[GHA]

Dear London Irish Family,

This month, London Irish Rugby Football Club, founded in 1898, has taken its first bold steps toward reclaiming its place in elite professional rugby, emerging stronger from a two-year administration process.

With resilience, passion, and the unwavering support of our community, we are determined to restore the club to the heights it deserves.

Our vision is clear: to bring world-class rugby back to West London, combining champagne rugby with great entertainment, music, food, and unforgettable moments shared with family, friends, and fellow supporters.

This is not just a return — it’s a rebirth.

Our Road Back to the Pitch
We are actively working with unions, fellow clubs, and key rugby stakeholders to secure the best pathway for London Irish’s return. While we recognise that elements of this journey require collaboration, our team is taking decisive steps to ensure a sustainable and competitive future for the club.

Our goal is to be back playing competitive rugby by September 2026.

In the meantime, we will be hosting exhibition matches and events to prepare for our full return and continue building excitement around the club’s progress.

Custodians of London Irish
As interim leaders, we see ourselves as custodians of London Irish, dedicated to laying the essential foundations required for future success.

We are ready to tackle the challenges ahead, including:

Securing a league to compete in,
Establishing a home stadium in West London,
Bringing in main sponsors and strategic partners.

Once these critical building blocks are in place, we will hand over the reins to a best-in-class team to ensure the club is led by those with the expertise to take London Irish to the next level.

Our mission is to rebuild the club with strength and stability before transitioning to long-term management.

A Groundbreaking Opportunity for Fans
For the first time in history, London Irish supporters will have the extraordinary opportunity to become true stakeholders in their club, playing an active role in shaping its future and long-term success.

While there are still key milestones to reach before we can fully launch this fan ownership offering, it is imperative that as our supporters help rebuild this club, they also have the opportunity to be part of its ownership.

Fan ownership has proven to be a powerful force in sport, fostering deeper connections between clubs and their communities. By embracing this model, London Irish is not just following a trend — we are leading the way as pioneers in club rugby, ensuring that our supporters are at the heart of everything we build.*

Honouring Our Heritage and Building for the Future
London Irish is a club with a rich history, a deep connection to the Irish community, and a fiercely loyal fanbase. It is this heritage and unwavering support that has made the decision to restore the club an easy one.

We believe London Irish belongs at the top level, and we are committed to ensuring its long-term success.

Looking ahead, we are passionate about:

Establishing a London Irish Women’s team,
Bringing back the Academy that has produced so much talent over the years,
Building a strong relationship with London Irish Amateur RFC and the London Irish Foundation.

We are committed to ensuring that our club remains deeply connected to its grassroots and actively contributes to the wider rugby community. By working together, we aim to foster a stronger community and a sustainable pathway for future talent to emerge, reinforcing the values and traditions that have made London Irish so special.

These initiatives will further strengthen our club and its impact on the sport.

Our Commitment to You
We recognise the great responsibility we have taken on in leading London Irish forward.

We promise to work tirelessly, strategically, and with passion to restore London Irish to the heights it deserves.

We also want to extend our gratitude to our great partner Redstrike for their invaluable support throughout this process and their ongoing commitment to helping us rebuild and grow the club.

London Irish is not just coming back — it's coming back bigger than ever.

#TheCraicIsBack

Yours sincerely,

Eddie Jordan – Patron
Daniel McKeown – Interim Chairperson
Kyle Jordan – Interim CEO

For press enquires contact SMG: press@thesmg.com

*Our Irish Fan Offering will be hosted by Republic. To see further details and pre-register your interest, visit https://europe.republic.com/london-irish/coming-soon. Don't invest unless you're prepared to lose all the money you invest. Approved by Republic Europe 13/03/2025.

https://www.london-irish.com/news/club- ... nt/bp4206/

[M_W]

All pretty interesting and I'm very glad someone is at the wheel, but ultimately there's the massive hurdle of a viable path to kicking a ball in anger.

Finding somewhere to play/train, hiring staff and a squad of players is all fairly straight forward with the right resources in comparison to getting entry to a competition at a high enough level. Especially with that English league entry point sinking a division each season if the interview with the administrator the other day is anything to go by. Good luck to them.

[Stevie J]

One of the more interesting parts to me is this notion of fan ownership, which is being run by Republic (Seedrs). Its billed as investment but as we all know, if any of us put money in we are not getting that back.

Watford just recently had a arrangement with them that they closed and refunded everyone's money - seemingly as it was aimed at institutional investors which they didn't get much of. Meanwhile Wimbledon AFC used it and if the figures are to be believed then they managed to raise £3.9m from it.

I suppose it could give the new club an injection of liquid capital to get off and running, albeit I am no expert on these schemes and it could be as much as a negative than a positive.

Interestingly there was speculation that with London Broncos activating a break-clause at Wimbledon, that Irish could be interested. While that was downplayed here: https://www.cityam.com/london-broncos-f ... uncertain/ that seems one of the more likely venues.

[A38]

Greetings from Worcester.

You might find this site is interesting.

https://www.wwst.co.uk/blog

We are not there yet in terms of seeing rugby at Sixways again but we supporters have been kept in touch, as far as has been possible, by the Trust. It has does a great deal of useful work.

My understanding, FWW, is that Tier 2 will be open to applications from Phoenix clubs for the season 26/27 when that league expands to 16 clubs.

But there has been so much chat about the RFU that nothing seems certain and I have no idea what the answer would be if LI sought permission from Twickenham to join the URC or Tier 2.