Interprovincial Championship - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Interprovincial Championship or Railway Cup (Corn an Iarnróid) is the name of two annual Gaelic football

Gaelic football

Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

and 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...

competetitions held between the provinces of Ireland

Provinces of Ireland

Ireland has historically been divided into four provinces: Leinster, Ulster, Munster and Connacht. The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige, literally meaning "fifth part", indicates that there were once five; the fifth province, Meath, was incorporated into Leinster, with parts going to...

. The Munster

Munster GAA

The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:*Cork*Clare*Kerry*Limerick*Tipperary*Waterford-Honours:...

, Leinster

Leinster GAA

The Leinster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County Board to help develop Gaelic Games in Europe...

, Connacht

Connacht GAA

The Connacht Council are a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Connacht.-Constituent counties:*Galway*Leitrim*Mayo*Roscommon*Sligo-Special counties:...

and Ulster

Ulster GAA

The Ulster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in Armagh City....

teams are composed of the best players from the various counties

Counties of Ireland

The counties of Ireland are sub-national divisions used for the purposes of geographic demarcation and local government. Closely related to the county is the County corporate which covered towns or cities which were deemed to be important enough to be independent from their counties. A county...

in the province. The series of games are 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...

.

The first Railway Cup competitions (the name is due to the donation of the trophy by Irish Rail

Iarnród Éireann

Iarnród Éireann is the national railway system operator of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann . It operates all internal intercity, commuter and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the...

) were held in 1927, with Munster

Munster GAA

winning the first football title and Leinster

Leinster GAA

winning the first hurling title. Presently, Ulster

Ulster GAA

hold the record for the most football Railway Cup wins with 29, while Munster

Munster GAA

has won the most hurling titles with 43. The longest hurling streak was Munster's six-in-a-row from 1948 to 1953, while Ulster won a football five-in-a-row from 1991 to 1995.
The Railway Cup has gone into severe decline in recent years some blame the GAA for this decline due to they low level of promotion given and the lack of a fixed date to be played each year. The finals, held on Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is a religious holiday celebrated internationally on 17 March. It commemorates Saint Patrick , the most commonly recognised of the patron saints of :Ireland, and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. It is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion , the Eastern...

, attracted huge crowds in the 1950s and 1960s, however, by the 1990s the once prestigious competition is played in front of audiences of only a few hundreds. The All-Ireland Club Finals have succeeded them in popularity and have taken over the Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day

fixture in Croke Park

Croke Park

Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

. Since 2001 the tournament has been sponsored and promoted by Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

businessman Martin Donnelly and a resurgence in popularity has occurred. In 2005 the winners were Munster

Munster GAA

in hurling and Leinster

Leinster GAA

in football.

Following the success of the Martin Donnelly Interprovincial hurling final played in Boston in 2005, the 2006 football final was also played there on the weekend of 21 October, while the hurling final was played as a curtain raiser to the International rules football

International rules football

International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players....

first test at Pearse Stadium, Galway

Pearse Stadium

Pearse Stadium is the principal Gaelic Athletic Association stadium, in County Galway, Ireland. The stadium opened on June 16, 1957, as 16,000 people came to watch Galway beat Tipperary in hurling, and Kerry in football, and to watch Bishop Michael Browne bless the facility.The stadium was opened...

on 28 October.

Hurling Roll of Honour

Province	Wins	Winning Years
Munster Munster GAA The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:CorkClareKerryLimerickTipperaryWaterford-Honours:...	44	1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1976, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007
Leinster Leinster GAA The Leinster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County Board to help develop Gaelic Games in Europe...	27	1927, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1941, 1954, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009
Connacht Connacht GAA The Connacht Council are a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Connacht.-Constituent counties:GalwayLeitrimMayoRoscommon*Sligo-Special counties:...	11	1947, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004
Ulster Ulster GAA The Ulster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in Armagh City....	0	Second place: 1945, 1992, 1993, 1995

Football Roll of Honour

Province	Wins	Winning Years
Ulster Ulster GAA The Ulster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in Armagh City....	29	1942, 1943, 1947, 1950, 1956, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009
Leinster Leinster GAA The Leinster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Leinster. The Leinster Council has been partnered with the European County Board to help develop Gaelic Games in Europe...	28	1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1974, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006
Munster Munster GAA The Munster Council is a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Munster.-Constituent counties:CorkClareKerryLimerickTipperaryWaterford-Honours:...	14	1927, 1931, 1941, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1999, 2008
Connacht Connacht GAA The Connacht Council are a Provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, rounders and handball in the province of Connacht.-Constituent counties:GalwayLeitrimMayoRoscommon*Sligo-Special counties:...	9	1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1967, 1969

Total wins:

Munster: 58
Leinster: 55
Ulster: 29
Connacht: 20

History

Up to and including 1986, the Inter-pros were played in the Spring, with the semi-finals usually in February and the finals on Saint Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day

. From 1987 to 1989 then were given an Autumn slot, moving back to the Spring in 1991 (there was no competition in 1990). 1993 saw the competition played again in the Autumn, but all others from 1991 until 2000 were played in the early part of the year, with the semi-finals even being played in January in 1997, 1998 and 2000. However the rescheduling of the commencement of the National Football

National Football League (Ireland)

The National Football League is a Gaelic football tournament held annually between the county teams of Ireland, under the auspices of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The prize for the winning team is the New Ireland Cup, presented by the New Ireland Assurance Company...

and National Hurling League

National Hurling League

The National Hurling League is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 35 teams , it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between four different divisions, with Division One...

s to the start of the calendar year, has saw the Railway Cup moved to the latter part of the year from 2001 onwards. In an effort to combat the declining popularity of the competition, some including Ulster manager Joe Kernan

Joe Kernan (Gaelic footballer)

Joe Kernan is a former sportsperson from County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He played Gaelic football with his local club Crossmaglen Rangers and with the Armagh senior inter-county team in the 1970s and 1980s. He won All-Star awards in 1977 and 1982...

have suggested playing the finals as double-headers with the respective All-Ireland Club Football

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament run since 1971, played between the thousands of senior football clubs in Ireland. The current champions are Crossmaglen Rangers of Armagh, who defeated St. Brigid's of Roscommon on March 17, 2011 to win their...

and All-Ireland Club Hurling Championship

All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling tournament played between hundreds of senior hurling clubs in Ireland. The Tommy Moore Cup is awarded to the winners. The current champions are Clarinbridge...

finals in the early part of the year in Croke Park

Croke Park

Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

and Semple Stadium

Semple Stadium

Semple Stadium, located in Thurles, North Tipperary, Ireland, is the home of hurling for Tipperary GAA and for the province of Munster. It is the second largest stadium in Ireland with a capacity of 53,500....

respectively. The 2009 hurling semi-finals were held in February, and the final took place in March in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...

in the United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

. Abu Dhabi joined a list of foreign cities including Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

to have hosted finals.

Attendances at the matches have fallen. However players seem to love playing in the competition. Former Armagh

Armagh GAA

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

player Martin McQuillan said it gave players not accustomed to success at county level, a chance to taste victory.

External links

The Resuscitation of the Railway Cup The Irish Examiner
Railway Cup teams Munster GAA
News, Results and Pictures of the Interprovincial Championships M Donnelly (sponsor)

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