The Offaly Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Molloy Environmental Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Offaly GAA clubs. The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1896.
| Offaly Senior Hurling Championship | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2024 Offaly Senior Hurling Championship | |
 | |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 1896 |
| Region | Offaly (GAA) |
| Trophy | Seán Robbins Cup |
| No. of teams | 10 (Senior) 6 (Senior B) |
| Title holders |  Kilcormac–Killoughey (6th title) |
| First winner | Killoughey |
| Most titles |  Coolderry (31 titles) |
| Sponsors | Molloy Precast & Environmental Systems |
| TV partner(s) | TG4 (final only) |
| Official website | Official website |
Kilcormac–Killoughey are the title-holders, defeating Ballinamere by 0–16 to 1–11 in the 2024 final.
History
editThe title has been won at least once by 12 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Coolderry, who have won a total of 31 titles.
Since the beginning, the championship has been dominated by Coolderry, Birr, Drumcullen and St Rynagh's. They have won a combined total of 90 of the 124 championship titles. Coolderry dominated the first twenty years of the championship, winning eleven titles between 1889 and 1917. After this initial golden age, Coolderry regularly claimed championship titles in each of the following decades. After making their own breakthrough in 1908, Drumcullen went on to become the team of the decade during the 1920s after winning eight titles between 1918 and 1933. Tullamore and Birr subsequently came to the fore, winning eleven titles between them between 1932 and 1948.[citation needed]
Drumcullen enjoyed their most successful decade when they won seven championships between 1950 and 1960. This would be their last championship title. St Rynagh's inscribed their name on the roll of honour for the first time in 1965. They became the preeminent team of the next three decades and won 16 championship titles between 1965 and 1993. By this stage Birr had begun their own golden era. After winning their first championship in twenty years in 1991, the club went on to claim eleven more titles between then and 2008.[citation needed]
Format
editThe series of games are played during the spring, summer and autumn months with the county final currently being played at O'Connor Park in November. The prize for the winning team is the Seán Robbins Cup. Initially played as a knock-out competition, the championship currently features a group stage followed by a knock-out stage.
Teams
edit2024 Teams
editThe 10 teams competing in the 2024 Offaly Senior Hurling Championship are:
| Team | Location | Colours | Championship titles | Last championship title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ballinamere
|
Ballykimurray | Green and yellow | 0 | — |
| Belmont
|
Belmont | Green and white | 0 | — |
 Birr
|
Birr | Green and red | 22 | 2008 |
| Coolderry
|
Coolderry | Green and white | 31 | 2018 |
| Kilcormac–Killoughey
|
Kilcormac and Killoughey | Green and yellow | 6 | 2024 |
| Kinnitty
|
Kinnitty | Green and white | 9 | 1985 |
 Seir Kieran
|
Clareen | Black and amber | 4 | 1998 |
 Shinrone
|
Shinrone | Red and white | 1 | 2022 |
 St Rynagh's
|
Cloghan and Banagher | Blue and gold | 20 | 2021 |
 Tullamore
|
Tullamore | Blue and white | 10 | 2009 |
Honours
editThe winning team is presented with the Seán Robbins Cup. A native of Birr, Robbins served two terms as county chairman and served as Leinster Council chairman. He was also a president of the county board and was also a prominent referee at All-Ireland AND Leinster levels. The cup was first presented in 1960.[1]
The Offaly Senior Hurling Championship winners qualify for the subsequent Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship. This place is reserved for club teams only as divisional and amalgamated teams are not allowed in the provincial championship.
The Offaly County Championship is an integral part of the wider Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship. The winners of the Offaly county final join the champions of the other hurling counties to contest the provincial championship.
List of finals
editLegend
edit- Gold – Leinster senior club champions
- Silver – Leinster senior club runners-up
- (r) = replay
List of Offaly SHC finals
editRoll of honour
editBy club
edit| # | Club | Titles | Runners-up | Championship wins | Championship runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coolderry
|
31 | 18 | 1899, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1910, 1911, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1926, 1931, 1939, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1953, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1977, 1980, 1986, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2018 | 1920, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1937, 1938, 1948, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1979, 2005, 2006, 2021 |
| 2 | Birr
|
22 | 13 | 1912, 1913, 1915, 1938, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1971, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 | 1928, 1941, 1942, 1951, 1974, 1975, 1990, 1993, 2004, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2019 |
| 3 | St Rynagh's
|
20 | 16 | 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 | 1964, 1971, 1978, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 |
| 4 |  Drumcullen
|
17 | 11 | 1908, 1918, 1919, 1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1933, 1941, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1960 | 1909, 1931, 1934, 1949, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1973 |
| 5 | Tullamore
|
10 | 9 | 1909, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1955, 1959, 1964, 2009 | 1902, 1904, 1917, 1926, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 2010 |
| 6 | Kinnitty
|
9 | 11 | 1920, 1923, 1930, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985 | 1897, 1925, 1933, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 2008 |
| 7 | Kilcormac–Killoughey
|
6 | 8 | 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2023, 2024 | 1903, 1905, 1907, 2007, 2008, 2018, 2020, 2022 |
| 8 | Seir Kieran
|
4 | 7 | 1988, 1995, 1996, 1998 | 1952, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1997, 2000 |
| 9 | Killoughey
|
3 | 5 | 1896, 1897, 1907 | 1898, 1901, 1910, 1912, 1914 |
| 10 | Cadamstown
|
2 | 0 | 1900, 1902 | — |
| 11 | Lusmagh
|
1 | 2 | 1989 | 1982, 1992 |
| Fortal | 1 | 2 | 1898 | 1899, 1900 | |
| Shinrone
|
1 | 2 | 2022 | 1960, 2023 | |
| 14 | Rahan | 0 | 7 | — | 1896, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1936, 1953 |
 Clara
|
0 | 4 | — | 1923, 1924, 1927, 1935 | |
| Edenderry
|
0 | 3 | — | 1911, 1913, 1940 | |
| Moneygall | 0 | 1 | — | 1906 | |
| Clareen
|
0 | 1 | — | 1939 | |
| Shannon Rovers | 0 | 1 | — | 1957 | |
| Ballinamere
|
0 | 1 | — | 2024 |
Records and statistics
editManagers
editManagers in the Offaly Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.
| Manager | Team(s) | Wins | Winning years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pad Joe Whelehan | Birr | 8 | 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008 |
| Ken Hogan | Birr Coolderry St Rynagh's |
6 | 1991, 2010, 2011, 2019, 2020, 2021 |
| Danny Owens | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 3 | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| John Goode | Birr | 2 | 2005, 2006 |
| Kevin Martin | Tullamore | 1 | 2009 |
| Johnny Kelly | Coolderry | 1 | 2015 |
| Francis Forde | St Rynagh's | 1 | 2016 |
| Stephen Byrne | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 1 | 2017 |
| Joachim Kelly | Coolderry | 1 | 2018 |
| Trevor Fletcher | Shinrone | 1 | 2022 |
| Shane Hand | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 1 | 2023 |
Teams
editBy decade
editThe most successful team of each decade, judged by the number of Offaly Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:
- 1890s: 2 for Killoughey (1896–97)
- 1900s: 5 for Coolderry (1901-03-04-05-06)
- 1910s: 5 for Coolderry (1910-11-14-16-17)
- 1920s: 5 for Drumcullen (1924-25-27-28-29)
- 1930s: 5 for Tullamore (1932-34-35-36-37)
- 1940s: 5 for Birr (1940-43-44-46-48)
- 1950s: 6 for Drumcullen (1950-51-52-54-57-58)
- 1960s: 4 for St Rynagh's (1965-66-68-69)
- 1970s: 6 for St Rynagh's (1970-72-73-74-75-76)
- 1980s: 3 each for St Rynagh's (1981-82-87) and Kinnitty (1983-84-85)
- 1990s: 4 for Birr (1991-94-97-99)
- 2000s: 8 for Birr (2000-01-02-03-05-06-07-08)
- 2010s: 4 for Kilcormac–Killoughey (2012-13-14-17) 4 for Coolderry (2010-11-15-18)
Gaps
editTop ten longest gaps between successive championship titles:
- 45 years: Tullamore (1964–2009)
- 44 years: Kinnitty (1923–1967)
- 23 years: Tullamore (1909–1932)
- 23 years: Birr (1915–1938)
- 23 years: Birr (1948–1971)
- 23 years: St Rynagh's (1993–2016)
- 20 years: Birr (1971–1991)
- 18 years: Tullamore (1937–1955)
- 18 years: Coolderry (1986–2004)
- 14 years: Coolderry (1963–1977)
Top scorers
editBy year
edit| Year | Top scorer | Team | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Shane Dooley | Tullamore | 5-32 | 47 |
| 2009 | Joe Bergin | Seir Kieran | 5-63 | 78 |
| 2010 | Shane Dooley | Tullamore | 7-61 | 82 |
| 2011 | Damien Murray | Coolderry | 2-40 | 46 |
| 2012 | Ciarán Slevin | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 2-55 | 61 |
| 2013 | Ciarán Slevin | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 1-75 | 78 |
| 2014 | Brian Carroll | Coolderry | 4-63 | 75 |
| 2015 | Damien Murray | Coolderry | 4-63 | 75 |
| 2016 | Colm Coughlan | Kinnitty | 1-68 | 71 |
| 2017 | Joe Bergin | Seir Kieran | 7-54 | 75 |
| 2018 | Aidan Treacy | St Rynagh's | 1-82 | 85 |
| 2019 | Eoghan Cahill | Birr | 2-83 | 89 |
| 2020 | ||||
| 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | Eoghan Cahill | Birr | 1-64 | 67 |
| 2023 | Brian Duignan | Ballinamere | 1-38 | 41 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Winning captains honoured at Offaly decider". Hogan Stand. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ "Connolly goal puts icing on cake for Coolderry". Irish Independent. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ "Glory for Kilcormac/Killoughey". Irish Examiner. 8 October 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2012.
- ^ "Kilcormac-Killoughey retain Offaly senior hurling crown". The Score. 6 October 2013. Archived from the original on 9 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
- ^ "Currams leads charge for three-in-a-row Offaly champs". Irish Independent. 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Brady's late strike revives Coolderry". Irish Independent. 19 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "St Rynagh's withstand Birr charge". Irish Examiner. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ "Offaly SHC final: Kilcormac-Killoughey reign supreme". Hogan Stand. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
- ^ "Shinrone make history with first Offaly SHC title". Hogan Stand. 2 October 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
- ^ "Emphatic Kilcormac-Killoughey return to Offaly hurling summit". Hogan Stand. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.