Wikipedia / Kirk Cup
Wikipedia / Kirk Cup
The Kirk Cup is the oldest hockey tournament in Ulster and the oldest provincial hockey trophy in Ireland. It has become a tradition since the 1966–67 season for the final to be played on Boxing Day, a date previously reserved for the Anderson Cup Final. The final attracts the largest crowd of the Ulster hockey season. The cup is named after its donor, Mr. John Kirk, J.P, who was a member of the Antrim club. Following the creation of the Irish Hockey League, the competition remained open only to Ulster Senior League members, until 2018–19, when Irish Hockey League teams from Ulster were admitted.
In the early years of the competition it was also known as the Ulster Senior Challenge Cup.
Historical format
From the introduction of the Cup in the 1897–98 season until the major re-organisation of the Ulster Senior League for the 1969–70 season, the format was that of a knockout competition. The Cup was competed for towards the end of the season.
From the 1969-70 all the teams in Senior League Section One and Two were split into four groups. The winner of each group would go forward to an open draw for semi-final matches.
From the 2000-01 until the 2008–09 season, the format of the competition was altered slightly. The eight teams in the Ulster Premier Hockey League were drawn into four groups. The top eight teams from Section One were drawn into these groups to create four groups of four teams each. The eight Section One teams were the relegated Premier League team from the previous season and the teams finishing in second to eighth places in the final league standings of the previous season.
Each club played the other teams in their Group once. The winners of each Group proceed to semi-final matches, with the ties decided via an open draw.
The Premier League reverted to ten teams for the 2009–10 season and these teams together with the top six teams in Section One were drawn into four groups of four teams. Each team played the other teams in their group once. The group winners contested the semi-final with the ties decided by an open draw. The two semi-final winners contested the final which is scheduled for Boxing Day. This format was used in 2010-11 too.
Current format
For the start of the 2011–12 season the entry was restricted to the Premier League teams. The ten Premier League teams were drawn in two pools of five teams, with each team playing the other teams in their pool once. The semi-finals saw the winner of one pool playing the runner-up of the other pool, with the winners of the semi-finals going on to contest the final. In 2016–17, the top sixteen teams in the Ulster Senior League were drawn into four groups of four, but since 2017-18 it has reverted to two groups of five.
Finals
(records incomplete)
1890s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |
1897–98 | North Staffordshire Regiment | 3 | 2 | |
1898–99 | Antrim | 3 | 1 | King's Own Liverpool Regiment |
1900s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1899–1900 | 4 | 2 | |||
1900–01 | 3 | 1 | |||
1901–02 | North Down | 2 | 1 | Cliftonville | |
1902–03 | Strabane | 1 | 0 | North Down | |
1903–04 | Cliftonville | 1 | 0 | Banbridge | |
1904–05 | Antrim | 2 | 1 | Banbridge | after extra time |
1905–06 | Banbridge | 1 | 0 | Malone | |
1906–07 | Antrim | 3 | 1 | ||
1907–08 | Malone &North Down | SHARED | |||
1908–09 | Banbridge | 5 | 2 | Malone |
1910s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |
1909–10 | 3 | 0 | Malone | |
1910–11 | Banbridge | 3 | 2 | |
1911–12 | 2 | 1 | North Down | |
1912–13 | Banbridge | 3 | 1 | Queen's University |
1913–14 | Banbridge | 2 | 0 | Queen's University |
1914–05 | Not played due to World War I | |||
1915–16 | Not played due to World War I | |||
1916–17 | Not played due to World War I | |||
1917–18 | Not played due to World War I | |||
1918–19 | Not played due to World War I |
1920s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1919–20 | 4 | 1 | |||
1920–21 | 1 | 0 | Banbridge | ||
1921–22 | 2 | 1 | Banbridge | ||
1922–23 | 3 | 0 | North Down | ||
1923–24 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | ||
1924–25 | Lisnagarvey | 1 | 0 | ||
1925–26 | Banbridge | 2 | 1 | ||
1926–27 | Banbridge | 3 | 0 | East Antrim | |
1927–28 | Antrim | 1 | 0 | East Antrim | |
1928–29 | North Down | 2 | 1 | South Antrim | after extra time |
1930s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1929–30 | 3 | 0 | Derry YMCA | ||
1930–31 | Cliftonville | 4 | 1 | Derry YMCA | |
1931–32 | 2 | 0 | |||
1932–33 | East Antrim | 2 | 0 | ||
1933–34 | 5 | 4 | Cliftonville | ||
1934–35 | Banbridge | 1 | 0 | ||
1935–36 | North Down | 2 | 0 | Wanderers | after extra time |
1936–37 | North Down | 3 | 1 | Lisnagarvey | after extra time |
1937–38 | Banbridge | 3 | 1 | North Down | after extra time |
1938–39 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 |
1940s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1939–40 | Not Played due to World War II | ||||
1940–41 | Not Played due to World War II | ||||
1941–42 | 2 | 1 | |||
1942–43 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | ||
1943–44 | North Down | 3 | 1 | Banbridge | after two periods of extra time |
1944–45 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | Short & Harland | |
1945–46 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | Wanderers | |
1946–47 | 1 | 0 | Banbridge | ||
1947–48 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | Belfast YMCA | |
1948–49 | Portrush | 3 | 1 | Lisnagarvey |
1950s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1949–50 | 2 | 0 | |||
1950–51 | Banbridge | ||||
1951–52 | |||||
1952–53 | |||||
1953–54 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | after extra time | |
1954–55 | |||||
1955–56 | Parkview &Lisnagarvey | SHARED | |||
1956–57 | Banbridge | ||||
1957–58 | Belfast YMCA | Banbridge | |||
1958–59 | Belfast YMCA | Antrim |
1960s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1959–60 | Belfast YMCA | 1 | 0 | ||
1960–61 | 2 | 1 | |||
1961–62 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | ||
1962–63 | Competition abandoneddue to severe winter weather | ||||
1963–64 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | ||
1964–65 | Portrush | 4 | 2 | Banbridge | AET – Replay – Game 1: 2-2 |
1965–66 | 1 | 0 | Lisnagarvey | ||
1966–67 | 2 | 1 | Banbridge | ||
1967–68 | 3 | 0 | Antrim | ||
1968–69 | Cliftonville | 1 | 0 |
1970s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1969–70 | 3 | 1 | |||
1970–71 | Replay – Game 1: 1-1 | ||||
1971–72 | Antrim &Instonians | SHARED | 2nd replay – Game 1: 2-2, Game 2: | ||
1972–73 | Lisnagarvey | 1 | 0 | Friends School Old Boys | |
1973–74 | Lisnagarvey | 3 | 0 | Replay – Game 1: 1-1 | |
1974–75 | Instonians | 2 | 1 | Lisnagarvey | |
1975–76 | Instonians | 2 | 1 | Cliftonville | |
1976–77 | Belfast YMCA | 2 | 0 | Instonians | |
1977–78 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | Belfast YMCA | |
1978–79 | Belfast YMCA | 3 | 0 | Antrim |
1980s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1979–80 | Replay – Game 1: 1-1 | ||||
1980–81 | Instonians | 3 | 1 | ||
1981–82 | Lisnagarvey | 1 | 1 | Banbridge | Replay – Lisnagarvey won 4–2 onpenalty strokes – Game 1: 2-2 |
1982–83 | Banbridge | 2 | 1 | Belfast YMCA | |
1983–84 | 2 | 0 | Lisnagarvey | ||
1984–85 | Belfast YMCA | 3 | 0 | Lisnagarvey | |
1985–86 | Banbridge | 2 | 1 | ||
1986–87 | Banbridge | 2 | 0 | Replay – Game 1: 1-1 | |
1987–88 | Banbridge | 2 | 1 | Mossley | Replay – Game 1: 1-1 |
1988–89 | Cookstown | 1 | 0 | Mossley |
1990s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1989–90 | 2 | 0 | |||
1990–91 | Holywood 87 | 2 | 1 | Lisnagarvey | Replay – Game 1: 2-2 |
1991–92 | Holywood 87 | 1 | 0 | Lisnagarvey | |
1992–93 | Holywood 87 | 2 | 0 | ||
1993–94 | Instonians | 3 | 1 | Banbridge | |
1994–95 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | Instonians | |
1995–96 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | Newry | |
1996–97 | Lisnagarvey | 3 | 2 | Instonians | |
1997–98 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 0 | ||
1998–99 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 |
2000s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
1999–2000 | 1 | 1 | after extra time – Annadalewon 3–1 on penalty strokes | ||
2000–01 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | Annadale | |
2001–02 | Lisnagarvey | 2 | 1 | ||
2002–03 | 2 | 1 | Instonians | ||
2003–04 | Annadale | 2 | 1 | Annadale won with "Golden Goal" in 7th minute of extra time | |
2004–05 | Instonians | 2 | 2 | Lisnagarvey | Instonians won 5–4 onpenalty strokes |
2005–06 | Banbridge | 2 | 1 | Annadale | |
2006–07 | Cookstown | 2 | 1 | ||
2007–08 | Annadale | 3 | 2 | Lisnagarvey | |
2008–09 | Cookstown | 4 | 3 | Lisnagarvey | after extra time |
2010s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
2009–10 | 2 | 0 | |||
2010–11 | Banbridge | 4 | 2 | Cookstown | |
2011–12 | 2 | 1 | Cookstown | ||
2012–13 | Cookstown | 3 | 1 | Lisnagarvey | |
2013–14 | 1 | 1 | Lisnagarvey | after extra time – Annadale win 4–2 on penalty strokes | |
2014–15 | Banbridge | 3 | 1 | Cookstown | |
2015–16 | 8 | 2 | Mossley | ||
2016–17 | 8 | 1 | Cookstown | ||
2017–18 | Kilkeel | 1 | 1 | Kilkeel win 3–2 on penalties. | |
2018–19 | 4 | 1 |
2020s
Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | ||
2019–20 | 3 | 2 | |||
2020–21 | Not played due to Covid-19 | ||||
2021–22 | 3 | 2 | |||
2022–23 | 2 | 2 | Garvey won on penalty run-ins | ||
2023–24 | 2 | 0 | |||
2024–25 | 5 | 0 |
Sources
External links