The Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Lightning Protection Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Wicklow SHC) is an annual club
hurling
Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
competition organised by the
Wicklow County Board of the
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
and contested by the top-ranking senior clubs in the
county of Wicklow in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, deciding the competition winners through a group and knockout format. It is the most prestigious competition in Wicklow hurling.
In its current format, the Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship begins with a group stage. The six participating teams play each other in a
round-robin system. The four top-ranking teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at
Echelon Park. The winner of the Wicklow Senior Championship, as well as being presented with the O'Donoghue Cup, qualifies for the subsequent
Leinster Intermediate Club Championship.
The competition has been won by 14 teams, 10 of which have won it more than once.
Carnew Emmets is the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won it 19 times.
Bray Emmets are the reigning champions, having beaten Carnew Emmets by 0-23 to 4-08 in the
2024 final.
History
The first senior championship was won by Barndarrig in 1923. There was no Wicklow championship in 1938. There are currently seven teams taking part in the Championship:
*
Carnew Emmets
*
Glenealy
* Eire Óg
*
Bray Emmets
*
Kiltegan
Kiltegan () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland, on the R747 regional road close to the border with County Carlow. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. The civil parish extends into County Carlow.
Accordin ...
Format
Group stage
Six clubs start in the group stage. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed five group games. 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 four teams qualify for the knockout stage
Knockout stage
Semi-finals: The top four teams from the group stage 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
2024 teams
The 6 teams competing in the
2024 Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship are:
2023 grades
Qualification for subsequent competitions
At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent
Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship, the winner of which progresses to the
All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship.
Roll of honour
By club
List of finals
Legend
* –
Leinster intermediate club champions
* – Leinster intermediate club runners-up
List of Wicklow SHC finals
Notes
* 1937- Although Whitestown (Baltinglass) won on the day they were later stripped of the title and suspended for playing illegal players.
* 2008 - The first match ended in a draw: Glenealy 1-12, Carnew Emmets 1-12.
* 2016 - The first match ended in a draw: Bray Emmets 1-10, Carnew Emmets 0-12.
* 2022- The first match ended in a draw: Bray Emmets 1-16, Glenealy 1-16.
Records and statistics
Final
Team
*Most wins: 19:
**
Carnew Emmets (1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009)
*Most consecutive wins: 6:
**
Bray Emmets (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
*Most appearances in a final: 39:
**
Carnew Emmets (1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024)
*Most appearances in a final without ever winning: 8:
**
Kilcoole
Kilcoole () is a town in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is south of Greystones, north of Wicklow, and about south of Dublin. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. Kilcoole was used as a filming location for the Irish tele ...
(1954, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1969, 1983, 1985)
*Most defeats in a final: 20:
**
Carnew Emmets (1966, 1971, 1982, 1986, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024)
Teams
By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Wicklow Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:
* 1910s: 2 for
Rathnew
Rathnew () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. Located south of the capital Dublin along the N11 road (Ireland), M11 between Dublin and Wexford, it is close to the county town of Wicklow, which is situated to the east. The village is in a ...
(1911-13)
* 1920s: 3 for
Barndarrig (1923-24-26)
* 1930s: 5 for
Rathnew
Rathnew () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. Located south of the capital Dublin along the N11 road (Ireland), M11 between Dublin and Wexford, it is close to the county town of Wicklow, which is situated to the east. The village is in a ...
(1932-33-34-37-39)
* 1940s: 6 for
Avondale (1940-41-42-46-47-49)
* 1950s: 4 for
Barndarrig (1951-54-55-56)
* 1960s: 4 for
Carnew Emmets (1965-67-68,-69)
* 1970s: 5 for
Carnew Emmets (1973-74-76-78-79)
* 1980s: 4 for
Carnew Emmets (1980-81-84-89)
* 1990s: 6 for
Kiltegan
Kiltegan () is a village in west County Wicklow, Ireland, on the R747 regional road close to the border with County Carlow. The village is in a townland and civil parish of the same name. The civil parish extends into County Carlow.
Accordin ...
(1993-94-95-97-98-99)
* 2010s: 6 for
Glenealy (2010-11-12-13-17-18)
* 2020s: 5 for
Bray Emmets (2020-21-22-23-24)
Gaps
Longest gaps between successive championship titles:
* 62 years:
Bray Emmets (1952-2014)
* 60 years:
St Patrick's (1930-1990)
* 32 years:
Barndarrig (1956-1988)
See also
*
Wicklow Senior Football Championship
*
Wicklow Intermediate Hurling Championship
*
Wicklow Junior Hurling Championship
References
External links
Official Wicklow WebsiteWicklow on Hoganstand
{{Wicklow GAA, state=expanded
Hurling competitions in Leinster
Hurling in County Wicklow
Senior hurling county championships
Wicklow GAA club championships
Recurring sporting events established in 1903
1903 establishments in Ireland