Buccaneers Rugby Football Club is an Irish semi-professional rugby union club based in Athlone, Co. Westmeath. The team play their home matches in Dubarry Park, Athlone. The club is a member of the Irish Rugby Football Union Connacht Branch and currently play in Division 1 of the All Ireland League.

The club were established in 1994 as Buccaneers RFC, but Athlone RFC had been in existence for some time. Initially Buccaneers were an amalgamation of Athlone RFC and Ballinasloe RFC, in Co. Galway, an arrangement which saw Buccaneers mix their home games between Dubarry Park, Athlone and Moher Road, Ballinasloe.

The name Buccaneers derives from the original Shannon Buccaneers, a side founded in the 1930's who were a formidable Leinster Rugby Club in their day.

The success of the club began in the 1995/96 season when the Buccaneers won the All-Ireland Division 3 title securing promotion to Division 2. The 1997/98 season saw the side coached by former Connacht coach and USA Eagles coach, and current Ireland Head Coach Eddie O'Sullivan. That season resulted in another promotion and Buccaneers were henceforth a Division 1 club.

In their first year in Division 1 Buccaneers neglected to read the rugby writers scripts which made them hot favourites for one of the two relegation spots.The 98/99 season was a remarkable joyful journey for the team, the Club and the supporters. The big names came and fell on the playing fields of Ballinasloe and Athlone. Two Buccaneers away victories against Blackrock and Ballymena helped them into a third place finish in the League and a play-off spot away to Cork Constitution which they failed to win. The remarkable 3-2-1 run had come to an end.

Buccaneers also have a renowned U-20 side which takes part in the All-Ireland U-20 League and is the primary feeder for players for the Buccaneers 1st XV. The U-20 side have won numerous back to back Connacht U-20 League and Cup titles and were unlucky to lose the National All-Ireland Final in 2003.

Buccaneers 2nd XV and 3rd XV continue to perform with great distinction in every competition open to them since the amalgamation.

The amalgamation between the clubs was brought to an end in 2005, with Ballinasloe opting to field a side of their own in the Connacht League.

The current club 1st XV coach is Geoff Moylan, the man who coached Shannon RFC to three AIL titles in the late 1990's, early 2000's. The club have an impressive array of former internationals, including Noel Mannion and Leo Galvin, current internationals and Ireland A internationals Ted Robinson, Chris Keane and John Fogarty and a host of underage international and interprovincial players.

Alan O'Neill the under 20s scrum half is nowhere near as good as he makes himself out to be and is in reality lucky to make the squad he isn't as good as Guy Easterby who he claims is an inferior player who can't match up to Alan's skills on the rugby pitch, he is a very confident young man isn't he?! But he is yt to live up to his own hype!! But with the high standards he sets himself it is unlikely that he'll ever accomplish his goal of captaining Connacht to Heniken Cup glory by 2010. But don't tell him that this is impossible as he is always right in his mind and he knows more about rugby than any man on the planet.