Clare_Senior_Club_Hurling_Championship

Clare Senior Hurling Championship

Clare Senior Hurling Championship

Annual hurling competition

The Clare Senior Hurling Championship or Clare SHC, is an annual hurling competition organised by the Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is contested by the top-ranking senior hurling clubs in County Clare, Ireland. It is the most prestigious competition in Clare hurling.

For the football equivalent, see Clare Senior Football Championship.
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Introduced in 1887 as the Clare Hurling Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to senior-ranking club teams. The championship has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, including the use of a round robin, before reverting to a straight knockout format.

In its current format, the Clare Senior Hurling Championship begins once the Clare senior hurling team have concluded their All-Ireland Championship campaign, with seventeen club teams competing in the championship. Six rounds of games are played, culminating with the final match at Cusack Park in October or November that year. The winners of the Clare Senior Hurling Championship qualify for the subsequent Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship, which begins immediately afterwards.

The competition has been won by twenty-three different clubs, nineteen of which have won it more than once. Newmarket-on-Fergus are the most successful club in the championship's history, with twenty-three titles.

Clonlara are the reigning champions and current holders of the Canon Hamilton Cup. In 2023, they defeated Crusheen by 3-18 to 2-16 to bridge a fifteen year gap from 2008 to win their third ever title.

History

Early beginnings

Following the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884, new rules for gaelic football and hurling were drawn up and published in the United Irishman newspaper. Over the following three years, county committees were established, with the Clare County Board holding their inaugural meeting on 14 February 1887. The inaugural championship in 1887, saw twenty-two clubs competing, with Smith O'Brien's, Killaloe claiming their first and only title. Since then the championship title has been awarded every year except on nine occasions. No championship took place for a five-year period between 1891 and 1895 or in 1901. The early years of the championship was dominated by Tulla winning eight titles, two of which were won by Carahan, who later became the one club. O'Callaghan's Mills (5), Ennis Dalcassians (4), Kilnamona (3), Newmarket-on-Fergus (2), and Scariff (2) were the only other teams to win multiple titles before the championship was suspended from 1920 to 1922 due to civil unrest during the Irish War of Independence.

Post war of independence

Newmarket-on-Fergus (5) and Ennis Dalcassians (4) dominated the period between 1924 and 1934 winning nine titles between them. Feakle claimed five of the ten titles on offer between 1935 and 1944, including a three-in-a-row from 1938 to 1940. The Jimmy Smyth-inspired Ruan won five titles between 1948 and 1962. The next twenty years was again dominated by Newmarket-on-Fergus who returned after a period in the doldrums to claim thirteen titles between 1963 and 1981, including two three-in-a-rows (1963-1965 and 1967–1969), and a historic four-in-a-row from 1971 to 1974. No other club has won more than back-to-back titles since. The remainder of the 20th century saw Sixmilebridge (6) and Clarecastle (5) win eleven titles between them. From 1995-2000 the Clare champions went on to win six consecutive Munster Senior Club Hurling Championships (Clarecastle, Sixmilebridge (2), Doora-Barefield (2), and Wolfe Tones, Shannon) and two All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championships (Sixmilebridge and Doora-Barefield).

21st century

In 2007 Tulla ended a seventy-four year wait to win their first title since 1933. The following year Clonlara bridged an eighty-nine year gap from 1919 when then won their second county title. There has also been a number of first-time champions since the turn of the millennium with Ballyea, Cratloe, and Crusheen all having won multiple titles since 2009. Since 2015, Ballyea (4) and Sixmilebridge (4) have shared every title between them but have never met in the county final.

Teams

2024 Teams

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Venues

Early rounds

Cusack Park

Fixtures in the opening rounds of the championship are usually played at a neutral venue that is deemed halfway between the participating teams. Some of the more common venues include O'Garney Park in Sixmilebridge, Dr Daly Park in Tulla, and Shannon. Cusack Park in Ennis also hosts several double-headers in the early rounds of the championship.

Final

The final is regularly played at Cusack Park in Ennis. Named after the founder of the GAA, Michael Cusack, the ground had an original capacity of about 28,000, but following a 2011 safety review, the certified capacity was reduced to 14,864. In 2015 a major renovation started, this included the demolition and re-erection of the main stand and construction of a new entrance/exit at the north side of the stadium. Once completed in late 2017 the official capacity was increased to 19,000

Winning managers

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Trophy

The winning team is presented with the Canon Hamilton Cup. A native of Clonlara, Michael Hamilton (1894-1969) was educated at Clonlara National School and St. Flannan's College in Ennis. He was ordained to the priesthood in Maynooth University in 1919 and later became a professor at St. Flannan's College. In 1922 he became one of the first chaplains in the Irish Army. Hamilton was a noted hurler in his youth and was chairman of the Clare County Board for over twenty-five years. He died while attending the Newmarket-on-Fergus and Clarecastle county final replay on 31 August 1969.

Roll of honour

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List of finals

  All-Ireland Club Champions

  Munster Club Champions

  Munster Club Finalists

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  • Brian Boru's were another temporary amalgamation that was composed of the Bodyke, Killanena and Tulla clubs in 1975. They competed together at senior level when they were all competing at either intermediate or junior level individually. Brian Boru's won the 1975 senior county title defeating Éire Óg, Ennis in the final.
  • St Brendan's were an temporary amalgamation of the Kilmaley and Doora-Barefield clubs in 1979. St Brendan's contested the 1979 county final, losing out to Sixmilebridge.

Records and statistics

Consecutive championships

"The Double"

The following clubs have won both the Clare Senior Hurling Championship and Clare Senior Football Championship in the same year:

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Clare Senior Hurling Championship titles they won, is as follows:

Barren spells

The longest gaps between successive Clare Senior Hurling Championship titles are:

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Conlon leads Clonlara to fairytale Clare final win". RTE Sport. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Hooks, blocks, and tackles was winning formula". Irish Examiner. 24 October 2022. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Ballyea Deny Final Debutants Inagh-Kilnamona To Secure Clare Hurling Crown". The Irish Times.
  4. [4]
    "Sixmilebridge make some history and look to the future after retaining Clare SHC title". Irish Examiner. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  5. [5]
    "Clare SHC final: joy for Davy Fitz' as 'Bridge see off neighbours". Hogan Stand. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  6. [6]
    "Strong finish sees Ballyea secure second title". Irish Examiner. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  7. [7]
    "Sixmilebridge the team of decade as fairytale ends for Clooney-Quin". Irish Examiner. 23 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  8. [8]
    "Ballyea show courage in abundance to land first title". Irish Examiner. 31 October 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
  9. [9]
    "Gilly glory as Bridge too strong". Irish Examiner. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Clare SHC final: Cratloe complete first leg of double". Hogan Stand. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  11. [11]
    "Battling Bridge reign supreme after final epic". Irish Examiner. 11 November 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  12. [12]
    "Newmarket end 31 years of hurt". Irish Examiner. 29 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  13. [13]
    "Dillon to fore as Crusheen become Goliaths". Irish Independent. 23 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  14. [14]
    "Long wait over for Crusheen as Meaney's cameo seals historic first". Irish Independent. 18 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
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