Bank of Ireland signs €15m sponsorship deal with Irish rugby provinces

Bank of Ireland has agreed to extend its sponsorship of the four Irish rugby provinces in a deal that is believed to be valued at about €3 million per year.

This means the bank will sponsor Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster out to 2028 and will involve it building on its “existing support” for women’s rugby.

“In addition to its current sponsorship of the Connacht, Leinster and Irish women’s sides, Bank of Ireland will now also sponsor both the Munster and Ulster women’s teams,” the bank said.

The bank is currently the shirt sponsor of Leinster and Munster rugby while it has other partnerships in place with Connacht and Ulster.

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Laura Lynch, Bank of Ireland’s chief marketing officer, said the company was “thrilled” to extend its sponsorship deals with the provinces.

Shane Nolan, chief executive of Leinster Rugby, said: “The bank has been a strong supporter of Leinster Rugby since this partnership first began in 2007. The work that our rugby officers and development officers do across the 12 counties of Leinster would simply not be possible without this level of support from Bank of Ireland. We look forward to further accelerating the growth and development of Leinster Rugby in the coming years.”

The bank has long been involved in sponsoring provincial rugby, since a deal with Ulster in 1997. It added Munster the following year, Leinster in 2007 and Connacht in 2018.

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