Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship

Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship
Current season or competition: 2024 Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship
Irish	Craobh Idirmheánach Iomána na hIarmhí
Code	Hurling
Founded	1985;39 years ago (1985)
Region	Westmeath (GAA)
Trophy	Adrian Murray Cup
No. of teams	6
Title holders	Brownstown (5th title)
Most titles	St Oliver Plunkett's (6 titles)
Sponsors	Slevin's Coaches
Official website	Westmeath GAA

The Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Slevin's Coaches Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Westmeath IHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1985 for the third tier hurling teams in the county of Westmeath in Ireland.

In its current format, the Westmeath Intermediate Hurling Championship begins with a group stage. The six participating 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 TEG Cusack Park.

St Oliver Plunkett's is the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won it six times. ^[1] Brownstown are the title holders after defeating Southern Gaels by 6–17 to 3–08 in the 2024 final. ^[2]

History

The Westmeath Intermediate Championship was founded in 1985 in an effort to bridge the standard of play between the Westmeath Senior Championship and the Westmeath Junior Championship. For 35 years, the Westmeath Intermediate Championship was the second tier championship in the Westmeath hurling championship system.

A review of Westmeath's hurling championships in 2019 proposed that the Westmeath SHC and Westmeath IHC be restructured. This resulted in the creation of the Westmeath Senior B Hurling Championship. Each of the three championships would consist of six teams. The first championship following the restructuring featured the five teams who didn't make 2019 final, as well as the 2019 Westmeath JAHC winners who gained automatic promotion. ^[3]

Format

Group stage

Six 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 five 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 three teams qualify for the knockout stage

Knockout stage

Semi-finals: The top four teams from the group stage contest this round.

Final: The two semi-final winner contests the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Qualification

At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship, the winner of which progresses to the All-Ireland Junior Club Hurling Championship.

Teams

2024 teams

Team	Championship titles	Last championship title
Brownstown	5	2024
Clonkill	1	2020
Raharney	2	1988
Southern Gaels	1	1986
St Brigid's	5	2014
Turin	0	—

Sponsorship

Slevin's Coaches had been providing sponsorship for a number of years before renewing their sponsorship of all Westmeath's hurling championships in July 2020. ^[4]

Trophy and medals

The Adrian Murray Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was commissioned to honour Adrian Murray, a member of the Crookedwood club who served in a number of administrative roles with the Westmeath County Board. ^[5] He died in November 2006, at the age of 59..

Roll of honour

#	Team	Wins	Years won
1	St Oliver Plunkett's	6	1994, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2016, 2021
2	St Brigid's	5	1995, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2014
	Brownstown	5	1985, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2024
4	Ringtown	4	1997, 2002, 2013, 2022
6	Cullion	3	1996, 1999, 2019
	Crookedwood	3	2005, 2012, 2018
8	Raharney	2	1987, 1988
	Delvin	2	2003, 2010
10	Southern Gaels	1	1986
	Castlepollard	1	2007
	Fr Dalton's	1	2017
	Clonkill	1	2020
	Castletown Geoghegan	1	2023

List of finals

Year	Winners		Runners-up		Venue	#
	Club	Score	Club	Score
2017	Fr Dalton's	1-11	Ringtown	1-07	TEG Cusack Park	[6]
2018	Crookedwood	0-16	Clonkill	2-08	TEG Cusack Park
2019	Cullion	1-13	Raharney	1-12	TEG Cusack Park
2020	Clonkill	1-13	Ringtown	1-10	TEG Cusack Park
2021	St Oliver Plunkett's	1-18	Ringtown	1-11	TEG Cusack Park	[7]
2022	Ringtown	0-15	Raharney	1-09	TEG Cusack Park	[8]
2023	Castletown Geoghegan	3-14	Clonkill	2-15	TEG Cusack Park	[9]
2024	Brownstown	6-17	Southern Gaels	3-8	TEG Cusack Park

• 2018 - The first match ended in a draw: Clonkill 3-10, Crookedwood 1-16.
• 2019 - The first match ended in a draw: Cullion 3-13, Raharney 3-13.

See also

• Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship (Tier 1)
• Westmeath Senior B Hurling Championship (Tier 2)
• Westmeath Junior Hurling Championship (Tier 4)

References

1. "Club Titles - Westmeath". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
2. "Cork man scores 5-1 in Westmeath IHC final". Hogan Stand. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
3. "New format agreed for Senior Hurling Championship". Topic Westmeath. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
4. "Championship games will be all-ticket affairs". Topic. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
5. "A tribute to Adrian Murray RIP". Hogan Stand. 1 February 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
6. "Martin cut short holiday to win Westmeath hurling medal". Hogan Stand. 6 October 2017. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
7. "Superior Plunkett's crowned Intermediate Hurling Champions after wonderful display". Topic. 27 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
8. "Cunningham points the way as Ringtown finally win intermediate title". Westmeath Examiner. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
9. Buckley, Gerry (18 October 2023). "Lynch's second half goal clinches it for Castletown". Westmeath Examiner. Retrieved 26 October 2023.

External link

• Official website