Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams in Ireland, representing the western province of Connacht. The team’s crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht, featuring a dimidiated eagle and an arm wielding a sword.[1]
Design and History
In July 2019, Connacht Rugby unveiled a refreshed logo design alongside the launch of their 2019/20 home kit.[2] The new logo strongly reflects the original provincial crest with evolutions of its core elements. Most notably, the redesign removed the rugby ball feature that had appeared in the previous version, giving much greater prominence and emphasis to the more traditional elements of the eagle and sword.[2]
The wing tips of the eagle were reworked and consolidated to represent each of the five counties of the province, while the arm was strengthened and now holds the sword upright, denoting ambition.[3] Minor changes were also made to the font of the logo.[3]
Commenting on the redesign, Connacht Rugby CEO Willie Ruane said: “Our new logo design aims to reflect that evolution whilst also placing much greater prominence on the extremely strong core elements of the original Connacht Provincial crest.”[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The dimidiated eagle and sword arm featured in the Connacht Rugby crest are taken from the flag of the Province of Connacht.[1] These arms are said to have been granted to Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair, the reigning King of Connacht, by the Schottenkloster, an Irish monastery founded in the Bavarian city of Regensburg in the 11th century.[1]
In the 2019 redesign, the five consolidated wing tips of the eagle were designed to represent each of the five counties of the province of Connacht.[2] The strengthened arm holding the sword upright was described by the club as denoting ambition.[2]
Typography and Design
Minor changes to the font were introduced as part of the 2019 logo refresh.[3] The specific typeface used in the crest has not been publicly identified by the club.
In 2025, to mark the club’s 140th anniversary, the Connacht Rugby home jersey featured an all-gold version of the crest for the first time, with gold trimming across a jersey designed in “forest green.”[4] This commemorative treatment was specific to the anniversary kit rather than a permanent change to the standard crest.
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