Higher Education GAA is the governing body overseeing the Gaelic games of

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 ...

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

at third level institutions. The body coordinates competitions in both Ireland and Britain, and is a part of the parent organisation, 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 ...

. The main competitions are the

Fitzgibbon Cup The Fitzgibbon Cup ( ga, Corn Mhic Giobúin) is the trophy for the premier hurling championship among higher education institutions (universities, colleges and institutes of technology) in Ireland. The Fitzgibbon Cup competition is administered ...

for hurling and

Sigerson Cup The Sigerson Cup is the trophy for the premier Gaelic football championship among Higher Education institutions (Universities, Colleges and Institutes of Technology) in Ireland. It traditionally begins in mid January and ends in late February. ...

for football.

Hurling

Fitzgibbon Cup

The

is named after Edwin Fitzgibbon, a

Capuchin friar The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. O.F.M. Cap.) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of Three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFM Obs., now OFM) ...

and, from 1911 to 1936, a professor of

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

University College Cork University College Cork – National University of Ireland, Cork (UCC) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile Corcaigh) is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland, and located in Cork. The university was founded in 1845 as one of ...

. In 1912 Fitzgibbon donated most of his annual salary to purchase the trophy. For the first 30 years, the cup was dominated by UCC and UCD, with UCG winning occasionally.

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

first took part in 1946, and won their only title in 1953. The popularity of the championship grew, and, in the 1960s and 1970s three more colleges entered:

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, UU Coleraine and

NUI Maynooth The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It w ...

. In the late 1980s, all teams in Division One of the Higher Education League were admitted. Since the event went open, in the 1990s, several newer third level institutions from Limerick and Waterford entered and quickly dominated the competition.

Waterford IT The Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Phort Láirge) was an institute of technology, located in Waterford, Ireland. The institute had six constituent schools and offered programmes in business, engineerin ...

won the title four times in six years, but UCC are the leaders in the roll of honour, with 39 titles, the last in 1998.

Gaelic football

Sigerson Cup

In 1911, the

was first presented by George Sigerson to foster unity amongst the constituent colleges of the National Universities of Ireland, which was won for the first time by UCD. The competition has since broadened its membership with teams representing a wider variety of Universities and College.

Gaelic games in British universities

Gaelic football

Gaelic football is organised at about 40 different universities in Britain from the strongest teams - JMU and St. Mary's - down to newer and weaker teams such as Worcester and Lincoln. The ancient universities of Cambridge and Oxford also compete in an annual Varsity Match. Since 2003 the main competition - the University Championships - have been recognised by the

British Universities Sports Association British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the governing body for higher education sport in the United Kingdom. BUCS was formed in June 2008 following a merger of British Universities Sports Association (BUSA) and University College Sport ...

Hurling

Hurling - although at a smaller level - is also growing the UK. Nine teams took part in the most recent British University Hurling Championship. A select team play annually against the Scottish Universities Shinty team.

Ladies' Gaelic football

A championship also exists for Ladies' Gaelic football - the British University Ladies' Gaelic football Championship. The current holders are

Liverpool Hope University College Liverpool Hope University (abbreviated LHU) is a public university with campuses in Liverpool, England. ‌The university grew out of three Normal school#United Kingdom, teacher training colleges: Saint Katharine's College (originally Warrington T ...

External links

Higher Education Draws for 2007

Sigerson Cup (football)

{{GAA bodies Gaelic games governing bodies in Ireland