Give us a hand
on a Saturday
Every team at this club is run by volunteers, and none of them started out knowing how. Here is exactly what it takes, what it costs, and how long it really is.
Two clearances, both free,
and you can start today
Free. The club sends the form, the Bureau does the rest.
Free online through the IRFU, or a €20 evening on Zoom.
€90, and not needed to start — plenty help before they do one.
Nobody is left to work this out alone. Talk to Carmel Daly, the club welfare officer, on +353 (0) 85 158 8838 and she will start you off.
Garda vetting
Garda vetting for rugby is done through the IRFU, which is the registered organisation. You cannot apply directly yourself, and vetting you hold through work, another club or another sport does not carry over — it has to be done again through the club.
- 01Ask the club to start it
Tell the Club Children’s Officer you need vetting. They hold the list of who is vetted and they are the person who begins it. Nothing happens until somebody asks.
You · A minute
- 02Wait for the invitation email
The vetting system emails you a link to the application form. It comes to the address the club holds for you, so check that is the one you use — and check your spam folder, because it very often lands there.
The club · Usually a few days
- 03Fill in the application form
Online, through the link in that email. It asks for your full name, date of birth, PPS number and every address you have lived at. Have those to hand before you start — the addresses are the part that catches people out.
You · 20–30 minutes
- 04Show your ID
Someone at the club has to see photo ID and proof of address to confirm you are who the form says. A passport or driving licence, plus a recent bill or bank letter. This is done in person.
The club · One meeting
- 05The club submits it
The club’s authorised signatory checks the form and sends it to the National Vetting Bureau. There is nothing for you to do here.
The club · A few days
- 06The Bureau processes it
This is the long part, and it is out of everyone’s hands. It is slower in August and September when every club in the country submits at once, so start early if you can.
IRFU / Vetting Bureau · Commonly several weeks
- 07The club tells you the outcome
The disclosure goes back to the IRFU and the club, not to you. The club confirms you are cleared and records the date it runs out. Add that date below so the app can warn you before it lapses.
The club · Straight away once it lands
Keeping it: Lasts three years. Start the renewal about three months before it runs out.
Safeguarding 1
Sport Ireland’s Safeguarding 1 — Child Safeguarding Basic Awareness. Every coach, and anyone else with regular access to children at the club, needs it. It is separate from vetting: having one does not cover the other.
- 01Take the IRFU’s course — free, online, no date to wait for
The IRFU runs its own Safeguarding 1 for Leinster as an online module on the Education Store, and it costs nothing. There is no sitting to book and no evening to keep free, which makes it the quickest way to be cleared. Enrol in your own name.
You · Start it today
IRFU Safeguarding (SG1) 26/27, Leinster → - 02Or sit the Sport Ireland workshop instead
Westmeath Sports Partnership run Safeguarding 1 as a three-hour evening workshop on Zoom, usually 6:30 to 9:30, at about €20. Dates come and go, so the training page is the list rather than anything printed here. Either route satisfies the same requirement.
You · One evening, booked ahead
Westmeath Sports Partnership — safeguarding dates → - 03Do it in one sitting
The workshop is about three hours and the online module a little less. Completing it is the whole requirement — there is no exam.
You · Up to 3 hours
- 04Already done one elsewhere? Have it recognised
A safeguarding certificate from another sport or from work can count. Upload it to SportLomo under External Safeguarding and the IRFU will review it, rather than sitting the course a second time.
IRFU / Vetting Bureau · Allow a week
SportLomo → - 05Send the certificate to the club
You get a certificate with the date on it. Send a copy to the Children’s Officer and put the expiry date below.
You · Minutes
Keeping it: Lasts three years for an IRFU minis or youths coach. Book the refresher before it runs out, not after — and note the online refresher can only be taken once, so a lapse means the full course again.
Learning to coach
Not needed to start — plenty of people help for a season first. When you want it, the IRFU runs two, and which one depends on the age you are with.
At Shay Murtagh Park this season: Children’s Coach Course, 17 October 2026. Youth Coach Award, 24 October 2026. No travel and no overnight.
Children’s Coach Course
The mini rugby course: the small-sided game, how to run a session, and the Core 4 the club’s own handbooks are built on.
Players aged 5 to 12 · €90
Youth Coach Award
The introduction to the fifteen-a-side game: scrum, lineout and the contact area, for coaches taking a side into league and cup rugby.
Players aged 12 and over · €90
- You must be 16 or over to take either course.
- A coach aged 16 or 17 works as an Assistant Coach, under the direct supervision of an accredited coach aged 18 or over.
- Where a course is oversubscribed, priority goes to people already coaching.
Dates are the IRFU’s, checked against the IRFU Education Store on 5 September 2026. Courses fill up and dates move — every Book link goes straight to the live listing.
Say you are interested
You do not need any of the above before you turn up. Come to a Saturday morning, see whether it suits you, and the club will start the paperwork when you know it does.