North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship
| North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2020 | |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 1925 |
| Region |  Avondhu (GAA) |
| Title holders | Clyda Rovers (3rd title) |
| Most titles |  Kilworth (11 titles) |
| Sponsors | Hibernian Hotel |
| Official website | Official website |
The North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Hibernian Hotel Junior A Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Avondhu Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1925 for junior hurling teams in North Cork.
The series of games begin in May, with the championship culminating with the final in the autumn. The championship includes a group stage insuring teams will get at least 2 championship matches.
The North Cork Junior Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior Hurling Championship. The winners and runners-up of the North Cork championship join their counterparts from the other seven divisions to contest the county championship.
Clyda Rovers are the title-holders (2019) after defeating Harbour Rovers by 2-14 to 0-19 in the final.
History
Development
The Cork Junior Hurling Championship had been contested on a countywide basis since 1895, however, an increase in the number of participating clubs resulted in a restructuring of the entire championship. The North Cork Board was established in 1925 with other divisions in other parts of the county created in the years that followed. Since then the individual junior championships were organised on a divisional basis with the division winners progressing to contest the county series of games. The first North Cork Junior Championship was played in 1925.
In 2007 the championship was split in two with the top teams competing in the newly named North Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship. Following this change the North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship was contested by the second tier teams. This system lasted until 2014 when the premier championship reverted to being called the North Cork JAHC.
Team dominance
Milford were the first team to enjoy multiple successes in the championship. They won four titles between 1925 and 1936, while also becoming the first club to retain the championship.
Near neighbours and local rivals Ballyhea and Newtownshandrum enjoyed a dominant period from 1939 until 1968. The two clubs shared 14 championship titles during this period. Castletownroche also had their greatest period during this time, winning four titles between 1954 and 1960.
Since the 1960s the championship was dominated by Kildorrery and Kilworth, who regularly won titles in each of the following decades. Kilworth claimed all of their 11 championships in a 45-year period between 1961 and 2006 to leave them in the top position on the all-time roll of honour. Their hegemony was closely challenged by Kildorrery who won eight of their nine championship titles between 1962 and 1988. At this time Fermoy emerged as a force, winning five championships between 1987 and 1999. Their county final defeat in 2000 brought the curtain down on their greatest era in the competition.
The first decade of the 21st century was dominated by Charleville. After a 15-year hiatus they claimed their fifth ever title in 2001. Four more championships followed between 2002 and 2011.
Format history
For the first seventy years the championship was played as a single elimination tournament whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship. Since the late 1990s the championship has seen the introduction of a “back door” system which provides each team with a minimum of two games before exiting the championship.
Qualification for subsequent competitions
The North Cork Championship winners and runners-up qualify for the subsequent Cork Junior Hurling Championship. Prior to 2017 only the winners were permitted to progress to the county championship.
The championship
Overview
The North Cork Junior Championship is effectively a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random — there are no seeds.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match ends as a draw there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.
Participating teams
| Team | Location | Colours |
|---|---|---|
| Ballyclough | Ballyclough |  Green and yellow
|
| Ballygiblin | Mitchelstown | Red and white
|
| Ballyhooly | Ballyhooly |  Blue and yellow
|
| Buttevant | Buttevant | Black and yellow
|
| Castletownroche | Castletownroche | Green and yellow
|
| Clyda Rovers | Mourneabbey | Black and yellow
|
| Doneraile | Doneraile | Red and white
|
| Dromina | Dromina | Blue and yellow
|
| Fermoy | Fermoy | Black and yellow
|
| Harbour Rovers | Glanworth |  Green and white
|
| Kilshannig | Glantane | Blue and yellow
|
| Kilworth | Kilworth | Red and white
|
| Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels | Liscarroll |  Green,white and yellow
|
| Newtownshandrum | Newtownshandrum | Green and yellow
|
| Shanballymore | Shanballymore |  Red and black
|
Roll of honour
| # | Team | Wins | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilworth | 11 | 1961, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1980, 1983, 1991, 1993, 1995, 2005, 2006 |
| 2 | Ballyhea | 10 | 1930, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1975, 1976 |
| 3 | Newtownshandrum | 9 | 1939, 1940, 1944, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1968, 1992, 2013 |
| Charleville | 9 | 1945, 1970, 1974, 1986, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2011 | |
| Kildorrery | 9 | 1962, 1963, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1984, 1988, 2012 | |
| 4 | Castletownroche | 8 | 1928, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1978, 1979, 1982 |
| Fermoy | 8 | 1941, 1964, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2009 | |
| 5 | Dromina | 6 | 1927, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2014, 2017 |
| 6 | Milford | 5 | 1925, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1981 |
| Shanballymore | 5 | 1931, 1937, 1942, 1996, 1997 | |
| 7 | Clyda Rovers | 3 | 1985, 1989, 2019 |
| 8 | Oldcastletown | 2 | 1938, 1943 |
| Doneraile | 2 | 1947, 1948 | |
| Harbour Rovers | 2 | 2015, 2016 | |
| Liscarroll | 2 | 1932, 1934 | |
| 9 | Churchtown | 1 | 1929 |
| Ballygiblin | 1 | 2004 | |
| Buttevant | 1 | 2010 | |
| Mallow | 1 | 1926 |
List of finals
Notes
- 1932 – the first match ended in a draw.
- 1963 – the first match ended in a draw: Kildorrery 4-05, Kilworth 4-05.
- 1964 – the first match ended in a draw: Fermoy 7-05, Ballyhea 6-08.
- 1978 – the first match ended in a draw: Castletownroche 3-12, Kildorrery 4-09.
- 1984 – the first match ended in a draw: Kildorrery 0-13, Charleville 2-07.
- 1985 – the first match ended in a draw: Clyda Rovers 0-11, Kilworth 2-05.
- 1992 – the first match ended in a draw: Newtownshandrum 3-04, Dromina 1-10.
Records and statistics
Teams
By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by the number of North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:
- 1930s: 3 for Milford (1933-35-36)
- 1940s: 3 for Newtownshandrum (1940-44-46)
- 1950s: 5 for Ballyhea (1950-53-55-58-59)
- 1960s: 3 each for Kildorrery (1962-63-69) and Kilworth (1961-66-67)
- 1970s: 3 for Kildorrery (1972-73-77)
- 1980s: 2 each for Kilworth (1980–83), Kildorrery (1984-88) and Clyda Rovers (1985–89)
- 1990s: 4 for Fermoy (1990-91-94-99)
- 2000s: 4 for Charleville (2001-02-07-08)
- 2010s: 2 each for Dromina (2014-17) and Harbour Rovers (2015-16)
Gaps
Top ten longest gaps between successive championship titles:
- 71 years: Dromina (1927-1998)
- 54 years: Shanballymore (1942-1996)
- 45 years: Milford (1936-1981)
- 30 years: Clyda Rovers (1989-2019)
- 26 years: Castletownroche (1928-1954)
- 25 years: Charleville (1945-1970)
- 24 years: Newtownshandrum (1968-1992)
- 24 years: Kildorrery (1988-2012)
- 23 years: Fermoy (1941-1964)
- 23 years: Fermoy (1964-1987)
Winners and finalists
The double
Two teams have won the North Cork Junior A Hurling Championship and the North Cork Junior A Football Championship in a single year as part of a hurling-Gaelic football double. Fermoy became the first club to win the double when they achieved the feat in 1941. Clyda Rovers became only the second team to complete the double in 1989.
Kildorrery, Mallow, Buttevant and Doneraile also hold the distinction of being dual North Cork Championship winning teams, however, these were not achieved in a single calendar year. Combined teams Glanworth-Harbour Rovers and Ballygiblin-Mitchelstown have also won North Cork titles in both codes.
External links
References
- ^ "Dramatic finish sees Dromina take title". The Corkman. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ Ryan, Paddy (15 September 2019). "Clyda clinch the Avondhu hurling title after late drama against Harbour Rovers". Evening Echo. Retrieved 16 September 2019.