Kerry Senior Hurling Championship
Kerry Senior Hurling Championship | |
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Irish | Craobh Sinsear Iomána Chiarraí |
Code | Hurling |
Founded | 1889 |
Region |
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Trophy | Neilus Flynn Cup |
No. of teams | 8 |
Title holders |
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Most titles |
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Sponsors | Garvey's SuperValu |
The Kerry Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as Garvey’s SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1889 for the top hurling teams in the county of Kerry in Ireland.
The series of games are played during the summer and autumn months, with the county final currently being played in Austin Stack Park in October. Initially played a knock-out competition, the championship currently uses a double elimination format whereby each team is guaranteed at least two games.
The Kerry County Championship is an integral part of the wider Munster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship. The winners of the Kerry county final join the intermediate champions of the other five counties to contest the provincial championship.
The title has been won at least once by 21 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Ballyduff who have won a total of 25 titles.
Lixnaw are the title-holders after defeating Kilmoyley by 1-16 to 2-11 in the 2018 championship final.
History
Beginnings
The inaugural championship took place in 1889 with just five clubs entering. These were Abbeydorney, Ballyduff, Kenmare, Kilgarvan and Kilmoyley. The very first championship match was held on 10 March 1889 when Abbeydorney beat Ballyduff by 1-1 to 0-1. Walkovers and delays were regular occurrences in the early years of the championship, while no records exist for some championship finals. More clubs fielded teams as the years went on, with the championships of 1905 and 1913 being held on a league basis.
The championship suffered severe disruption between 1920 and 1924 due to the War of Independence and subsequent Civil War. Several championships were abandoned midway through, while the championships of 1921 and 1923 were cancelled. The last championship which failed to be completed was in 1935.
Club dominance
Since the beginning, the championship has been dominated at various times by Ballyduff and Kilmoyley who are collectively known as the “big two”. They have won 49 championship titles between them. Kilmoyley dominated the first 25 years of the championship, winning ten titles between 1890 and 1914. The 1920s and 1930s saw a number of first-time winners, including Austin Stacks, Causeway and Lixnaw. Crotta O'Neill's also won their first championship in 1939 and dominated the next twelve years by winning eight titles in total.
The second half of the 20th century was dominated by Ballyduff. The club won 19 championship titles in a forty-year period between 1955 and 1995. The only club who came close to matching their dominance was Causeway who won six championships between 1979 and 1987. The first two decades of the 21st century has seen the Kilmoyley-Ballyduff hegemony continue. Kilmoyley won their first title after a 30-year fallow period in 2001, before claiming seven more titles up to 2016. Ballyduff won five championships between 2006 and 2017.
Top winners
Team | Winner | Winning Years | |
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1 | Ballyduff | 25 | 1891, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017 |
2 | Kilmoyley | 24 | 1890, 1892, 1894, 1895, 1900, 1901, 1905, 1907, 1910, 1914, 1948, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1970, 1971, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2015, 2016 |
3 | Lixnaw | 9 | 1933, 1954, 1983, 1985, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2014, 2018 |
Crotta O'Neill's | 9 | 1939, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1968 | |
5 | Causeway | 7 | 1932, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1998 |
St. Brendan's, Ardfert | 7 | 1949, 1952, 1967, 1975, 1986, 1990, 2013 | |
7 | Ballyheigue | 5 | 1946, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2000 |
8 | Abbeydorney | 4 | 1893, 1895, 1913, 1974 |
9 | Kenmare | 3 | 1889, 1902, 1942 |
Tralee Mitchels | 3 | 1908, 1911, 1912 | |
Tralee Parnells | 3 | 1918, 1919, 1924 | |
Austin Stacks | 3 | 1928, 1929, 1931, | |
Kilgarvan | 3 | 1953, 1956, 1958 | |
14 | Tralee Celtic | 2 | 1903, 1904 |
Tralee | 2 | 1925, 1927 | |
Kilflynn Pearses | 2 | 1937, 1938 | |
17 | Tullig | 1 | 1916 |
Tubridy | 1 | 1917 | |
St. Brendans Division (Ardfert, Causeway and Ballyheigue) [1] | 1 | 1936 | |
Banna | 1 | 1940 | |
Killarney | 1 | 1969 |
Finals listed by year
Winning Captains
- 1889: Lawrence Egan (Kenmare)
- 1890: Jack W. Quane (Kilmoyley)
- 1891: John O'Mahony (Ballyduff)
- 1892: Jack W. Quane (Kilmoyley)
- 1893: Davy Fitzgerald (Abbeydorney)
- 1894: John Gurnett (Kilmoyley)
- 1895: Jack W. Quane (Kilmoyley)
- 1896: Davy Fitzgerald (Abbeydorney)
- 1897: John Ban McCarthy (Lixnaw)
- 1898: No Record
- 1899: No Record
- 1900: Patsy O'Rourke (Kilmoyley)
- 1901; Patsy O'Rourke (Kilmoley)
- 1902: George Maybury (Kenmare)
- 1903: Chris Horan (Tralee Celtic)
- 1904: Paddy Guerin (Tralee Celtic)
- 1905: Tim Meehan (Kilmoyley)
- 1906: No Record
- 1907: Pat Meehan (Kilmoyley)
- 1908: Dan Mullins (Tralee Mitchels)
- 1909: No Record
- 1910: Tim Meehan (Kilmoyley)
- 1911: Paddy O'Mahoney (Tralee Mitchels)
- 1912: Tom Costelleo (Tralee Mitchels)
- 1913: Maurice Treacy (Abbeydorney)
- 1914: Tim Meehan (Kilmoyley)
- 1915: No Record
- 1916: Willie Mangan (Tullig)
- 1917: Pat Carmody (Tubird)
- 1918: John Dunne (Tralee Parnells)
- 1919: John Dunne (Tralee Parnells)
- 1920: No Record
- 1921: Not Held
- 1922: Not Finished
- 1923: Not Held
- 1924: No Record
- 1925: Jer "Pluggy" Moriarty (Tralee)
- 1926: No Record
- 1927: Not Held
- 1928: Joe Barrett (Rock Street)
- 1929: Dan Rayn (Rock Street)
- 1930: No Record
- 1931: Joe Barrett (Rock Street)
- 1932: Neilus Flynn (Causeway)
- 1933: Joe Barrett (Austin Stacks)
- 1934: Not Finished
- 1935: Not Played
- 1936: Neilus Flynn (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1937: Willie Shanahan (Pearses)
- 1938: John Twomey (Pearses)
- 1939: Jimmy Flaherty (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1940: Johnny Hussey (Banna)
- 1941: Jack Kenney (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1942: Jerry McCarthy (Kenmare)
- 1943: Pat Ladie (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1944: Jimmy Flaherty (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1945: Jimmy Flaherty (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1946: Christy O’Mahony (Ballyheigue)
- 1947: Jimmy Flaherty (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1948: Mick McGrath (Kilmoyley)
- 1949: Frank Kissane (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1950: Jimmy Flaherty (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1951: Tom Nolan (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1952: Johnny Hussey (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1953: Ritchie Purcell (Kilgarvan)
- 1954: Jim Hogan (Lixnaw)
- 1955: Michael Hennessy (Ballyduff)
- 1956: Paudie Healy (Kilgarvan)
- 1957: Brendan Hennessy (Ballyduff)
- 1958: Denis Hegarty (Kilgarvan)
- 1959: Teddy Hennessy (Ballyduff)
- 1960: Stephen O'Sullivan (Ballyduff)
- 1961: Ritchie McCarthy (Ballyduff)
- 1962: Michael Curran (Kilmoyley)
- 1963: John Flanagan (Kilmoyley)
- 1964: Michael Regan (Kilmoyley)
- 1965: Mike Joe Quinlan (Ballyduff)
- 1966: Thomas Leen (Ballyduff)
- 1967: John O' Sullivan (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1968: Tom Kenny (Crotta O'Neill's)
- 1969: Con O' Mara (Killarney)
- 1970: Patsy O'Connor (Kilmoyley)
- 1971: Mike Fitzgerald (Kilmoyley)
- 1972: Johnny Bunyan (Ballyduff)
- 1973: Pat Costello (Ballyduff)
- 1974: Tony Behan (Abbeydorney)
- 1975: James McGrath (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1976: Eamonn O'Sullivan (Ballyduff)
- 1977: Liam Boyle (Ballyduff)
- 1978: Mike Carroll (Ballyduff)
- 1979: Roger Hussy (Causeway)
- 1980: Roy Dineen (Causeway)
- 1981: Maurice Leahy (Causeway)
- 1982: Gerald O'Grady (Causeway)
- 1983: Moss McKenna (Lixnaw)
- 1984: Tom O'Sullivan (Ballyduff)
- 1985: Moss Allen (Lixnaw)
- 1986: John Crowley (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1987: Anthony O'Connor (Causeway)
- 1988: Tadgh O'Halloran (Ballyduff)
- 1989: John Hennessy (Ballyduff)
- 1990: Philip Stack (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 1991: Jimmy O'Sullivan (Ballyduff)
- 1992: Patrick O’Mahony (Ballyheigue)
- 1993: Liam Ross (Ballyduff)
- 1994: Noel Browne (Ballyduff)
- 1995: Christy Ross (Ballyduff)
- 1996: Patrick O’Mahony (Ballyheigue)
- 1997; Nicholas Roche (Ballyheigue)
- 1998: Maurice O'Carroll (Causeway)
- 1999: Trevor McKenna (Lixnaw)
- 2000: Michael ‘Boxer’ Slattery (Ballyheigue)
- 2001: James McCarthy (Kilmoyley)
- 2002: Ian Brick (Kilmoyley)
- 2003: Maurice Murnane (Kilmoyley)
- 2004: Shane Brick (Kilmoyley)
- 2005: Fergus Fitzmaurice (Lixnaw)
- 2006: David Slattery (Ballyduff)
- 2007: Patrick Dowling (Lixnaw)
- 2008: Tom Murnane (Kilmoyley)
- 2009: Micheal Regan (Kilmoyley)
- 2010: Padraig O'Grady (Ballyduff)
- 2011: Ally O'Connor (Ballyduff)
- 2012: Aidan Boyle (Ballyduff)
- 2013: Eamon Corridon (St. Brendan's, Ardfert)
- 2014: Maurice Corridan (Lixnaw)
- 2015: Sean Maunsell (Kilmoyley)
- 2016: Aidan McCabe (Kilmoyley)
- 2017: Mikey Boyle (Ballyduff)
- 2018: Darragh Shanahan (Lixnaw)
Records and statistics
Teams
By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Kerry Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:
- 1890s: 4 for Kilmoyley (1890-92-94-95)
- 1900s: 4 for Kilmoyley (1900-01-05-07)
- 1910s: 2 each for Kilmoyley (1910-14), Tralee Mitchels (1911-12) and Tralee Parnells (1918-19)
- 1920s: 2 each for Tralee (1925-27) and Austin Stacks (1928-29)
- 1930s: 2 for Kilflynn Pearses (1938-39)
- 1940s: 5 for Crotta O'Neill's (1941-43-44-45-47)
- 1950s: 3 each for Kilgarvan (1953-56-58) and Ballyduff (1955-57-59)
- 1960s: 4 for Ballyduff (1960-61-65-66)
- 1970s: 5 for Ballyduff (1972-73-76-77-78)
- 1980s: 4 for Causeway (1980-81-82-87)
- 1990s: 4 for Ballyduff (1991-93-94-95)
- 2000s: 6 for Kilmoyley (2001-02-03-04-08-09)
- 2010s: 4 for Ballyduff (2010-11-12-17)
Gaps
Top eleven longest gaps between successive championship titles:
- 64 years: Ballyduff (1891-1955)
- 61 years: Abbeydorney (1913-1974)
- 50 years: Crotta O'Neill's (1968-present)
- 47 years: Causeway (1932-1979)
- 46 years: Ballyheigue (1946-1992)
- 40 years: Kenmare (1902-1942)
- 34 years: Kilmoyley (1914-1948)
- 30 years: Kilmoyley (1971-2001)
- 29 years: Lixnaw (1954-1983)
- 23 years: St. Brendan's (1990-2013)
- 20 years: Lixnaw (1934-1954)
References
- ↑ Kerry County Board records
- ↑ "Conway is star man for Lixnaw on day referee requires Garda escort at finale". Irish Independent. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC final: Conway comes to Lixnaw's rescue". Hogan Stand. 8 October 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC final replay: Boyle is Ballyduff's hat-trick hero". Hogan Stand. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC final: Boyle forces replay". Hogan Stand. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
- ↑ "Kilmoyley survive fightback in Kerry replay". Irish Independent. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ↑ "Kilmoyley kingpins for 23rd time". Irish Examiner. 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC final replay: Eighth title for Lixnaw". Hogan Stand. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
- ↑ "Egan saves Saints with dramatic late equaliser". Irish Examiner. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
- ↑ "Famine over for Brendan's". Irish Examiner. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
- ↑ "Ballyduff land 24th title". Irish Examiner. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC: Ballyduff battle back to deny O'Neill's". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC: Ballyduff power to 22nd title". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC: Kilmoyley win record 22nd title". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Kerry SHC final: Daly's Kilmoyley cruise to victory". Hogan Stand. 20 October 2008. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Lixnaw take the title in surprise win". Irish Independent. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ↑ "Ballyduff triumph in Kerry hurling decider". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Lixnaw capture SHC title". Hogan Stand. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Four in-a-row for Kilmoyley". Hogan Stand. 4 October 2004. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Three-in-a-row for Kilmoyley". Hogan Stand. 6 October 2003. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Kilmoyley retain Kerry SHC crown". Hogan Stand. 30 September 2002. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
- ↑ "Fifth title for Ballyheigue". Hogan Stand. Retrieved 20 April 2012.