Ireland 7s

Ireland competed at the 1973 International Seven-A-Side Tournament, the first rugby sevens tournament for national teams. They defeated New Zealand, Australia and Scotland in the groups phase, before losing to England in the finals.

Olympic era (2009–present)

Ireland has increased its emphasis in rugby sevens since the International Olympic Committee voted in 2009 to restore rugby to the events program in 2016. In March 2011, the IRFU announced its support for Shamrock Warriors RFC. The club's aim is to develop a pool of experienced Sevens players for the IRFU to be in position to select to develop into a future international Sevens squad to compete in tournaments by giving them experience playing in the top level competition should the IRFU become involved in professional international sevens or in the Olympic Sevens.

Although rugby was announced in 2009 as an Olympic sport, the IRFU was slow to recognize the opportunity. As of September 2013, the IRFU said it was unlikely to send a sevens team to the 2016 Summer Olympics. The IRFU did not introduce a men's rugby sevens national team program until October 2014. The IRFU announced in December 2014 the hiring of Anthony Eddy as the Director of Irish rugby sevens, both the men's and women's teams. In December 2014 the IRFU issued a notice to all Irish athletes to see what if could become an Elite Sevens rugby player. The IRFU hoped to see the best rugby club talent available as well as attracting athletes with transferable skills from other team sports such as athletics, basketball, and Gaelic Games. The IRFU held four talent identification days across Ireland in January 2015.

The IRFU announced in May 2015 its brand new 27-man squad for the 2015 season, selected out of a pool of more than 300 applicants, a squad that later became known as "The Originals". The new team started at the bottom, beginning the 2015 season in Europe's Division C, with an eye towards gaining promotion to higher levels of competition. The highlight of Ireland's 2015 and 2016 seasons was the attempt to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2015 Europe Olympic Repechage Tournament, Ireland finished with 4–1–1 record, and despite a 10–24 semifinal loss to Russia, their third-place finish gained the last European slot for the 2016 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament. At the 2016 Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Ireland finished pool play with a 3–0 record including a 27–21 win over Samoa. However, a quarterfinal loss to Spain (7–12) eliminated them from the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Entering the 2017 season, with the Irish men's rugby sevens program in place for just over two years, the IRFU still had not handed out any full-time professional contracts to any sevens players. For the 2017 summer season, Ireland played in the European Grand Prix Sevens, which included four tournaments during summer 2017. Ireland began the Grand Prix by winning the first tournament, the 2017 Moscow Sevens, defeating Spain 12–0 in the final.

For the 2017–18 season, Ireland selected a core squad of 14 players that would prioritize Sevens play for the autumn 2017 tournaments, although they are not full-time Sevens players, and they retain their club status. Ireland finished ninth at the 2017 Silicon Valley Sevens with a 3–2 record; their record against World Series core teams was a respectable 2–2, with two wins over Canada.

As of December 2018 the IRFU was due to announce shortly their first-ever professional contracts for sevens players. In May 2019, despite the squad qualifying for the World Rugby Sevens Series, the IRFU announced that players would remain on an €18,000 basic annual salary with bonuses of €500 for participating in each of the 10 World Series tournaments — the equivalent of a development contract.

In March 2022, Anthony Eddy stepped down both as IRFU director of women's rugby and 7's rugby. Ireland secured their best ever overall finish in the World Rugby Sevens Series with a 5th place finish in the 2021–22 series. Later that year, Ireland equalled its best World Cup Sevens performance, winning the bronze medal for the second time (the first in 1993). Terry Kennedy capped off the program's successful season, by winning the World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year, mirroring the achievement of his XV's countrymen and counterpart, Josh van der Flier.