Munster Intermediate Hurling Championship

The Munster GAA Hurling Intermediate Championship is an annual hurling

Hurling

Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...

competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association

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...

since 1961 for the strong hurling teams in the province of Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

in Ireland. In some cases the teams consist of players who are not on the senior squads for their county (thus in effect, they are a second team), or in others of players who are from junior or intermediate clubs. The competition was established to prevent the stronger counties from dominating the Munster Junior Hurling Championship

Munster Junior Hurling Championship

The Munster Junior Hurling Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Hurling played in the province of Munster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Munster Council....

.

The series of games are played during the summer months with the Munster final currently being played in July. The prize for the winning team is the Sweet Afton Cup. The championship has always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the series.

The Munster Championship is an integral part of the wider GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Championship

All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship is a hurling competition played between the strong hurling counties of Ireland. In some cases the teams consist of players who are not on the senior squads for their county , or in others of players who are from junior or intermediate clubs...

. The winners of the Munster final, like their counterparts in Leinster Championship

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

The Leinster GAA Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1888 for the top hurling teams in the province of Leinster in Ireland....

, are rewarded by advancing directly to the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games.

The title has been won at least once by all six Munster counties, four of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Cork, who have won the competition 13 times.

Format

The Munster Championship is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random – there are no seeds.

Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is extra time and, if the sides still remain level, a second period of extra time is played.

The format has remained the same since the very first Munster Championship in 1961. An open draw is made in which three of the five teams automatically qualify for the semi-final stage of the competition. Two other teams play in a lone quarter-final with the winner joining the other three teams at the semi-final stage. Once a team is defeated they are eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship has wider implications for the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Intermediate Championship

All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship

. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the latter stages of the All-Ireland series of games. Unlike the final runners-up in the minor and senior championships, there is no 'back-door system' at intermediate level.

Five of the six counties of Munster – Clare

Clare GAA

The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....

, Cork, Limerick

Limerick GAA

The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...

, Tipperary

Tipperary GAA

The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

and Waterford

Waterford GAA

The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

– participate in the championship. Kerry

Kerry GAA

The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

, the sixth county in the province, contested the Munster Championship until recently. Galway

Galway GAA

The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

took part in the competition in the 1960s.

Trophies

At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the Sweet Afton Cup, is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the stand where GAA dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The present trophy was presented by a Mr. Jerry Shelly of Tipperary in 1961 to commemorate the new competition.

Performance by county

	County	Won	Runner-up	Years won	Years runner-up
1	Cork	13	5	1964, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010	1961, 1962, 1968, 1970, 2000
2	Tipperary Tipperary GAA The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...	7	6	1961, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 2000, 2002	1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
3	Limerick Limerick GAA The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...	3	4	1968, 1998, 2008	1967, 1971, 1997, 2007, 2011
4	Kerry Kerry GAA The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...	2	1	1970, 1973	1972
5	Waterford Waterford GAA The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...	1	4	2007	1965, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010
–	Galway Galway GAA The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...	1	2	1962	1964, 1966, 1969
	Clare Clare GAA The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....	1	2	2011	1963, 2001

Biggest Munster final wins

The most one sided Munster finals:
- 24 points – 1963: Tipperary
  Tipperary GAA
  The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...
  
  6–10 (28) – (4) 0–4 Clare
  Clare GAA
  The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....
- 21 points – 2009: Cork 5–24 (39) – (18) 3–9 Waterford
  Waterford GAA
  The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
- 20 points – 1969: Cork 4–14 (26) – (6) 0–6 Galway
  Galway GAA
  The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
- 12 points – 1964: Cork 4–13 (25) – (13) 1–10 Galway
  Galway GAA
  The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...
- 12 points – 2007: Waterford
  Waterford GAA
  The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...
  
  5–12 (27) – (15) 1–12 Limerick
  Limerick GAA
  The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick...

Miscellaneous

Cork hold the record for the longest streak of success in finals. They won four championships in-a-row between 2003 and 2006.

Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

hold the record for the longest streak of defeated in finals. They lost three championship deciders in-a-row between 2004 and 2006.

Cork hold the record for the most consecutive appearances in Munster finals. They played in four-in-a-row on two separate occasions, firstly between 1967 and 1970, and most recently between 2003 and 2006.

Two counties have completed the Munster intermediate and senior double in the same year:
- Cork in 1969, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006
- Tipperary in 1961, 1971
- Waterford in 2007

Cork is the only county to have completed the Munster minor, under-21, intermediate and senior 'grand slam' in the same year. This was achieved in 1969 and again in 2005.

Only one player has captained his county to Munster titles in both the intermediate and senior grades:
- Pat Mulcahy
  Pat Mulcahy
  Pat Mulcahy is an Irish sportsperson.-Club:Mulcahy plays his club hurling with his local Newtownshandrum club. He enjoyed some success at underage levels before winning a county intermediate title in 1996. That same year he won a county senior medal with divisional side Avondhu...
  
  captained Cork to the intermediate title in 1997 and the senior title in 2006.

List of Munster Finals

	All-Ireland champions
	All-Ireland runners-up