The Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Ulster Championship, is an annual

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

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 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 ...

(GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in the

province of Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

, and has been contested every year since the 1901 championship. The final, usually held in July, serves as the culmination of a series of games played during June, and the results determine which team receives the Liam Harvey Cup. The championship has always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship. In 2016, a two-tier format began. Four teams compete in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship, and four in the Ulster Senior Hurling Shield. The title has been won at least once by five Ulster counties, all of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Antrim who have won the competition 57 times. Antrim are also the current champions.

Standing of the Ulster Championship

While the Munster Hurling Championship and the Leinster Hurling Championship are generally held in very high regard, and have produced the vast majority of recent All-Ireland Hurling Champions, the Ulster Championship has not been regarded historically as of a similar standard, and the Ulster champions have entered the All-Ireland Hurling Championship at an earlier round than the Munster and Leinster champions. This is due to a number of factors, one of which is the dominance of

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 ...

in eight of the nine counties of Ulster. An Ulster team has never won the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

, although Antrim were finalists in 1943 and 1989. Antrim have dominated the Ulster Championship throughout its existence, winning the title 57 times to date. While below the standard of Leinster and Munster hurling, the Ulster championship has been generally more competitive than the now discontinued Connacht Senior Hurling Championship. However,

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, by far the strongest team in Connacht, have historically performed much better than any Ulster team, with several All-Ireland titles, and generally recognised as one of the major powers in the sport.

Top winners

Antrim's historic domination (only 3 finals have not featured the county; 1908, 1934 and 2001) has led over time to periods of uncompetitive competitions, and the championship was not played at all between 1950 and 1988. However, there have been periods when this domination has made way for periods of intense rivalry, notably between Antrim and Monaghan in the 1910s, between Antrim and Down in the 1990s, and between Antrim and Derry in the early 2000s. The 2001 Championship was unique in terms of being the only final since the reactivation of the Championship in 1988 which did not feature Antrim, as Derry defeated Down at

Casement Park Casement Park ( ga, Páirc Mhic Asmaint) is the principal Gaelic games stadium in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and serves as the home ground of the Antrim football and hurling teams. It is located in Andersonstown Road in the west of the city, a ...

. Equally of note, Antrim have won every final since (albeit one on replay), their longest period of continuous success since 1988.

Ulster Senior Hurling Shield

The following teams have won the Ulster Senior Hurling Shield.

Ulster Championship moments

*Down 2–16 – 0–11 Antrim (12 July 1992 at

) – An historic day for Down who claimed a first provincial title since 1941. Victory would have been more decisive but for a tally of 13 wides in the first half. While Antrim lacked an attacking ace, Down's

Gerard McGrattan Gerard McGrattan (born 1972) is an Irish former hurler who played as a right wing-forward for the Down senior team. McGrattan made his first appearance for the team during the 1992 championship and quickly became a regular player until his ...

was their candidate for

man of the match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

. Goalkeeper Noel Keith also brought off some remarkable saves, most notably from a Ciaran Barr shot in the first half. *Derry 4–8 – 0–19 Antrim (9 July 2000 at

) – An historic day for Derry who secured the Ulster title for the first time in 92 years.

Dual player Dual player or dual star is a term used in Hiberno-English to describe someone who competes in multiple sports — for example, in Victorian Ireland, cricket and hurling. The term today in Gaelic games typically describes a male player who plays ...

Kieran McKeever Kieran McKeever (born 12 March 1968) is a former dual player of Gaelic games who played Gaelic football and hurling for Derry GAA, Derry during the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He is chiefly known as a footballer and was part of Derry's 199 ...

got the opening goal for Derry, while Gary Biggs and Ollie Collins scored Derry's other two goals to give Derry an eight-point interval lead. A replay looked likely after

John O'Dwyer John O'Dwyer (born 17 September 1991) is an Irish hurler who plays for Tipperary Senior Championship club Killenaule and previously played at inter-county level with the Tipperary senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a centre-forward. ...

's late goal levelled the scores minutes from time, however, it was Collins again scoring from a free to gain the winning point, and the title for Derry. *Derry 1–17 – 3–10 Down (15 July 2001 at

) – A first for Derry as they retain the Ulster title for the only time in their history. It was the first final not to feature Antrim since 1934. A point from

won the match for Derry. Despite dominating the play in the second half, Down only managed to score three points. *Antrim 2–20 – 1–14 New York (22 October 2006 at Canton Field) – For the first and only time in the history of the championships, the Ulster final was played at Canton Field in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. This was to facilitate some of the New York teams who were unable to travel to Ireland due to their immigration status. A tally of 1–7 for Johnny McIntosh helped Antrim to a fifth successive championship.

Statistics and records

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Ulster Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows: * 1900s: 7 for Antrim (1900-01-03-04-05-07-09) * 1910s: 4 for Antrim (1910-11-13-16) * 1920s: 6 for Antrim (1934-25-26-27-28-29) * 1930s: 9 for Antrim (1930-31-33-34-35-36-37-38-39) * 1940s: 8 for Antrim (1940-43-44-45-46-47-48-49) * 1980s: 1 for Antrim (1989) * 1990s: 7 for Antrim (1990-91-93-94-96-98-99) * 2000s: 8 for Antrim (2002-03-04-05-06-07-08-09) * 2010s: 6 for Antrim (2010-11-12-13-14-15)

Biggest wins

The most one sided Ulster finals: * 38 points – 1930: Antrim 10–4 (44) – (6) 2–0 Down * 35 points – 1906:

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

5–21 (36) – (1) 0–1 Antrim * 29 points –

1901 Events January * January 1 – The Crown colony, British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria (Australia), Victoria and Western Australia Federation of Australia, federate as the Australia, ...

: Antrim 0–41 (41) – (12) 0–12

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

* 27 points – 1935: Antrim 7–9 (30) – (3) 0–3

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

* 26 points –

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: Antrim 2–24 (30) – (4) 0–4 Down

Successful defending

3 teams of the 4 who have won the Ulster championship have ever successfully defended the title. These are: * Antrim on 42 attempts out of 54 (

, 1904, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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) * Derry on 1 attempts out of 4 (2001) * Monaghan on 1 attempts out of 2 (1915)

Gaps

Longest gaps between successive Ulster titles: * 92 years: Derry (1908–2000) * 51 years: Down (1941–1992) * 40 years: Antrim (1949–1989) * 17 years: Donegal (1906–1923)

Longest undefeated run

The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 24 games held by Antrim. It began with a 5–19 to 2–11 win against New York in the semi-final of the 2002 championship and will continue into the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

championship.

Roll of Honour

* 1929 Antrim declared champions –

disqualified *

: Antrim defeated

41 points to 12 points – exact score not given

Player Records and Statistics

Winning Teams

References

{{Ulster Council 1 Senior inter-county hurling competitions