International Rugby Experience

The Brief

In 2023, the International Rugby Experience (IRE) opened in Limerick, Ireland. Designed by acclaimed architect Níall McLaughlin, this seven-story building recounts the narrative of rugby legends and how rugby has brought together communities and rivals.

The IRE is one of a kind—on each floor, it honours those following the game from a grassroots level up to players who have achieved legendary status. Blending both visitor attractions and sports is an opportunity worth capturing, so we were thrilled when Marcon, a fit-out contractor, invited us to curate a collection of striking graphics and visual displays.

All designs were crafted by Event, a leading design agency with whom we’ve collaborated on other projects, like The Box in Plymouth and The Burrell Collection. The Leach team was tasked with transforming six floors into a fully immersive and interactive experience. Much of the work required printing on a range of technically differing surfaces, resulting in an extensive R&D phase before production.

Photo Credit: Dan Moloney

The Solution

From the start, Leach assigned a project manager to work closely with the design agency, fit-out contractor and end client. Once graphics were finalised, we moved to the R&D phase to test the feasibility of various print methods.

Print was required for various challenging substrates, including crash pads, routed valchromat, open mesh and concrete. We conducted multiple tests to ensure the print remained crisp and legible on undulating surfaces with a tight diamond pattern, like the open mesh and routed valchromat.

While printing directly to valchormat was successful, our team had to mask off the mesh with specialist heat-conformable vinyl, which moulded around the fret-cut lettering on the mesh surface.

We relied on several other printing techniques, including stencil graphics for valchromat surface panels and screen printing onto power-coated steel cladding. With careful coordination, we installed these wall coverings and stencilled floor graphics overnight to meet with the venue’s opening day.

Our greatest success was printing crash pad walls, which mimicked the equipment used in rugby training. These surfaces would move as visitors interacted with them, so we settled on a specialist plasticised print that resisted cracking when under stress. Solving this challenge was incredibly rewarding, as other suppliers had failed previously.

Across every floor, we created striking atmospheric effects, cleverly using internal signage, large-format print and wall-mounted light boxes. Giant displays featuring rugby players, fans and legends adorned every wall, alongside interpretation panels detailing the history of the sport.