- Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship
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Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship 
Founded 1964 Region Munster (GAA) Number of teams 5 Current champions De La Salle (2nd time) Television broadcasters TG4 Website Official website The Munster GAA Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 for the top hurling clubs in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is sponsored by Allied Irish Bank and therefore officially known as the AIB Munster Club Hurling Championship.
The series of games are played during the winter months with the Munster final currently being played in December. The prize for the winning team is the O'Neill Cup. The championship has always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the series.
The Munster Championship is an integral part of the wider GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Club Championship. The winners of the Munster final join the champions of Connacht, Leinster and Ulster in the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series of games.
Five clubs currently participate in the Munster Championship. The title has been won at least once by clubs representing five of the six Munster counties. Kerry clubs hold the unwanted distinction of never having won the provincial title. The all-time record-holders are Blackrock, who have won the competition 5 times. De La Salle are the current champions.
Contents
Format
The Munster Club Championship is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random – there are no seeds.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a replay. Drawn replays are now settled with extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a second replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.
The format has remained virtually the same since the very first Munster Championship in 1964. Currently, an open draw is made in which three of the five teams automatically qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition. Two other teams play in a lone quarter-final with the winner joining the other three teams at the semi-final stage. Once a team is defeated they are eliminated from the championship.
The Munster Championship has wider implications for the GAA All-Ireland Club Hurling Senior Championship. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series of games. There is no 'back-door system' for the defeated finalists.
Five of the six counties of Munster – Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford – are represented in the championship. The club champions of Kerry, the sixth county in the province, contested the senior championship until recently, however, they now contest the Munster GAA Club Hurling Intermediate Championship.
Trophies
At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the O'Neill Cup, is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match.
The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.
The present trophy was donated by the Sarsfield's club in Cork in 1972 to commemorate Billy O'Neill who founded their club in 1903.
General statistics
Performance by club
Team Winner Winning Years County 1. Blackrock 5 1971, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1979 Cork 2. St. Finbarr's 4 1965, 1974, 1977, 1980 Cork 3. Glen Rovers 3 1964, 1972, 1976 Cork Sixmilebridge 3 1984, 1995, 2000 Clare Toomevara 3 1993, 2004, 2006 Tipperary Newtownshandrum 3 2003, 2005, 2009 Cork 7. De La Salle 2 2008, 2010 Waterford Kilmallock 2 1992, 1994 Limerick Midleton 2 1983, 1987 Cork Mount Sion 2 1981, 2002 Waterford Newmarket-on-Fergus 2 1967, 1968 Clare Patrickswell 2 1988, 1990 Limerick Roscrea 2 1969, 1970 Tipperary St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield 2 1998, 1999 Clare 15. Ballybrown 1 1989 Limerick Ballygunner 1 2001 Waterford Borrisoleigh 1 1986 Tipperary Carrick Davins 1 1966 Tipperary Cashel King Cormacs 1 1991 Tipperary Clarecastle 1 1997 Clare Kilruane McDonaghs 1 1985 Tipperary Loughmore-Castleiney 1 2007 Tipperary Moycarkey-Borris 1 1982 Tipperary Wolfe Tones na Sionna 1 1996 Clare Performance by county
# County Winners Last winners 1. Cork clubs 17 Newtownshandrum (2009) 2. Tipperary clubs 12 Loughmore-Castleiney (2007) 3. Clare clubs 10 Sixmilebridge (2000) 4. Limerick clubs 5 Kilmallock (1994) Waterford clubs 5 De La Salle (2010) Biggest Munster final wins
- The most one sided Munster finals:
- 19 points – 1975: Blackrock 8-12 (36) – (17) 3-08 Mount Sion
- 14 points – 1995: Sixmilebridge 2-18 (24) – (10) 1-07 Nenagh Éire Óg
- 14 points – 1970: Roscrea 4-11 (23) – (9) 1-06 Clarecastle
- 12 points – 1971: Blackrock 4-10 (22) – (10) 3-01 Moyne-Templetuohy
- 12 points – 1965: St. Finbarr's 3-12 (21) – (9) 2-03 Mount Sion
Miscellaneous
- John Horgan of Blackrock holds the record of being the only player to captain his club to three Munster club titles. These victories came in 1971, 1973 and 1978.
- Cork clubs hold the record for the most consecutive appearances in Munster finals. They played in twelve-in-a-row between 1969 and 1980, with success coming on eleven of those occasions.
- Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster junior, intermediate and senior treble at club level in the same year. This feat was achieved in 2005 when Fr. O'Neill's, Ballinhassig and Newtownshandrum claimed their respective titles in their respective grades.
- The Munster club final has never ended in a draw.
- Tipperary hold the record for the number of clubs that have won the Munster title, with eight different clubs all claiming provincial victories on behalf of the county.
- Both Mount Sion and Sixmilebridge jointly hold the record for appearances in Munster finals. These two clubs have appeared in eight provincial deciders.
- Four clubs have secured back-to-back Munster titles: Newmarket-on-Fergus in 1968, Roscrea in 1970, Blackrock in 1979 and St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield in 1999.
- Five players have captained both their club and their county to Munster titles: Christy Ring, John Horgan, Martin O'Doherty, John Fenton and Tommy Dunne.
List of Munster Finals
All-Ireland champions All-Ireland runners-up Year Winners Score Runners-up Score Venue Winning Captain 1964
(R)Glen Rovers 3-06 (15)
3-07 (16)Mount Sion 2-06 (12)
1-07 (10)Cashel
Gaelic GroundsChristy Ring 1965 St. Finbarr’s 3-12 (21) Mount Sion 2-03 (9) 1966 Carrick Davins 2-17 (23) Ballygunner 1-11 (14) Cusack Park 1967 Newmarket-on-Fergus 3-09 (18) Carrick Davins 2-07 (13) Jim Cullinan 1968 Newmarket-on-Fergus 5-08 (23) Ballygunner 4-03 (15) 1969 Roscrea 3-6 (15) Glen Rovers 1-9 (12) Patsy Rowland 1970 Roscrea 4-11 (23) Clarecastle 1-6 (9) Gaelic Grounds Donie Moloney 1971 Blackrock 4-10 (22) Moyne-Templetuohy 3-01 (10) FitzGerald Park John Horgan 1972 Glen Rovers 2-09 (15) Roscrea 1-10 (13) Gaelic Grounds Denis Coughlan 1973 Blackrock 1-13 (16) Newmarket-on-Fergus 0-14 (14) Bruff John Horgan 1974 St. Finbarr’s 0-07 (7) Newmarket-on-Fergus 0-03 (3) Gaelic Grounds Jim Power 1975 Blackrock 8-12 (36) Mount Sion 3-08 (17) Emly John Horgan 1976 Glen Rovers 2-08 (14) South Liberties 2-04 (10) Gaelic Grounds Martin O'Doherty 1977
(R)St. Finbarr’s 3-05 (14)
2-08 (14)Sixmilebridge 3-05 (14)
0-06 (6)Tulla
TipperaryDenis Burns 1978 Blackrock 3-08 (17) Newmarket-on-Fergus 1-08 (11) Páirc Uí Chaoimh John Horgan 1979 Blackrock 0-13 (13) Dunhill 1-08 (11) Páirc Uí Chaoimh 1980 St. Finbarr’s 2-12 (18) Roscrea 1-14 (17) Fermoy 1981 Mount Sion 3-09 (18) South Liberties 1-04 (7) Walsh Park Éamonn Kehoe 1982 Moycarkey-Borris 1-09 (12) Patrickswell 0-11 (11) Nenagh Jack Bergin 1983
(R)Midleton 1-12 (15)
1-14 (17)Borrisoleigh 3-06 (15)
1-11 (14)FitzGerald Park
FitzGerald ParkJohn Fenton 1984 Sixmilebridge 4-10 (22) Patrickswell 2-06 (12) Semple Stadium Seán Stack 1985
(R)Kilruane McDonagh’s 1-08 (11)
0-12 (12)Blackrock 1-08 (11)
0-6 (6)Gaelic Grounds
Gaelic GroundsTony Sheppard 1986 Borrisoleigh 1-13 (16) Clarecastle 1-09 (12) Gaelic Grounds Michael Ryan 1987 Midleton 1-12 (15) Cappawhite 1-11 (14) FitzGerald Park Ger Power 1988 Patrickswell 3-13 (22) Mount Sion 2-13 (19) Semple Stadium Ger Hayes 1989 Ballybrown 2-12 (18) Sixmilebridge 1-08 (11) Gaelic Grounds Dave Punch 1990 Patrickswell 0-08 (8) Éire Óg 0-06 (6) Cusack Park Dave Punch 1991 Cashel King Cormac's 0-09 (9) Midleton 0-06 (6) Mitchelstown Colm Bonnar 1992 Kilmallock 3-11 (20) Sixmilebridge 2-11 (17) Gaelic Grounds Paddy Kelly 1993 Toomevara 0-15 (15) Sixmilebridge 0-07 (7) Gaelic Grounds Jody Grace 1994 Kilmallock 2-11 (17) Toomevara 1-11 (14) Semple Stadium Mike Houlihan 1995 Sixmilebridge 2-18 (24) Nenagh Éire Óg 1-07 (10) Gaelic Grounds Ian Mulready 1996 Wolfe Tones 4-09 (21) Ballygunner 4-08 (20) Semple Stadium Brian Lohan 1997 Clarecastle 2-11 (17) Patrickswell 0-15 (15) Semple Stadium Martin Sheedy 1998 St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield 0-12 (12) Toomevara 0-08 (8) Gaelic Grounds Lorcan Hassett 1999 St. Joseph's Doora-Barefield 4-09 (21) Ballygunner 3-08 (17) Semple Stadium 2000 Sixmilebridge 2-17 (23) Mount Sion 3-08 (17) Semple Stadium Christy Chaplin 2001 Ballygunner 2-14 (20) Blackrock 0-12 (12) Semple Stadium Billy O'Sullivan 2002 Mount Sion 0-12 (12) Sixmilebridge 0-10 (10) Semple Stadium John Cleere 2003 Newtownshandrum 2-18 (24) Patrickswell 2-09 (15) Semple Stadium John McCarthy 2004 Toomevara 1-14 (17) Mount Sion 1-13 (16) Semple Stadium Paddy O'Brien 2005 Newtownshandrum 0-16 (16) Ballygunner 1-12 (15) Semple Stadium Brendan Mulcahy 2006 Toomevara 2-09 (15) Erin's Own 2-08 (14) Gaelic Grounds Tommy Dunne 2007 Loughmore-Castleiney 1-06 (9) Tulla 0-07 (7) Gaelic Grounds Johnny Gleeson 2008 De La Salle 1-09 (12) Adare 0-10 (10) Semple Stadium John Mullane 2009 Newtownshandrum 2-11 (17) Ballygunner 2-09 (15) Semple Stadium [1] 2010 De La Salle 0-09 (9) Thurles Sarsfields 0-08 (8) Páirc Uí Chaoimh Ian O'Flynn [2] See also
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
References
- ^ "Ballyhale and Newtownshandrum advance". RTE Sport. 2009-11-29. http://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/championship/2009/1129/aibclubhurling.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
- ^ "Munster club glory for De La Salle". Irish Examiner. 2010-11-28. http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/sport/munster-club-glory-for-de-la-salle-483616.html. Retrieved 2010-11-30.
Categories:- Munster GAA club hurling competitions
- The most one sided Munster finals:
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