Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship

The Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the AIB Munster GAA Hurling Junior Club Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the five champion junior clubs and one champion intermediate club in the province of Munster in Ireland. It is the most prestigious competition for junior clubs in Munster hurling.

Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship
Current season or competition: 2023 Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship
Irish	Craobh Iomána Clubanna Sóisearach na Mumhan
Code	Hurling
Founded	2001; 22 years ago (2001)
Region	Munster (GAA)
Trophy	Rody Nealon Cup
No. of teams	6
Title holders	Ballygiblin (2nd title)
Sponsors	Allied Irish Bank
Motto	The toughest of them all
Official website	Official website

The Munster Junior Club Championship was introduced in 2001. In its current format, the championship begins in late October or early November and is usually played over a four-week period. The six participating club teams compete in a straight knockout competition that culminates with the Munster final for the two remaining teams. The winner of the Munster Junior Championship, as well as being presented with the Rody Nealon Cup, qualifies for the subsequent All-Ireland Club Championship.

The competition has been won by 19 teams, however, no team has ever won the championship on more than one occasion. Cork clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories with 14 wins. Cork side Ballygiblin are the reigning champions, having beaten Skeheenarinky from Tipperary by 2-14 to 1-9 in the 2021 final.^[1]

Format

Overview

The Munster Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is no seeding.

Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, 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.

Competition format

Quarter-final: Four teams contest this round. The two winning teams advances directly to the semi-final stage. The two losing teams are eliminated from the championship.

Semi-finals: Four teams contest this round. 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

Qualification

County	Championship	Qualifying team
Clare	Clare Junior Hurling Championship	Champions
Cork	Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship	Champions
Kerry	Kerry Intermediate Hurling Championship	Champions
Limerick	Limerick Junior Hurling Championship	Champions
Tipperary	Tipperary Junior A Hurling Championship	Champions
Waterford	Waterford Junior Hurling Championship	Champions

Trophy and medals

At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The Rody Nealon Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the stand where GAA and other dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The cup is named after Rody Nealon. He was an All-Ireland medal winner with Tipperary in 1925 before later serving as chairman and secretary of the Burgess club at different times, while he was also a member of the Tipperary County Board and the Munster Council.

In accordance with GAA rules, the Munster Council awards a set of 24 gold medals to the winners of the Munster final.

Sponsorship

Since 2001, the Munster Championship has been sponsored. The sponsor has usually been able to determine the championship's sponsorship name.

Period	Sponsor	Name
2001–present	Allied Irish Bank	The AIB Munster Junior Club Hurling Championship

List of Finals

Year	Winners			Runners-up			Venue
	County	Club	Score	County	Club	Score
2022	COR	Ballygiblin	3-12	LIM	St Kierans	0-11	Mallow GAA Complex
2021	COR	Ballygiblin	2-14	TIP	Skeheenarinky	1-09	Mallow GAA Complex
2020	No Championship
2019	COR	Russell Rovers	2-13	WAT	St. Mary's	0-11	Fraher Field	^[2]
2018	COR	Cloughduv	0-17	WAT	Ballinameela	0-12	Mallow GAA Complex	^[3]
2017	WAT	Ardmore	3-11	TIP	Ballybacon-Grange	2-08	Mallow GAA Complex	^[4]
2016	COR	Mayfield	2-18	WAT	Ballyduff Lower	3-10	Mallow GAA Complex	^[5]
2015	COR	Dungourney	1-17	WAT	Fenor	0-08	Mallow GAA Complex	^[6]
2014	WAT	Modeligo	5-12	COR	Castlemartyr	0-14	Mallow GAA Complex	^[7]
2013	WAT	Ballysaggart	3-12	LIM	Feenagh-Kilmeedy	0-15	Mallow GAA Complex	^[8]
2012	COR	Kildorrery	1-11	LIM	| St Kierans	0-12	Mallow GAA Complex	^[9]
2011	COR	Charleville	3-15	LIM	Cappamore	2-08	Mallow GAA Complex	^[10]
2010	COR	Meelin	5-18	TIP	St. Patrick's	0-09	Mallow GAA Complex	^[11]
2009	LIM	Blackrock	1-12	COR	Fermoy	0-14	Mallow GAA Complex	^[12]
2008	COR	Dripsey	2-11	KER	Kilgarvan	1-03	Mallow GAA Complex	^[13]
2007	TIP	Moyle Rovers	3-10	COR	Barryroe	0-09	Páirc Mac Gearailt	^[14]
2006	COR	Kilworth	4-16	TIP	Knockshegowna	1-07	Meelick	^[15]
2005	COR	Fr. O'Neill's	1-12	TIP	Knockshegowna	0-07	Gaelic Grounds	^[16]
2004	COR	Ballygarvan	0-16	WAT	Tramore	1-05	Páirc Mac Gearailt	^[17]
2003	CLA	Newmarket-on-Fergus	3-10	COR	Dromina	1-10
2002	COR	Ballinhassig	6-07	TIP	Ballinahinch	2-08
2001	COR	Courcey Rovers		WAT	Ardmore

Roll of Honour

Wins by County

County	Titles	Runners-up	Total
Cork	15	4	19
Waterford	3	6	9
Tipperary	1	6	7
Limerick	1	4	5
Clare	1	0	1
Kerry	0	1	1

Records and statistics

County representatives

Year	Clare	Cork	Kerry	Limerick	Tipperary	Waterford
2002	Éire Óg	Ballinhassig	N/A	Kildimo-Pallaskenry	Ballinahinch	Geraldines
2003	Newmarket-on-Feregus	Dromina	Laune Rangers	Feenagh-Kilmeedy	Thurles Fennellys	Kilgobnet
2004	Ennistymon	Ballygarvan	Kenmare Shamrocks	Knockaderry	Ballyneale	Tramore
2005	Meelick	Fr. O'Neill's	Kenmare Shamrocks	Hospital-Herbertstown	Knockshegowna	Brickey Rangers
2006	Meelick	Kilworth	Kilgarvan	Mungret/St. Paul's	Knockshegowna	Fenor
2007	Meelick	Barryroe	Kilgarvan	Caherline	Moyle Rovers	Ballysaggart
2008	N/A	Dripsey	Kilgarvan	Monages	Emly	Modeligo
2009	N/A	Fermoy	Kilgarvan	Blackrock	Aherlow	Tourin
2010	N/A	Meelin	Kilgarvan	Effin	St Patrick's	Ballydurn
2011	N/A	Charleville	Kenmare Shamrocks	Cappamore	Rockwell Rovers	Ballinameela
2012	N/A	Kildorrery	Kenmare Shamrocks	St Kieran's	Kilsheelan–Kilcash	Butlerstown
2013	Bodyke	Grenagh	Kenmare Shamrocks	Feenagh-Kilmeedy	Knockshegowna	Ballysaggart
2014	N/A	Castlemartry	Kenmare Shamrocks	Feohanagh-Castlemahon	Skeheenarinky	Modeligo
2015	Ennistymon	Dungourney	Dr Crokes	Dromcollogher-Broadford	Ballylooby-Castlegrace	Fenor
2016	Bodyke	Mayfield	Kilgarvan	St Patrick's	Ballybacon-Grange	Ballyduff Lower
2017	Bodyke	St Catherine's	Kenmare Shamrocks	St Patrick's	Ballybacon-Grange	Ardmore
2018	N/A	Cloughduv	Kilgarvan	Tournafulla	Boherlahan-Dualla	Ballinameela
2019	N/A	Russell Rovers	Kilgarvan	Castletown-Ballyagran	Carrick Davins	St Mary's
2021	Ogonnelloe	Ballygiblin	Tralee Parnells	Caherline	Skeheenarinky	Brickey Rangers
2022	Banner	Ballygiblin	Kilgarvan	St Kieran's	Ballyneale	Colligan

Biggest wins

The most one sided Munster finals:

• 24 points – 2010: Meelin 5-18 (33) – (9) 0-09 St. Patrick's
• 18 points – 2006: Kilworth 4-16 (28) – (10) 1-07 Knockshegowna
• 13 points – 2014: Modeligo 5-12 (27) – (14) 0-14 Castlemartyr
• 12 points – 2017: Dungourney 1-17 (20) – (8) 0-08 Fenor
• 11 points – 2008: Dripsey 2-11 (17) – (6) 1-03 Kilgarvan

Top scorers

All time

As of 2022

Pos.	Name	Team	Goals	Points	Total
1	Mickey Foley	Kilgarvan	3	38	47
2	Séamus Prendergast	Ardmore	5	20	35
3	Joseph O'Sullivan	Ballygiblin	0	34	34
4	Stephen Bennett	Ballysaggart	3	23	32
5	Shane Meehan	Banner	2	23	29
6	James O'Brien	Charleville	3	19	28
7	Josh Beausang	Russell Rovers	1	24	27
8	Nicky Kelly	Mayfield	0	27	27
9	Éamonn Brosnan	Meelin	3	17	26
10	Shane Duggan	Mayfield	4	13	25
	Tomás Vaughan	Skeheenarinky	0	25	25

By year

Year	Top scorer	Team	Score	Total
2002	John Chawke	Kildimo-Pallaskenry	0-19	19
2003	Pat Lawlor	Thurles Fennellys	3-09	18
2004	Liam Dillon	Ballygarvan	0-17	17
2005	Michael Kennedy	Knockshegowna	1-09	12
2006	Paudie Lynch	Kilworth	1-12	15
2007	Kieran Griffin	Barryroe	0-20	20
2008	Diarmuid O'Riordan	Dripsey	3-13	22
2009	Cathal Dillon	Aherlow	0-15	15
2010	Éamonn Brosnan	Meelin	3-17	26
2011	James O'Brien	Charleville	3-19	28
2012	Peter O'Brien	Kildorrery	3-15	24
2013	Stephen Bennett	Ballysaggart	3-23	32
2014	Jamie Troy	Modeligo	1-14	17
2015	Liam Tierney	Ennistymon	2-12	18
2016	Nicky Kelly	Mayfield	0-27	27
2017	Séamus Prendergast	Ardmore	5-20	35
2018	Anthony Hartnett	Tournafulla	0-24	24
2019	Eoin Kearns	St. Mary's	1-21	24
2020	No championship
2021	Tomás Vaughan	Skeheenarinky	0-25	25
2022	Shane Meehan	Banner	2-23	30

Single game

Year	Top scorer	Team	Opposition	Score	Total
2002	John Chawke	Kildimo-Pallaskenry	Éire Óg, Inis	0-12	12
2003	Pat Lawlor	Thurles Fennellys	Laune Rangers	3-09	18
2004	Tommy Hogan	Ennistymon	Ballyneale	2-02	8
2005	Ronan Conlon	Meelick	Hospital-Herbertstown	0-07	7
2006	Paudie Lynch	Kilworth	Knockshegowna	1-08	11
2007	Mickey Foley	Kilgarvan	Caherline	1-09	12
2008	Pat Buckley	Emly	Kilgarvan	3-06	15
2009	Cathal Dillon	Aherlow	Tourin	0-10	10
	Darragh Fives	Tourin	Aherlow	0-10	10
2010	Éamonn Brosnan	Meelin	Effin	2-10	16
2011	James O'Brien	Charleville	Rockwell Rovers	1-08	11
2012	Peter O'Brien	Kildorrery	Butlerstown	2-09	15
2013	Stephen Bennett	Ballysaggart	Grenagh	1-11	14
2014	Barry Lawton	Castlemartyr	Modeligo	0-10	10
2015	Liam Tierney	Ennistymon	Ballylooby-Castlegrace	2-07	13
2016	Shane Duggan	Mayfield	St. Patrick's	2-06	12
2017	Séamus Prendergast	Ardmore	Bodyke	2-06	12
	Séamus Prendergast	Ardmore	St. Patrick's	1-09
2018	Anthony Hartnett	Tournafulla	Kilgarvan	0-14	14
2019	Josh Beausang	Russell Rovers	St. Mary's	1-08	11
	Josh Beausang	Russell Rovers	Kilgarvan	0-11
2020	No championship
2021	Tomás Vaughan	Skeheenarinky	Ogonnelloe	0-11	11
2022	Shane Meehan	Banner	Kilgarvan	2-11	17

Finals

Final	Top scorer	Team	Score	Total
2002	Declan O'Sullivan	Ballinhassig	0-06	6
2003	Robert Shanahan	Newmarket	3-01	10
2004	Liam Dillon	Ballygarvan	0-07	7
2005	Ger O'Leary	Fr. O'Neill's	0-06	6
2006	Paudie Lynch	Kilworth	1-08	11
2007	Barry Whelan	Moyle Rovers	2-01	7
2008	Mark O'Sullivan	Dripsey	2-00	6
2009	Brian O'Sullivan	Fermoy	0-09	9
2010	Éamonn Brosnan	Meelin	1-07	10
2011	James O'Brien	Charleville	1-05	8
2012	Peter O'Brien	Kildorrery	1-06	9
2013	Stephen Bennett	Ballysaggart	1-07	10
2014	Barry Lawton	Castlemartyr	0-10	10
2015	Ryan Denny	Dungourney	0-11	11
2016	Nicky Kelly	Mayfield	0-10	10
2017	Séamus Prendergast	Ardmore	2-05	11
2018	Brian Verling	Cloughduv	0-09	9
2019	Josh Beausang	Russell Rovers	1-08	11
2020	No championship
2021	Joseph O'Sullivan	Ballygiblin	0-09	9
2022	Shane Beston	Ballygiblin	3-03	12

References

1. O'Callaghan, Therese (8 December 2019). "Cork champions Russell Rovers overcome St Mary's to collect Munster Junior title". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
2. "'Four years ago the club was nearly going to fold': Perfect end to Russell Rovers' remarkable 2019". Irish Examiner. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
3. O'Callaghan, Therese (2 December 2018). "Cloughduv come out on top in Munster junior hurling decider". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
4. Moynihan, Michael (3 December 2017). "Ardmore overcome Ballybacon-Grange in Munster club JHC final". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
5. "Kelly on song for Mayfield". Irish Independent. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
6. Moynihan, Michael (7 December 2015). "Jack Griffin goal proves spark as Dungourney catch fire". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
7. "Devine intervenes for Modeligo". Irish Examiner. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
8. Fogarty, John (9 December 2013). "Meagher shares out Ballysaggart plaudits". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
9. Hurley, Denis (10 December 2012). "Awesome O'Brien the hero again for Kildorrery". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
10. "Classy Charleville secure title". Hogan Stand. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
11. "Meelin power to title". Hogan Stand. 13 December 2010. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
12. "Moloney nicks it for Blackrock". Irish Independent. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
13. "O'Sullivan double inspires Dripsey". Hogan Stand. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
14. Ellard, Michael (17 December 2007). "Moyle Rovers cruise to historic title victory". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
15. O'Flynn, Diarmuid (18 December 2006). "Kilworth cut loose in final quarter". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
16. "Fr O'Neill capture first Munster crown". Hogan Stand. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
17. "Ballygarvan take Munster title". Hogan Stand. 13 December 2004. Retrieved 1 March 2018.