| East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship | |
| Currentlyrunning: | 2023 East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship |
| Code: | Hurling |
| Region: | Imokilly |
| Trophy: | Jamesy Kelleher Cup |
| Teams: | 8 |
| Title Holders: | Carrignavar |
| Currentordinal: | 3 |
| Super: | st |
| Most Titles: | Castlemartyr |
| Mostordinal: | 11 |
| Sponsors: | Michael O'Connor Motor Factors |
| Website: | East Cork GAA |
The East Cork Junior A Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Michael O'Connor Motor Factors East Cork Junior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Imokilly Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1926 for junior hurling teams in East Cork.
The series of games begin in June, with the championship culminating with the final in September. The championship includes a knock-out stage and a "back door" for teams defeated in the first round.
The East Cork Junior Championship is an integral part of the wider Cork Junior A Hurling Championship. The winners and runners-up of the East Cork championship join their counterparts from the other six divisions to contest the county championship.
11 clubs currently participate in the East Cork Championship. The title has been won at least once by 20 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Castlemartyr who have won 11 titles.
Carrignavar are the 2023 title-holders, having defeated St Ita's by 0-18 to 1-14 in the 2023 final.[1]
The 8 teams are divided into two 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.
Semi-finals: The two group winners and the two runners-up 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.
The two bottom-placed teams from the group stage take part in a playoff, with the losing team being relegated to the East Cork Junior B Hurling Championship.
At the end of the championship, the winning team enters the Cork Junior A Hurling Championship and by winning this, they will be promoted to the Cork Premier Junior Hurling Championship for the following season.
As of 2024, the teams included:[2]
| Team | Location | Colours | Position in 2023 | In championship since | Championship Titles | Last Championship Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bride Rovers | Rathcormac | Green, white and yellow | Quarter-finals | 5 | 1998 | ||
| Carrignavar | Carrignavar | Red and green | Champions | 3 | 2023 | ||
| Carrigtwohill | Carrigtwohill | Blue and gold | Quarter-finals | 9 | 1994 | ||
| Cobh | Cobh | Yellow and green | Semi-finals | 3 | 1985 | ||
| Killeagh | Killeagh | Green and white | Semi-finals | 5 | 1995 | ||
| Midleton | Midleton | Black and white | Group stage | 9 | 1990 | ||
| Sarsfields | Glanmire | Blue, white and black | Group stage | 4 | 2016 | ||
| St. Ita's | Gortroe | White and green | Runners-up | 1 | 2021 |
| -- Not red; see -->" | Team | Wins | Runners-up | Years won | Years Runners-up | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Castlemartyr | 11 | 4 | 1935, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1963, 1964, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014[3] | 1962, 1967, 1975, 2011 | |
| 2 | Midleton | 10 | 4 | 1925, 1929, 1934, 1936, 1943, 1945, 1982, 1984, 1989, 1990 | 1942, 1983, 1988, 1999 | |
| 3 | Carrigtwohill | 9 | 5 | 1941, 1947, 1948, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1978, 1994 | 1928, 1929, 1943, 1964, 1969 | |
| Cloyne | 9 | 4 | 1938, 1939, 1944, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1976, 1986, 1987 | 1945, 1959, 1974, 1978 | ||
| 5 | Aghada | 6 | 7 | 1931, 1933, 1940, 1980, 1991, 1992 | 1927, 1935, 1939, 1949, 1979, 1989, 1990 | |
| Erin's Own | 6 | 5 | 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2007, 2022 | 2001, 2002, 2005, 2012, 2021 | ||
| 7 | Fr. O'Neill's | 5 | 7 | 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005 | 1961, 1963, 1987, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2004 | |
| Killeagh | 5 | 6 | 1967, 1970, 1971, 1988, 1995 | 1951, 1957, 1986, 1993, 1994, 2008 | ||
| Bride Rovers | 5 | 5 | 1930, 1932, 1968, 1969, 1998 | 1931, 1938, 1972, 1973, 1997 | ||
| 10 | Dungourney | 4 | 8 | 1972, 2006, 2011, 2015 | 1941, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1998, 2003, 2010 | |
| Sarsfields | 4 | 6 | 1937, 1953, 2004, 2016 | 1926, 1936, 1968, 2007, 2009, 2013 | ||
| St. Catherine’s | 4 | 6 | 1957, 1981, 1983, 2017 | 1955, 1956, 1960, 1977, 1980, 2016 | ||
| 13 | Cobh | 3 | 4 | 1926, 1959, 1985 | 1952, 1958, 2014, 2022 | |
| Watergrasshill | 3 | 3 | 1974, 2000, 2003 | 1982, 1985, 1995 | ||
| Carrignavar | 3 | 3 | 2008, 2012, 2023 | 1966, 2019, 2020 | ||
| Castlelyons | 3 | 2 | 1955, 1993, 1997 | 1954, 1996 | ||
| Ballinacurra | 3 | 0 | 1927, 1928, 1942 | — | ||
| 18 | Russell Rovers | 2 | 2 | 2018, 2019 | 2006, 2017 | |
| 19 | Leeside | 1 | 3 | 1949 | 1930, 1932, 1933 | |
| Youghal | 1 | 3 | 1952 | 1953, 1965, 1984 | ||
| St. Ita's | 1 | 3 | 2021 | 2015, 2018, 2023 | ||
| Lisgoold | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — |
| Year | Winners | Runners-up | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Score | Club | Score | |||
| 2023 | Carrignavar | 0-18 | St. Ita's | 1-14 | ||
| 2022 | Erin's Own | 4-12 | Cobh | 2-09 | ||
| 2021 | St Ita's | 1-14 | Erin's Own | 1-05 | [4] | |
| 2020 | Lisgoold | 0-17 | Carrignavar | 0-11 | [5] | |
| 2019 | Russell Rovers | 1-16 | Carrignavar | 0-16 | [6] | |
| 2018 | Russell Rovers | 2-16 | St. Ita's | 1-12 | [7] | |
| 2017 | St. Catherine’s | Russell Rovers | ||||
| 2016 | Sarsfields | St. Catherine’s | ||||
| 2015 | Dungourney | St. Ita's | ||||
| 2014 | Castlemartyr | Cobh | ||||
| 2013 | Castlemartyr | Sarsfields | ||||
| 2012 | Carrignavar | Erin's Own | ||||
| 2011 | Dungourney | Castlemartyr | ||||
| 2010 | Castlemartyr | Dungourney | ||||