North Cork Junior A Football Championship
| North Cork Junior A Football Championship | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1926 |
| Title holders | Charleville (1st title) |
| Most titles | Mitchelstown (24 titles) |
| Sponsors | Synergy Fermoy Credit Union |
The North Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Synergy Fermoy Credit Union Junior Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Avondhu Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1926 for junior Gaelic football teams in the northern part of Cork.
The series of games begin in April, with the championship culminating with the final in the autumn. The championship includes a knock-out stage and a "back door" for teams defeated in the first round.
The North Cork Junior Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior Football Championship. The winners and runners-up of the North Cork championship join their counterparts from the other seven divisions to contest the county championship.
12 clubs currently participate in the North Cork Championship. The title has been won at least once by 16 different clubs. The all-time record-holders are Mitchelstown, who have won a total of 24 titles.
Charleville are the title-holders after defeating Buttevant in the 2018 championship final
The championship
Overview
The North Cork Junior Championship is effectively a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random — there are no seeds.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match ends as a draw 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.
Format
Round 1: Twelve teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the six pairings. The six winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The six losing teams advance directly to Round 2.
Round 2: Six teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the three pairings. One of the winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The remaining two teams enter into a play-off, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals. The three losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Quarter-finals: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the eight pairings. The four winning teams advance directly to the semi-finals. The four losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. 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.
Participating teams
| Team | Location | Colours |
|---|---|---|
| Ballyclough | Ballyclough | Green and yellow |
| Ballyhooly | Ballyhooly | Blue and yellow |
| Buttevant | Buttevant | Black and yellow |
| Charleville | Charleville | Red and white |
| Fermoy | Fermoy | Black and yellow |
| Glanworth | Glanworth | Green and white |
| Killavullen | Killavullen | Blue and white |
| Kilshannig | Glantane | Blue and yellow |
| Kilworth | Kilworth | Red and white |
| Liscarroll-Churchtown Gaels | Churchtown | Black and yellow |
| Mallow | Mallow | Red and yellow |
| Mitchelstown | Mitchelstown | Red and black |
Roll of honour
| # | Team | Wins | Winning Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mitchelstown | 24 | 1928, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2013 |
| 2 | Glanworth | 14 | 1942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1963, 1971, 2006, 2008, 2009 |
| 3 | Kilshannig | 9 | 1959, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1996, 2014 |
| 4 | Fermoy | 7 | 1926, 1936, 1941, 1974, 1993, 1997, 2003 |
| 5 | Grange | 5 | 1964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1979 |
| Clyda Rovers | 5 | 1980, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989 | |
| Ballyclough | 5 | 2004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016 | |
| 8 | Kildorrery | 4 | 1978, 1990, 1994, 2007 |
| 9 | Mallow | 3 | 1929, 1933, 1984 |
| Killavullen | 3 | 1998, 1999, 2000 | |
| 11 | Dromtarriffe | 2 | 1930, 1932 |
| Deel Rovers | 2 | 1981, 1991 | |
| Doneraile | 2 | 1983, 1992 | |
| 14 | Sons of Liberty | 1 | 1931, 1938 |
| Newmarket | 1 | 1927 | |
| Buttevant | 1 | 2017 | |
| Charleville | 1 | 2018 |
Records
By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of North Cork Junior Football Championship titles, is as follows:
- 1920s: 1 each for Fermoy (1926), Newmarket (1927), Mitchelstown (1928) and Mallow (1929)
- 1930s: 4 for Mitchelstown (1934-35-37-39)
- 1940s: 5 for Mitchelstown (1940-43-44-47-48)
- 1950s: 5 for Mitchelstown (1951-55-56-57-58)
- 1960s: 3 each for Mitchelstown (1960-61-69) and Kilshannig (1965-67-68)
- 1970s: 3 each for Grange (1970-77-79) and Mitchelstown (1972-73-75)
- 1980s: 5 for Clyda Rovers (1980-86-87-88-89)
- 1990s: 2 each for Kildorrery (1990-94), Fermoy (1993-97) and Killavullen (1998-99)
- 2000s: 3 for Glanworth (2006-08-09)
- 2010s: 3 each for Mitchelstown (2010-11-13) and Ballyclough (2012-15-16)
Gaps
Top ten longest gaps between successive championship titles:
- 51 years: Mallow (1933-1984)
- 35 years: Glanworth (1971-2006)
- 33 years: Fermoy (1941-1974)
- 20 years: Mitchelstown (1975-1995)
- 19 years: Fermoy (1974-1993)
- 18 years: Kilshannig (1996-2014)
- 13 years: Kildorrery (1994-2007)
- 13 years: Kildorrery (1994-2007)
- 12 years: Kilshannig (1978-1990)
- 10 years: Fermoy (1926-1936)
- 10 years: Deel Rovers (1981-1991)