The Canon O'Brien Cup is an annual hurling match contested by Cork and University College Cork. The match, usually played in January at the Mardyke Sports Ground, is often regarded as a pre-season warm-up game for the two participants.
| Canon O'Brien Cup | |
|---|---|
| Irish | Corn Uí Bhriain |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Region |  Cork (GAA) |
| Trophy | Canon O'Brien Cup |
| No. of teams | 2 |
| Title holders |  University College Cork (2nd title) |
| First winner | Cork |
| Most titles | Cork (5 titles) |
Organised by the Cork County Board, admission to the match is free; however, those attending the game are asked to make a donation to volunteer collectors on the day, with all proceeds going to the Irish Alzheimer's Society. The fixture was first played in 2013.
The current holders (2020) are University College Cork.
History
editThe Canon O'Brien Cup was launched in 2013 by GAA President Liam O'Neill. The Cup was planned to be an annual challenge match between Cork and University College Cork. Canon Michael O'Brien, who was heavily involved as a coach with both teams, led UCC to eight consecutive Fitzgibbon Cup titles between 1981 and 1988 and led Cork to the 1990 All-Ireland title.[1]
Cup
editThe cup was donated by the O’Brien family and is a replica of the Fitzgibbon Cup. It was presented to Canon O'Brien in 1983 by the UCC hurling squad after he had helped them to win three Fitzgibbon Cup titles in-a-row.[2]
List of finals
edit| Year | Winners | Score | Runners-up | Score | Venue | Winning Captain | Winning Team | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Cork | 3-20 | University College Cork | 1-16 | The Mardyke | Pa Cronin | A Nash; S O'Neill, C Spillane, S McDonnell; T Kenny, C Joyce, S White; D Kearney, P Cronin; B Corry, C McCarthy, S Moylan; P Horgan, M Cussen, P O'Sullivan. Subs: R O'Shea, M O'Sullivan. |
[3] |
| 2014 | Cork | 2-19 | University College Cork | 1-14 | The Mardyke | Anthony Nash | A Nash; C Joyce, S O’Neill, K Murphy; E Keane, M Ellis, W Egan; P Haughney, L McLoughlin; B Lawton, C McCarthy, M O’Sullivan; S Moylan, P Horgan, J Coughlan. Subs: L O’Farrell, D Kearney, S White, A Ryan, S O’Farrell. |
[4] |
| 2015 | Cork | 1-26 | University College Cork | 2-12 | The Mardyke | Anthony Nash | A Nash; C Joyce, C Barry, W Kearney; A Walsh, L McLoughlin, C Murphy; D Kearney, P Cronin; S Harnedy, B Cooper, B Lawton; D McCarthy, P O’Sullivan, P Horgan. Subs: C McCarthy, S Moylan, W Kearney, L O’Farrell, P Haughney. |
[5] |
| 2016 | Cork | 2-12 | University College Cork | 0-13 | The Mardyke | Shane O'Neill | A Nash; C O’Sullivan, P O’Mahony, A Dennehy; S O’Neill, W Egan, N Cashman; P Haughney, D Kearney; P O’Sullivan, W Leahy, S Moylan; L Meade, P Cronin, D Lee. Subs: D Browne, D Fitzgibbon, M Coleman, C Buckley. |
[6] |
| 2017 | University College Cork | 0-22 | Cork | 1-13 | The Mardyke | D Desmond; I Kenny, C Spillane, S Roche; N Motherway, C Gleeson, R Cahalane; J Barron, R O’Shea; M O’Brien, B McCarthy, S Hegarty; A Cadogan, J O’Flynn, A Spillane. Subs: J Barry, G O’Brien, D Hannon, N Cashman, C Browne, D O’Brien, B O’Sullivan. |
[7] | |
| 2018 | No competition | [8] | ||||||
| 2019 | Cork | 1-24 | University College Cork | 1-23 | The Mardyke | P Collins; S O’Donoghue, D Cahalane, C O’Callaghan; C Joyce, P Leopold, W Kearney; D Kearney, C Murphy; S Kennefick, P Horgan, C Walsh; J Coughlan, D Dalton, C Beausang. Subs: R Downey, S Condon, T O’Connell, C Power, C O’Brien. |
[9] | |
| 2020 | University College Cork | 2-18 | Cork | 1-20 | The Mardyke | Eoghan Murphy | S Hurley; D Lowney, E Murphy, S Roche; B Hennessy, N O’Leary, P O’Loughlin; A Casey, R Connolly; D Fitzgibbon, S Kingston, C Boylan; J O’Sullivan, S Conway, M O’Halloran. Subs: J Cashman, S Roche, N Montgomery, B Sheehan, S Hayes, W Henn. |
[10] |
| 2021 | No competition | [11] | ||||||
| 2022 | Cork | 1-17 | University College Cork | 1-15 | The Mardyke | G Collins; D Cahalane, G Millerick, S O'Donoghue; J O'Flynn, M Coleman, T O'Mahony; D Fitzgibbon, C Joyce; M Keane, S Harnedy, C Lehane; S Kingston, A Cadogan, L Meade. Subs: P Power, R O'Flynn, C O'Brien, S Twomey, L Meade. |
[12] | |
| 2023 | Cork | 0-25 | University College Cork | 1-15 | The Mardyke | G Connolly; C O’Callaghan, S O’Leary-Hayes, S O’Donoghue; E Downey, T O’Connell, R Downey; S Quirke, B O’Sullivan; B Keating, C Lehane, L Meade; C Walsh, D Dalton, B Hayes. Subs: D Harrington, A Walsh-Barry, D Healy, M Kelly, K Moynihan, J Cashman, J O’Carroll, A Myers. |
[13] | |
Records
editScoring
edit- All time top scorers
| Rank | Player | Team | Scores | Tally | Games | Era | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Patrick Horgan | Cork
|
3-23 | 32 | 3 | 2013-2015 | 10.66 |
| 2 | Willie Griffin | U.C.C.
|
2-15 | 21 | 2 | 2013-2014 | 10.50 |
| 3 | Paudie O'Sullivan | Cork
|
3-07 | 16 | 3 | 2013-2016 | 5.33 |
| 4 | Rob O'Shea | Cork U.C.C.
|
0-13 | 13 | 5 | 2013-present | 2.60 |
| 5 | Stephen Moylan | Cork
|
1-09 | 12 | 4 | 2013-2016 | 3.00 |
| 6 | Anthony Spillane | U.C.C.
|
1-06 | 9 | 3 | 2015-present | 3.00 |
| 7 | Paul Haughney | Cork
|
0-08 | 8 | 4 | 2014-2016 | 2.00 |
| 8 | Conor Lehane | Cork U.C.C.
|
0-07 | 7 | 2 | 2013-present | 3.50 |
| 9 | Séamus Harnedy | Cork U.C.C.
|
0-05 | 5 | 2 | 2013-2015 | 2.50 |
| Cian McCarthy | Cork
|
0-05 | 5 | 4 | 2013-2016 | 1.20 |
- Top scorers in a single game
| Season | Top scorer | Team | Score | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Patrick Horgan | Cork
|
2-08 | 16 |
| 2014 | Patrick Horgan | Cork
|
1-09 | 12 |
| 2015 | Anthony Spillane | U.C.C.
|
1-04 | 7 |
| 2016 | Paudie O'Sullivan | Cork
|
1-04 | 7 |
| Rob O'Shea | U.C.C.
|
0-7 | 7 | |
| 2017 | Alan Cadogan | U.C.C.
|
0-07 | 7 |
| 2018 | ||||
| 2019 | Patrick Horgan | Cork
|
0-09 | 9 |
Miscellaneous
edit- Daniel Kearney of Cork holds the record for playing in five Canon O'Brien Cup-winning teams.
- Colm Spillane won Canon O'Brien Cup titles as a member of both the Cork (2013) and University College Cork (2017) teams.
References
edit- ^ Hurley, Denis (17 January 2013). "Students honour Canon O'Brien". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Crowe, Dermot (26 January 2014). "The Canon a key contributor to Cork honours list". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (21 January 2013). "Encouraging signs from Rebels". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Hurley, Denis (27 January 2014). "Newcomers encourage JBM". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Hurley, Denis (9 January 2015). "Jimmy Barry-Murphy content as new skipper Anthony Nash leads Cork home". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Hurley, Denis (11 January 2016). "Second-half goals seal victory for Cork". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ Hurley, Denis (7 January 2017). "Cork outplayed as UCC finally get their hands on Canon O'Brien Cup". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
- ^ "Tonight's Canon Michael O'Brien Cup clash is off". Hogan Stand. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ O'Callaghan, Therese (7 January 2019). "Useful workout for Cork ahead of clash with Cats". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ O'Callaghan, Therese (7 January 2020). "Hayes fires winning scores as UCC outsmart Rebels". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ "Tonight's Canon Michael O'Brien Cup clash is off". Hogan Stand. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Mark Keane and Conor Lehane score as Cork beat UCC in Canon O'Brien Cup". Echo Live. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Cork push on in second half to beat UCC in Canon O'Brien Cup". Echo Live. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.