The Ulster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Ulster GAA Hurling Intermediate Club Championship) 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
Ulster Council of the
Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the champion intermediate clubs and, in some cases, champion senior clubs in the province of
Ulster in
Ireland.
The Ulster Intermediate Club Championship was introduced in 2004. In its current format, the championship begins in late October or early November and is usually played over a four-week period. The seven participating club teams compete in a straight knockout competition that culminates with the Ulster final for the two remaining teams. The winner of the Ulster Intermediate Championship qualifies for the subsequent
All-Ireland Club Championship.
The competition has been won by 15 club teams, while
Gort na Móna,
St. Gall's and
Middletown Na Fianna are the only clubs to have won the title more than once.
Antrim clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories with 12 wins.
Liatroim Fontenoys are the reigning champions, having beaten Middletown Na Fianna by 2-20 to 0-21 in the
2022 final.
Format
Overview
The Ulster Championship is a
single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is no
seeding.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of
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 tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time penalties are taken to determine a winner.
Competition format
Quarter-final: Six teams contest this round. The three winning teams advance directly to the semi-final stage. The three losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals: Four teams contest this round; the three winning teams from the quarter-finals and one team who receives a bye. The two winning teams advance directly to the final. The two losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Final: The final is contested by the two semi-final winners.
Teams
Qualification
Roll of honour
Performances by county
List of Finals
* 2019: Naomh Eanna won 1-0 on penalties
References
2011 Final report
{{All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship
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