The Ashbourne Cup is an Irish camogie tournament played each year to determine the national champion university or third level college.Pádraig Puirséil: Scéal na Camógaíochta (1984) The Ashbourne Cup is the highest division in inter-collegiate camogie. The competition features many of the current stars of the game and is sometimes known as the 'Olympics of Camogie' because of the disproportionate number of All Star and All-Ireland elite level players who participate each year Since 1972 it has been administered by the Higher Education committee of the Camogie Association. University College Cork are the current champions, having won the Ashbourne cup in 2026.
Format Each of the 4 @3rdLevelCamogie competitions follow a group stage and knockout format. Teams are generally divided into 2 groups with the top 2 in each group advancing to the semi-finals and 3rd place in both groups contesting the shield final. Each competition operates on a promotion and relegation basis.
History The competition is the brainchild of Agnes O'Farrelly (1874–1951), founder member (1914) and president (1914–51) of the UCD camogie club who later served as president of the Camogie Association of Ireland in 1941–2. In 1915 she persuaded her friend, Irish language activist William Gibson, aka Liam Mac Giolla Bhríde (1868–1942), second Lord Ashbourne, to donate a trophy for the camogie intervarsity competition. The first game of intercollegiate camogie took place between University College Dublin and University College Cork on 18 April 1915. NUI Galway (then University College, Galway) joined the competition in 1916, Queen's University Belfast in 1934, and NUI Maynooth (then St Patrick's College), New University of Ulster, Coleraine, and Trinity College, Dublin in 1972. Apart from 1934 to 1937, until 1960 the competition was played on a league basis, and since then the concluding stages have been played together on a single weekend in mid-February. There was no competition in 1943, due to war-time restrictions, and the competition remained unfinished in 1963, when University College Dublin fielded an ineligible player for the final, which was drawn and never replayed. University College Cork claimed the title. The Ashbourne Cup semi finals and finals are now played alongside the Purcell (2nd Division), Fr. Meachair (3rd Division) and Uí Mhaolagáin Cups (4th Division) on the second weekend of February.
Purcell Cup The CCAO also oversees the Purcell Cup (Division 2), which has been contested since 1977. The Purcell Cup, was donated by Úna Uí Phuirséil, President of the Camogie Association 1976–78, and her husband Pádraig Puirséil, Gaelic games correspondent for The Irish Press 1954–78. Mary Immaculate College, Limerick defeated Ulster Polytechnic by 3–0 to 0–1 in the first final in St Patrick's. Drumcondra on 6 March 1977.
Fr Meachair Cup Colleges who do not compete in the Ashbourne and Purcell Cups play for a cup named after Fr Gearóid Ó Meachair (Gerry Meagher, d1982), from Cappawhite, Co Tipperary, founder and popular trainer of the NUI Maynooth camogie team. Inaugurated in 1986, the Fr. Meachair Cup is now competed by both college senior and intermediate teams.
O'Mhaolagáin Cup The remaining teams not in the first three championships participate in the 4th division or Uí Mhaolagáin cup, with the format following the group and knockout stages implemented in the other competitions. The trophy is named for Camogie Association President of 1991–4, Brídín Uí Mhaolagáin.
Ashbourne Cup Winners
Team County Wins Last win University College Dublin (UCD) Dublin35 2008 University College Cork (UCC) Cork33 2026 National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG, formerly UCG) Galway15 1994 University of Limerick (UL) Limerick11 2024 Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) Waterford8 2016 University of Ulster, Jordanstown (UUJ) Antrim3 1997 TU Dublin (TUD GAA) Dublin1 2023 Queen's University Belfast (QUB GAA) Antrim1 1991 Dublin City University (DCU DÉ) Dublin1 2022
Highlights & Incidents Highlights and incidents of the championship history include:
The 1918 competition played before record crowds of up to 4,000 for each of three matches in Terenure over the weekend of Feb 16–18, Dublin beating Cork on Friday, Galway and Cork drawing one goal each on Saturday and Dublin beating Galway 2–0 to 1–1 on Sunday to secure the trophy when Nora Cleary's goal from a 60-yard shot proving the highlight of the weekend, Margaret McGrane scoring Dublin's second goal Harry Diamond, member of Northern Ireland Parliament, refereed the 1935 final, the first to be hosted by Queen's University Some members of the UCG winning 1917 team refused to have their names engraved on the cup in the Irish language, something that brought their future selection into doubt. The Galway, Antrim and Dublin county boards suspended UCG, Queen's and UCD for six months for taking part in the 1949 Ashbourne Cup as they had refused instructions not to play against UCC, affiliated to the Cork board which was disaffiliated from camogie's central body for the term of a complex eight-year split in the Association. The inconclusive 1961 final when the Ashbourne Cup committee decided one of the UCD players was ineligible. The match was drawn 2-1 each and never replayed, with UCC claiming victory. The 1962 competition when snow was cleared from the field, the semi-finals played on the following day and the final completed a fortnight later when Anne Duane's late goal gave Dublin a late victory in one of the best Ashbourne cup ties of the 12-a-side era. Galway's breakthrough in 1965 powered by goalkeeper Eileen Naughton who held Queen's scoreless in the semi-final and Dublin could manage just one point in the final, The 1966 semi-final in which Dublin beat Queen's by an astonishing 17–6 to nil, as Ann Carroll inspired Dublin to victory in her first appearance in a competition where she was to become the outstanding personality over a five-year period. The 1969 semi-finals played in four inches of snow on the Malone Road sports fields in Belfast. The final was eventually played in Athlone when Dublin won with the help of three goals from Joan Traynor. In 1972 Trinity College, NUI Maynooth and the University of Ulster, Coleraine brought the number of teams competing in the Ashbourne Cup to seven Margery Doohan's performance in the 1970 final, her five goals won her Irish Press sports personality of the week in a year when UCD won without their injured captain Ann Carroll Cork's six in a row 1972–77 with players like Val O'Dwyer and Aideen McCarthy and three goal hero of 1977 Noreen McCarthy, their toughest contest in the period may have been the 1976 quarter-final 2–6 to 3–2 victory over Maynooth, one of the best matches in the 12-a-side era of Ashbourne history, in which Angela Downey scored 2-2. Maynooth came closest to winning the Fitzgibbon when it could draw on the services of the iconic Angela Downey between 1975 and 1979, appearing in two finals. The 1974 first round match between UCG and Queen's played in perhaps the worst conditions ever for a camogie match - the ball became lodged in a mud pool for a considerable period Dublin's nine victories in eleven years in the 1980s, launched by Edel Murphy's scores in a closely fought final against UCC in 1980 and spearheaded by players such as Germaine Noonan, Marie Connell and Breda Kenny in subsequent years. Cork's eight goals in arctic conditions at Santry in 1985, decisively defeating UCD with great displays by Claire Cronin, Patsy Kenelry and three goal hero Norma Delaney. The emergence of Queen's in 1991 led by Deirdre O'Doherty, Joan Tobin and Mary Black followed closely by Jordanstown in 1992 marking the high point of Colleges camogie in Ulster, followed by Limerick's victory over Waterford in an all-newcomers final in 1995 when Sinéad Millea's prolific scoring gave Limerick victory. Limerick's breakthrough in 1995 which led to six titles in 11 years including a treble in 2004-6 The first 15-a-side final of a major camogie competition in 1999 when Waterford celebrated their first success and the first non-University success thanks to Mary Walshe's 39th minute winning goal. Waterford's 2009-13 five in a row, powered by All Ireland stars from Cork and Wexford and Kilkenny, who supplied five of their forwards on the 2012 team The 2023 competition saw the University of Limerick knocked out of the competition, despite beating Maynooth University by 34 points on score difference. They received an email from the THDC stating their elimination 72 hours before the semi finals were due to take place.https://www.sportsjoe.ie/gaa/282649-282649
Ashbourne Cup Champion Colleges
1915 UCD 1916 UCD 1917 NUIG 1918 UCD 1919 UCC 1920 NUIG 1921 UCD 1922 UCC 1923 UCC 1924 UCC 1925 UCC 1926 UCC 1927 UCC 1928 NUIG 1929 UCC 1930 NUIG 1931 UCC 1932 UCC 1933 UCD 1934 UCC 1935 UCD 1936 UCC 1937 UCC 1938 UCD 1939 UCD 1940 UCD 1941 UCD 1942 UCD 1943 Not Played 1944 UCC 1945 UCC 1946 UCD 1947 UCC 1948 NUIG 1949 NUIG 1950 UCD 1951 UCC 1952 UCD 1953 UCD 1954 UCD 1955 UCD 1956 NUIG 1957 NUIG 1958 UCD 1959 UCD 1960 UCD 1961 UCD 1962 UCD 1963 UCC 1964 NUIG 1965 UCC 1966 UCD 1967 UCC 1968 NUIG 1969 UCD 1970 UCD 1971 UCD 1972 UCC 1973 UCC 1974 UCC 1975 UCC 1976 UCC 1977 UCC 1978 NUIG 1979 NUIG 1980 UCD 1981 UCD 1982 UCD 1983 UCD 1984 UCD 1985 UCC 1986 UCD 1987 UCD 1988 UCD 1989 NUIG 1990 NUIG 1991 QUB 1992 UUJ 1993 UUJ 1994 NUIG 1995 UL 1996 UCC 1997 UUJ 1998 UCC1998 final UCC 1-7 WIT 1-6, report in Irish Examiner 1999 WIT1999 final WIT 1-6 UCC 0-4, report in Irish Examiner 2000 UCC2000 final UCC 2-3 UCD 1-5 in Galway, report on RTÉ online 2001 WIT2001 final UL 2-6 WIT 1-8, report on RTÉ online 2002 UCC2002 final UCC 1-11 WIT 1-4 at Ballinlough, Cork, report on RTÉ online 2003 UCC2003 final UCC 1-10 UCD 0-6 at the Mardyke, report on UCC.ie 2004 UL2004 final UL 6-5 UCD 1-8, O'Toole Park, Crumlin, report on RTÉ online 2005 UL2005 final UL 0-12 UCD 1-4 at Ballygunner, report in Irish Independent and Hogan Stand 2006 UL2006 final UL 0-13 UCD 1-9 at Limerick reports in and sportsfocus.com 2007 UCD2007 final UCD 2-10 UCC 1-4 at Ballinderreen, “UCD land Ashbourne Cup for first time in 19 years," Irish Times 2008 UCD2008 final UCD 5-9 WIT 0-9 at Casement Park, report on camogie.ie 2009 WIT2009 final WIT 1-9 UCD 1-6 at Páirc Uí Rinn, report in Irish Times and 2010 WIT2010 final WIT 0-11 UCC 1-6, reports in Camogie.ie, Irish Independent and Irish Times 2011 WIT.2011 final WIT 2-10 UCC 2-2, reports in Camogie.ie and Irish Independent 2012 WIT2012 final WIT 2-8 UL 0-4, reports in Camogie.ie and Irish Times 2013 WIT 2014 UL 2015 WIT 2016 UL 2017 UL 2018 UL 2019 UL 2020 UL 2021 Not Played 2022 DCU 2023 TUD 2024 UL
Purcell Cup Champion Colleges
1977 Mary I 1978 Mary I 1979 Ulster Poly 1980 Thomond 1981 Thomond 1982 St Mary's, Belfast 1983 Mary I 1984 Ulster Poly 1986 Thomond 1987 Thomond 1988 Thomond 1989 Mary I 1990 Waterford RTC 1991 Thomond 1992 Waterford RTC 1993 Athlone RTC 1994 UCC 1995 Athlone RTC 1996 Maynooth 1997 Queen's Belfast 1998 Mary I 1999 Limerick IT 2000 UUJ 2001 Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) 2002 Carlow 2003 UUJ 2004 Athlone IT 2005 Garda College 2006 UUJ 2007 Athlone IT 2008 Queen's Belfast 2009 Athlone IT 2010 DIT 2011 Queen's Belfast2011 final QUB 2-10 DCU 0-7, report on Camogie.ie 2012 DCU2012 final DCU 4-7 QUB 0-4, report on Camogie.ie 2013 DCU 2014 UCC 2015 Mary I 2016 Cork IT 2017 DIT 2018 NUIG 2019 Maynooth University 2020 UCD 2021 Not Played 2022 TU Dublin (formerly DIT) 2023 MTU Cork 2024 University of Galway 2025 Mary I 2026 UL
Fr Meachair Cup Champion Colleges
2012 Mary Immaculate College, Limerick 2013 St Patrick's College Drumcondra 2014 IT Carlow 2015 IT Carlow 2016 Trinity College Dublin