The British University Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition held for universities in Great Britain. It is organised by the British Universities Gaelic Athletic Association (BUGAA); a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee overseeing Gaelic Games in universities across England, Wales, and Scotland. Unlike the British University Men's Gaelic Football Championship, this competition is not overseen by the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). The trophies for British University Gaelic Games Championships memorialise students who were pioneers of Gaelic Games at British Universities. The Hurling Championship Trophy is known as the Michael O'Leary Cup, after a founder member of the hurling club at the University of Glasgow who died in 2001.
History Cross-code hurling and shinty games between Irish and Scottish university teams go back a number of years, butBritish intervarsity hurling took longer to get off the ground than Gaelic football, which held its first tournament in 1991. After an exhibition game played by Combined Universities selections of Ireland in 2000,Dónal McAnallen (2012). The Cups That Cheered – A History of the Sigerson, Fitzgibbon and Higher Education Gaelic Games, The Collins Press, Cork, pp. 495—509Paul Derby & David Hassan (2013). Emigrant Players: Sport and the Irish Diaspora, Routledge, pp. 232 in April 2002 the inaugural British University Hurling Championship took place at Pearse Park, Glasgow. The tournament involved 'regional' teams, with Abertay University as the sole single-university team. Abertay won the first title, beating a 'Scottish Select' team in the final, made up of players from Donegal, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and Limerick.
From 2002/03 onwards the championship has been contested by single-university teams, and has been hosted in multiple venues across the UK, including Dawson Park in Dundee, Hough End in Manchester and Páirc na hÉireann in Solihull. Scottish universities have traditionally dominated the competition, reflecting the strong diaspora of Irish students at Scottish universities as well as the presence of shinty clubs and the cross-promotion between the two sports.
In 2003, the University of Dundee became the first British university to compete in the Fergal Maher Cup - the Division 3 championship in Ireland. In 2008, Edinburgh Napier University won the Fergal Maher Cup, becomig the first, and currently only, university outside of Ireland to win Irish hurling silverware by beating GMIT Letterfrack in the final. Edinburgh Napier won the tournament again in 2010, beating Dundalk IT.
British University Hurling Championship Finals by year YearWinnerScoreRunner-upSource2015-16Robert Gordon2–080–13Liverpool John Moores2014-15Liverpool John Moores2013-14Edinburgh Napier2012-13Edinburgh NapierSemi-final: Edinburgh Napier University v Liverpool John Moore's University2011-12Edinburgh Napier4–200–07Robert Gordon2010-11Edinburgh Napier2009-10Edinburgh Napier2008-09Edinburgh Napier1–070–03Liverpool John Moores2007-08Edinburgh Napier0–141–01Liverpool John Moores2006-07Edinburgh Napier1–040–01Robert Gordon2005-06Dundee3–071–00Robert Gordon2004-05Glamorgan2003-04Dundee2002-03DundeeAbertay2001-02AbertayScottish SelectTeam comprised Irish students hailing from Donegal, Cork, Galway, Kilkenny and LimerickDonegal Times, 8 May 2002, http://www.donegaltimes.com/2002/05_1/sport.html Incorporated into the University of South Wales in 2013.
Roll of Honour
8 - Edinburgh Napier University 3 - University of Dundee 1 - Abertay University, University of South WalesIncludes wins by the University of Glamorgan., Liverpool John Moores University, Robert Gordon University
See also
British University Mens' Gaelic Football Championship British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championship
References