British University Gaelic football Championship


The British Universities Gaelic football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament held for universities in Great Britain. It is organised by the BUGAA which is a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee which oversees Gaelic Games in Universities. The competition is also overseen by British Universities and Colleges Sport. In GAA in Ireland trophies have tended to be named after Irish patriots or long-serving officials or heroic players, whereas the Irish diaspora at British Universities have perpetuated the names of young students who died soon after helping to establish Gaelic Games in British Universities. The Gaelic Football Championship Trophy, The Kevin Fallon Trophy, commemorates a Crewe & Alsager student who helped to organise the original competition in 1991. See also the British University Hurling Championship.

History

The first attempt to start a British colleges Gaelic football tournament was in 1989, but it lapsed the following year and was revived in 1991 by the University of Crewe and Alsager who hosted and won a five-team tournament. In 1992 Newcastle and Sunderland Universities hosted a ten-team event on converted rugby pitches, and St. Mary's, Strawberry Hill took the first of its titles. The British Universities' Gaelic football Championship—as it then became—started back in the 1992/93 academic session. Twelve teams congregated on Páirc na hÉireann, Catherine-de-Barns Lane, Solihull, Birmingham, with Swansea recording Wales' first and only club championship success thus far. The competition had found its true 'home', both in terms of geography and facilities, and there it has remained ever since.
The number of participants had risen to sixteen by 1994, but in 1995 an uncharacteristically heavy snowfall rendered the Páirc na hÉireann pitches unplayable, and the competition had to be cancelled.
Although officially cancelled, eight of the 16 teams had already travelled to Birmingham and a hastily arranged tournament was played at a pitch in Erdington, with Luton University defeating Newcastle University in a keenly fought final.
The experience led to a championship review, arising out of which it was decided to divide Britain into four regions. Thus from 1996 the regions held their own qualification schemes, each sending two qualifying teams to the finals weekend.
The quota was raised to three teams per region in 1997, thus making for a 12-team weekend. In 1999 Joe McDonagh became the first GAA President to attend the British Universities' championships, and his lead has been followed by his successor, Seán McCague in 2001 and 2002.
In 2011 the University of Glasgow fronted by Mickey Hicks and Rory McKeever won the Division 3 Championship.
In Division B, The final was won by Bangor University. They were in jerseys of pink.
Division A was won by a Liverpool John Moore's who took their 7th title in the British University GAA's 20-year history back to Merseyside.
In 2012 Liverpool Hope University avenged previous final defeats by claiming their first ever title, beating their city rivals John Moores in a scoreline of 1–8 to 0–9 after extra time, With Hope's Paraic McGuirk being named MVP for the championships.

British University GAA Championship Finals by Year

Championship (Division 1)

The winners of the Championship use to qualify to play in the Trench Cup—which is the Division 2 Championship for universities in Ireland—at the semi-final stage. Now teams qualify to play in the Corn Na Mac Lenin which is the Division 3 Championship in Ireland. In 2004 St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London won the Trench Cup competition. In 2007 Liverpool John Moores University qualified for the final of Trench Cup by beating University of Ulster Coleraine 1–9 to 0–9. In 2018, Liverpool Hope University won the Corn na Mac Leinn by beating University of Ulster, Magee 2–14 to 1–8.
YearWinnerScoreRunner-upScore
1990/91Crewe & Alsager College of Further Education §
1991/92St Mary's University, Twickenham
1992/93Swansea University
1993/94University of Dundee
1994/95Luton University*Newcastle University
1995/96Liverpool John Moores UniversitySt Mary's University, Twickenham
1996/97St Mary's University, Twickenham
1997/98St Mary's University, TwickenhamLiverpool John Moores University
1998/99Liverpool John Moores UniversityUniversity of Abertay Dundee
1999/00St Mary's University, TwickenhamUniversity of Abertay Dundee
2000/01University of Abertay Dundee
2001/02St Mary's University, Twickenham
2002/03St Mary's University, Twickenham
2003/04St Mary's University, Twickenham1–08Liverpool Hope University0–10
2004/05St Mary's University, Twickenham1–03Liverpool John Moores University0–05
2005/06Liverpool John Moores University0–07Liverpool Hope University0–05
2006/07Liverpool John Moores University1–15Edinburgh Napier University2–05
2007/08Liverpool John Moores University1–13Edinburgh Napier University0–07
2008/09Liverpool John Moores University0–10Edinburgh Napier University0–05
2009/10Edinburgh Napier University0–11Liverpool Hope University1–05
2010/11Liverpool John Moores University0–09Edinburgh Napier University0–08
2011/12Liverpool Hope University1–08Liverpool John Moores University0–09
2012/13Liverpool John Moores University0–06Liverpool Hope University0–05
2013/14Liverpool John Moores University0–13Liverpool Hope University1–07
2014/15Liverpool Hope University0-08New York GAA Colleges0-07
2015/16Liverpool Hope University4–15University of Dundee0-04
2016/17Robert Gordon University1–14St Mary's University, Twickenham2–06
2017/18Liverpool Hope University1-11St Mary's University, Twickenham1-06

§ Incorporated in Manchester Metropolitan University in 1992
* Only eight of the sixteen teams competed due to heavy snowfall in Birmingham
Roll of Honour
* University of Central Lancashire

Championship (Division 3)

The prize for the third division of BU Gaelic football is the plate. The following are the winners and finalists of this tournament: