The Ulster Council (Irish: Comhairle Uladh) is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in the city of Armagh.
 | |
| Irish: | Cúige Uladh |
|---|---|
| Location: | Ulster |
| Number of counties: | 9 |
| Province colours: | Gold Black |
| Major grounds: | Casement Park, Belfast St Tiernach's Park, Clones |
| Most All-Ireland titles | |
| Hurling: | None |
| Football: | Down and Cavan (5 each) |
| Most provincial titles | |
| Hurling: | Antrim (48) |
| Football: | Cavan (40) |
| Interprovincial Championship wins | |
| Hurling: | 0 |
| Football: | 28 |
| Standard kit | |
        Regular kit
| |
The first Ulster GAA Convention was held on 22 March 1903 in Armagh. Belfast solicitor George Martin was elected as first president with L. F. O'Kane (Derry) as first secretary. Victor O'Nolan (Tyrone), the father of writer Flann O'Brien, was elected vice-president. Danny Murphy (Down) has been Ulster Council secretary and chief executive officer since 1998. Murphy is a former vice president of the GAA and president of Ulster GAA. On 4 July 2012, Murphy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate for Services to Sport and Community Relations.[1]
County boards
editFootball
editProvincial team
editThe Ulster provincial football team represents the province of Ulster in Gaelic football. The team competes in the Railway Cup.
Players
editPlayers from the following county teams represent Ulster: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone.
Competitions
editInter-county
edit| Competition | Year | Champions | Title | Runners-up | Next edition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Senior Football Championship | 2022 | Derry | 8th | Donegal | 2023 | ||
| Dr McKenna Cup | 2022 | Monaghan | 15th | Donegal | 2023 | ||
| Ulster Junior Football Championship | 1986 | Tyrone | 3rd | Monaghan | TBD | ||
| Ulster Under-20 Football Championship | 2022 | Tyrone | 15th | Cavan | 2023 | ||
| Ulster Minor Football Championship | 2022 | Tyrone | 25th | Derry | 2023 | ||
| Dr Lagan Cup | 1967 | Donegal | 4th | TBD |
Club
edit| Competition | Year | Champions | Title | Runners-up | Next edition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Senior Club Football Championship | 2022 | Glen | 1st | Kilcoo | 2023 | ||
| Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship | 2021 | Steelstown | 1st | Moortown | 2022 | ||
| Ulster Junior Club Football Championship | 2022 | Stewartstown Harps | 2nd | Drumlane | 2023 | ||
| Ulster Under-21 Club Football Championship | |||||||
| Ulster Minor Club Football Championship | 2019 | Lavey | 1st | Termon | TBD | ||
| Ulster Senior Club Football League | 2016 | Glenullin | 3rd | Coalisland | TBD |
All-time top scorers from Ulster county teams
editAs of 3 June 2008 according to the BBC.[2]
| Rank | Player | County team | Tally | Total score | Championship years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oisín McConville | Armagh | 11–197 | 230
|
1997– |
| 2 | Peter Canavan | Tyrone | 9–192 | 218
|
1989–2005 |
| 3 | Paddy Bradley | Derry | 13–170 | 209
|
2000–2012 |
| 4 | Paddy Doherty | Down | 15–159 | 204
|
1954–1971 |
| 5 | Peter Donohoe | Cavan | 17–133 | 184
|
1945–1955 |
| 6 | Seán O'Neill | Down | 17–125 | 176
|
1959–1975 |
| 7 | Charlie Gallagher | Cavan | 10–142 | 172
|
?–? |
| 8 | Steven McDonnell | Armagh | 15–111 | 156
|
2000– |
| 9 | Seán O'Connell | Derry | 11–118 | 151
|
1957–1975 |
| 10 | Ronan Carolan | Cavan | 2–138 | 144
|
?–? |
- Notes
- Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers.
All-time top goalscorers from Ulster county teams
editAs of 15 June 2008, according to the Sunday Tribune.[3]
| Rank | Player | County team | Number of goals | Championship years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steven McDonnell | Armagh | 17
|
2000–2012 |
| Peter Donohoe | Cavan | 1945–1955 | ||
| Seán O'Neill | Down | 1959–1975 | ||
| 4 | Paddy Doherty | Down | 15
|
1954–1971 |
| 5 | Paddy Bradley | Derry | 13
|
2000– |
| Ger Houlahan | Armagh | 1984–2000 | ||
| James McCartan Snr | Down | 1958–1967 | ||
| Brendan Coulter | Down | 2000–2015 | ||
| 9 | Joe Stafford | Cavan | 12
|
1943–1949 |
| Enda Muldoon | Derry | 1997– | ||
| Jason Reilly | Cavan | 1997– | ||
| 12 | Seán O'Connell | Derry | 11
|
1957–1975 |
| P. T. Treacy | Fermanagh | 1960–1973 | ||
| Oisín McConville | Armagh | 1997–2008 |
Notes:
- Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers.
Hurling
editProvincial team
editThe Ulster provincial hurling team represents the province of Ulster in hurling. The team competes in the Railway Cup.
Players
editCompetitions
editInter-county
edit| Competition | Year | Champions | Title | Runners-up | Next edition | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ulster Senior Hurling Championship | 2017 | Antrim | 57th | Down | TBD | ||
| Ulster Senior Hurling Shield | 2017 | Derry | 1st | Tyrone | TBD | ||
| Conor McGurk Cup | 2022 | Down | 2nd | Donegal | 2023 | ||
| Ulster Intermediate Hurling Championship | 1998 | Down | 4th | London | TBD | ||
| Ulster Junior Hurling Championship | 2004 | Down | 8th | Fermanagh | TBD | ||
| Ulster Under-21 Hurling Championship | 2017 | Derry | 6th | Down | TBD | ||
| Ulster Minor Hurling Championship | 2017 | Antrim | 59th | Derry | TBD |
_-_Railway_Cup_2008.jpg){kind=link}
Ulster has always been the weakest of the provinces in hurling terms, possibly due to the difference between the hurling promulgated by the early Gaelic Athletic Association and the "commons" game played in Ulster. The Ulster hurling team have only won four Railway Cup semi-final games in their history (1945, 1992, 1993 and 1995),[4] it, however, lost in each of those Railway Cup deciders.[4]
There have been some successes over the years, mostly by Antrim teams:
- 1943: Antrim defeated Galway and Kilkenny, but lost to Cork in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final
- 1982: Gerry Goodwin (Tyrone) won the All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship
- 1983: Loughgiel Shamrocks (Antrim) won the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
- 1989: Antrim defeated Offaly, and subsequently lost to Tipperary in the All-Ireland final
- 2010: Graham Clarke (Down) won the All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship
Club
edit- Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship
- Ulster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship
- Ulster Junior Club Hurling Championship
- Ulster Under-21 Club Hurling Championship
"Team Ulster" in the Liam MacCarthy Cup
editIn 2020, a concept was discussed among players and managers, with a proposal that a combined "Team Ulster" would compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup.[5][6][7][8]
Grades
edit| Championship | County team |
|---|---|
| Senior | |
| Leinster SHC | Antrim |
| Joe McDonagh Cup | Down |
| Christy Ring Cup | Derry |
| Tyrone | |
| Nicky Rackard Cup | Armagh |
| Donegal | |
| Fermanagh | |
| Lory Meagher Cup | Cavan |
| Monaghan | |
Camogie
editGael Linn Cup
editThe Ulster camogie team has twice won the premier representative competition in the women's team field sport of camogie, the Gael Linn Cup, in 1967 and 2007.
Gael Linn Trophy
editThe Ulster provincial junior camogie team won the Gael Linn Trophy on eight occasions: 1979, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2000 and 2002.
Honours
edit- Disability Sport NI's Inclusive Sport Award: 2021[9]
References
edit- ^ "Ulster GAA Milestones". Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2007.
- ^ "Ulster's hot-shots". BBC Online. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
- ^ Shannon, Kieran; Leo McGeough (15 June 2008). "When Sunday Comes - Stevie from Killeavy: Ulster's top predator". Sunday Tribune.
- ^ a b Martin, John (24 October 2008). "Ulster up against it". Gaelic Life. p. 43.
- ^ "Down manager calls for a combined Ulster hurling team". RTÉ Sport. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
- ^ "Video: eleven top hurling people discuss the Team Ulster proposal". Hogan Stand. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "'We have to do something - we're standing still' - Players and managers support idea of Ulster hurling team". RTÉ Sport. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
- ^ "Video: Highlighting the merits or otherwise of a 'Team Ulster' hurling initiative". The Irish News. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Ulster GAA awarded Disability Sport NI's Inclusive Sport Award". Hogan Stand. 26 January 2021.