Galway Senior Hurling Championship

Galway Senior Hurling Championship
Current season or competition: 2023 Galway Senior Hurling Championship
Code	Hurling
Founded	1887;136 years ago (1887)
Region	Galway (GAA)
Trophy	Tom Callinan Cup [1]
No. of teams	24 (16 Senior A, 8 Senior B)
Title holders	St. Thomas' (8th title)
Most titles	Castlegar (17 titles)
Sponsors	Brooks
TV partner(s)	TG4, RTÉ2
Official website	Official website

The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in the county of Galway in Ireland.

The series of games are played during the summer and autumn months with the county final currently being played at Pearse Stadium in November. Initially played as a knock-out competition, the championship currently consists of a group stage followed by a knock-out series of games.

The Galway County Championship is an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship. The winners of the Galway county final automatically represent Connacht and join the champions of the other three provinces to contest the All-Ireland Championship.

Twenty-four teams currently participate in the Galway County Championship. The title has been won at least once by 29 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Castlegar, who have won a total of 17 titles.

St. Thomas' are the title-holders, defeating Turloughmore by 2-12 to 1-13 in the 2023 final to win their sixth consecutive Galway County Championship, equalling the record held by Turloughmore, who won the title in 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966.

History

Beginnings

Following the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884, new rules for Gaelic football and hurling were drawn up and published in the United Irishman newspaper. In 1886, county committees were established, with the Galway County Board affiliating on 26 October 1886. The inaugural championship was played during the summer of 1887. Delays and objections were commonplace in the early years, with a number of championships remaining unfinished.

Format

Senior A

Group stage

The 16 clubs are divided into four groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed three group games. 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 team in each group qualify for the quarter-finals and the second and third placed teams in the group qualifying for the preliminary quarter-finals.

Knockout stage

Following the completion of the group stage, the top three teams from each group qualify to the knockout stage with the four group winners receiving byes to separate quarter-finals.

Preliminary quarter-finals: Teams that finished second and third in the group stage contest this round. Repeat pairings are avoided. The four winners from these games advance to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals: The four group winners and the four preliminary quarter-final winners contest this round. Repeat pairings are avoided. The two winners from these two games advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. 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.

Relegation

The four bottom-placed teams from the group stage take part in a series of play-offs, with the losing team being relegated to the Galway Senior B Hurling Championship.

Qualification

At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship.

Teams

2023 Senior A Teams

Team	Location	Colours	Championship titles	Last championship title
Ardrahan	Ardrahan	Blue and white	11	1978
Cappataggle	Cappataggle	Red and black	0	—
Castlegar	Castlegar	Green and white	17	1984
Clarinbridge	Clarinbridge	Maroon and white	2	2010
Craughwell	Craughwell	Green and gold	4	1931
Gort	Gort	Green and gold	7	2014
Kilconieron	Kilconieron	Green and yellow	3	1919
Killimordaly	Killimordaly	Green and white	1	1986
Loughrea	Loughrea	Blue and gold	2	2006
Moycullen	Moycullen	Green and white	0	—
Oranmore-Maree	Oranmore	Sky blue and navy	1	1933
Portumna	Portumna	Blue and gold	6	2013
Sarsfields	Bullaun, New Inn and Woodlawn	White and green	7	2015
St Thomas'	Kilchreest and Peterswell	Red and blue	7	2023
Tommy Larkin's	Woodford	Red and black	1	1971
Turloughmore	Turloughmore	Black and white	8	1985

2023 Senior B Teams

Team	Location	Colours	Championship titles	Last championship title
Ahascragh-Fohenagh	Fohenagh and Ahascragh	Blue, white and red	0	—
Athenry	Athenry	Maroon and white	8	2004
Beagh	Shanaglish	Black and amber	0	—
Killimor	Killimor	—	1	1897
Kilnadeema-Leitrim	Kilnadeema	Maroon, white and blue	0	—
Liam Mellows	Renmore	Green and white	9	2017
Mullagh	Mullagh	Green and white	0	—
Pádraig Pearse's	Ballymacward and Gurteen	Black and white	0	—

Venues

Early rounds

Pearse Stadium in Salthill

Fixtures in the opening rounds of the championship are usually played at a neutral venue that is deemed halfway between the participating teams. Some of the more common venues include Kenny Park, Duggan Park and St Brendan's Park.

Final

The final has regularly been played at Pearse Stadium in Salthill.

Managers

See also: List of hurling managers

Micheál Donoghue managed Clarinbridge to the 2010 championship.

Managers in the Galway Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

Winning managers (1998–present)

Manager	Team	Wins	Winning years
Pat Nally	Athenry	4	1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
Kevin Lally	St. Thomas'	3	2018, 2019, 2020
Kenneth Burke	St. Thomas'	3	2021, 2022, 2023
Johnny Kelly	Portumna	2	2008, 2009
John Burke	St. Thomas'	2	2012, 2016
Billy McGrath	Clarinbridge	1	2001
Mike Monaghan	Portumna	1	2003
Billy Caulfield	Athenry	1	2004
Pat O'Connor	Loughrea	1	2006
Micheál Donoghue	Clarinbridge	1	2010
Mattie Murphy	Gort	1	2011
Frank Canning	Portumna	1	2013
Gerry Spelman	Gort	1	2014
Cathal Murray	Sarsfields	1	2015
Louis Mulqueen	Liam Mellows	1	2017

Roll of honour

#	Club	Wins	Runners-up	Years won	Years runners-up
1	Castlegar	17	9	1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1944, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1984	1912, 1933, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1983, 1987
2	Ardrahan	11	7	1894, 1895, 1896, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1910, 1949, 1974, 1975, 1978	1897, 1898, 1923, 1956, 1968, 1969
3	Liam Mellows	9	3	1935, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1954, 1955, 1968, 1970, 2017	1957, 2018, 2019
4	Turloughmore	8	6	1956, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1985	1893, 1972, 1986, 1990, 2020, 2023
	Athenry	8	5	1987, 1994, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004	1977, 1988, 1989, 1991, 2001
	St. Thomas'	8	0	2012, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023	—
7	Gort	7	6	1914, 1916, 1934, 1981, 1983, 2011, 2014	1915, 1936, 1950, 2008, 2016, 2017
	Sarsfields	7	3	1980, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2015	1994, 2000, 2002
	Peterswell	7	2	1889, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1905, 1907	1902, 1928
10	Portumna	6	4	2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013	1995, 2004, 2006, 2014
11	Tynagh	5	9	1920, 1922, 1923, 1925, 1928	1889, 1896, 1906, 1907, 1918, 1919, 1934, 1998, 1999
	Kiltormer	5	1	1976, 1977, 1982, 1990, 1991	1981
13	Craughwell	4	7	1909, 1915, 1918, 1930	1892, 1899, 1900, 1905, 1925, 1932, 2015
14	Kilconieron	3	5	1908, 1912, 1919	1910, 1913, 1916, 1917, 1920
	Mullagh	3	2	1906, 1929, 1932	1904, 1966
16	Loughrea	2	10	1941, 2006	1909, 1949, 1951, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2022
	Clarinbridge	2	5	2001, 2010	1929, 1939, 1997, 2011, 2021
	Army	2	4	1947, 1948	1941, 1945, 1946, 1955
	Fohenagh	2	3	1959, 1960	1958, 1961, 1963
	College Road	2	1	1892, 1893	1894
	Woodford	2	1	1913, 1917	1914
22	Ballinasloe	1	5	1951	1943, 1953, 1954, 1964, 1973
	Killimordaly	1	5	1986	1965, 1970, 1976, 1984, 1985
	Maree	1	3	1933	1938, 1940, 1967
	Killimor	1	2	1897	1937, 1944
	Meelick	1	0	1887	—
	Derrydonnell	1	0	1911	—
	Tommy Larkins	1	0	1971	—
	Abbeyknockmoy	1	0	1988	—
30	Carnmore	0	6	—	1947, 1971, 1975, 1992, 1993, 1996
	Claregalway	0	3	—	1895, 1901, 1911
	Ballinderreen	0	2	—	1935, 1978
	Kinvara	0	2	—	1979, 2007
	Galway City 98s	0	1	—	1903
	Kileenadeema	0	1	—	1908
	Galway City	0	1	—	1922
	Leitrim	0	1	—	1930
	St. Coleman's	0	1	—	1948
	Meelick-Eyrecourt	0	1	—	1980

List of finals

Ollie Canning of Portumna accepting the 2013 Galway Senior Hurling Championship trophy at Pearse Stadium in Galway

Year	Winners		Runners-up
	Club	Score	Club	Score
2023	St. Thomas'	2-12	Turloughmore	1-13
2022	St. Thomas'	1-17, 1-15 (R)	Loughrea	0-20, 0-17 (R)
2021	St. Thomas'	0-20	Clarinbridge	0-17
2020 [2]	St. Thomas'	1-14	Turloughmore	0-15
2019 [3]	St. Thomas'	1-13	Liam Mellows	0-14
2018 [4]	St. Thomas'	2-13	Liam Mellows	0-10
2017 [5]	Liam Mellows	3-12	Gort	1-15
2016 [6]	St. Thomas'	1-11	Gort	0-10
2015 [7] [8]	Sarsfields	0-12, 2-10 (R)	Craughwell	0-12, 0-14 (R)
2014 [9]	Gort	2-13	Portumna	1-10
2013 [10]	Portumna	3-12	Loughrea	0-14
2012 [11]	St. Thomas'	3-11	Loughrea	2-11
2011 [12] [13]	Gort	0-17	Clarinbridge	1-12
2010	Clarinbridge	2-11, 0-18 (R, AET)	Loughrea	1-14, 0-15 (R, AET)
2009	Portumna	5-19	Loughrea	1-13
2008	Portumna	1-18	Gort	2-07
2007	Portumna	6-12	Kinvara	0-11
2006	Loughrea	1-13	Portumna	0-15
2005	Portumna	3-21	Loughrea	3-14
2004	Athenry	0-15	Portumna	0-13
2003	Portumna	2-13	Loughrea	2-09
2002	Athenry	1-16	Sarsfields	3-07
2001	Clarinbridge	0-18	Athenry	2-11
2000	Athenry	2-14	Sarsfields	3-07
1999	Athenry	1-16	Tynagh	1-10
1998	Athenry	0-09, 1-15 (R)	Tynagh	0-09, 1-12 (R)
1997	Sarsfields	1-11	Clarinbridge	1-06
1996	Athenry	2-06	Carnmore	1-06
1995	Sarsfields	0-17	Portumna	1-09
1994	Athenry	2-06	Sarsfields	0-09
1993	Sarsfields	1-10	Carnmore	0-04
1992	Sarsfields	0-14, 1-14 (R)	Carnmore	1-11, 1-05 (R)
1991	Kiltormer	3-09	Athenry	0-15
1990	Kiltormer	0-18	Turloughmore	2-07
1989	Sarsfields	3-07	Athenry	1-08
1988	Abbeyknockmoy	2-08, 2-06 (R)	Athenry	2-08, 0-11 (R)
1987	Athenry	1-12	Castlegar	2-06
1986	Killimordaly	0-17	Turloughmore	2-07
1985	Turloughmore	1-14	Killimordaly	1-04
1984	Castlegar	3-10	Killimordaly	0-11
1983	Gort	2-12	Castlegar	3-06
1982	Kiltormer	2-08	Castlegar	1-09
1981	Gort	2-08, 2-06 (R)	Kiltormer	1-11, 0-08 (R)
1980	Sarsfields	0-11	Meelick-Eyrecourt	0-09
1979	Castlegar	2-13	Kinvara	0-06
1978	Ardrahan	2-10, 2-18 (R, AET)	Ballinderreen	0-16, 2-14 (R, AET)
1977	Kiltormer	3-10	Athenry	3-08
1976	Kiltormer	1-09	Killimordaly	1-06
1975	Ardrahan	4-05	Carnmore	1-11
1974	Ardrahan	2-10	Castlegar	1-10
1973	Castlegar	3-10, 4-11 (R)	Ballinasloe	2-13, 3-10 (R)
1972	Castlegar	5-05	Turloughmore	0-08
1971	Tommy Larkin's	5-02	Carnmore	1-12
1970	Liam Mellows	5-11	Killimordaly	1-11
1969	Castlegar	4-14	Ardrahan	2-06
1968	Liam Mellows	3-11	Ardrahan	2-12
1967	Castlegar	3-09	Maree	4-04
1966	Turloughmore	4-08	Mullagh	2-08
1965	Turloughmore	7-04	Killimordaly	4-11
1964	Turloughmore	5-11	Ballinasloe	5-05
1963	Turloughmore	5-13	Fohenagh	2-04
1962	Turloughmore	2-09, 7-10 (R)	Castlegar	2-09, 0-09 (R)
1961	Turloughmore	3-06	Fohenagh	3-04
1960	Fohenagh	4-09	Castlegar	2-07
1959	Fohenagh	2-08, 3-09 (R)	Castlegar	1-11, 4-05 (R)
1958	Castlegar	5-09	Fohenagh	2-04
1957	Castlegar	6-11	Liam Mellows	2-03
1956*	Turloughmore	0-09	Ardrahan	2-03
1955	Liam Mellows	3-04	Army	2-05
1954	Liam Mellows	5-04	Ballinasloe	2-03
1953	Castlegar	3-02	Ballinasloe	1-05
1952	Castlegar	2-08	Ardrahan	3-03
1951	Ballinasloe	4-07	Loughrea	2-05
1950	Castlegar	9-03	Gort	0-02
1949	Ardrahan	1-09	Loughrea	2-02
1948	Army	7-07	St. Coleman's	6-02
1947	Army	4-13	Carnmore	3-03
1946	Liam Mellows	6-06	Army	1-11
1945	Liam Mellows	7-02	Army	2-03
1944	Castlegar	8-06	Killimor	5-06
1943	Liam Mellows	3-04	Ballinasloe	2-05
1942	Declared void - Liam Mellows had defeated Ardrahan by 8-04 to 0-08 and then 5-04 to 0-07
1941	Loughrea	5-03	Army	2-01
1940	Castlegar	9-06	Maree	2-03
1939	Castlegar	9-01	Clarinbridge	8-02
1938	Castlegar	2-07	Maree	2-02
1937	Castlegar	9-13	Killimor	1-01
1936	Castlegar	6-06	Gort	2-05
1935	Liam Mellows	5-00	Ballinderreen	2-02
1934	Gort	4-04	Tynagh	3-01
1933	Maree	5-06	Castlegar	6-02
1932	Mullagh	5-03	Craughwell	3-02
1931	No final
1930	Craughwell	7-04	Leitrim	1-05
1929	Mullagh	9-03	Clarinbridge	1-02
1928	Tynagh	10-00	Peterswell	2-03
1927	No final
1926	No final
1925	Tynagh	7-03	Craughwell	3-01
1924	No game completed - Ardrahan and Tynagh in the final
1923	Tynagh	6-02	Ardrahan	2-00
1922	Tynagh		Galway City
1921	No game completed - Kilconieron and Tynagh in the final
1920	Tynagh		Kilconieron
1919	Kilconieron	3-14	Tynagh	0-12
1918	Craughwell	1-04	Tynagh	0-04
1917	Woodford		Gort
1916	Gort	4-02	Kilconieron	2-03
1915	Craughwell	5-05	Gort	1-01
1914	Gort	0-27	Woodford	0-18
1913	Woodford	2-05	Kilconieron	3-01
1912	Kilconieron	5-03	Castlegar	0-01
1911	Derrydonnell (Athenry)	3-01	Claregalway	1-00
1910	Ardrahan	1-03	Kilconieron	0-01
1909	Craughwell	Awarded	Loughrea	No Final
1908	Kilconieron	0-17	Kileenadeema	0-02
1907	Peterswell		Tynagh
1906	Mullagh	2-05, 1-04 (R)	Tynagh	2-05, 1-03 (R)
1905	Peterswell	1-08	Craughwell	0-07
1904	Peterswell	2-03	Mullagh	0-05
1903	Ardrahan	0-01 Awarded	Galway City 98's	0-02
1902	Ardrahan		Peterswell no. 2
1901	Ardrahan		Claregalway
1900	Peterswell	4-08	Craughwell	4-03
1899	Peterswell	1899/1900 single season	Craughwell	1899/1900 single season
1898	Peterswell		Ardrahan
1897	Killimor	2-04	Ardrahan	0-00
1896	Ardrahan		Tynagh
1895	Ardrahan	1-01, 1-02 (R)	Claregalway	0-03, 0-00 (R)
1894	Ardrahan		College Road
1893	College Road		Turloughmore
1892	College Road		Craughwell
1891	No championship
1890	No championship
1889	Peterswell		Tynagh
1888	No championship
1887	Meelick

• 1956 Awarded to Turloughmore

Records and statistics

Teams

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Galway Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:

• 1880s: 1 each for Meelick (1887) and Peterswell (1889)
• 1890s: 3 for Ardrahan (1894-95-96)
• 1900s: 4 for Peterswell (1900-04-05-07)
• 1910s: 2 each for Kilconieron (1912–19), Woodfield (1913–17), Gort (1914–16) and Craughwell (1915–18)
• 1920s: 5 for Tyangh (1920-22-23-25-28)
• 1930s: 4 for Castlegar (1936-37-38-39)
• 1940s: 3 for Liam Mellows (1943-45-46)
• 1950s: 5 for Castlegar (1950-52-53-57-58)
• 1960s: 6 for Turloughmore (1961-62-63-64-65-66)
• 1970s: 3 each for Castlegar (1972-73-79) and Ardrahan (1974-75-78)
• 1980s: 2 each for Sarsfields (1980–89) and Gort (1981–83)
• 1990s: 4 each for Sarsfields (1992-93-95-97) and Athenry (1994-96-98-99)
• 2000s: 5 for Portumna (2003-05-07-08-09)
• 2010s: 4 for St. Thomas' (2012-16-18-19)

Gaps

Top five longest gaps between successive championship titles:

• 65 years: Loughrea (1941-2006)
• 47 years: Liam Mellows (1970-2017)
• 47 years: Gort (1934-1981)
• 39 years: Ardrahan (1910-1949)
• 28 years: Gort (1983-2011)

See also

• Galway Senior B Hurling Championship
• Galway Intermediate Hurling Championship
• Galway Junior A Hurling Championship

References

1. "Tom Callinan Cup comes to Scoil Chaitríona Senior". Renmore School. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
2. "Galway SHC: Conor Cooney inspires St Thomas' to third title". Irish Examiner . 4 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
3. "Burke clan are key as St Thomas retain Galway hurling crown against Liam Mellows". The 42. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
4. "Burke stars as Thomas' mark 50th anniversary with Galway title glory". Irish Independent. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
5. "Liam Mellows shock Gort to claim Galway Senior Hurling title". Irish Examiner. 3 December 2017. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
6. "St Thomas' targeting more glory". Irish Examiner. 17 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
7. "Galway SHC final: Stalemate in Athenry". Hogan Stand . 8 November 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
8. "Cooney clan rise to task for Sarsfields one more time". Irish Examiner . 23 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
9. "Galway SHC final: Gort dethrone All-Ireland champs with late goals". Hogan Stand . 14 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
10. "Cannings lead Portumna charge". Irish Examiner . 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
11. "Heavenly day for Burke's Saints". Irish Examiner . 19 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
12. "Gort crowned county senior hurling champions for 2011". Advertiser.ie. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
13. "Gort end their long wait in style". Irish Times. 7 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.

External links

• Official Galway Website
• Galway on Hoganstand
• Galway Club GAA