The Cork Senior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Senior A Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork SAHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2020 for the lower-ranking senior hurling teams in the county of Cork in Ireland. It is the second tier overall in the entire Cork hurling championship system.

In its current format, the Cork Senior A Championship begins in early autumn. The 12 participating club teams are drawn into three groups of four teams and play each other in a round-robin system. The three group winners and the three runners-up proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The winning team is presented with the Jim Forbes Cup.

Bride Rovers are the reigning champions, having beaten Castlelyons by 2–15 to 2–14 in the 2025 final.

History Development On 26 March 2019, three championship proposals were circulated to Cork club delegates after an expensive review process of the entire Cork championship system. A core element running through all three proposals, put together by the Cork GAA games workgroup, was that there be a group stage of 12 teams, as well as straight relegation and promotion. On 2 April 2019, a majority of 136 club delegates voted for Option A which provided for one round of games played in April and two more in August – all with inter-county players available. The decision meant that, for the first time since 1887, the top tier of Cork football was going to be split in two into the Cork Premier Senior Championship and the Cork Senior A Championship.

Beginnings The inaugural championship was scheduled to begin in April 2020, however, it was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic in Ireland. When the championship resumed, time constraints led to a revision of the format, with the play-offs for the second best and third best third placed teams being abolished. The knockout stage was further reduced, with the two best-ranking teams from the group stage receiving byes to the semi-finals and the other four qualifying teams contesting two lone quarter-finals. The very first match eventually took place on 31 July 2020, with Fr. O'Neill's claiming a 3–16 to 0–18 victory over Kilworth. Declan Dalton scored the very first championship point before Billy Dunne scored the championship's first ever goal. Kilworth became the first team to be relegated when they lost the 2020 relegation playoff to Killeagh.

Regular format Group stage The 12 teams are divided into three groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, which features one game in April and two games in August, 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 knock-out stage.

Knockout stage

Following the completion of the group stage, the top two teams from each group are ranked (1-6) in terms of points accumulated and scoring difference. The two top-ranking teams receive byes to separate semi-finals.

Quarter-finals: Teams designated 3-6 contest this round. The two winners from these two games advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: The two quarter-final winners and teams designated 1-2 contest this round. The two winners from these two 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 is automatically promoted to the Cork Premier Senior Championship for the following season. The three bottom-placed teams from the group stage take part in a series of play-offs, with the losing team being relegated to the Cork Premier Intermediate Championship.

Teams

2025 Teams The 12 teams competing in the 2026 Cork Senior A Hurling Championship are: Team Location Division Colours Position in 2025 In championship since Championship titles (PSHC) Last championship title (PSHC) BallinhassigBallinhassigCarrigdhounBlue and whiteChampions (Cork PIHC)20260— BallyheaBallyheaAvondhuBlack and whiteGroup stage202111896 BlarneyBlarneyMuskerryRed and whiteSemi-finals20210 — CarrigtwohillCarrigtwohillImokillyBlue and goldSemi-finals202222011 CastlelyonsCastlelyonsImokillyGreen and goldRunners-up20240— Courcey RoversBallinspittle, BallinadeeCarrigdhounRed and whiteRelegation playoff winners20220— Erin's Own GlounthauneImokillyBlue and redRelegated from Cork PSHC202632007 FermoyFermoyAvondhuBlack and yellowGroup stage20200— InniscarraInniscarraMuskerryBlue and white Quarter-finals20230 — KilleaghKilleaghImokillyGreen and whiteGroup stage20200— Na PiarsaighFair HillSeandúnBlack and amberQuarter-finals202332004 WatergrasshillWatergrasshillImokillyRed and whiteGroup stage20250—

Sponsorship Co-Op Superstores were unveiled as the title sponsor for all of Cork GAA's hurling championships in July 2020.

Venues Group stage

Fixtures in the group stage of the championship are usually played at a neutral venue that is deemed halfway between the participating teams. Some of the more common venues include Mallow GAA Complex, Páirc Uí Chonaill, Ballincollig Sportsfield and Coachford Pitch.

Final The inaugural final in 2020 was played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

Managers Managers in the Cork Senior A Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

+ Winning managersManager(s)TeamWinsWinning yearsClaude GoughCharleville12020Tom WalshKanturk12021Dave ColbertBryan SweeneyFr O'Neill's12022Charlie WilsonNewcestown12023Tomás MulcahyGlen Rovers12024Brian MurphyBride Rovers12025

Trophy and medals The Jim Forbes Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was commissioned to honour Jim Forbes who served in a number of administrative roles with the Cork County Board, including as chairman from 2003 to 2005. The cup was presented to the County Board by the Carrigdhoun division shortly before the 2020 final.

In accordance with GAA rules, the County Board awards a set of gold medals to the championship winners. The medals depict a stylised version of the Cork GAA crest.

List of Finals

List of Cork SAHC finals YearWinnersRunners-upWinning Captain(s)Venue#ClubScoreClubScore2025Bride Rovers2-15Castlelyons2-14Conlaith Ryan & Cian HoganSuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh2024Glen Rovers3–17Blarney1–16Dean BrosnanSuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh2023Newcestown3–17Blarney0–24Eoghan CollinsPáirc Uí Chaoimh 2022 Fr. O'Neill's 0–20 Courcey Rovers 2–12 Kevin O'SullivanRobert Cullinane Páirc Uí Chaoimh 2021 Kanturk 3–17 Fr. O'Neill's 2–13 Darren Browne Páirc Uí Chaoimh 2020 Charleville 1–23 Fr. O'Neill's 4–13 Alan Dennehy Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Notes 2023: The first match ended in a draw: Newcestown 0–19 — 1–16 Blarney. 2025: The first match ended in a draw: Bride Rovers 0–14 — 0–14 Castlelyons.

Roll of honour By club # Club Titles Runners-up Winning years Losing years1 Fr. O'Neill's 1 2 2022 2020, 2021 Charleville 1 0 2020 — Kanturk 1 0 2021 — Newcestown 1 0 2023 — Glen Rovers 1 0 2024 — Bride Rovers 1 0 2025 —7 Blarney 0 2 — 2023, 2024 Courcey Rovers 0 1 — 2022 Castlelyons 0 1 — 2025

By division Division Titles Runners-up Total Imokilly235 Avondhu101 Carbery101 Duhallow101 Seandun101 Muskerry022 Carrigdhoun011

Records and statistics Seasons in championship The number of years that each club has played in the Senior A Championship between 2020 and 2026. A total of 24 clubs have competed in at least one season of the championship. 2 clubs have participated in the most seasons. The clubs in bold will participate in the 2026 Cork Senior A Hurling Championship. YearsClubs7Fermoy, Killeagh6Ballyhea, Blarney, Bride Rovers5Carrigtwohill, Cloyne, Courcey Rovers4Inniscarra, Mallow, Na Piarsaigh, Newcestown3Ballymartle, Castlelyons, Fr. O'Neill's2Bandon, Kanturk, Watergrasshill, 1Ballinhassig, Bishopstown, Charleville, Erins Own, Glen Rovers, Kilworth

Top scorers All time

Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average1Declan DaltonFr O'Neill's11-1151481311.382Shane BarrettBlarney2-137143255.723Mark ColemanBlarney4-125137235.954Adam WalshBride Rovers4-116128196.745Richard SweetnamCourcey Rovers0-125125167.816Seán WalshCarrigtwohill9-96123158.207Pa O'CallaghanBallyhea6-100118129.078Eoghan KeniryKilleagh4-96108147.719Brian O'SheaCloyne3-93102176.0010Eddie KenneallyNewcestown6-83101166.31

By year + YearTop scorerTeamScoreTotal2020Darragh FitzgibbonCharleville2-51572021Mark ColemanBlarney1-38412022Declan DaltonFr. O'Neill's1-50532023Shane BarrettBlarney1-69722024Alan FentonCastlelyons2-46522025Adam WalshBride Rovers2-4248

In a single game + YearTop scorerTeamScoreTotal2020Eoghan KeniryKilleagh1-12152021Declan DaltonFr. O'Neill's1-14172022Pa O'CallaghanBallyhea2-10162023Pa O'CallaghanBallyhea1-14172024Patrick HorganGlen Rovers2-0915

In finals + YearTop scorerTeamScoreTotal2020Darragh FitzgibbonCharleville1-08112021Colin WalshKanturk3-01102022Declan DaltonFr. O'Neill's0-0772023Eddie KenneallyNewcestown1-069Shane BarrettBlarney0-0992025Patrick HorganGlen Rovers2-06122025Alan FentonCastlelyons0-088Adam WalshBride Rovers1-0710

See also

Cork Premier Senior Hurling Championship

References