The Waterford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling 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 Waterford 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 ...

since 1897 for the top hurling teams in the county of Waterford 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 ...

. The series of games are played during the spring, summer and autumn months with the county final currently being played at

Walsh Park Walsh Park ( ga, Páirc Breathnach) is a GAA stadium in Waterford, Ireland named after Willie Walsh, a well-known referee and long time campaigner for Gaelic games in Waterford. It is one of the two homes of the Waterford Gaelic football and hu ...

in October. Initially played as a knock-out competition, the championship currently features a group stage followed by a knock-out stage. The Waterford County Championship is an integral part of the wider

Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship The Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Senior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1964 f ...

. The winners of the Waterford county final join the champions of the other hurling counties to contest the provincial championship. Twelve teams currently participate in the Waterford County Championship. The title has been won at least once by 23 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Mount Sion, who have won a total of 35 titles.

Ballygunner Ballygunner ( ga, Baile Gunnair), is a civil parish in County Waterford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on the southern outskirts of Waterford city. The placename is derived, in part, from the Old Norse masculine personal name ''Gunnarr' ...

are the title-holders after defeating

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by 1–23 to 0–09 in the 2020 championship final.

The championship

Format

Group stage: The 12 teams are divided into two groups. Each team plays each other once. The top four teams in each group advance to the kick-out stage. The fifth-placed teams in each group are eliminated from the championship. The bottom-placed teams in each group contest the relegation play-off. Relegation play-off: The losers of this game are relegated to the

Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship is a second-tier hurling competition organised by the Waterford Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The winning club progresses to the senior grade the following year for the Waterford Senior H ...

. Quarter-finals: 8 teams contest this round. The 4 winning teams advance to the Semi-finals. The 4 losing teams are eliminated from the championship. Semi-finals: 4 teams contest this round. The 2 winning teams advance to the Semi-finals. The 2 losing teams are eliminated from the championship. Final: The final is contested by the two semi-final winners.

Participating teams

The following 12 teams contested the 2018 championship:

Managers

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

s in the Waterford Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

Finals listed by year

Roll of honour

Records and statistics

Teams

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Waterford Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows: * 1890s: 1 each for Ballytruckle (1897) and Ballydurn (1899) * 1900s: 4 for Clonea (1902-03-05-07) * 1910s: 3 each for T. F. Meaghers (1910-11-12) and Ferrybank (1915-16-19) * 1920s: 3 each for

Dungarvan Dungarvan () is a coastal town and harbour in County Waterford, on the south-east coast of Ireland. Prior to the merger of Waterford County Council with Waterford City Council in 2014, Dungarvan was the county town and administrative centre of ...

(1920-23-26) and Erin's Own (1927-28-29) * 1930s: 6 for Erin's Own (1930-31-32-33-34-35) * 1940s: 5 for Mount Sion (1940-43-45-48-49) * 1950s: 8 for Mount Sion (1951-53-54-55-56-57-58-59) * 1960s: 6 for Mount Sion (1960-61-63-64-65-69) * 1970s: 5 for

Portlaw Portlaw ( or ''Port Lách'') is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. It is situated approximately 19 km west-north-west of Waterford City, where the Clodiagh mee ...

(1970-71-73-76-77) * 1980s: 4 for Mount Sion (1981-83-86-88) * 1990s: 5 for

(1992-95-96-97-99) * 2000s: 5 for Mount Sion (2000-02-03-04-06) * 2010s: 7 for

(2011-14-15-16-17-18-19) * 2020s: 3 for

(2020-21-22)

Gaps

Top five longest gaps between successive championship titles: * 66 years: Lismore (1925-1991) * 45 years: Clonea (1907-1952) * 44 years:

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(1936-1980) * 33 years:

(1937-1970) * 20 years: Ballyduff Upper (1987-2007)

Top scorers

In finals

References

External links

Official Waterford Website

Waterford on Hoganstand

UpTheDeise.com
{{Waterford GAA, state=expanded 1 Senior hurling county championships Recurring sporting events established in 1897 1897 establishments in Ireland