Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship

Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship
Irish	Craobh Iomána Idirmheánach na Mumhan
Code	Hurling
Founded	1961
Abolished	2017
Region	Munster (GAA)
Trophy	Sweet Afton Cup
No. of teams	5-7
Last Title holders	Clare (2nd title)
First winner	Tipperary
Most titles	Cork (15 titles)
Official website	Official website

The Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) between 1961 and 2017. Teams consisted of senior, intermediate and junior club players who were not members of their county's senior panel. The competition was established to prevent the stronger counties from dominating the existing Munster Junior Hurling Championship.

The final, frequently held in July, served as the culmination of a series of games played during the early summer months, often as curtain raisers to Munster SHC games, with the results determining which team received the Sweet Afton Cup. The championship was always played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship was an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final, like their counterparts in the Leinster Championship, advanced directly to the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games.

Seven teams have competed at various times since the inception of the Munster Championship. The title has been won at least once by all seven teams, five of whom have won the title more than once. Cork were the most successful team with 15 titles. Clare were the last winners of the title before its abolition.

Format

The Munster Championship is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random – there are no seeds.

Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is extra time and, if the sides still remain level, a second period of extra time is played.

The format has remained the same since the very first Munster Championship in 1961. An open draw is made in which three of the five teams automatically qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition. Two other teams play in a lone quarter-final with the winner joining the other three teams at the semi-final stage. Once a team is defeated they are eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship has wider implications for the All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games. Unlike the final runners-up in the minor and senior championships, there is no 'back-door system' at intermediate level.

Five of the six counties of Munster – Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford – participate in the championship. Kerry, the sixth county in the province, contested the Munster Championship until recently. Galway took part in the competition in the 1960s.

Teams

Eligible teams

The championship is currently suspended but six counties would be eligible for the championship:

County	Qualification	Location	Stadium	Province	Championship Titles	Last Championship Title
Clare	Intermediate development team	Ennis	Cusack Park	Munster	2	2016
Cork	Intermediate development team	Cork	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	Munster	15	2015
Kerry	Joe McDonagh Cup team	Tralee	Austin Stack Park	Munster	2	1973
Limerick	Intermediate development team	Limerick	Gaelic Grounds	Munster	3	2008
Tipperary	Intermediate development team	Thurles	Semple Stadium	Munster	9	2013
Waterford	Intermediate development team	Waterford	Walsh Park	Munster	1	2007

Trophies

At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the Sweet Afton Cup, is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the stand where GAA dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The present trophy was presented by Tipperary man Jerry Shelly in 1961 to commemorate the new competition.

Roll of honour

County	Title(s)	Runners-up	Years won	Years runner-up
Cork	15	6	1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015	1961, 1962, 1968, 1970, 2000, 2013
Tipperary	9	7	1961, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 2000, 2002, 2012, 2013	1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014
Limerick	3	7	1968, 1998, 2008	1967, 1971, 1997, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2016
Clare	2	3	2011, 2016	1963, 2001, 2012
Kerry	2	1	1970, 1973	1972
Waterford	1	5	2007	1965, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010
Galway	1	3	1962	1964, 1966, 1969

Team records and statistics

Biggest Munster final wins

• The most one sided Munster finals:
  • 24 points – 1963: Tipperary 6–10 (28) – (4) 0–4 Clare
  • 21 points – 2009: Cork 5–24 (39) – (18) 3–9 Waterford
  • 20 points – 1969: Cork 4–14 (26) – (6) 0–6 Galway
  • 13 points – 2014: Cork 4–15 (27) – (14) 2–8 Tipperary
  • 12 points – 1964: Cork 4–13 (25) – (13) 1–10 Galway
  • 12 points – 2007: Waterford 5–12 (27) – (15) 1–12 Limerick

Miscellaneous

• Cork hold the record for the longest streak of success in finals. They won four championships in-a-row between 2003 and 2006.
• Tipperary hold the record for the longest streak of defeated in finals. They lost three championship deciders in-a-row between 2004 and 2006.
• Cork hold the record for the most consecutive appearances in Munster finals. They played in four-in-a-row on two separate occasions, firstly between 1967 and 1970, and most recently between 2003 and 2006.
• Two counties have completed the Munster intermediate and senior double in the same year:
  • Cork in 1969, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006
  • Tipperary in 1961, 1971
  • Waterford in 2007
• Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster minor, under-21, intermediate and senior 'grand slam' in the same year. This was achieved in 1969 and again in 2005.
• Only one player has captained his county to Munster titles in both the intermediate and senior grades:
  • Pat Mulcahy captained Cork to the intermediate title in 1997 and the senior title in 2006.

List of Munster Finals

	All-Ireland champions
	All-Ireland runners-up

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Score
1961	Tipperary	3–10 (19)	Cork	2–12 (18)
1962	Galway	5–04 (19)	Cork	4–06 (18)
1963	Tipperary	6–10 (28)	Clare	0–04 (4)
1964	Cork	4–13 (25)	Galway	1–10 (13)
1965	Cork	1–15 (18)	Waterford	3–02 (11)
1966	Tipperary	4–02 (14)	Galway	1–07 (10)
1967	Cork	5–14 (29)	Limerick	2–12 (18)
1968	Limerick	3–08 (17)	Cork	1–06 (9)
1969	Cork	4–14 (26)	Galway	0–06 (6)
1970	Kerry	2–13 (19)	Cork	2–10 (16)
1971	Tipperary	1–11 (14)	Limerick	2–04 (10)
1972	Tipperary	4–16 (28)	Kerry	3–12 (21)
1973	Kerry	Unopposed
1974–96	No championship
1997	Cork	1–15 (28)	Limerick	1–12 (21)
1998	Limerick	2–11 (17)	Tipperary	0–15 (15)
1999	Cork	2–09 (15)	Tipperary	1–07 (10)
2000	Tipperary	1–19 (22)	Cork	0–15 (15)
2001	Cork	1–20 (23)	Clare	1–11 (14)
2002	Tipperary	4–08 (20)	Waterford	2–07 (13)
2003	Cork	2–12 (18)	Waterford	0–11 (11)
2004	Cork	0–18 (18)	Tipperary	1–09 (12)
2005	Cork	2–17 (23)	Tipperary	2–11 (17)
2006	Cork	2–18 (24)	Tipperary	2–13 (19)
2007	Waterford	5–12 (27)	Limerick	1–12 (15)
2008	Limerick	2–16 (22)	Tipperary	2–12 (18)
2009	Cork	5–24 (39)	Waterford	3–09 (18)
2010	Cork	0–15 (15)	Waterford	0–13 (13)
2011 [1]	Clare	2–15 (21)	Limerick	2–13 (19)
2012 [2]	Tipperary	1–18 (21)	Clare	0–17 (17)
2013 [3]	Tipperary	0–19 (19)	Cork	0–18 (18)
2014 [4]	Cork	4–15 (27)	Tipperary	2–08 (14)
2015 [5]	Cork	0–20 (20)	Limerick	0–18 (18)
2016 [6]	Clare	1–26 (29)	Limerick	2–18 (24)
2017	Cork	Unopposed

Records and statistics

Top scorers

All time

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Points	Total
1	Declan Browne	Tipperary	5	52	67
2	Declan Lovett	Kerry	9	29	56
3	Jonathan O'Callaghan	Cork	2	49	55
4	Peter O'Brien	Cork	0	47	47
5	Milo Keane	Clare	11	13	46
6	Ronan O'Brien	Tipperary	3	33	42
7	Eoin Conway	Cork	3	32	41
8	Maurice O'Sullivan	Cork	4	28	40
9	Willie Griffin	Limerick	2	30	36
10	Tom Larkin	Tipperary	9	07	34

By year

Year	Top scorer	Team	Score	Total
1961	Ray Sisk	Cork	7-03	24
1962	Vincent Barrett	Cork	3-18	27
1963	Milo Keane	Clare	4-09	21
1964	Justin McCarthy	Cork	2-08	14
1965	Seán Devlin	Galway	5-04	19
1966	Andy Dunworth	Limerick	4-03	15
1967	Jerry O'Connell	Cork	6-03	21
1968	Martin Linanne	Clare	5-00	15
	Charlie McCarthy	Cork	1-12
1969	Séamus Gillen	Cork	3-12	21
1970	Seánie Barry	Cork	2-13	19
1971	Declan Lovett	Kerry	2-12	18
1972	John Darcy	Tipperary	4-01	13
1997	Maurice Roche	Limerick	1-17	20
1998	Kevin McCormack	Tipperary	2-16	22
1999	Seán O'Meara	Tipperary	0-12	12
2000	Declan Browne	Tipperary	5-30	45
2001	Jonathan O'Callaghan	Cork	1-20	23
2002	Brendan Hogan	Tipperary	2-15	21
2003	Tom Moylan	Tipperary	2-08	14
2004	Éamonn Taaffe	Clare	3-09	18
2005	Maurice O'Sullivan	Cork	0-18	18
2006	Ronan O'Brien	Tipperary	2-11	17
2007	Shane Casey	Waterford	4-05	17
2008	Seán Chaplin	Clare	0-13	13
2009	Maurice O'Sullivan	Cork	4-05	17
2010	Eoin Conway	Cork	1-25	28
2011	Niall Gilligan	Clare	1-11	14
2012	Kieran Morris	Tipperary	0-19	19
2013	Peter O'Brien	Cork	0-19	19
2014	Peter O'Brien	Cork	0-25	25
2015	Willie Griffin	Limerick	2-16	22
2016	Aidan McCormack	Tipperary	0-19	19

In a single game

Year	Top scorer	Team	Score	Total
1961	Ray Sisk	Cork	5-00	15
1962	Vincent Barrett	Cork	3-03	12
1963	Richie Browne	Cork	3-04	13
1964	Johnny Culloty	Kerry	1-07	10
1965	Seán Devlin	Galway	3-02	11
1966	Andy Dunworth	Limerick	4-03	15
1967	Jerry O'Connell	Cork	3-02	11
	Jim McGrath	Cork	3-02
1968	Martin Linnane	Clare	4-00	12
1969	Séamus Gillen	Cork	2-10	16
1970	Seánie Barry	Cork	2-07	13
1971	Declan Lovett	Kerry	1-07	10
1972	Matt Ryan	Tipperary	2-04	10
1997	Maurice Roche	Limerick	1-07	10
	Jimmy Smiddy	Cork	0-10
1998	Kevin McCormack	Tipperary	2-07	13
1999	Seán O'Meara	Tipperary	0-09	9
2000	Declan Browne	Tipperary	4-12	24
2001	Jonathan O'Callaghan	Cork	1-11	14
2002	Brendan Hogan	Tipperary	1-10	13
2003	David Clancy	Limerick	2-01	7
	John Quinlan	Cork	2-01
	Tom Moylan	Tipperary	1-04
	Tom Moylan	Tipperary	1-04
	Jonathan O'Callaghan	Cork	0-07
2004	Éamonn Taaffe	Clare	2-03	9
	Éamonn Taaffe	Clare	1-06
	Darren Dineen	Cork	0-09
2005	Mark Keane	Limerick	1-08	11
2006	John Anthony Moran	Limerick	2-04	10
2007	Shane Casey	Waterford	3-05	14
2008	Noel Hogan	Tipperary	2-05	11
2009	Pa Kearney	Waterford	3-01	10
	Leigh Desmond	Cork	1-07
2010	Eoin Conway	Cork	1-12	15
2011	Stephen Power	Waterford	1-06	9
2012	Adrian Mannix	Cork	0-09	9
2013	Peter O'Brien	Cork	0-12	12
2014	Peter O'Brien	Cork	1-10	13
	Bobby Duggan	Clare	0-13
2015	Willie Griffin	Limerick	2-06	12
2016	Aidan McCormack	Tipperary	0-14	14

See also

• Leinster Intermediate Hurling Championship
• Connacht Intermediate Hurling Championship
• Ulster Intermediate Hurling Championship

References

1. "Clare's Keane edge". Irish Independent . 14 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
2. "More glory for Tipp as Clare rue missed chances". Irish Examiner . 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
3. "Tipp heap more misery on Cork". Irish Examiner . 20 July 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
4. "Munster IHC final: Rebels see off Tipp". Hogan Stand . 25 June 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
5. "Munster IHC final: Rebels pip Treaty for title No.14". Hogan Stand . 8 July 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
6. "Munster IHC final: Banner beat Treaty in thriller". Hogan Stand . 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

• 2008 Final Report
• 2011 Final report

Sources

• Roll of Honour on www.gaainfo.com