Fencing Ireland Rules

This page contains Fencing Ireland's bespoke set of rules for fencing for the sport in Ireland.

Wheras historically, we had broadly applied the international rules set by the FIE; adaptations were often necessary to those rules as they are not structured for national or local events but are rather aimed at international competition. These adaptations had previously been organised in a casual manner with no clear guidelines of when it was allowable to depart from international norms and when referees, competition organisers, etc. should be sticking with the rules exactly as written.

From November 2025, Fencing Ireland has had our own set of rules to clear up any of these ambiguities.

The Fencing Ireland rulebooks, linked below, provide fencers and officials alike with clear rules and standards to follow in all Irish competitions.

As with the FIE rules, the Fencing Ireland rules are separated into three separate books: Technical, Material, and Organisation.