The Connacht GAA Post-Primary Schools Senior A Hurling Championship is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Connacht Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in the province of Connacht, and has been contested every year, except on two occasions, since 1938.
The final, usually held in February, serves as the culmination of a round robin and knockout series of games played between October and January. Eligible players must be under the age of 19.
The Connacht Colleges Championship is an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Colleges Championship. The winners and runners-up of the Connacht final, like their counterparts in the Munster and Leinster Championships, advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals or semi-finals.
The title has been won at least once by 14 different schools, 8 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are St Mary's College, who have won the competition 25 times.
St Raphael's College are the current (2024) champions.
History
While hurling championships for schools in Leinster and Munster had been organised since 1918, it would be another 20 years before a similar competition was established in Connacht. Participation was limited to voluntary secondary schools. Roscommon CBS were the winners of the inaugural championship and claimed a second consecutive title in 1939. They remain the only County Roscommon school to have won the title, as County Galway schools have claimed every available title since then.
St Mary's College dominated the early years of the championship, winning 20 of their titles between 1940 and 1967. Presentation College, Athenry and Our Ladys College, Gort shared nine titles during the 1970s, before st Joseph's College, Garbally emerged as a new force in the 1980s. St Raphael's College, Loughrea won five titles throughout the nineties, while they also became the first Connacht team to win the Dr Croke Cup. Gort Community School dominated the championship at the turn of the century, winning all ten of their titles in a 12-year period between 1999 and 2010. Mercy Colleges, a team made up of players from St Raphael's, Loughrea and Mercy College, Woodford, became the first amalgamation to win the title in 2013. Since then, Presentation College, Athenry have emerged to become the dominant force.
Current format Participating teams The following five teams participated in the 2023 championship:
Team Location Colours Coláiste Bhaile Chláir Claregalway Blue and white Gort Community School Gort Black and white Presentation College Athenry Maroon and white St Brigid's College Loughrea Blue and navy St Raphael's College Loughrea Green and red
Championship The championship begins with a group stage of five teams. Each team meets the others in the group once in a round-robin format. The first-ranked team automatically qualifies for the final. The second and third-ranked teams play off in a lone semi-final.
Qualification for the All-Ireland Championship As of 2014, the winners and runners up of the Connacht Championship qualify for the All-Ireland Colleges Championship. The runners-up qualify for the quarter-finals, while on some occasions the champions receive a bye to the semi-final stage (however, this is done in rotation with the Munster and Leinster champions).
Sponsorship
Mezzino Student Accommodation became the title sponsor of the championship for a five-year period in September 2020.
Trophy and medals
The John Ryan Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It is named in honour of John Ryan who won a colleges title with Presentation College, Athenry in 1976 before being part of the Galway team that won the All-Ireland SHC title in 1980. The cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. In accordance with GAA rules, the Connacht Council awards a set of gold medals to the championship winners.
Roll of honour
#TeamWonYears won1 St Mary's College 25 1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1979,1988, 1989, 1990, 19942 Presentation College, Athenry 14 1970, 1971, 1976, 1977, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2025. 20263 Our Lady's College, Gort 10 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1993 4 Gort Community School 9 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 St Raphael's College 8 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2020, 20236 St Joseph's College, Garbally 7 1959, 1968, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987 7 Roscommon CBS 2 1938, 1939 St Molaise's College, Portumna 2 1961, 1962 9 De La Salle, Loughrea 1 1948 St Joseph's Patrician College 1 1958 Mercy College, Woodford 1 2002 Portumna Community School 1 2012 Mercy Colleges 1 2013 St Brigid's College, Loughrea 1 2017
List of finals + Year Winners Score Runners-up Score 1980 Garbally College 1-07 Portumna College 0-06 1981 Our Lady's College 2–13 Portumna College 0-02 1982 Garbally College 2-07 Our Lady's College 0-03 1983 Garbally College 6–12 Presentation College 0-02 1984 Our Lady's College 3-04 Garbally College 1-08 1985 Garbally College 2-09 Our Lady's College 1-07 1986 Garbally College 2-03 Presentation College 1-04 1987 Garbally College 2-08 St Mary's College 0-05 1988 St Mary's College 0-08 Portumna Community School 0-07 1989 St Mary's College 1-07 Garbally College 1-05 1990 St Mary's College 0-09 St Raphael's College 0-06 1991 St Raphael's College 2-07 St Mary's College 0–10 1992 St Raphael's College 2–12 Portumna Community School 1-04 1993 Our Lady's College 1-08 Garbally College 1-06 1994 St Mary's College 1–12 St Raphael's College 3-02 1995 St Raphael's College 5–13 Portumna Community School 1-09 1996 St Raphael's College 4-05 Portumna Community School 1-06 1997 St Raphael's College 1–12 Presentation College 1-06 1998 St Raphael's College 1–12 Presentation College 0-07 1999 Gort Community School 0–13 St Mary's College 1-05 2000 Gort Community School 2–19 St Raphael's College 0-08 2001 Gort Community School 3–18 St Raphael's College 0-04 2002 Mercy College 1–12 Gort Community School 0-08 2003 Gort Community School 3-09 St Raphael's College 0-04 2004 St Raphael's College 3–12 Portumna Community School 2–11 2005 Gort Community School 6-03 Galway City Colleges 2–12 2006 Gort Community School 2–16 Portumna Community School 0–13 2007 Gort Community School 2–15 Portumna Community School 0-04 2008 Gort Community School 2–16 Mercy Colleges 0–15 2009 Gort Community School 2–14 Portumna Community School 0-08 2010 Presentation College 1–13 Gort Community School 2-09 2011 Presentation College 4-08 Mercy Colleges 1-07 2012 Portumna Community School 2–10 Mercy Colleges 0–12 2013 Mercy Colleges 0–14 Presentation College 0-09 2014 Presentation College 1–16 St Brigid's College 0–16 2015 Presentation College 0–15 St Brigid's College 0-06 2016 Presentation College 2–17 Gort Community School 1–16 2017 St Brigid's College 1–12 Presentation College 0–14 2018 Presentation College 2–19 Gort Community School 1-08 2019 Presentation College 1–14 Gort Community School 0–10 2020 St Raphael's College 1–10 Presentation College 0-09 2021 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2022 Presentation College 1–12 Gort Community School 1-09 2023 Presentation College 0–19 St. Raphael's College 2–10 2024 St. Raphael's College 0–14 Presentation College 0–12 2025 Presentation College 3–15 Coláiste Bhaile Chláir 0-09 2026 Presentation College 1-21 St. Raphael's College 1–18 Notes: 1994 - The first match ended in a draw: St Mary's College 2–13, St Raphael's College 5-04.
Records and statistics Final
Most wins: 25: St Mary's College, Galway (1940, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1979, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1994) Most consecutive wins: 9: St Mary's College, Galway (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Teams By decade The most successful college of each decade, judged by number of championship titles, is as follows: 1930s: 2 for Roscommon CBS (1938–39) 1940s: 6 for St Mary's College (1940-41-42-46-47-49) 1950s: 8 for St Mary's College (1950-51-52-53-54-55-56-57) 1960s: 6 for St Mary's College (1960-63-64-65-66-67) 1970s: 5 for Our Lady's College (1972-73-74-75-78) 1980s: 5 for St Joseph's College (1980-83-85-86-87) 1990s: 6 for St Raphael's College (1991-92-95-96-97-98) 2000s: 8 for Gort Community School (2000-01-03-05-06-07-08-09) 2010s: 7 for Presentation College, Athenry (2010-11-14-15-16-18-19) 2020s: 2 for Presentation College, Athenry (2022–23)
Gaps Longest gaps between successive championship titles: 33 years: Presentation College, Athenry (1977–2010) 16 years: St. Raphael's College (2004–2020) 12 years: St Mary's College (1967–1979) 12 years: St Joseph's College (1968–1980) 9 years: St Joseph's College (1959–1968) 9 years: St Mary's College (1979–1988) 9 years: Our Lady's College (1984–1993)
References