The Down Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Morgan Fuels Down GAA Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Down SHC) 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 contested by top-tier

Down GAA The Down County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down ...

clubs. The Down 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 ...

has organised it since 1903. Ballycran are the title holders (2021) defeating Portaferry in the Final

after extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Draw (tie), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is ...

History

Faugh-a-Ballagh won the inaugural Down SHC in 1903. The competition has been won by 10 teams, 9 of which have won it more than once. Ballycran is the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won it 27 times. No team outside Ballycran, Portaferry and Ballygalget have won the title since Kilclief's 23rd victory in 1956.

Format

Introduced in 1903 as the Down Senior Hurling Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to senior-ranking club teams, with its winner reckoned as the Down county champion. In its present format, four clubs play each other in a double round-robin system. The competition winner is determined through a group and knockout format. The top two teams proceed to the final match.

Honours

The Jeremiah McVeagh Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was presented by

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Jeremiah McVeagh Jeremiah McVeagh (1870/73 – 17 April 1932) was an Irish nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. He was the son of Thomas McVeagh, shipowner, and was educ ...

to the Down County Board in 1913 and has been presented to the championship winners ever since.. Traditionally, depending on the venue, the victory presentation takes place at a special rostrum in the main grandstand or on a podium on the pitch. 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, which is held by the winning team until the following year's final. In accordance with GAA rules, the County Board awards a set of gold medals to the championship winners. The winners of the Down Senior Championship, as well as being presented with the Jeremiah McVeagh Cup, qualify to represent their county in the subsequent

Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Ulster GAA, Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and ...

List of finals

(r) = replay (aet) =

;Notes † ''The 1962 final was abandoned.''

Wins listed by club

Records and statistics

Final

Team

*Most wins: 27: ** Ballycran: (1949, 1953, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021. *Most consecutive wins: 9: **

Kilclief Kilclief (from the Irish ''Cill Cléithe'' meaning 'church of wattle') is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic baronies of Lecale Lower and Lecale Upper. It is also a townland of 623 acres. The site o ...

: (1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920)

Teams

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Down Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows: * 1900s: 5 for

Faugh-a-Ballagh Faugh-a-Ballagh (foaled 1841 in Ireland) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. A brother to Birdcatcher, Faugh-a-Ballagh was sold to E. J. Erwin in 1842. He ran once as a two-year-old at the Doncaster's Champagne Stakes, finishing third to The Cure an ...

(1903-04-07-08-09) * 1910s: 8 for

(1912-13-14-15-16-17-18-19) * 1920s: 2 each for

(1920-25),

Portaferry Portaferry () is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland, at the southern end of the Ards Peninsula, near the Narrows at the entrance to Strangford Lough. It is home to the Exploris aquarium and is well known for the annual Gala Week Flo ...

(1926-29) and

Liatroim Fontenoys Leitrim ( ; ) is a village in County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, on the River Shannon near the border with County Roscommon. It is at the junction of the R280 road (Ireland), R280 and R284 road (Ireland), R284 regional roads. Locatio ...

(1927–28) * 1930s: 5 for

(1931-32-33-35-39) * 1940s: 5 for

(1942-43-44-45-47) * 1950s: 3 for Ballycran (1953-57-58) and

(1954-55-56) * 1960s: 4 for

(1963-65-68-69) * 1970s: 5 for Ballycran (1972-74-76-77-79) * 1980s: 5 for Ballycran (1980-84-85-86-87) * 1990s: 5 for Ballygalget (1990-92-97-98-99) * 2000s: 4 each for

(2000-01-02-06) and Ballygalget (2003-04-05-08) * 2010s: 4 each for Ballygalget (2010-13-16-17) and Ballycran (2011-15-18-19)

Gaps

Longest gaps between successive championship titles: * 25 years:

(1938–1963) * 21 years:

(1909–1930) * 12 years: Clann Uladh (1934–1946)

References

External links

Official Down Website

Club GAA {{Down GAA Down GAA club championships Hurling competitions in Northern Ireland Hurling competitions in Ulster Senior hurling county championships