East Cork Junior A Football Championship

East Cork Junior A Football Championship
CodeGaelic Football
Founded1927; 97 years ago (1927)
Region Imokilly (GAA)
TrophyJim Ryan Cup
No. of teams12
Title holders Castlemartyr (7th title)
Most titles Glanmire (20 titles)
SponsorsMichael O'Connor Motor Factors

The East Cork Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Michael O'Connor Motor Factors East Cork Junior A Football Championship) is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by the Imokilly Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1927 for junior Gaelic football teams in East Cork.

The series of games begin in March, with the championship culminating with the final in the autumn. The championship includes a group stage and a knockout stage which guarantees at least 3 championship matches.

The East Cork Junior A Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior A Football Championship. The winners of the East Cork championship join their counterparts from the other seven divisions to contest the county championship.

As of 2024, 12 clubs were participating in the East Cork Championship.[1] The title has been won at least once by 17 different clubs. The all-time record-holders are Glanmire, who have won a total of 20 titles.

Castlemartyr are the title-holders, defeating Carrigtwohill by 1–10 to 0–12 in the 2024 championship final.

Format

Group stage

The 12 teams are divided into three groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed at least three games. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the group stage table by points gained, then scoring difference and then their head-to-head record. The top two teams in each group qualify for the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals: Two lone quarter-finals featuring the four lowest-placed qualifying teams from the group stage. Two teams qualify for the next round.

Semi-finals: The two quarter-final winners and the top two highest-placed qualifying teams from the group stage contest this round. The two winners from these games advance to the final.

Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Promotion and relegation

At the end of the championship, the winning team enters the Cork Junior A Football Championship. The winner of this is automatically promoted to the Cork Premier Junior Football Championship for the following season. The two worst-ranked teams from the group stage take part in a playoff, with the losing team being relegated to the East Cork Junior B Football Championship.

Teams

2024 teams

The 12 teams competing in the 2024 East Cork Junior A Football Championship are:

Team Location Colours Position in 2024 In championship since Championship Titles Last Championship Title
Aghada Aghada Green and white Group stage 4 1989
Bride Rovers Rathcormac Green, white and gold Relegated ? 3 2021
Carrignavar Carrignavar Green and red Group stage ? 1 1975
Carrigtwohill Carrigtwohill Blue and yellow Runners-up ? 3 2000
Castlemartyr Castlemartyr Red and white Champions ? 7 2024
Cloyne Cloyne Red and black Quarter-finals ? 6 2016
Dungourney Dungourney Green and gold Group stage 2024 0
Erin's Own Caherlag Red and blue Semi-finals ? 6 2019
Fr. O'Neill's Ballymacoda Red and green Group stage ? 4 2015
Lisgoold Lisgoold Blue and yellow Quarter-finals ? 1 2023
Midleton Midleton Black and white Semi-finals ? 12 2020
Youghal Youghal Maroon, white and yellow Relegation playoff winners ? 7 1999

List of finals

List of East Cork JAFC finals

Year Winners Runners-up #
Club Score Club Score
2024 Castlemartyr 1-10 Carrigtwohill 0-12
2023 Lisgoold 2-09 Carrignavar 0-10
2022 Cobh 4-11 Castlemartyr 2-09
2021 Bride Rovers 3-09 Cobh 0-10
2020 Midleton [2]
2019 Erin's Own [2]
2018 Midleton [2]
2017 Erin's Own [2]
2016 Cloyne [2]
2015 Fr. O'Neill's [2]
2014 Glenbower Rovers [2]
2013 Glenbower Rovers [2]
2012 Glenbower Rovers [2]
2011 Glenbower Rovers [2]
2010 Cloyne [2]

Roll of honour

By club

# Club Titles Championship wins
1 Glanmire 20 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1977
2 Midleton 12 1928, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1949, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1974, 1992, 2018, 2020
3 Cobh 10 1927, 1944, 1947, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1988, 2022
4 Youghal 7 1940, 1941, 1945, 1952, 1959, 1984, 1999[2]
Glenville 7 1948, 1961, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1995
Castlemartyr 7 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 2024
7 Cloyne 6 1976, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016
Erin's Own 6 1994, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2017, 2019
9 Aghada 4 1980, 1981, 1983, 1989
Fr. O'Neill's 4 1996, 1998, 2006, 2015
11 Carrigtwohill 3 1993, 1997, 2000
Glenbower Rovers 4 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014[2]
Bride Rovers 3 2004, 2007, 2021
14 Russell Rovers 1 1931
Combined Services 1 1941
19th Battalion 1 1942
Carrignavar 1 1975
Lisgoold 1 2023

See also

References

  1. ^ "2023 final".
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Roll Of Honour - Junior A Football Winners". eastcorkgaa.com. Retrieved 5 November 2023.