South West Junior A Football Championship

The South West Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bandon Co-op Carbery Junior A Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Carbery Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1926 for junior Gaelic football teams in the Barony of Carbery in County Cork, Ireland.

South West Junior A Football Championship
CodeGaelic football
Founded1926 (1926)
Region Carbery (GAA)
TrophyMick McCarthy Cup
No. of teams20
Title holders St. James's (1st title)
First winner Kilbrittain
Most titles Bandon (16 titles)
SponsorsBandon Co-op
Official websiteCarbery GAA

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 South West Junior Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior Football Championship. The winners and runners-up of the West Cork championship join their counterparts from the other seven divisions to contest the county championship.

20 clubs currently participate in the South West Championship. The title has been won at least once by 21 different clubs. The all-time record-holders are Bandon, who have won a total of 16 titles.

St. James's are the title-holders after defeating Ballinascarthy by 0-11 to 0-9 in the 2019 championship final.[1] It was their first ever title at this grade.

The championship

Overview

The West 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

Preliminary round: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. The two winning teams advance to the latter stages of the championship. The two losing teams advance directly to Round 1.

Round 1: Sixteen teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the eight pairings. The eight winning teams of these games advance directly to Round 3. The eight losing teams advance directly to Round 2.

Round 2: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the four pairings. The four winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four losing teams enter the relegation play-offs.

Round 3: Eight teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the four pairings. The four winning teams of these games advance directly to the quarter-finals. The four losing teams are eliminated from the championship.

Relegation play-offs: Four teams contest this round. An open draw is made to determine the two pairings. The two losing teams advance to the final. The losing team from that game is relegated 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 (2019)
Team Location Colours
Ballinascarthy Ballinascarthy Red and white
Bandon Bandon Yellow and white
Barryroe Barryroe Blue and navy
Carbery Rangers Rosscarbery Green, white and gold
Castlehaven Castlehaven Blue and white
Clann na nGael Drimoleague Green, white and black
Clonakilty Clonakilty Green and red
Diarmuid Ó Mathúna's Castletown-Kinneigh Blue and gold
Dohenys Dunmanway Green and white
Ilen Rovers Baltimore Green and white
Kilbrittain Kilbrittain Black and yellow
Kilmacabea Leap Green and yellow
Kilmeen Rossmore Blue and white
Muintir Bháire Durrus Maroon and white
O'Donovan Rossa Skibbereen Red and white
St. Colum's Kealkill Black and orange
St. James's Ardfield/Rathbarry Green and gold
St. Mary's Enniskean Green and gold
St. Oliver Plunkett's Ahiohill Black and white
Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh's Caheragh Red and yellow

Roll of honour
# Team Wins Winning Years
1 Bandon 16 1929, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1986, 1989, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015
2 Dohenys 12 1927, 1931, 1935, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1992, 1993
3 Carbery Rangers 10 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1980, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1998, 2003
4 Bantry Blues 9 1928, 1932, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1985
5 O'Donovan Rossa 7 1945, 1961, 1963, 1974, 1979, 1982, 2005
6 Tadhg Mac Cárthaigh's 6 1995, 1997, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2012
7 Clonakilty 4 1930, 1948, 1949, 1977
Newcestown 4 1964, 1967, 1988, 1990
Ilen Rovers 4 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001
8 Enniskean 3 1933, 1934, 1936
Clann na nGael 3 1941, 1942, 1981
9 Darrara 2 1954, 1955
Castlehaven 2 1973, 1976
Ballinascarthy 2 1978, 1983
St. Mary's 2 2009, 2014
Gabriel Rangers 2 2010, 2016
Kilmacabea 2 2017, 2018
10 Kilbrittain 1 1926
Rock Rovers 1 1943
Argideen Rangers 1 1994
St. Colum's 1 2013
St. James's 1 2019

Records

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of West Cork Junior Football Championship titles, is as follows:

Successful defending

10 teams of the 21 who have won the championship have successfully defended the title. These are:

  • Bandon on 5 occasions (1951, 1952, 1953, 1971 and 2008)
  • Dohenys on 5 occasions (1957, 1958, 1959, 1966 and 1993)
  • Carbery Rangers on 3 occasions {1938, 1939 and 1940)
  • Bantry Blues on 2 occasions (1947 and 1969)
  • Ilen Rovers on 2 occasions (2000 and 2001)
  • Clonakilty on 1 occasion (1949)
  • Enniskean on 1 occasion (1934)
  • Clann na nGael on 1 occasion (1942)
  • Darrara on 1 occasion (1955)
  • Kilmacabea on 1 occasion (2018)

Gaps

Top ten longest gaps between successive championship titles:

Winners and finalists

The Double

Five teams have won the South West Junior Football Championship and the South West Junior Hurling Championship in a single year as part of a Gaelic football-hurling double. Kilbrittain became the first team to win the double in 1926. Bandon are the record holders having claimed the double on four occasions - 1929, 1960, 1971 and 1975. Dohenys are the only club to have won a back-to-back double - 1958 and 1959. Newcestown (1967) and Clonakilty (1977) complete the list of double-winning teams.

Club sides Argideen Rangers, Ballinascarthy and O'Donovan Rossa also hold the distinction of being dual divisional junior championship-winning teams, however, these were not achieved in a single calendar season.

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References
  1. Farr, Derry (22 September 2019). "History makers... St James deliver a West Cork junior football title to deny Ballinscarthy the double". Echo Live. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
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