The Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAHC) is an annual

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

competition organised by the Cork County Board of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

and contested by the top-ranking junior clubs in the county of Cork in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is the sixth tier overall in the entire Cork hurling championship system and is regarded as one of the toughest club competitions to win. The Cork Junior Championship was introduced in 1895 as a countywide competition for teams deemed not eligible for the senior grade or second-string senior teams. At the time of its creation it was the second tier of Cork hurling. In its current format, the Cork Junior A Championship begins in September following the completion of the seven Divisional Junior Championships. The 7 participating teams compete in a

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

which culminates with the final match at

Páirc Uí Rinn Páirc Uí Rinn (), also known as Páirc Chríostóir Uí Rinn, is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium located between Ballinlough and Ballintemple in Cork. It was previously known as Flower Lodge and was used as an association football ...

in October or November. The winner of the Cork Junior A Championship, as well as being presented with the John Quirke Cup, gains promotion to the

Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship The Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork PJHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board ...

. The competition has been won by 72 teams, 28 of which have won it more than once.

Carrigtwohill Carrigtwohill, officially Carrigtohill (), is a town in County Cork, Ireland with a population of 5,080 (2016). It is 12 kilometres east of Cork city. It is connected to Cork Suburban Rail and is bypassed by the N25 road. Carrigtwohill is on ...

are the most successful team in the championships history, having won it 6 times. Erin's Own are the title holders, beating Kilshannig by 1-30 to 3-20 after extra time after a replay in the 2022 final.

History

Officially known as the Cork Junior A Hurling Championship, it is regarded as one of the most hotly contested and most difficult to win of all the county championships. Established in 1895 as the "seconds championship", by the 1930s it developed along divisional lines due to the increased number of clubs participating. The first championship took place in 1895 when

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

were crowned junior champions.

Format

Current Format

Quarter-finals: Six of the seven divisional champions compete in this round. The seventh divisional champion receives a bye to the next round. Three teams qualify for the next round, joining the seventh divisional champion. Semi-finals: The two semi-finals feature the three quarter-final-winning teams and the team that receives a bye. Two teams qualify for the next round. Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

2017-2019

First round: The seven divisional champions are seeded and are drawn to play the seven divisional runners-up. Repeat pairings from divisional finals are avoided in this round. Six teams qualify for the next round with one team receiving a bye. Quarter-finals: The three quarter-finals feature the six first round-winning teams. Three teams qualify for the next round. Semi-finals: The two semi-finals feature the three quarter-final-winning teams and the team that receives a bye from the first round . Two teams qualify for the next round. Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Teams

Qualification

Teams

74 teams are expected to compete across the 7 divisional championships in 2023.

Trophy

The winning team is presented with the John Quirke Cup. Born in Milltown,

County Kerry County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...

Johnny Quirke John Quirke (2 May 1911 – 24 August 1983) was an Irish hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Cork senior team. Quirke made his first appearance for the team during the 1932 championship and was a regular member of the starti ...

(1911–1983) played hurling for

and was a member of the

Cork senior hurling team The Cork county hurling team represents Cork in hurling and is governed by Cork GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Hurlin ...

for 14 years, during which time he won four successive All-Ireland Championships between 1941 and 1944. He served as a Cork selector for many years and was deeply involved at all levels with the Blackrock club.

Sponsorship

TSB Bank became the first title sponsor of the championship, serving in that capacity until 2005 when the ''

Evening Echo ''The Echo'', formerly known as the ''Evening Echo'', is an Irish morning newspaper based in Cork. It is distributed throughout the province of Munster, although it is primarily read in its base city of Cork. The newspaper was founded as a broa ...

'' signed a sponsorship deal. In 2020, Dairygold Co-Op Superstores were unveiled as the new title sponsor of the Cork Junior A Championship.

Roll of Honour

By Division

List of Finals

* 1955

Aghabullogue Aghabullogue or Aghabulloge () is a village and parish in the barony of Muskerry East in northwest County Cork, Ireland. It lies around west of Cork City, south of the Boggeragh Mountains and north of the River Lee. The parish of Aghabullogue ...

and

Castlelyons Castlelyons () is a small village in the east of County Cork, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Barrymore.

disqualified after meeting in the semi-final * 1942 Tracton and St. Finbarr's disqualified * 1935 The second replay abandoned due to weather conditions fifteen minutes from the end. The third replay abandoned a few minutes from time. Both teams suspended for two months and the championship declared null and void.

Records and statistics

Final

Team

*Most wins: 6: **

(1896, 1915, 1941, 1948, 1966, 1994) *Most consecutive wins: 4: ** Redmonds (1897, 1898, 1899, 1900)

Top scorers

In finals

References

Sources

Cork Junior Hurling Champions
* Cork GAA – A History 1886–1986 Jim Cronin {{Cork GAA 3 Junior hurling county championships