The Burney Cup (Ulster Schoolboys' Senior Hockey Cup) is an annual

competition Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indivi ...

involving the strongest schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the

Irish Hockey Association Hockey Ireland, previously known as the Irish Hockey Association, is the governing body for field hockey in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is responsible for organising both the Ireland men's national field hockey team and t ...

. The competition is held in the spring term of each school year and progress through to the final is via an open draw. The most successful school is

Friends' School Lisburn Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, founded in 1774. History Friends’ School Lisburn was founded – as The Ulster Provincial School – on the basis of a bequest in 1764 of ...

with 20 wins (16 outright wins and 4 shared wins). The current holder is

Banbridge Academy Banbridge Academy is a grammar school in Banbridge, Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of I ...

Eligibility

To play in the competition, boys must be 19 years of age and under on 1 April immediately preceding the draw. The draw for the Cup takes places in early January. A fresh draw to determine pairings is held prior to each subsequent round.

History

The trophy was presented by Andrew George Burney of East Antrim Hockey Club. The first final took place on 22 April 1920 at the Ormeau Road grounds of North of Ireland Rugby & Cricket Club. The final was marked by future Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

international A.C. Douglas of

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

scoring all six goals in his team's victory.

Performance table

(''one finalist missing'')

Finals

(records incomplete)

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Footnote

* ^a Ballyclare Intermediate School would later be renamed as

Ballyclare High School Ballyclare High School is a co-educational, non-denominational grammar school in Ballyclare, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. There are approximately 1,200 pupils at the school, taught by around 80 teachers. History The school was opened in th ...

. * ^b Lisburn Intermediate School would later be renamed as Wallace High School. * ^c Newry Intermediate School would later be renamed as Newry Grammar School(1948) and then Newry High School(1966).

Sources

External links

Ulster Branch of Irish Hockey Union
{{Ulster field hockey links Field hockey competitions in Ulster 1920 establishments in Ireland Field hockey cup competitions in Ireland