Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship

The Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between 1961 and 2017. Teams consisted of senior, intermediate and junior club players who were not members of their county's senior panel. The competition was established to prevent the stronger counties from dominating the existing Munster Junior Hurling Championship.

Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship
IrishCraobh Iomána Idirmheánach na Mumhan
CodeHurling
Founded1961
Abolished2017
RegionMunster (GAA)
TrophySweet Afton Cup
No. of teams5-7
Last Title holders Clare (2nd title)
First winner Tipperary
Most titles Cork (15 titles)
Official websiteOfficial website

The final, frequently held in July, served as the culmination of a series of games played during the early summer months, often as curtain raisers to Munster SHC games, with the results determining which team received the Sweet Afton Cup. The championship was always played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship was an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final, like their counterparts in the Leinster Championship, advanced directly to the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games.

Seven teams have competed at various times since the inception of the Munster Championship. The title has been won at least once by all seven teams, five of whom have won the title more than once. Cork were the most successful team with 15 titles. Clare were the last winners of the title before its abolition.

Format edit

The Munster 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 extra time and, if the sides still remain level, a second period of extra time is played.

The format has remained the same since the very first Munster Championship in 1961. 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 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games. Unlike the final runners-up in the minor and senior championships, there is no 'back-door system' at intermediate level.

Five of the six counties of Munster – Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford – participate in the championship. Kerry, the sixth county in the province, contested the Munster Championship until recently. Galway took part in the competition in the 1960s.

Teams edit

Eligible teams edit

The championship is currently suspended but six counties would be eligible for the championship:

County Qualification Location Stadium Province Championship Titles Last Championship Title
  Clare Intermediate development team Ennis Cusack Park Munster 2 2016
  Cork Intermediate development team Cork Páirc Uí Chaoimh Munster 15 2015
  Kerry Joe McDonagh Cup team Tralee Austin Stack Park Munster 2 1973
  Limerick Intermediate development team Limerick Gaelic Grounds Munster 3 2008
  Tipperary Intermediate development team Thurles Semple Stadium Munster 9 2013
  Waterford Intermediate development team Waterford Walsh Park Munster 1 2007

Trophies edit

At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the Sweet Afton 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 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 presented by Tipperary man Jerry Shelly in 1961 to commemorate the new competition.

Roll of honour edit

County Title(s) Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
  Cork 15 6 1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015 1961, 1962, 1968, 1970, 2000, 2013
  Tipperary 9 7 1961, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2013 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014
 Limerick 3 7 1968, 1998, 2008 1967, 1971, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016
  Clare 2 3 2011, 2016 1963, 2001, 2012
  Kerry 2 1 1970, 1973 1972
  Waterford 1 5 2007 1965, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010
  Galway 1 3 1962 1964, 1966, 1969

Team records and statistics edit

Biggest Munster final wins edit

  • The most one sided Munster finals:

Miscellaneous edit

  • Cork hold the record for the longest streak of success in finals. They won four championships in-a-row between 2003 and 2006.
  • Tipperary hold the record for the longest streak of defeated in finals. They lost three championship deciders in-a-row between 2004 and 2006.
  • Cork hold the record for the most consecutive appearances in Munster finals. They played in four-in-a-row on two separate occasions, firstly between 1967 and 1970, and most recently between 2003 and 2006.
  • Two counties have completed the Munster intermediate and senior double in the same year:
    • Cork in 1969, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006
    • Tipperary in 1961, 1971
    • Waterford in 2007
  • Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster minor, under-21, intermediate and senior 'grand slam' in the same year. This was achieved in 1969 and again in 2005.
  • Only one player has captained his county to Munster titles in both the intermediate and senior grades:
    • Pat Mulcahy captained Cork to the intermediate title in 1997 and the senior title in 2006.

List of Munster Finals edit

All-Ireland champions
All-Ireland runners-up
Year Winners Score Runners-up Score
1961 Tipperary 3–10 (19) Cork 2–12 (18)
1962 Galway 5–04 (19) Cork 4–06 (18)
1963 Tipperary 6–10 (28) Clare 0–04 (4)
1964 Cork 4–13 (25) Galway 1–10 (13)
1965 Cork 1–15 (18) Waterford 3–02 (11)
1966 Tipperary 4–02 (14) Galway 1–07 (10)
1967 Cork 5–14 (29) Limerick 2–12 (18)
1968 Limerick 3–08 (17) Cork 1–06 (9)
1969 Cork 4–14 (26) Galway 0–06 (6)
1970 Kerry 2–13 (19) Cork 2–10 (16)
1971 Tipperary 1–11 (14) Limerick 2–04 (10)
1972 Tipperary 4–16 (28) Kerry 3–12 (21)
1973 Kerry Unopposed
1974–96 No championship
1997 Cork 1–15 (28) Limerick 1–12 (21)
1998 Limerick 2–11 (17) Tipperary 0–15 (15)
1999 Cork 2–09 (15) Tipperary 1–07 (10)
2000 Tipperary 1–19 (22) Cork 0–15 (15)
2001 Cork 1–20 (23) Clare 1–11 (14)
2002 Tipperary 4–08 (20) Waterford 2–07 (13)
2003 Cork 2–12 (18) Waterford 0–11 (11)
2004 Cork 0–18 (18) Tipperary 1–09 (12)
2005 Cork 2–17 (23) Tipperary 2–11 (17)
2006 Cork 2–18 (24) Tipperary 2–13 (19)
2007 Waterford 5–12 (27) Limerick 1–12 (15)
2008 Limerick 2–16 (22) Tipperary 2–12 (18)
2009 Cork 5–24 (39) Waterford 3–09 (18)
2010 Cork 0–15 (15) Waterford 0–13 (13)
2011[1] Clare 2–15 (21) Limerick 2–13 (19)
2012[2] Tipperary 1–18 (21) Clare 0–17 (17)
2013[3] Tipperary 0–19 (19) Cork 0–18 (18)
2014[4] Cork 4–15 (27) Tipperary 2–08 (14)
2015[5] Cork 0–20 (20) Limerick 0–18 (18)
2016[6] Clare 1–26 (29) Limerick 2–18 (24)
2017 Cork Unopposed

Records and statistics edit

Top scorers edit

All time edit

Rank Name Team Goals Points Total
1 Declan Browne Tipperary 5 52 67
2 Declan Lovett Kerry 9 29 56
3 Jonathan O'Callaghan Cork 2 49 55
4 Peter O'Brien Cork 0 47 47
5 Milo Keane Clare 11 13 46
6 Ronan O'Brien Tipperary 3 33 42
7 Eoin Conway Cork 3 32 41
8 Maurice O'Sullivan Cork 4 28 40
9 Willie Griffin Limerick 2 30 36
10 Tom Larkin Tipperary 9 07 34

By year edit

Year Top scorer Team Score Total
1961 Ray Sisk Cork 7-03 24
1962 Vincent Barrett Cork 3-18 27
1963 Milo Keane Clare 4-09 21
1964 Justin McCarthy Cork 2-08 14
1965 Seán Devlin Galway 5-04 19
1966 Andy Dunworth Limerick 4-03 15
1967 Jerry O'Connell Cork 6-03 21
1968 Martin Linanne Clare 5-00 15
Charlie McCarthy Cork 1-12
1969 Séamus Gillen Cork 3-12 21
1970 Seánie Barry Cork 2-13 19
1971 Declan Lovett Kerry 2-12 18
1972 John Darcy Tipperary 4-01 13
1997 Maurice Roche Limerick 1-17 20
1998 Kevin McCormack Tipperary 2-16 22
1999 Seán O'Meara Tipperary 0-12 12
2000 Declan Browne Tipperary 5-30 45
2001 Jonathan O'Callaghan Cork 1-20 23
2002 Brendan Hogan Tipperary 2-15 21
2003 Tom Moylan Tipperary 2-08 14
2004 Éamonn Taaffe Clare 3-09 18
2005 Maurice O'Sullivan Cork 0-18 18
2006 Ronan O'Brien Tipperary 2-11 17
2007 Shane Casey Waterford 4-05 17
2008 Seán Chaplin Clare 0-13 13
2009 Maurice O'Sullivan Cork 4-05 17
2010 Eoin Conway Cork 1-25 28
2011 Niall Gilligan Clare 1-11 14
2012 Kieran Morris Tipperary 0-19 19
2013 Peter O'Brien Cork 0-19 19
2014 Peter O'Brien Cork 0-25 25
2015 Willie Griffin Limerick 2-16 22
2016 Aidan McCormack Tipperary 0-19 19

In a single game edit

Year Top scorer Team Score Total
1961 Ray Sisk Cork 5-00 15
1962 Vincent Barrett Cork 3-03 12
1963 Richie Browne Cork 3-04 13
1964 Johnny Culloty Kerry 1-07 10
1965 Seán Devlin Galway 3-02 11
1966 Andy Dunworth Limerick 4-03 15
1967 Jerry O'Connell Cork 3-02 11
Jim McGrath Cork 3-02
1968 Martin Linnane Clare 4-00 12
1969 Séamus Gillen Cork 2-10 16
1970 Seánie Barry Cork 2-07 13
1971 Declan Lovett Kerry 1-07 10
1972 Matt Ryan Tipperary 2-04 10
1997 Maurice Roche Limerick 1-07 10
Jimmy Smiddy Cork 0-10
1998 Kevin McCormack Tipperary 2-07 13
1999 Seán O'Meara Tipperary 0-09 9
2000 Declan Browne Tipperary 4-12 24
2001 Jonathan O'Callaghan Cork 1-11 14
2002 Brendan Hogan Tipperary 1-10 13
2003 David Clancy Limerick 2-01 7
John Quinlan Cork 2-01
Tom Moylan Tipperary 1-04
Tom Moylan Tipperary 1-04
Jonathan O'Callaghan Cork 0-07
2004 Éamonn Taaffe Clare 2-03 9
Éamonn Taaffe Clare 1-06
Darren Dineen Cork 0-09
2005 Mark Keane Limerick 1-08 11
2006 John Anthony Moran Limerick 2-04 10
2007 Shane Casey Waterford 3-05 14
2008 Noel Hogan Tipperary 2-05 11
2009 Pa Kearney Waterford 3-01 10
Leigh Desmond Cork 1-07
2010 Eoin Conway Cork 1-12 15
2011 Stephen Power Waterford 1-06 9
2012 Adrian Mannix Cork 0-09 9
2013 Peter O'Brien Cork 0-12 12
2014 Peter O'Brien Cork 1-10 13
Bobby Duggan Clare 0-13
2015 Willie Griffin Limerick 2-06 12
2016 Aidan McCormack Tipperary 0-14 14

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Clare's Keane edge". Irish Independent. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  2. ^ "More glory for Tipp as Clare rue missed chances". Irish Examiner. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  3. ^ "Tipp heap more misery on Cork". Irish Examiner. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Munster IHC final: Rebels see off Tipp". Hogan Stand. 25 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  5. ^ "Munster IHC final: Rebels pip Treaty for title No.14". Hogan Stand. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  6. ^ "Munster IHC final: Banner beat Treaty in thriller". Hogan Stand. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

Sources edit