Ulster GAA

Ulster GAA
Irish:Ulaidh
Number of counties:9
Province colours:  Gold   Black
Major grounds:Casement Park, Belfast
St Tiernach's Park, Clones
Most All-Ireland titles
Hurling:None
Football:Down and Cavan (5 each)
Most provincial titles
Hurling:Antrim (48)
Football:Cavan (40)
Interprovincial Championship wins
Hurling:0
Football:28
Standard kit
Regular kit

Ulster GAA (Irish: Comhairle Uladh) is the administrative body for the Gaelic Athletic Association the traditional Irish province of Ulster, consisting of the six counties of Northern Ireland plus Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.

Ulster GAA oversees a range of administrative tasks including the organisation of provincial level competitions such as the annual Ulster Senior Football Championship as well as the Ulster teams which compete in provincial competitions. Headquartered in Armagh City, the current President is Armagh’s Michael Geoghan[1] and the Secretary is Down’s Brian McAvoy.[2]

Ulster GAA is responsible for Gaelic football, hurling and handball in the province, whilst Ladies Gaelic football, camogie and rounders (despite being a GAA sport) are administered by separate bodies.

Early History

The Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in Hayes Hotel in Thurles County Tipperary on 1 November 1884 by Michael Cussack. With the support of patrons such as Land League leaders Charles Stewart Parnell and Michael Davitt, as well as Archbishop Thomas Croke, the association quickly grew, with clubs being established in parishes across Ireland. The first Ulster club to affiliate to the national organisation was Ballyconnell in County Cavan in 1885 and over the next few years clubs and county boards were formed in Cavan, Monaghan, Armagh, Fermanagh and Derry.[3]

The first Ulster Football Championship was held in 1888, which consisted of two games between Red Hand of Monaghan and Moch Finn’s of Cavan. The first game resulted in a draw on 19 August and Red Hand won the subsequent replay on 9 September. No championship was held the following year, but in 1890 Armagh defeated Antrim and then Tyrone to lift their first title. Neither Cavan nor Monaghan entered the competition. In 1891, Cavan regained their title, defeating Armagh after a replay, but this was the last Ulster Championship to be held until 1901.

The early association was beset with problems, owing to a litany of issues including rapid growth, the disapproval of Sunday games in Protestant areas and the distance between Ulster and the GAA’s headquarters in Munster. The association effectively failed to operate with only a handful of clubs operating in the middle of the 1890s.[4]

By 1901, the association saw a revival, coupled with the growth of Conradh na Gaeilge in areas like Belfast. The first Ulster Council was established at a meeting in Armagh in 1903 with Belfast solicitor George Martin elected as the first President and MV O’Nolan (father of writer Flann O’Brien) as Vice-President and 20-year-old Derry draper Louis O’Kane as secretary.[5]

County boards

Further information: County board (Gaelic games)

Football

Provincial team

The Ulster provincial football team represents the province of Ulster in Gaelic football. The team competes in the Railway Cup.

Players

Players from the following county teams represent Ulster: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan and Tyrone.

Competitions

Inter-county

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
Ulster Senior Football Championship 2022 Derry 8th Donegal 2023
Dr McKenna Cup 2022 Monaghan 15th Donegal 2023
Ulster Junior Football Championship 1986 Tyrone 3rd Monaghan TBD
Ulster Under-20 Football Championship 2022 Tyrone 15th Cavan 2023
Ulster Minor Football Championship 2022 Tyrone 25th Derry 2023
Dr Lagan Cup 1967 Donegal 4th TBD

Club

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
Ulster Senior Club Football Championship 2022 Glen 1st Kilcoo 2023
Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship 2021 Steelstown 1st Moortown 2022
Ulster Junior Club Football Championship 2022 Stewartstown Harps 2nd Drumlane 2023
Ulster Under-21 Club Football Championship
Ulster Minor Club Football Championship 2019 Lavey 1st Termon TBD
Ulster Senior Club Football League 2016 Glenullin 3rd Coalisland TBD

All-time top scorers from Ulster county teams

As of 3 June 2008 according to the BBC.[6]

Rank Player County team Tally Total score Championship years
1 Oisín McConville Armagh 11–197
230
 1997–
2 Peter Canavan Tyrone 9–192
218
 1989–2005
3 Paddy Bradley Derry 13–170
209
 2000–2012
4 Paddy Doherty Down 15–159
204
 1954–1971
5 Peter Donohoe Cavan 17–133
184
 1945–1955
6 Seán O'Neill Down 17–125
176
 1959–1975
7 Charlie Gallagher Cavan 10–142
172
 ?–?
8 Steven McDonnell Armagh 15–111
156
 2000–
9 Seán O'Connell Derry 11–118
151
 1957–1975
10 Ronan Carolan Cavan 2–138
144
 ?–?
Notes
  • Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers.

All-time top goalscorers from Ulster county teams

As of 15 June 2008, according to the Sunday Tribune.[7]

Rank Player County team Number of goals Championship years
1 Steven McDonnell Armagh
17
 2000–2012
Peter Donohoe Cavan 1945–1955
Seán O'Neill Down 1959–1975
4 Paddy Doherty Down
15
 1954–1971
5 Paddy Bradley Derry
13
 2000–
Ger Houlahan Armagh 1984–2000
James McCartan Snr Down 1958–1967
Brendan Coulter Down 2000–2015
9 Joe Stafford Cavan
12
 1943–1949
Enda Muldoon Derry 1997–
Jason Reilly Cavan 1997–
12 Seán O'Connell Derry
11
 1957–1975
P. T. Treacy Fermanagh 1960–1973
Oisín McConville Armagh 1997–2008

Notes:

  • Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers.

Hurling

Provincial team

The Ulster provincial hurling team represents the province of Ulster in hurling. The team competes in the Railway Cup.

Players

Competitions

Inter-county

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship 2017 Antrim 57th Down TBD
Ulster Senior Hurling Shield 2017 Derry 1st Tyrone TBD
Conor McGurk Cup 2022 Down 2nd Donegal 2023
Ulster Intermediate Hurling Championship 1998 Down 4th London TBD
Ulster Junior Hurling Championship 2004 Down 8th Fermanagh TBD
Ulster Under-21 Hurling Championship 2017 Derry 6th Down TBD
Ulster Minor Hurling Championship 2017 Antrim 59th Derry TBD
Antrim's Arron Graffin (right) representing Ulster in the 2008 Railway Cup hurling semi-final against Munster

Ulster has always been the weakest of the provinces in hurling terms, possibly due to the difference between the hurling promulgated by the early Gaelic Athletic Association and the "commons" game played in Ulster. The Ulster hurling team have only won four Railway Cup semi-final games in their history (1945, 1992, 1993 and 1995),[8] it, however, lost in each of those Railway Cup deciders.[8]

There have been some successes over the years, mostly by Antrim teams:

Club

"Team Ulster" in the Liam MacCarthy Cup

In 2020, a concept was discussed among players and managers, with a proposal that a combined "Team Ulster" would compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup.[9][10][11][12]

Grades

Championship County team
Senior
Leinster SHC Antrim
Joe McDonagh Cup Down
Christy Ring Cup Derry
Tyrone
Nicky Rackard Cup Armagh
Donegal
Fermanagh
Lory Meagher Cup Cavan
Monaghan

Camogie

Gael Linn Cup

The Ulster camogie team has twice won the premier representative competition in the women's team field sport of camogie, the Gael Linn Cup, in 1967 and 2007.

Gael Linn Trophy

The Ulster provincial junior camogie team won the Gael Linn Trophy on eight occasions: 1979, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Honours

  • Disability Sport NI's Inclusive Sport Award: 2021[13]

References

  1. ^ "Michael Geoghegan is the new President of Ulster GAA". Ulster GAA. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  2. ^ "Management Committee". Ulster GAA.
  3. ^ The Story of Gaelic Games in Ulster. Cardinal Ó Fiach Library. 2010. p. 4. Over the next couple of years over one hundred clubs were formed in the southern half of Ulster, and county boards were established in An Cabhán, Muineachán, Ard Mhacha, Fear Manach and Doire.
  4. ^ McAnallen, Donal (2010). The History of Gaelic Games in Ulster. Carinal Ó Fiach Library. p. 4. By 1891, the GAA in Ulster (and in other parts of the country) was on a downward spiral. It had grown perhaps too rapidly in these early years, and it was unfit to withstand the many problems that confronted it at once. The parochial rivalries that had helped it to spread also led to bad feeling, and frequently disputes on the playing f ields were carried on through letters in the newspapers. Several prominent Catholic clerics condemned the association from the pulpit, on account of the fights and drunkenness at many early Gaelic games on Sundays (which apparently scandalised sabbatarian Protestant neighbours), and the efforts of the Irish Republican Brotherhood to infiltrate it.
  5. ^ McAnallen, Donal (2010). The Story of Gaelic Games in Ulster. Cardinal Ó Fiach Library. p. 6. In March 1903 Comhairle Uladh (the Ulster Council) was established by a meeting in Armagh City. George Martin, a solicitor from Belfast, was elected as the first Uachtarán; Michael Victor O Nolan, a customs and excise official living in Strabane and father of the famous writer Brian O Nolan ('Flann O'Brien'), was appointed Leas-Uachtarán; and Louis O Kane, a 20-year old draper's assistant from Derry City, was given the role of secretary.
  6. ^ "Ulster's hot-shots". BBC Online. 3 June 2008. Retrieved 15 June 2008.
  7. ^ Shannon, Kieran; Leo McGeough (15 June 2008). "When Sunday Comes - Stevie from Killeavy: Ulster's top predator". Sunday Tribune.
  8. ^ a b Martin, John (24 October 2008). "Ulster up against it". Gaelic Life. p. 43.
  9. ^ "Down manager calls for a combined Ulster hurling team". RTÉ Sport. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Video: eleven top hurling people discuss the Team Ulster proposal". Hogan Stand. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  11. ^ "'We have to do something - we're standing still' - Players and managers support idea of Ulster hurling team". RTÉ Sport. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Video: Highlighting the merits or otherwise of a 'Team Ulster' hurling initiative". The Irish News. 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  13. ^ "Ulster GAA awarded Disability Sport NI's Inclusive Sport Award". Hogan Stand. 26 January 2021.
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