The Carlow Junior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh and Sons Junior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Carlow JHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association for the third tier hurling teams in the county of Carlow in Ireland.
In its current format, the Carlow Intermediate Championship begins with a group stage. The six participating club teams play each other in a round-robin system. The four top-ranking teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at Netwatch Cullen Park.
When Carlow's top tier hurling competition was granted senior status in 1960, a new Junior Hurling Championship was created. This was Carlow's second tier competition until 1984 when it became the third tier competition after the creation of the Intermediate Hurling Championship.[2]
Format
Group stage
Seven clubs start in the group stage. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed six group games and one bye round. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top four teams qualify for the knockout stage.[3]
Knockout stage
Semi-finals: The top four teams from the group stage contest this round. First place plays fourth place and second place plays third place. The two winners from these two games advance to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.
The Martin Grennan Cup is the current prize for winning the championship.[4] It was presented in June 2023 in memory of Martin Grennan who was a member of the St Mullin's club. Joint-captains Ian St Ledger and Pádraig Ryan from the Kildavin/Clonegal club were the first recipients of the cup. In accordance with GAA rules, the County Board awards a set of gold medals to the championship winners.
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Carlow (GAA)
Bagenalstown Gaels (1st title)
