Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship
| Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2024 Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship | |
| Irish | Craobh Iomána Uladh |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Region | Ulster (GAA) |
| Trophy | Four Seasons Cup |
| No. of teams | 3 |
| Title holders |  Ruairí Óg Cushendall (12th title) |
| Most titles | Ruairí Óg Cushendall (12 titles) |
| Sponsors | Allied Irish Banks |
| TV partner(s) | TG4 |
| Motto | The toughest of them all |
| Official website | Ulster GAA |
The Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the champion hurling teams in the province of Ulster in Ireland. It is the most prestigious club competition in Ulster hurling.
Introduced in 1970, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open to the nine county club champion teams in Ulster. The competition currently retains the knockout format but features just four teams who represent the strongest hurling counties in Ulster.
In its current format, the Ulster Club Championship begins in October with the semi-finals. Entrants are not seeded. The two semi-final winners proceed to the final which is currently played in late October or early November. The winner of the Ulster Club Championship, as well as being presented with the Four Seasons Cup, qualifies for the subsequent All-Ireland Club Championship.
The competition has been won by 10 teams, 8 of which have won it more than once. Ruairí Óg, Cushendall is the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won it 12 times. Ruairí Óg, Cushendall are the reigning champions, having beaten Slaughtneil by 0-20 to 2-10 in the final.[1]
Teams
[edit]Qualification
[edit]| County | Championship | Qualifying team |
|---|---|---|
 Antrim
|
Antrim Senior Hurling Championship | Champions |
 Derry
|
Derry Senior Hurling Championship | Champions |
 Down
|
Down Senior Hurling Championship | Champions |
2024 teams
[edit]22 clubs will compete in the 2024 Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship:
| County | No. | Clubs competing in county championship |
|---|---|---|
| Antrim
|
8 | Cúchulainns, Dunloy, Loughgiel Shamrocks, McQuillan Ballycastle, O'Donovan Rossa, Ruairí Óg, St Enda's, St John's |
| Derry
|
8 | Ballinascreen, Banagher, Eoghan Rua, Kevin Lynch's, Lavey, Na Magha, Slaughtneil, Swatragh |
| Down
|
6 | Ballycran, Ballygalget, Bredagh, Carryduff, Liatroim Fontenoys, Portaferry |
Note: Bold indicates title-holders.
List of finals
[edit]Legend
[edit]- The winners are listed in bold if they also won the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship.
List of Ulster SHC finals
[edit]
Roll of honour
[edit]By county
[edit]| County | Titles | Runners-up | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim
|
42 | 9 | 51 |
| Down
|
7 | 29 | 38 |
| Derry
|
4 | 14 | 18 |
 Armagh
|
0 | 1 | 1 |
By club
[edit]| Club | County | Titles | Championships won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruairí Óg
|
Antrim | 12 | 1981, 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2018, 2023 |
 Dunloy
|
Antrim | 11 | 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2022 |
 Loughgiel Shamrocks
|
Abtrim | 8 | 1970, 1971, 1982, 1989, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 |
 McQuillan Ballycastle
|
Antrim | 6 | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1986 |
 O'Donovan Rossa
|
Antrim | 4 | 1972, 1977, 1988, 2004 |
| Slaughtneil
|
Derry | 4 | 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021 |
| Ballycran
|
Down | 3 | 1974, 1976, 1993 |
 Ballygalget
|
Down | 3 | 1975, 1998, 2005 |
 St John's
|
Antrim | 1 | 1973 |
| Portaferry
|
Down | 1 | 2014 |
Records and statistics
[edit]Teams
[edit]By decade
[edit]The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Ulster Championship titles, is as follows:
- 1970s: 2 each for Loughgiel Shamrocks (1970–71), O'Donovan Rossa (1972–77), Ballycran (1974–76), Ballycastle McQuillan (1978–79)
- 1980s: 4 for Ballycastle McQuillan (1980-83-84-86)
- 1990s: 4 each for Dunloy (1990-94-95-97) and Ruairí Óg (1991-92-96-99)
- 2000s: 6 for Dunloy (2000-01-02-03-07-09)
- 2010s: 4 for Loughgiel Shamrocks (2010-11-12-13)
Gaps
[edit]Top five longest gaps between successive championship titles:
- 23 years: Ballygalget (1975-1998)
- 21 years: Loughgiel Shamrocks (1989-2010)
- 17 years: Ballycran (1976-1993)
- 16 years: O'Donovan Rossa (1988-2004)
- 11 years: O'Donovan Rossa (1977-1988)
Top scorers
[edit]By year
[edit]| Year | Top scorer | Team | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Geoffrey McGonagle | Kevin Lynch's | 4-07 | 19 |
| 2007 | Gregory O'Kane | Dunloy | 0-21 | 21 |
| 2008 | Martin Óg Coulter | Ballygalget | 2-11 | 17 |
| 2009 | Simon Wilson | Ballycran | 1-14 | 17 |
| 2010 | Liam Watson | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 1-13 | 16 |
| 2011 | Liam Watson | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 1-07 | 10 |
| 2012 | Paul Braniff | Portaferry | 0-18 | 18 |
| 2013 | Liam Watson | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 0-13 | 13 |
| 2014 | Neil McManus | Ruairí Óg | 1-19 | 22 |
| 2015 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-16 | 19 |
| 2016 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-16 | 19 |
| 2017 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-21 | 24 |
| 2018 | Scott Nicholason | Ballycran | 0-09 | 9 |
| Neil McManus | Ruairí Óg | |||
| Colum McManus | Ballycran | |||
| 2019 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-15 | 18 |
In finals
[edit]| Final | Top scorer | Team | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jackie Carson | Ruairí Óg, Cushendall | 1-04 | 7 |
| 2000 | Séamus McMullan | Dunloy | 1-03 | 6 |
| 2001 | Paddy Richmond | Dunloy | 2-03 | 9 |
| 2002 | Gregory O'Kane | Dunloy | 0-07 | 7 |
| 2003 | Geoffrey McGonigle | Kevin Lynch's | 0-08 | 8 |
| 2004 | Johnny McGrattan | Ballygalget | 0-07 | 7 |
| 2005 | Johnny McGrattan | Ballygalget | 1-08 | 11 |
| 2006 | Geoffrey McGonigle | Kevin Lynch's | 2-04 | 10 |
| 2007 | Gregory O'Kane | Dunloy | 0-07 | 7 |
| 2008 | Martin Óg Coulter | Ballygalget | 0-10 | 10 |
| 2009 | Simon Wilson | Ballycran | 1-06 | 9 |
| 2010 | Eddie McCloskey | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 0-07 | 7 |
| 2011 | Eddie McCloskey | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 1-02 | 5 |
| 2012 | Liam Watson | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 1-05 | 8 |
| Eddie McCloskey | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 0-08 | ||
| 2013 | Eddie McCloskey | Loughgiel Shamrocks | 2-02 | 8 |
| 2014 | Eoghan Sands | Portaferry | 1-03 | 6 |
| Paul Braniff | Portaferry | 0-06 | ||
| 2015 | Neil McManus | Ruairí Óg, Cushendall | 0-13 | 13 |
| 2016 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-08 | 11 |
| 2017 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-10 | 13 |
| 2018 | Neil McManus | Ruairí Óg, Cushendall | 0-09 | 9 |
| 2019 | Cormac O'Doherty | Slaughtneil | 1-04 | 18 |
| Conall Cunning | Dunloy | 0-07 |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Cushendall overcome Slaughtneil to clinch provincial crown". RTÉ. 4 December 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Early goals set Dunloy on way to Ulster hurling triumph over Slaughtneil". RTÉ. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
- ^ "Slaughtneil claim Ulster hurling double". Irish Independent. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- ^ "Slaughtneil become first Derry team to win Ulster Club Hurling title". BBC Sport. 23 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ "Sands the man as Portaferry sink Cushendall". www.rte.ie. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ "Ulster club SHC final: Portaferry shock 'Dall". Hogan Stand. 2 November 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
- ^ "Loughgiel secure title". Irish Examiner. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- ^ "McCloskey keeps Loughgiel on track". Irish Independent. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.