Munster Under 21 Hurling Championship

Updated on Dec 26, 2023

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Founded 1964 No. of teams 5 Most titles Tipperary (20 titles) Number of teams 5 TV partner TG4		Trophy Corn na Cásca Title holders Waterford (4th title) Sponsor Bord Gáis Energy Region Munster GAA

Irish Craobh Iomána Fé-21 na Mumhan

The Munster GAA Hurling All-Ireland Under-21 Championship is an annual championship of hurling for male players under the age of 21 and is organized by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The championship has been awarded every year since the first tournament in 1964. It is sponsored by Bord Gáis Energy.

The series of games are played during the summer months with the Munster final currently being played in July. The prize for the winning team is the Corn na Cásca, a cup that was first presented in 1966 by the Munster Council in honour of the golden jubilee of the Easter Rising. The championship had always been played on a straight knock-out basis whereby once a team lost they are eliminated from the series.

The Munster Championship is an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final join Galway, the Leinster champions and the Ulster champions in the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series of games.

Five teams currently participate in the Munster Championship. Tipperary is the most successful team with 20 titles, followed by Cork with 18 titles. The title has been won by five different teams, all of whom have won the title more than once.

Waterford are the current holders.

History

The Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship began in 1964 in response to a Congress motion put forward by the Kerry County Board for the introduction of a new championship grade. It was the fifth championship to be created after the senior, junior, minor and intermediate grades.

In 2008 a radical motion was brought before a special Congress in an effort to combat player burnout. It was proposed to merge the existing under-21 and minor championships to create a new All-Ireland Under-19 Hurling Championship based on the provincial system. This motion was defeated by 115 votes to 58.

A similar motion was later introduced in an effort to lower the age and create a new All-Ireland Under-20 Championship based on the provincial system, however, this motion was also defeated.

Format

The Munster Championship is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random – there are no seeds.

Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is extra time and, if the sides still remain level, a replay is required.

The format has remained the same since the very first Munster Championship in 1964. An open draw is made in which three of the five teams automatically qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition. Two other teams play in a lone quarter-final with the winner joining the other three teams at the semi-final stage. Once a team is defeated they are eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship has wider implications for the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series of games. Unlike the final runners-up in the minor and senior championships, there is no 'back-door system' at under-21 level.

Five of the six counties of Munster – Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford – participate in the championship. Kerry, the sixth county in the province, previously contested the championship until recently, however, they currently field a team in the All-Ireland Under-21 B Hurling Championship.

Trophy

At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named Corn na Cásca, 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 political 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 present trophy was presented by the Munster Council in 1966 to commemorate the golden jubilee of the Easter Rising.

Sponsorship

Since 2003 the Munster Championship has been sponsored. The sponsor has usually been able to determine the championship's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:

2003–2007: Erin Foods (Erin Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship)

2008–present: Bord Gáis Energy (Bord Gáis Energy Munster GAA Hurling Under-21 Championship)

Munster Championship moments

Tipperary 1–16 : 2–12 Clare (July 30, 2008 at Cusack Park) – A controversial end to a close game of hurling. The provincial final looked to be heading to extra time, however, as the game entered the dying seconds Clare were awarded a free in front of the Tipperary posts. The referee's attention, however, was then drawn by one of his umpires at the other end of the field who pointed out that Clare goalkeeper Donal Tuohy had, for the second time, stepped outside the small square with his last puckout. The referee then cancelled the Clare free, gave Tipperary a 65-metre free which was pointed by Pa Bourke to hand Tipp the title. Upon the final whistle Clare and Tipperary fans invaded the pitch. In the ensuing situation some Clare fans staged a seated protest and booed the presentation of the trophy to Tipperary. The referee and the umpire were both escorted from the pitch by Gardaí while being jostled and challenged by some of the Clare supporters.

Team

Most titles: 20:

Tipperary (1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010)

Most consecutive title wins: 4, joint record:

Cork (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)

Tipperary (1978, 1979, 1980, 1981)

Most appearances in a final: 32:

Tipperary (1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016)

Most appearances without winning: 2:

Galway (1965, 1967)

Individual

Most wins: 7, Mick Malone (Cork) (1968, 1969, 1970, 1971)

Biggest Munster final wins

The most one sided Munster finals:

23 points – 1964: Tipperary 8–9 (33) – (10) 3–1 Waterford

22 points – 1989: Tipperary 5–16 (31) – (9) 1–6 Limerick

21 points – 2000: Limerick 4–18 (30) – (9) 1–6 Cork

15 points – 1966: Cork 5–12 (27) – (12) 2–6 Limerick

15 points - 2014: Clare 1-28 (31) - (16) 1-13 Cork

14 points – 1988: Cork 4–12 (24) – (10) 1–7 Limerick

Miscellaneous

Mick Malone of Cork holds the record of being the only player to win four consecutive Munster under-21 winners' medals on the field of play. These victories came in 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971.

Cork and Tipperary jointly hold the record for the longest streak of success. Both counties have won four-in-a-row with Cork's coming between 1968 and 1971 and Tipperary's coming a decade later between 1978 and 1981.

Cork hold the record for the most consecutive appearances in Munster finals. They played in eight-in-a-row between 1975 and 1982, not including a replay in 1978, with success coming on four of those occasions.

Clare lost twelve Munster finals, not including a replay in 1986, before winning their first in 2009.

Two counties have completed the Munster under-21 and senior double in the same year:

Cork in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 2005

Tipperary in 1964, 1965, 1967, 1989, 2008

Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster minor, under-21 and senior treble in the same year. These feats were achieved in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1977 and 2005.

Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster minor, under-21, intermdiate and senior 'grand slam' in the same year. This was achieved in 2005.

Five players have captained their counties to Munster titles in both the under-21 and senior grades:

Gerald McCarthy captained Cork to the under-21 title in 1966 and the senior titles in 1966 and 1975.

Eoin Kelly captained Tipperary to the under-21 title in 2003 and the senior title in 2008.

Five players have captained their counties to Munster titles in both the minor and under-21 grades:

Anthony O'Riordan captained Limerick to the minor title in 1984 and the under-21 title in 1986.

Diarmaid FitzGerald captained Tipperary to the minor title in 2001 and the under-21 title in 2004.

Shane O'Neill captained Cork to the minor title in 2004 and the under-21 title in 2007.

Paul Flanagan captained Clare to the minor title in 2010 and the Under-21 title in 2013.

Tony Kelly captained Clare to the minor title in 2011 and the Under-21 title in 2014.

References

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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