Munster Under-20 Football Championship

The Munster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Munster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county football competition for male players between the ages of 17 and 20 in the province of Munster. The championship was contested as the Munster Under-21 Championship between 1962 and 2016 before changing to an under-20 age category from 2018. It is sponsored by EirGrid.

Munster Under-20 Football Championship
Current season or competition:
2020 Munster Under-20 Football Championship
IrishCraobh Peile na Mumhan Fé-20
CodeGaelic football
Founded1962 (1962)
RegionMunster (GAA)
TrophyCorn na Cásca
No. of teams6
Title holders Kerry (28th title)
Most titles Kerry (28 titles)
SponsorsEirGrid
TV partner(s)TG4
Official websiteMunster GAA website

The final, currently held in March, serves as the culmination of a series of games played during a three-week period, and the results determine which team receives the Corn na Cásca. The championship has always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship.

The Munster Championship is an integral part of the wider GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship. The winners of the Munster final, like their counterparts in the other three provinces, advance to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland series of games.

Six teams currently participate in the Munster Championship. Kerry are the most successful team with 28 titles, followed by Cork with 27 titles. The title has been won at least once by five teams, with just three of these winning the title more than once. Kerry are the current champions.[1]

History

Creation

The Munster Championship began in 1962 in response to a motion put forward for the introduction of a new championship grade to bridge the gap between underage and adult levels. It was the fourth championship to be created after the senior, junior and minor.

Beginnings

The inaugural Munster Championship featured Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. Cork and Waterford contested the very first match on Sunday 22 July 1962. Kerry won the inaugural championship.

Team dominance

Cork and Kerry have dominated the championship since the very beginning. Their hegemony saw one of them claim every available title for nearly the first 50 years of the competition. Kerry dominated the first two decades by winning 11 titles in the first 17 seasons. The set records by becoming the first team to win three-in-a-row and surpass it by winning four-in-a-row. Cork became the pre-eminent team of the eighties by winning seven titles in ten years, including a record-equalling four-in-a-row. Kerry returned as the foremost team of the nineties, claiming all but one of the available titles in a ten-year spell and ending the decade by setting the all-time record of five successive championship victories. The Millennium year saw Limerick break the duopoly by claiming their first and only title, with Waterford and Tipperary also adding their names to the roll of honour. The 21st Century has seen Cork return as the dominant force by winning 12 titles in the first two decades.

Current format

Overview

The Munster Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is currently no seeding. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn 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.

Progression
Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
Quarter-finals
(4 teams)
  • 4 teams drawn at random
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • 2 teams who receive a bye at random
  • 2 winners from the quarter-finals
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winners from the semi-finals

Qualification for subsequent competitions

The Munster Championship winners gain automatic entry to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Championship. Unlike, the hurling counterpart, there is no "back-door" for the runners-up.

Managers
See also: List of Gaelic football managers

Managers in the Munster Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players from the club championships. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the individual county boards. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. The under-20 team manager also works closely with the senior team manager due to an overlap of players on both teams. Prior to the development of the concept of a manager in the 1970s, teams were usually managed by a team of selectors with one member acting as chairman.

Winning managers (1989-present)
Manager Team Wins Winning years
Jack O'Connor Kerry 7 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2017, 2018
Tony Leahy Cork 4 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
John Cleary Cork 4 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
Mickey Ned O'Sullivan Kerry 3 1990, 1991, 1992
Páidí Ó Sé Kerry 2 1993, 1995
Seán Hayes Cork 2 2014, 2016
Bob Honohan Cork 1 1989
John Fintan Daly Cork 1 1994
Liam Kearns Limerick 1 2000
Tony Davis Cork 1 2001
Pat Nugent Waterford 1 2003
Seán Geaney Kerry 1 2008
John Evans Tipperary 1 2010
Tommy Toomey Tipperary 1 2015
Keith Ricken Cork 1 2019
John Sugrue Kerry 1 2020

Top winners
Team Wins Years won Runners up Years runners up
1 Kerry 28 1962, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2020 12 1963, 1969, 1974, 1981, 1982, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2019
2 Cork 27 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1974, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019 17 1962, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1999, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020
3 Tipperary 2 2010, 2015 10 1964, 1965, 1986, 1987, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014
4 Limerick 1 2000 3 1984, 2001, 2005
Waterford 1 2003 7 1971, 1975, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2006
5 Clare 10 1967, 1968, 1970, 1979, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1996, 2002

List of finals
Year Winner Score Opponent Score
2020 Kerry 0-17 Cork 1-09
2019 Cork 3-16 Kerry 0-12
2018 Kerry 3-18 Cork 2-04
2017 Kerry 2-16 Cork 0-06
2016[2] Cork 3-09 Kerry 1-14
2015[3][4] Tipperary 1-15 Cork 3-08
2014[5][6] Cork 1-18 Tipperary 3-08
2013[7] Cork 1-17 Tipperary 0-09
2012[8] Cork 2-12 Kerry 1-14
2011 Cork 2-24 Kerry 0-08
2010 Tipperary 1-07 Kerry 1-06
2009 Cork 1-09 Tipperary 2-05
2008 Kerry 0-15 Tipperary 2-07
2007 Cork 3-19 Tipperary 3-12
2006 Cork 4-14 Waterford 1-06
2005 Cork 1-14 Limerick 1-11
2004 Cork 0-13 Kerry 0-12
2003 Waterford 2-08 Kerry 1-09
2002 Kerry 3-15 Clare 2-11
2001 Cork 1-12 Limerick 0-08
2000 Limerick 0-07 Waterford 0-04
1999 Kerry 1-10 Cork 0-07
1998 Kerry 3-10 Tipperary 1-11
1997 Kerry 2-11, 0-12 (R) Cork 3-08, 1-07 (R)
1996 Kerry 3-14 Clare 0-06
1995 Kerry 1-21 Waterford 2-05
1994 Cork 2-11 Waterford 0-04
1993 Kerry 1-21 Waterford 3-05
1992 Kerry 3-12 Cork 1-08
1991 Kerry 1-08 Cork 0-10
1990 Kerry 2-09 Cork 0-09
1989 Cork 3-15 Clare 1-07
1988 Kerry 0-14 Clare 2-06
1987 Kerry 0-07, 0-15 (R) Tipperary 0-07, 1-11 (R)
1986 Cork 0-08 Tipperary 0-07
1985 Cork 1-18 Clare 1-07
1984 Cork 1-18 Limerick 0-04
1983 Kerry 1-10 Cork 0-12
1982 Cork 2-12 Kerry 0-04
1981 Cork 0-11 Kerry 0-06
1980 Cork 3-15 Clare 0-04
1979 Cork 1-11 Clare 1-09
1978 Kerry 0-14 Cork 0-09
1977 Kerry 2-08 Cork 0-08
1976 Kerry 2-16 Cork 1-06
1975 Kerry 0-17 Waterford 1-05
1974 Cork 3-05 Kerry 1-10
1973 Kerry 2-12 Cork 1-12
1972 Kerry 1-11 Cork 2-07
1971 Cork 1-10 Waterford 2-05
1970 Cork 5-12 Clare 1-07
1969 Cork 1-14 Kerry 1-11
1968 Kerry 5-07 Clare 2-09
1967 Kerry 2-12 Clare 1-07
1966 Kerry 3-08 Cork 0-14
1965 Cork 2-14 Tipperary 1-06
1964 Kerry 0-15 Tipperary 1-02
1963 Cork 2-03 Kerry 1-04
1962 Kerry 2-07 Cork 1-04

Recent finals
Year Winners Score Runners-up Score Captain(s) Venue
2018 Kerry 3-11 Cork 0-14 Donal O'Sullivan Austin Stack Park [9]
2019 Cork 3-16 Kerry 0-12 Peter O'Driscoll Páirc Uí Rinn [10]
2020 Kerry 0-17 Cork 1-09 Paul O'Shea Austin Stack Park

Records and statistics

Teams by decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Munster Championship titles, is as follows:

  • 1960s: 5 for Kerry (1962-64-66-67-68)
  • 1970s: 6 for Kerry (1972-73-75-76-77-78)
  • 1980s: 7 for Cork (1980-81-82-84-85-86-89)
  • 1990s: 9 for Kerry (1990-91-92-93-95-96-97-98-99)
  • 2000s: 6 for Cork (2001-04-05-06-07-09)
  • 2010s: 6 for Cork (2011-12-13-14-16-19)

References
  1. "Kerry dethrone Cork to claim Munster U20 glory". RTÉ News. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  2. "Cork's Cian Dorgan delivers in Tralee thriller against Kerry". Irish Examiner. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  3. "Tipperary claim only their second ever Munster under-21 title at Cork's expense". Irish Independent. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  4. "Premier County claim Munster glory as Cork's five-in-a-row bid falls just short". Irish Examiner. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
  5. "Cork U21 Footballers claim 4th title in a row". Cork GAA website.
  6. "Rebels weather storm for four in a row". Irish Examiner. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  7. "Cork ease past Tipp to take Munster under-21 crown". Irish Independent. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013.
  8. "Rebels find extra gear". Irish Examiner. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
  9. "Three-goal Kerry clinch EirGrid Munster U20 title against battling Cork". The 42. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  10. "Cork blow away defending champions Kerry to claim Munster U20 title". The 42. 18 July 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
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