasm surrounding rugby in Clonmel.

This award belongs to the entire Minis community: the children, coaches, committee members, parents and volunteers whose commitment, energy and sense of fun continue to make Clonmel RFC such a special place to play and enjoy rugby.