The Carbery Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bandon Co-op Carbery Junior A Football Championship) is an annual club

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 ...

competition organised by the Carbery 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 junior-ranked teams in

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbe ...

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 ...

, deciding the competition winners through a group and knockout format. Introduced in 1926 as the West Cork Junior Football Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament. The competition went through a number of format changes since then, including the introduction of a back-door or second chance for beaten teams. The competition took on its current format in 2022, adding a round-robin group stage and limiting the number of entrants. In its present format, the 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four teams and play each other in a single round-robin system. The four group winners and four group runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final. The winner of the Carbery Junior A Championship, as well as being presented with the Mick McCarthy Cup, qualifies for the subsequent

Cork Junior A Football Championship The Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JAFC) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Cork County Board o ...

. The title has been won at least once by 21 different clubs. The all-time record-holders are Bandon, who have won a total of 16 titles. St. James' are the title-holders after defeating Argideen Rangers by 0-11 to 0-05 in the 2022 championship final.

Format

Overview

The West Cork Junior Championship is effectively a

knockout tournament A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...

with pairings drawn at random — there are no

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match ends as a draw 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, a replay takes place and so on, until a winner is found.

Format

Preliminary round: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. The two winning teams advance to the latter stages of the championship. The two losing teams advance directly to Round 1. Round 1: Sixteen teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the eight pairings. The eight winning teams of these games advance directly to Round 3. The eight losing teams advance directly to Round 2. Round 2: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the four pairings. The four winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four losing teams enter the relegation play-offs. Round 3: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the four pairings. The four winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four losing teams are eliminated from the championship. Relegation play-offs: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. The two losing teams advance to the final. The losing team from that game is relegated from the championship. Quarter-finals: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the eight pairings. The four winning teams advance directly to the semi-finals. The four losing teams are eliminated from the championship. Semi-finals: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. 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

2023 Teams

Trophy and medals

The Mick McCarthy Perpetual Memorial Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was commissioned to honour

Mick McCarthy Michael Joseph McCarthy (born 7 February 1959) is a professional football manager, pundit, and former player. He was last in charge of EFL Championship club Cardiff City. McCarthy began his playing career at Barnsley in 1977, and he later had ...

who played for

O'Donovan Rossa Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa ( ga, Diarmaid Ó Donnabháin Rosa; baptised 4 September 1831, died 29 June 1915)Con O'Callaghan Reenascreena Community Online (dead link archived at archive.org, 29 September 2014) was an Irish Fenian leader and member ...

Carbery Carbery or Carbury may refer to: ;People: * Brian Carbury (1918–1961), New Zealand fighter ace * Douglas Carbery (1894–1959), British soldier and airman * Ethna Carbery (1864–1902), Irish writer * James Joseph Carbery (1823–1887), Irish ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, and who died from injuries sustained in a road traffic accident on 5 February 1998, at the age of 33. The cup was unveiled in October 1998 and first presented to Eugene Murphy,

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the

Carbery Rangers Carbery Rangers is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the village of Rosscarbery, County Cork, Ireland. The club is solely concerned with the game of Gaelic football. History Located in Rosscarbery in West Cork, Carbery Rangers was ...

team which won the 1998 final. The cup replaced the Little Norah Cup which, after being donated by

Beamish and Crawford Beamish and Crawford was a brewery and brewing company based in Cork, Ireland, established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery. In the early 1800s, it was the largest brewery in Ireland. Be ...

in 1949, was last presented in 1997. In accordance with GAA rules, the West Cork Board awards a set of medals to the championship winners.

Sponsorship

Roll of Honour

List of finals

Notes: * 1926 - The first match ended in a draw. * 1935 - The first match ended in a draw: Dohenys 2-01, Barley Hill 2-01. * 1938 - The first match ended in a draw: Carbery Rangers 2-02, Enniskeane 2-02. * 1943 - The first match ended in a draw: Rock Rovers 1-06, Carbery Rangers 2-03. * 1945 - The first match ended in a draw: O'Donovan Rossa 1-04, St Mary's 2-01. * 1951 - Bandon won the title after an objection. * 1960 - The first match ended in a draw: Bandon 1-05, Ballinascarthy 2-02. * 1971 - The first match ended in a draw: Bandon 1-08, Bantry Blues 1-08. * 1974 - The first match ended in a draw: O'Donovan Rossa 0-12, Clonakilty 2-06. * 1985 - The first match ended in a draw: Bantry Blues 2-08, Ballinascarthy 1-11. * 1990 - The first match ended in a draw: Newcestown 1-09, Dohenys 2-06. * 1999 - The first match ended in a draw: Ilen Rovers 0-13, Carbery Rangers 1-10. * 2013 - The first match ended in a draw: St Colum's 1-05, Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh 0-08. * 2014 - The first match ended in a draw: St Mary's 1-08, Gabriel Rangers 0-11. * 2018 - The first match ended in a draw: Kilmacabea 0-12, Tadhg Mac Carthaigh's 2-06.

Records

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of West Cork Junior Football Championship titles, is as follows: * 1920s: 1 each for

Kilbrittain Kilbrittain or Killbrittain () is the name of a village, townland and parish in County Cork, Ireland. The village lies about southwest of Bandon, and near Courtmacsherry and Timoleague. The coastal route around the edge of the parish is the R6 ...

(1926),

Dohenys Dohenys is a Gaelic Athletic Association club, fielding Gaelic football and Hurling teams in the town of Dunmanway, County Cork, Ireland. It won its only Cork Senior Club Football Championship in 1897. Other titles won include 2 Cork Intermed ...

(1927),

Bantry Blues Bantry Blues is a Gaelic football club based in Bantry, County Cork, Republic of Ireland. The club is affiliated with Cork GAA and to the Carbery division. The club has always been primarily a Gaelic football club, but has fielded hurling ...

(1928) and Bandon (1929) * 1930s: 3 for

(1937-38-39) * 1940s: 3 for

Clann na nGael A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...

(1941-43) * 1950s: 4 each for Bandon (1950-51-52-53) and

(1956-57-58-59) * 1960s: 3 for

(1962-65-66) * 1970s: 3 for Bandon (1970-71-75) * 1980s: 3 for

(1980-84-87) * 1990s: 2 each for

(1991-98),

(1992-93), Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh's (1995-97) and

Ilen Rovers Ilen Rovers is a Gaelic football club in County Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated to Cork GAA and Carbery GAA divisional boards. Ilen Rovers is located in a rural community that is located on the River Ilen, the river that flows through Ski ...

(1996-99) * 2000s: 3 for Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh's (2002-04-06) * 2010s: 2 each for

Gabriel Rangers Gabriel Rangers is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Ballydehob in County Cork, Ireland. The club fields team in both Gaelic football and hurling. Achievements * Cork Intermediate Football Championship Runners Up 20 ...

(2010-16), Bandon (2011-15) and

Kilmacabea Kilmacabea is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the villages of Leap, Glandore and Connagh in County Cork, Ireland. The club is affiliated to Cork GAA and plays in the Carbery division. The club has a very strong tradition in Gaeli ...

(2017-18)

Successful defending

10 teams of the 21 who have won the championship have successfully defended the title. These are: * Bandon on 5 occasions (1951, 1952, 1953, 1971 and 2008) *

on 5 occasions (1957, 1958, 1959, 1966 and 1993) *

on 3 occasions {1938, 1939 and 1940) *

on 2 occasions (1947 and 1969) *

on 2 occasions (2000 and 2001) *

Clonakilty Clonakilty (; ), sometimes shortened to Clon, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. The town is located at the head of the tidal Clonakilty Bay. The rural hinterland is used mainly for dairy farming. The town's population as of 2016 was 4,592. Th ...

on 1 occasion (1949) * Enniskean on 1 occasion (1934) *

on 1 occasion (1942) *

Darrara Darrara or Darrary () is a rural townland near Clonakilty, County Cork in Ireland. The townland, of , is home to Teagasc's Clonakilty Agricultural College (some structures of which date to the 1880s) and Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church (built ...

on 1 occasion (1955) *

on 1 occasion (2018)

Gaps

Top ten longest gaps between successive championship titles: * 40 years:

(1940-1980) * 39 years:

(1942-1981) * 28 years:

(1949-1977) * 26 years:

(1966-1992) * 23 years:

(1982-2005) * 22 years:

(1932-1944) * 21 years:

(1935-1956) * 21 years:

(1947-1968) * 21 years:

Newcestown Newcestown () is a small village located 35 km from the city of Cork in the western part of County Cork, Ireland. It is a village with a church, a school, a pub and GAA club. Newcestown is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West ...

(1967-1988) * 18 years: Bandon (1929-1947) * 18 years:

(1930-1948) * 18 years: Bandon (1989-2007)

The Double

Five teams have won the South West Junior Football Championship and the South West Junior Hurling Championship in a single year as part of a Gaelic football-

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 ...

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

became the first team to win the double in 1926. Bandon are the record holders having claimed the double on four occasions - 1929, 1960, 1971 and 1975.

are the only club to have won a back-to-back double - 1958 and 1959.

(1967) and

(1977) complete the list of double-winning teams. Club sides Argideen Rangers,

Ballinascarthy Ballinascarty (), also known as Ballinascarthy, is a village in County Cork, Ireland. Location Ballinascarty lies in West Cork, approximately north-northeast of Clonakilty and 15km south-west of Bandon, on the main N71 road from Clonakilty t ...

and

also hold the distinction of being dual divisional junior championship-winning teams, however, these were not achieved in a single calendar season.

2022 Championship

Group Stage

Group 1 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! width="20" , ! width="150" style="text-align:left;" , Team ! width="20" , !W !D !L ! width="20" , ! width="20" , !Qualification , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 1 , align="left" , Flag_of_Naples

Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh's , 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , +1 , 4 , rowspan="2" , Advance to Knockout Stage , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 2 , align="left" , Colours_of_Galway

Argideen Rangers , 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , +0 , 4 , - , 3 , align="left" , Colours_of_Dublin

Barryroe ''Barryroe'' is an undeveloped oil and gas field discovered in the Atlantic ocean due south of County Cork, Ireland. Close to the exhausted Kinsale Head gas field The Kinsale Head gas field is a depleted offshore natural gas field in the Cel ...

, 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , -1 , 4 , , - style="background:#ffcccc" , 4 , align="left" , Colours_of_Antrim

Bandon , 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , +0 , 0 , Relegation Playoff Group 2 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! width="20" , ! width="150" style="text-align:left;" , Team ! width="20" , !W !D !L ! width="20" , ! width="20" , !Qualification , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 1 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kilkenny

St Mary's , 3 , 3 , 0 , 0 , +19 , 6 , rowspan="2" , Advance to Knockout Stage , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 2 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kerry

St. James's , 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , +12 , 4 , - , 3 , align="left" , Colours_of_Laois

Castlehaven Castlehaven () is a civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. It is located approximately 75 km south west of Cork City on the coast. The civil parish includes the town of Castletownshend and also contains the hamlets of Rineen and Tragumna. T ...

, 3 , 1 , 0 , 2 , -7 , 2 , , - style="background:#ffcccc" , 4 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kilkenny

St. Colum's , 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , -24 , 0 , Relegation Playoff Group 3 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! width="20" , ! width="150" style="text-align:left;" , Team ! width="20" , !W !D !L ! width="20" , ! width="20" , !Qualification , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 1 , align="left" , Colours_of_Cork

, 3 , 3 , 0 , 0 , +24 , 6 , rowspan="2" , Advance to Knockout Stage , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 2 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kerry

, 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , +21 , 4 , - , 3 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kilkenny

, 3 , 1 , 0 , 2 , -16 , 2 , , - style="background:#ffcccc" , 4 , align="left" , Colours_of_Mayo

, 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , -29 , 0 , Relegation Playoff Group 4 {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! width="20" , ! width="150" style="text-align:left;" , Team ! width="20" , !W !D !L ! width="20" , ! width="20" , !Qualification , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 1 , align="left" , Colours_of_Kerry

Randal Og , 3 , 3 , 0 , 0 , +19 , 6 , rowspan="2" , Advance to Knockout Stage , - style="background:#ccffcc" , 2 , align="left" , Colours_of_Offaly

, 3 , 2 , 0 , 1 , +25 , 4 , - , 3 , align="left" , Flag_of_Naples

, 3 , 1 , 0 , 2 , -11 , 2 , , - style="background:#ffcccc" , 4 , align="left" , Colours_of_Galway

Muintir Bháire , 3 , 0 , 0 , 3 , -33 , 0 , Relegation Playoff

Knockout Stage

Relegation Playoff Colours_of_Antrim

Bandon 2-08 - 1-06 Colours_of_Galway

Muintir Bháire

References

External links

Carbery GAA website

{{Cork Junior Football Championship

West Cork Junior A Football Championship The Carbery Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bandon Co-op Carbery Junior A Football Championship) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by the Carbery Board of the Gaelic Athletic Associatio ...

Format

Overview

Format

Teams

2023 Teams

Trophy and medals

Sponsorship

Roll of Honour

List of finals

Records

By decade

Successful defending

Gaps

The Double

2022 Championship

Group Stage

Knockout Stage

See also

References

External links