Strategic Renewal: The Case of The Irish Rugby Football Union

Padraig O'Donnell — 6 August 2026

This paper formed the basis of my postgraduate thesis in Strategic Management at UCD Smurfit Business School in 2011. It examines how the IRFU responded to rugby's move to professionalism in 1995 and the organisational renewal that followed. It was a study about more than just rugby. It was a study of leadership, strategy and how organisations adapt when the world changes around them. The research later contributed to further academic work by my supervisor, Peter McNamara, and Olga Ryazanova, who continued to develop the ideas through research projects and conference presentations in the years that followed. Although written over a decade ago, many of the themes still feel remarkably relevant today and continue to influence the articles I write for The Strategic Times.