Dr Croke Cup

The All-Ireland Post-Primary Schools Croke Cup, is an annual inter-schools hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. It is the highest inter-schools hurling competition in Ireland, and has been contested every year, except on two occasions, since 1944.

The All-Ireland final, usually held in March, serves as the culmination of a knockout series of games played in February and March. Currently, qualification for the All-Ireland series is limited to teams competing in Connacht, Leinster and Munster. Eligible players must be under the age of 19.

The title has been won at least once by 17 different schools, nine of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are St Kieran's College, who have won the competition 24 times.

St Kieran's College are the current champions, having beaten Presentation College, Athenry by 3-13 to 0-12 in the 2023 All-Ireland final.

History

Inter-colleges hurling competitions had been played since 1918, with the Leinster Championship and Dr Harty Cup both being formed that year. A similar competition had been running in Connacht since 1938. Participation in these competitions was limited to voluntary secondary schools. Similarly, an annual inter-provincial competition between Conancht, Leinster and Munster had been taking place, with the best college players from the respective provinces being picked to form the teams. It wasn't until 1944 that the Leinster and Munster champions faced each other to decide the All-Ireland champions. St Flannan's College beat St Kieran's College by 5–05 to 3–03 to claim the inaugural title. It was the first of a record-setting four successive All-Ireland titles for St Flannan's College. 

St Kieran's College became the second team to win the All-Ireland title, however, the championship was suspended following their victory over St Colman's College in 1948. The championship was reintroduced in 1957, with representatives from the Connacht Championship being allowed to contest the All-Ireland series for the first time. Representatives from the Ulster Championship were allowed to contest the All-Ireland series for the first time in 1964, however, their participation was shortlived.

The Croke Cup has seen a keen rivalry develop between St Flannan's College and St Kieran's College. By 1999, both colleges had won 13 All-Ireland titles. In spite of this, other colleges have enjoyed multiple successes at various times throughout the history of the competition. The North Monastery, St Finbarr's College and St Colman's College brought 10 All-Ireland titles to Cork between 1960 and 1977. St Peter's College, Wexford won four All-Ireland titles from six All-Ireland finals appearances between 1960 and 1973, while Limerick CBS claimed two victories from four consecutive finals appearances between 1964 and 1967. Tipperary wrote their name into the All-Ireland roll of honour when Templemore CBS claimed the title in 1978, while St Brendan's Community School from Offaly won their sole Croke Cup in 1986. The Leinster-Munster stranglehold on the competition was broken in 1995 when St. Raphael's College became the first college from County Galway to claim the All-Ireland title.

The turn of the century has seen St Kieran's College dominate by winning 11 titles between 2000 and 2023. Amalgamated teams have also enjoyed successes during this period, with Dublin Colleges claiming the title in 2006 and Dungarvan Colleges winning in 2013. Amalgamated teams were later precluded from participating in the All-Ireland series, however, vocational schools were permitted to field teams in the competition after a merger with the All-Ireland VS SAHC in 2014. By that stage, the championship had undergone a further expansion when the introduction of a "back door system" in 2005 allowed the defeated Leinster and Munster finalists entry into the All-Ireland series for the first time. The "back door system" was extended to the Connacht runners-up in 2014. The Croke Cup was suspended mid-championship in 2020 and not held in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current format

Qualification

Championship
The championship features six teams in a knockout series of games. Two teams receive byes to the All-Ireland semi-finals, while the other four teams play each other in two All-Ireland quarter-finals. This is organised on a strict rotational basis between the Connacht, Leinster and Munster teams. Teams who have met each other in the respective provincial championships are precluded from meeting each other until the All-Ireland final.

Sponsorship
Masita became the title sponsor of the championship in 2013. The competition was previously sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Trophy and medals

The Dr Croke Cup is the current prize for winning the All-Ireland final. It was commissioned to honour Thomas Croke (1824–1902), who was the Archbishop of Cashel and Emly and one of the first patrons of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Traditionally, the victory presentation takes place at a special rostrum in the main grandstand of the stadium. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup, which is held by the winning team until the following year's final. In accordance with GAA rules, a set of gold medals is awarded to the championship winners.

Roll of honour

List of finals

Records and statistics

Final

Most wins: 24: 
St Kieran's College (1948, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1971, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2023)
Most consecutive wins: 4:
St Flannan's College (1944, 1945, 1946, 1947)
Most second-place finishes: 13: 
St Kieran's College (1944, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2017, 2022)
Most consecutive second-place finishes: 3:
Kilkenny CBS (2012, 2013, 2014)
Most appearances: 37:
St Kieran's College (1944, 1948, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1965, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023)
Most appearances without winning: 4:
Presentation College, Athenry (1976, 2018, 2019, 2023)

Teams

By decade
The most successful college of each decade, judged by number of championship titles, is as follows:
 1940s: 4 for St Flannan's College (1944-45-46-47)
 1950s: 2 for St Kieran's College (1957-59)
 1960s: 3 for St Peter's College (1962-67-68)
 1970s: 2 each for St Kieran's College (1971-75), St Finbarr's College (1972-74) and St Flannan's College (1976-79)
 1980s: 3 for St Flannan's College (1982-83-87)
 1990s: 4 for St Kieran's College (1990-92-93-96)
 2000s: 3 for St Kieran's College (2000-03-04)
 2010s: 4 for St Kieran's College (2010-11-14-15-16-18-19)

Gaps
Longest gaps between successive championship titles:
 20 years: St Colman's College (1977-1997)
 18 years: St Flannan's College (1958-1976)
 13 years: St Kieran's College (1975-1988)
 11 years: St Flannan's College (1947-1958)
 10 years: North Monastery (1960-1970)
 10 years: North Monastery (1970-1980)
 10 years: St Finbarr's College (1974-1984)
 9 years: St Kieran's College (1948-1957)
 9 years: North Monastery (1985-1994)

Top scorers

All time

In finals

See also

 All-Ireland Colleges Interprovincial Hurling Championship

References

External link

 Complete Roll of Honour on Kilkenny GAA bible 

All-Ireland Hurling Championships
All-Ireland inter-county hurling championships
Hurling cup competitions