British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championship
| British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championships | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2025/26 British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championships | |
| Code | Gaelic football (Third Level Institutions) |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Region | .svg.png){kind=small} Britain (GAA) |
| Title holders |  University of Liverpool (3rd title) |
| Most titles |  St Mary's University, Twickenham (11 titles) |
| Official website | "British Universities GAA". |
The British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championships are a group of an annual Gaelic football tournaments held for universities in Great Britain. They are organised by the British Universities Gaelic Atheltic Association (BUGAA); a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee overseeing Gaelic Games in universities across England, Wales, and Scotland; in tandem with the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Unlike the men's competition, it is not affiliated with British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).
History
The first organised ladies' Gaelic football tournament was held in Dundee in 1997, with St Mary's winning the inaugural competition. St Mary's would go on to win the first 8 championship titles up until 2005, with Liverpool Hope University breaking their monopoly with a hat-trick of titles in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Between 2001 and 2009, the British Division 1 championship winners entered the Lynch Cup - then the Division 2 championship for universities in Ireland - at the semi-final stage. While no British team won the competition during these years, St Mary's University, Twickenham made the Lynch Cup final twice in 2002 and 2005 (losing to Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and Trinity College, Dublin),[1] while Liverpool Hope University made the Lynch Cup final 3 years in a row from 2006 to 2008, losing to Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology and University College Cork.[1]
A reorganisation of HEC competitions in the 2009/10 season saw the Lynch Cup become the Division 3 championship in Ireland, and British teams represented in different Irish HEC competitions each year. In 2015, Liverpool Hope reached the final of the Moynihan Cup - then the Division 4 championship for universities in Ireland - losing to St Patrick's College, Drumcondra,[2] and in 2026, Coventry University became the first British winners of an Irish HEC competition with victory over a team from DCU Dóchas Éireann in the Lagan Cup, the Division 6 championship.[2]
Format
Gaelic games in Britain are run by the Gaelic Games Council of Britain with university competitions organised by the British Universities Gaelic Atheltic Association (BUGAA) in association with the Higher Education Committee of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association.
Teams compete from September to February in regional leagues, split into Scotland, North-West England, and Midlands & Southern England. The top 5 teams across the leagues qualifying for the Division 1 Championship tournament in March. The qualifying teams play in a round-robin to decide the champion.
Teams that did not qualify for Division 1 drop into the Division 2 Championship. The teams compete in 3 groups of 4. The top 8 teams across the 3 groups compete in knockouts (via quarter finals, semi finals, and a final) for the Division 2 title, with the other 4 teams forming the Division 3 Championship.
Teams
The teams competing in the BUGAA divisions of ladies' Gaelic football, as of the 2025/26 season, are as follows:
BUGAA Championships rolls of honour
BUGAA Division 1 Championship
- 1998 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 1999 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2000 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2001 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2002 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2003 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2004 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2005 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2006 Liverpool Hope University
- 2007 Liverpool Hope University
- 2008 Liverpool Hope University
- 2009 Queen Margaret University
- 2010 Robert Gordon University
- 2011 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2012 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2013 Robert Gordon University
- 2014 Robert Gordon University
- 2015 Liverpool Hope University
- 2016 Queen Margaret University
- 2017 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2018 Liverpool Hope University
- 2019 Liverpool John Moores University
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 University of Liverpool
- 2023 University of Liverpool
- 2024 Coventry University
- 2025 Coventry University
- 2026 University of Liverpool
BUGAA Division 2 Championship
- 2004 University of Chester
- 2005 University of Chester
- 2006 University of Chester
- 2007 University of Glasgow
- 2008 University of Glasgow
- 2009
- 2010 Northumbria University
- 2011 Northumbria University
- 2012 University of Liverpool
- 2013 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2014 University of Dundee
- 2015 Coventry University
- 2016 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2017 University of Glasgow
- 2018 Coventry University
- 2019 University of Manchester
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2023 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2024 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2025 University of Glasgow
- 2026 Liverpool Hope University
BUGAA Division 3 Championship
- 2011 Manchester Metropolitan University
- 2012
- 2013 University of Glasgow
- 2014 University of Birmingham
- 2015 Teesside University
- 2016 University of Glasgow
- 2017 University of Manchester
- 2018 University of Manchester
- 2019 University of Stirling
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 not played
- 2023 not played
- 2024 not played
- 2025 University of Edinburgh
- 2026 Glasgow Caledonian University
Winners by university
| Rank | University | Division 1 wins | Division 2 wins | Division 3 wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
St Mary's University, Twickenham[3] | 11 | 0 | 0 |
 |
Liverpool Hope University | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 |
University of Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Robert Gordon University | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Coventry University | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Queen Margaret University | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Liverpool John Moores University | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Glasgow Caledonian University | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 9 | University of Glasgow | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | University of Chester | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | Northumbria University | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 12 | University of Manchester | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | University of Dundee | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| =14 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Teesside University | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Birmingham | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Stirling | 0 | 0 | 1 |
BUGAA Championship finals
BUGAA Division 1 Championship
BUGAA Division 2 Championship
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Liverpool Hope | 2-01 | 0-05 | Manchester | |
| 2024-25 | Glasgow | 0-08aet+25m kicks | 1-04 | Dundee | |
| 2023-24 | Glasgow Caledonian | 2-14 | 3-01 | Glasgow | |
| 2022-23 | Glasgow Caledonian | 7-12 | 5-04 | Manchester | |
| 2021-22 | Glasgow Caledonian | 3-05 | 1-01 | Manchester | |
| 2020-21 | cancelled due to COVID-19 | ||||
| 2019-20 | |||||
| 2018-19 | Manchester | Glasgow Caledonian | |||
| 2017-18 | Coventry | 4-10 | 0-10 | Glasgow | |
| 2016-17 | Glasgow | 6-09 | 3-08 | Birmingham | |
| 2015-16 | Glasgow Caledonian | 4-05 | 1-02 | Northumbria | [11] |
| 2014-15 | Coventry | 3-07 | 1-06 | Birmingham | |
| 2013-14 | Dundee | 1-04 | 2-00 | Glasgow | |
| 2012-13 | Glasgow Caledonian | 6-09 | 0-04 | Dundee | |
| 2011-12 | Liverpool | 3-12 | 1-08 | Manchester Metropolitan | |
| 2010-11 | Northumbria | 3-06 | 0-04 | Liverpool | |
| 2009-10 | Northumbria | ||||
| 2008-09 | |||||
| 2007-08 | Glasgow | 2-04 | 2-03 | Chester | [6] |
| 2006-07 | Glasgow | 3-06 | 2-07 | Chester | [8] |
| 2005-06 | Chester | 1-06 | 1-03 | Leeds | [9] |
| 2004-05 | Chester | Bangor | [10] | ||
| 2003-04 | Chester | 3-09 | 0-00 | Teesside | [12] |
BUGAA Division 3 Championship
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Glasgow Caledonian | 1-04 | 1-03 | Edinburgh | |
| 2024-25 | Edinburgh | 1-04 | 1-00 | Nottingham / Nottingham Trent | |
| 2023-24 | not played | ||||
| 2022-23 | |||||
| 2021-22 | |||||
| 2020-21 | |||||
| 2019-20 | |||||
| 2018-19 | Stirling | ||||
| 2017-18 | Manchester | 4-07 | 1-01 | Stirling | |
| 2016-17 | Manchester | 4-09 | 0-06 | Stirling | |
| 2015-16 | Glasgow | ||||
| 2014-15 | Teesside | Heriot-Watt | |||
| 2013-14 | Birmingham | 0-07 | 1-02 (AET) | Manchester Metropolitan | |
| 2012-13 | Glasgow | 1-03 | 1-02 | Birmingham | |
| 2011-12 | |||||
| 2010-11 | Manchester Metropolitan | 1-03 | 0-02 | UCLAN | |
References
- 1 2 "LGFA Lynch Cup Roll of Honour". LGFA.
- 1 2 "HEC Roll of Honour". Ladies Gaelic Football. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ Formerly known as St Mary's University College.
- ↑ "Success for St Mary's at British Gaelic Football Championships". St Mary's University. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ↑ "Results | GaelicSportsCast". www.gaelicsportscast.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- 1 2 "LADIES CHAMPIONSHIP REPORT". BUGAA. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2008. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Darby, Paul; Hassan, David (18 October 2013). Emigrant Players: Sport and the Irish Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN 9781317968450.
- 1 2 "Exciting finals at ladies Championships". BUGAA. 27 February 2002. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 "Both Championships head to the North West-Hope new Ladies Champions". BUGAA. 2 March 2006. Archived from the original on 19 August 2006. Retrieved 23 August 2026.
- 1 2 "British Universities Gaelic Games Sponsored by O'Neill's". www.uni-gaa.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "Ladies Gaelic Strike Silver! @ GCU Students' Association". www.gcustudents.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ↑ "British Universities Gaelic Games Sponsored by Gaelic Gear". www.uni-gaa.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2004. Retrieved 18 March 2026.