The Wicklow Intermediate Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Lightning Protection Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Wicklow IHC) is an annual club

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 Wicklow 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 ...

and contested by intermediate-ranked clubs in the county of Wicklow in

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. It is the second tier overall in the entire Wicklow hurling championship system. In its current format, the Wicklow Intermediate Hurling Championship begins with a group stage. The nine participating teams are divided into two groups and play each other in a round-robin system. The top two teams in each group proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at Echelon Park. The winner of the Wicklow Intermediate Championship, as well as gaining promotion to the Wicklow SHC, qualifies for the subsequent Leinster Junior Club Championship. St Patrick's are the reigning champions, having beaten

Bray Emmets Bray Emmets Gaelic Athletic Association is a hurling, camogie, Gaelic football and ladies' Gaelic football club in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland. History The first club AGM took place on 11 December 1886. The first recorded Bray Emmets team pl ...

by 3–13 to 1–09 in the 2023 final.

Format

Group stage

The 9 teams in the Wicklow Intermediate Championship are divided into two groups. The draw for both groups is arranged in a manner that keeps the "stronger" sides, or those who have played at senior level or won the IHC in recent years, in Group 1. The remaining five teams are placed in Group 2. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed at least three of four games depending on the number of teams in the group. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knockout stage

Knockout stage

Semi-finals: The top two teams from each group contest this round. The two winners from these two games advance to the final. Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Teams

2023 teams

Qualification for subsequent competitions

At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent

Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship ''For the senior hurling equivalent see: Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship'' The Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Leinster GAA Hurling Junior Club Championship) is an annual hurling comp ...

List of finals

Roll of honour

References

External links

Official Wicklow WebsiteWicklow on Hoganstand
{{Wicklow GAA, state=expanded Hurling competitions in Leinster Hurling in County Wicklow Intermediate hurling county championships Wicklow GAA club championships