HEC O'Connor Cup | |
---|---|
Current season or competition: 2019 HEC O'Connor Cup | |
Irish | Corn Uí Chonchúir [1] |
Code | Ladies' Gaelic football |
Founded | 1987 |
Region | Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland (GAA) |
Trophy | Michael O'Connor Cup [2] |
Title holders | University of Limerick (12th title) |
Most titles | University of Limerick (12 titles) |
Sponsors | Gourmet Food Parlour Irish Examiner |
TV partner(s) | TG4 |
Official website | www.helgfa.com |
The HEC O'Connor Cup, also referred to as the Michael O'Connor Cup, is the senior Ladies' Gaelic football intervarsity cup competition. It features teams representing universities and institutes of technology from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is organised by the Higher Education Colleges committee of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Mary Immaculate College won the inaugural competition in 1987. University of Limerick is the competition's most successful team. [2] [3] [4] Since 2018 the O'Connor Cup has been sponsored by Gourmet Food Parlour. [5] It was previously sponsored by the Irish Examiner . [6] [7] [8] During the 2010s, the O'Connor Cup final has been broadcast live by TG4 and/or YouTube. [1] [9] [10] [11] Since 1993 teams knocked out in the early rounds of the O'Connor Cup have subsequently competed in the consolation competition, the O'Connor Shield. [2] [3]
Winner | Years | Total Titles |
---|---|---|
University of Limerick/Thomond College | 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2004, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019 | 12 |
UCD | 2001, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2016 | 6 |
DCU | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2018 | 4 |
UCC | 1988, 1990, 2012 | 3 |
Mary Immaculate College | 1987, 1992 | 2 |
IT Tralee | 1998, 1999 | 2 |
University of Ulster, Jordanstown | 2008 | 1 |
Queen's University | 2013 | 1 |
IT Sligo | 2000 | 1 |
Waterford RTC/Waterford IT | 1989 | 1 |
Source: [3]
Since 1993 teams knocked out in the early rounds of the O'Connor Cup have subsequently competed in the consolation competition, the Micheal O'Connor Shield. [2] [3] In 2019 the Shield was effectively a 5th/6th place play-off. [43] [44]
Ladies' Gaelic football is an Irish team sport for women. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball towards goals at each end of a grass pitch. The sport is mainly played in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where the two main competitions are the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League. Both competitions feature teams representing the traditional Gaelic games counties. The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship final was the best attended women's sports final of 2017. The 2019 final, after the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, was the second largest attendance at any women's sporting final during 2019. Historically Cork and Kerry have been the sport's most successful counties. Waterford, Monaghan and Mayo have also experienced spells of success. In more recent years, 2017 to 2020, Dublin have been the dominant team.
The Ladies' Gaelic Football All Stars Awards have been hosted annually by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association since 1980. The All Stars are sponsored by TG4. O'Neills have also helped sponsor the awards. All Stars are awarded to the best Ladies' Gaelic football players in each of the fifteen playing positions, effectively forming an All Star team. Between 1980 and 2002 the All Stars played an annual exhibition game against the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. Since 2004 the LGFA have organised bi-annual overseas exhibition games featuring two All Star selections. Since 2011 the LGFA has also organised three Player's Player of the Year awards, one each for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior All-Ireland Championships. These awards are announced and presented at the same ceremony as the All Stars. Mary J. Curran of Kerry and Cora Staunton of Mayo hold the all-time record for winning the most All Stars.
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Rena Buckley is an Irish sportswoman who played at senior level for both the Cork county ladies' football team and the Cork county camogie team. She has also represented Munster in the Gael Linn Cup and Ireland at international rules. Between 2005 and 2017 she won 18 All-Ireland winners medals, making her one of the most decorated sportspeople in Gaelic games. In 2012 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and in 2017 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. She was the first player to captain Cork to both All-Ireland senior championships. She was also named as an All Star on eleven occasions. In 2015 Buckley and her team mate and fellow dual player, Briege Corkery, were named joint winners of the 2015 The Irish Times/ Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year Award.
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Caroline O'Hanlon is a Northern Ireland netball international and an Armagh ladies' Gaelic footballer. She has also represented Ireland at international rules. She was a member of the Northern Ireland teams at the 2003, 2011 and 2019 Netball World Cups and at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was also a member of the Northern Ireland teams that were silver medallists at the 2012 and 2017 European Netball Championships. She captained Northern Ireland at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2019 Netball World Cup. She carried the flag of Northern Ireland during the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. She has played in the Netball Superleague for Team Northumbria, UWS Sirens and Manchester Thunder. She was a member of the Manchester Thunder team that won the 2019 Netball Superleague. As a Ladies' Gaelic footballer she played for Armagh in the 2006 All-Ireland final. She has also been an All Star on three occasions and was named as the 2014 TG4 Senior Player's Player of the Year. In 2010 she was named Northern Ireland Sportswoman of the Year.
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