British University Gaelic football Championship

The British University Gaelic football Championship is an annual Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

tournament held for universities in Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. It is organised by the BUGAA which is a branch of the Higher Education GAA

Higher Education GAA

Higher Education GAA is the governing body for the Gaelic Games of Hurling, Camogie and Gaelic football for third level institutions. The body coordinates competitions in both Ireland and Britain. It is a part of the parent organisation: the Gaelic Athletic Association...

committee which oversees Gaelic Games in Universities. The competition is also overseen by the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS). See also the British University Hurling Championship

British University Hurling Championship

The British University Hurling Championship is an annual Hurling competition 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...

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 (London) 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 Birmingham pitches unplayable, and the competition had to be cancelled. 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 the 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.

A Championship

The winners of the A Championship qualify to play in the Trench Cup

Sigerson Cup

The Sigerson Cup is the top division of Higher Education Gaelic football in Ireland, It is administrated by the Higher Education committee which is part of the Gaelic Athletic Association...

- which is the B Championship for universities in Ireland - at the semi-final stage. In 2004 St. Mary's, London won that competition. In 2007 John Moore's qualified for the final of this competition by beating University of Ulster Colerine 1-9 to 0-9.

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score
1991	Aston University**
1992	St. Mary's
1993	Swansea
1994	Dundee
1995	Cancelled*
1996	Liverpool John Moore's		St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London
1997	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London
1998	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London		Liverpool John Moore's
1999	Liverpool John Moore's		Abertay University, Dundee
2000	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London		Abertay University, Dundee
2001	Abertay University, Dundee
2002	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London
2003	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London
2004	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London	1-8	Liverpool Hope	0-10
2005	St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London	1-3	John Moore's, Liverpool	0-5
2006	Liverpool John Moore's	0-7	Hope University, Liverpool	0-5
2007	Liverpool John Moore's	1-15	Napier University	2-5
2008	Liverpool John Moore's	1-13	Napier University	0-7
2009	Liverpool John Moore's
2010	Napier University	0-11	Liverpool Hope University	1-5

* Cancelled due to heavy snowfall in Birmingham

** Unofficial Championships
2011 - winner Bangor Bears, Bangor University

Roll of Honour

8 - St. Mary's Strawberry Hill, London
5 - Liverpool, John Moores University
1 - Crewe and Alsager University, Swansea University, Abertay University, Dundee University

B Championship (Division 2)

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score
2005	Glamorgan	2-4	Bangor	1-1
2006	Preston	3-9	Glasgow	0-10
2007	Sunderland	2-13	UCLAN	1-3
2008	Glasgow Caledonian	1-13	Chester	0-11
2009	Liverpool John Moores 2nd Team		UCLAN
2010	Edinburgh University	3-17	University of Liverpool	0-6

C Championship (Plate)

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

Year	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score
2002	Glamorgan		Bolton
2003	Bolton		Aberdeen
2005	Leeds	3-5	Brighton	1-5
2006	Sunderland	2-7	Chester	0-7
2007	Chester	3-17	Huddersfield	0-4
2008	Manchester Met/Salford	2-14	Teeside	1-10
2009	Sheffield Hallam/Sheffield Uni		New York
2010	University of East London	5-12	University of Sunderland	1-3

2005 Championship

14th Competition held in and around Birmingham on the Weekend of the ##, ## and ##th of February 2005.

A Championship
On the 10th of February four groups of four teams battled it out to qualify for the quarterfinals. The top two teams entered the last eight while the bottom two teams entered the B Championship.

Last 8 of A Championship
Competition between top two teams from each group.
B Championship
Competition between bottom two teams in each group from the 'A' Championship. The final: Glamorgan 2-4 Bangor 1-1.

C Championship (Plate)
Plate Championship Final: Brighton 1-5, Leeds 3-5.
Other team included Aston University, University of Sunderland, University of Cambridge.

2006 Championship

15th Competition held in and around Birmingham on the Weekend of the 10, 11 and 12 February 2006.

A Championship

On the 10th of February four groups of four teams battled it out to qualify for the quarterfinals. The top two teams entered the last eight while the bottom two teams entered the B Championship.

Last 8 of A Championship:
Competition between top two teams from each group.
B Championship
Competition between bottom two teams in each group from the 'A' Championship. The final: Preston 3-9 Glasgow University 0-10.

C Championship (Plate)

Group Stage

Group 1

Group 2

EWLINE

Team
Sunderland
Abertay (Dundee)
Glamorgan
Manchester Met
Cambridge
Rennes (France)

EWLINE

Team
Chester
Brighton
Aston
Huddersfield
Carmarthen

Plate Championship Final: Sunderland 2-7, Chester 0-7.

2007 Championship

Held in and around Greenford, London on the Weekend of the 16, 17 and 18 February 2007.

A Championship

Group Stage

Group 1

Group 2

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	D
Aberdeen	3	2	1
Dundee	3	2	1
Edinburgh	0	0	0
Bangor	0	0	0

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
Napier	0	0	0	0	0
RGU	0	0	0	0	0
Preston	0	0	0	0	0
South Wales	0	0	0	0	0

Group 3

Group 4

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
St. Mary's	0	0	0	0	0
JMU	0	0	0	0	0
Heriot Watt	0	0	0	0	0
Sunderland	0	0	0	0	0

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
Hope	0	0	0	0	0
Newcastle	0	0	0	0	0
Glasgow	0	0	0	0	0
Manchester	0	0	0	0	0

Last 8 of A Championship
Competition between top two teams from each group.
B Championship
Competition between bottom two teams in each group from the 'A' Championship.

Bangor, Glasgow and Heriott Watt also.

C Championship (Plate)
Group Stage

Group 1

Group 2

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts
Chester	3	3	0	6
Cambridge	3	2	1	4
South Wales	3	1	2	2
Stirling	3	0	0	0

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts
Abertay	2	2	0	4
Brighton	2	1	1	2
Rennes	2	0	2	0

Group 3

Group 4

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
Worcester	0	0	0	0	0
Aston	0	0	0	0	0
Sheffield Hallam	0	0	0	0	0

EWLINE

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts
Huddersfield	2	2	0	4
Lincoln	2	1	1	2
Oxford	2	0	2	0

Last 4 of Plate

2008 Championship

The biggest ever Championship was held at 6 different locations in and around Birmingham on the weekend of the 22–24 February 2008. GAA

Gaelic Athletic Association

The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

facilities in Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

, Rugby

Rugby, Warwickshire

Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...

, Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

, Wythall

Wythall

Wythall is a village in the Bromsgrove District, in the north-east corner of the county of Worcestershire, England. It borders Solihull and Birmingham, and has a population of 11,377....

, Corby

Corby

Corby Town is a town and borough located in the county of Northamptonshire. Corby Town is 23 miles north-east of the county town, Northampton. The borough had a population of 53,174 at the 2001 Census; the town on its own accounted for 49,222 of this figure...

and at the main venue of Erin Go Bragh GAA club in Erdington. 35 teams competed including a second team from Liverpool, JMU and two international teams - New York and Rennes (France) as well as teams from England, Scotland and Wales.

Championship (Division 1)

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
Napier	3	3	0	0	6
Liverpool Hope	3	1	1	1	3
Northumbria	3	0	1	2	1
RGU	3	1	0	2	2

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts
Liverpool JMU	3	3	0	6
St Mary's	3	2	1	4
Aberdeen	3	1	2	2
Dundee	3	0	3	0

Division 2

Team	Pld	W	L	Pts
Bangor	2	2	0	4
Liverpool JMU B	2	1	1	2
Glasgow Caledonian	2	0	2	0

Team	Pld	W	D	L	Pts
UCLAN	2	1	1	0	3
Chester	2	1	0	1	2
Glasgow University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...	2	0	1	1	1

Division 3 (Plate)
Four groups with winner (in Bold) going through to semi-finals.

Group A: Oxford, Newman College, Brighton, Stirling, Teeside
Group B: Lincoln, Rennes, Nottingham, Carlisle, New York
Group C: Cambridge, Sheffield Hallam/Sheffield Uni, Aston, Abertay, Huddersfield
Group D: Uni East London, Bedford, Man Met/Salford, Worcester

Knockout Stages

Championship
Division 2
Division 3 (Plate)

External links

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