Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

The Ulster Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness Ulster Championship) is the premier intercounty "knockout" competition in the game of hurling played in the province of Ulster. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months. The Ulster Hurling Final is played in July.

tanding of the Ulster Championship

While the Munster Hurling Championship and the Leinster Hurling Championship are generally held in very high regard, and have produced the vast majority of recent All-Ireland Hurling Champions, the Ulster Championship has not been regarded historically as of a similar standard, and the Ulster champions have entered the All-Ireland Hurling Championship at an earlier round than the Munster and Leinster champions.

This is due to a number of factors, one of which is the dominance of Gaelic football in eight of the nine counties of Ulster. An Ulster team has never won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, although Antrim were finalists in 1943 and 1989. Antrim have dominated the Ulster Championship throughout its existence, winning the title 48 times to date.

Format

The Ulster Hurling Championship is run on a knock-out basis in which once a team loses they are eliminated from the competition. 2008 marked the first tournament featuring all the Ulster counties, with the addition of London bringing the total to ten. The stronger teams (Antrim, Down, Derry, Armagh) have received byes to the later stages to prevent mismatches.

Roll of honour

ee also