North Cork Junior A Football Championship


The North Cork Junior A Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Avondhu Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1926 for junior Gaelic football teams in the northern part of Cork.
The series of games begin in April, with the championship culminating with the final in the autumn. The championship includes a knock-out stage and a "back door" for teams defeated in the first round.
The North Cork Junior Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior Football Championship. The winners and runners-up of the North Cork championship join their counterparts from the other seven divisions to contest the county championship.
10 clubs currently participate in the North Cork Championship. The title has been won at least once by 16 different clubs. The all-time record-holders are Mitchelstown, who have won a total of 24 titles.
Kilshannig are the title-holders.

The championship

Overview

The North Cork Junior Championship is effectively a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random — there are no seeds.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match ends as a draw there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.

Format

Round 1:
Twelve teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the six pairings. The six winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The six losing teams advance directly to Round 2.
Round 2:
Six teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the three pairings. One of the winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The remaining two teams enter into a play-off, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals. The three losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Quarter-finals:
Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the eight pairings. The four winning teams advance directly to the semi-finals. The four losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals:
Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. The two winning teams advance directly to the final. The two losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Final:
The final is contested by the two semi-final winners.

Participating teams

TeamLocationColours
BallycloughBallycloughGreen and yellow
BallyhoolyBallyhoolyBlue and yellow
ButtevantButtevantBlack and yellow
CharlevilleCharlevilleRed and white
FermoyFermoyBlack and yellow
KillavullenKillavullenBlue and white
KilshannigGlantaneBlue and yellow
KilworthKilworthRed and white
Liscarroll-Churchtown GaelsChurchtownGreen,white and yellow
MallowMallowRed and yellow

Roll of honour

#TeamWinsWinning Years
1Mitchelstown241928, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2013
2Glanworth141942, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1963, 1971, 2006, 2008, 2009
3Kilshannig101959, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1976, 1982, 1985, 1996, 2014, 2019
4Fermoy71926, 1936, 1941, 1974, 1993, 1997, 2003
5Grange51964, 1966, 1970, 1977, 1979
Clyda Rovers51980, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
Ballyclough52004, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2016
8Kildorrery41978, 1990, 1994, 2007
9Mallow31929, 1933, 1984
Killavullen31998, 1999, 2000
11Dromtarriffe21930, 1932
Deel Rovers21981, 1991
Doneraile21983, 1992
14Sons of Liberty11931, 1938
Newmarket11927
Buttevant12017
Charleville12018

List of finals

YearWinnersScoreRunners-upScore
2012Ballyclough0-10Mitchelstown0-07
2013Mitchelstown0-15Buttevant0-07
2014Kilshannig2-15Ballyclough3-11
2015Ballyclough2-11Charleville1-12
2016Ballyclough2-15Fermoy1-08
2017Buttevant2-13Kilworth1-09
2018Charleville4-14Buttevant1-12
2019Kilshannig3-16Kilworth0-07

Records

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of North Cork Junior Football Championship titles, is as follows:
Top ten longest gaps between successive championship titles: