Carlow Junior Hurling Championship

The Carlow Junior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the JJ Kavanagh and Sons Junior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Carlow JHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association for the third tier hurling teams in the county of Carlow in Ireland.

In its current format, the Carlow Intermediate Championship begins with a group stage. The six participating club teams play each other in a round-robin system. The four top-ranking teams proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final match at Netwatch Cullen Park.

Ballinkillen are the title holders after defeating Bagenalstown Gaels by 2-18 to 1-10 in the 2026 final.

History

When Carlow's top tier hurling competition was granted senior status in 1960, a new Junior Hurling Championship was created. This was Carlow's second tier competition until 1984 when it became the third tier competition after the creation of the Intermediate Hurling Championship.

Format

Group stage Seven clubs start in the group stage. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed six group games and one bye round. 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 four teams qualify for the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

Semi-finals: The top four teams from the group stage contest this round. First place plays fourth place and second place plays third place. 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 At the end of the championship, the winning team is automatically promoted to the Carlow Intermediate Hurling Championship for the following season.

Teams

2026 Teams Eight teams are competing in the 2026 Carlow Junior Hurling Championship:

Team Location Colours Position in 2025 In championship since Championship titles Last championship title BallinkillenBallinkillenBlue and goldRunners-up202272026 Burren RangersKilbrideGreen and whiteShield runners-up202512024 Carlow TownCarlowWhite and blueSemi-finals??? Mount Leinster RangersBorrisBlack and redSemi-finals??? Naomh BrídLeighlinbridgeMaroon and whiteShield champions??? Naomh EoinMyshallBlack and amberN/A2026?? SetantaCarlowPurple, green and goldShield semi-finals20250— St Mullin'sSt Mullin'sGreen and whiteShield semi-finals??2022

Qualification for subsequent competitions At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent Leinster Junior Club Hurling Championship.

Trophy and medals

The Martin Grennan Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was presented in June 2023 in memory of Martin Grennan who was a member of the St Mullin's club. Joint-captains Ian St Ledger and Pádraig Ryan from the Kildavin/Clonegal club were the first recipients of the cup. In accordance with GAA rules, the County Board awards a set of gold medals to the championship winners.

List of finals

List of Carlow JHC finals Year Winners Runners-up Venue # Club Score Club Score2026Ballinkillen2-18St Mullin's1-10Netwatch Cullen Park 2025 Bagenalstown Gaels 1-11 Ballinkillen 0-13 Netwatch Cullen Park 2024 Burren Rangers 1-18 Mount Leinster Rangers 2-10 Netwatch Cullen Park 2023 Kildavin/Clonegal 1-18 Mount Leinster Rangers 1-07 Netwatch Cullen Park 2022 St Mullin's 3-09 Burren Rangers 2-07 Netwatch Cullen Park 20212020Ballinkillen2013–20202012Ballinkillen2009–20112008Ballinkillen2006–20072005Ballinkillen2004Carlow Town2002–20032001Palatine20001999Carlow Town1998Ballinkillen1991–19971990Palatine19891988Carlow Town1984–19871983Palatine1980–19821979Carlow Town1972–19781971Ballinkillen1970Palatine1966–19691965Palatine1960–1964

Carlow Junior Hurling Championship

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