British University Hurling Championship
| British University Hurling Championships | |
|---|---|
| Code | Hurling (Third Level Institutions) |
| Founded | 2001/02 |
| Region | Britain (GAA) |
| Trophy | Michael O'Leary Cup |
| Title holders | Robert Gordon University (1st title) |
| First winner | Abertay University |
| Most titles | Edinburgh Napier University (8 titles) |
| Official website | "British Universities GAA". |
The British University Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition held for universities in Great Britain. It is organised by the British Universities Gaelic Athletic Association (BUGAA); a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee overseeing Gaelic Games in universities across England, Wales, and Scotland. Unlike the British University Men's Gaelic Football Championship, this competition is not overseen by the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). The trophies for British University Gaelic Games Championships memorialise students who were pioneers of Gaelic Games at British Universities. The Hurling Championship Trophy is known as the Michael O'Leary Cup, after a founder member of the hurling club at the University of Glasgow who died in 2001.[1]
History
Cross-code hurling and shinty games between Irish and Scottish university teams go back a number of years, butBritish intervarsity hurling took longer to get off the ground than Gaelic football, which held its first tournament in 1991. After an exhibition game played by Combined Universities selections of Ireland in 2000,[1][2] in April 2002 the inaugural British University Hurling Championship took place at Pearse Park, Glasgow. The tournament involved 'regional' teams, with Abertay University as the sole single-university team. Abertay won the first title, beating a 'Scottish Select' team in the final, made up of players from Donegal, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick.[3]
From 2002/03 onwards the championship has been contested by single-university teams, and has been hosted in multiple venues across the UK, including Dawson Park in Dundee, Hough End in Manchester and Páirc na hÉireann in Solihull. Scottish universities have traditionally dominated the competition, reflecting the strong diaspora of Irish students at Scottish universities as well as the presence of shinty clubs and the cross-promotion between the two sports.[1][2]
In 2003, the University of Dundee became the first British university to compete in the Fergal Maher Cup - the Division 3 championship in Ireland.[4][2] In 2008, Edinburgh Napier University won the Fergal Maher Cup, becomig the first, and currently only, university outside of Ireland to win Irish hurling silverware by beating GMIT Letterfrack in the final. Edinburgh Napier won the tournament again in 2010, beating Dundalk IT.
British University Hurling Championship Finals by year
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-16 | Robert Gordon | 2–08 | 0–13 | Liverpool John Moores | |
| 2014-15 | Liverpool John Moores | ||||
| 2013-14 | Edinburgh Napier | ||||
| 2012-13 | Edinburgh Napier | [5] | |||
| 2011-12 | Edinburgh Napier | 4–20 | 0–07 | Robert Gordon | [6] |
| 2010-11 | Edinburgh Napier | ||||
| 2009-10 | Edinburgh Napier | ||||
| 2008-09 | Edinburgh Napier | 1–07 | 0–03 | Liverpool John Moores | [7] |
| 2007-08 | Edinburgh Napier | 0–14 | 1–01 | Liverpool John Moores | |
| 2006-07 | Edinburgh Napier | 1–04 | 0–01 | Robert Gordon | |
| 2005-06 | Dundee | 3–07 | 1–00 | Robert Gordon | |
| 2004-05 | Glamorgan | ||||
| 2003-04 | Dundee | ||||
| 2002-03 | Dundee | Abertay | [8] | ||
| 2001-02 | Abertay | Scottish Select[9] | [10] | ||
1 Incorporated into the University of South Wales in 2013.
Roll of Honour
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Dónal McAnallen (2012). The Cups That Cheered – A History of the Sigerson, Fitzgibbon and Higher Education Gaelic Games, The Collins Press, Cork, pp. 495—509
- 1 2 3 Paul Derby & David Hassan (2013). Emigrant Players: Sport and the Irish Diaspora, Routledge, pp. 232
- ↑ "Donegal Times - May 8th 2002". www.donegaltimes.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2004. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ "University of Dundee, Press Release". app.dundee.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2026.
- ↑ Semi-final: Edinburgh Napier University v Liverpool John Moore's University
- ↑ "British Universities GAA Hurling Championships Report - Higher Education".
- ↑ https://archive.today/20130712030255/http://www.bebo.com/BlogView.jsp?MemberId=409023136&BlogId=8137892921
- ↑ "University of Dundee, Press Release".
- ↑ Team comprised Irish students hailing from Donegal, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick
- ↑ Donegal Times, 8 May 2002, http://www.donegaltimes.com/2002/05_1/sport.html
- ↑ Includes wins by the University of Glamorgan.