| McCullough Cup | |
| Sport: | Field hockey |
| Founded: | 1961-62 |
| Teams: | 14 (season 2017-18) |
| Champion: | Banbridge Academy |
| Most Champs: | Royal Belfast Academical Institution 15 outright and 1 shared |
| Website: | http://www.ulsterhockey.com |
The McCullough Cup is a hockey competition. It is an annual tournament played for by schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Hockey Association. The competition is held in the winter term of each school year, with the older Burney Cup running in the Spring term.
The most successful school is Royal Belfast Academical Institution with 17 wins (16 outright wins and 1 shared win). The current holder is Royal Belfast Academical Institution.
The trophy is called The Ian McCullough Memorial Cup. It was donated by a well-known family in Northern Ireland hockey circles, in memory of their son Ian.[1]
Ian (full name – John Truesdale McCullough) was a 15-year-old Newry Grammar School pupil. He was accidentally killed after being struck by a hockey ball during a match against Royal Belfast Academical Institution at Bladon Drive on 3 December 1960.[2]
The teams that compete for this trophy are the strongest boys' first teams from schools in Ulster. All players must be under 18 on 1 July at the start of the year of the competition. Fourteen teams from thirteen schools competed for the trophy in the 2013–14 season.
The competition started out as a straight knockout event with the first winners being the defunct Bushmills Grammar School. However it was soon decided to move all matches to the winter term, with a league format introduced to provide all schools with a guaranteed number of fixtures.
Under the current format, all teams are divided into two pools, with each school playing all the other schools in their pool once. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals the teams in first place in the pools play the second place teams from the other pool.
The winners of the semi-final ties contest the final, which is usually played at a neutral venue on the second Wednesday in December.
| School | Wins | Shared Wins | Beaten Finalists | Total Finals | Last Title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 16 | 1 | 6 | 22 | 2022-23 | |
| Cookstown High School | 11 | 1 | 10 | 22 | 2011-12 | |
| Banbridge Academy | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 | 2023-24 | |
| Wallace High School, Lisburn | 5 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2018-19 | |
| Friends' School Lisburn | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 2019-20 | |
| Bangor Grammar School | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 1997-98 | |
| Sullivan Upper School | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 2017-18 | |
| Ballycastle High School | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1964-65 | |
| Wellington College Belfast† | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1995-96 | |
| Newry High School | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 1966-67 | |
| Methodist College Belfast | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 1965-66 | |
| Bushmills Grammar School | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1961-62 | |
| Regent House, Newtownards | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1999-00 | |
| Kilkeel High School | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1970-71 | |
| Royal & Prior School, Raphoe | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | NA |
Footnote
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961-62 | Bushmills Grammar School | 4 | 1 | Newry Grammar School | [3] | |
| 1962-63 | Ballycastle High School | 3 | 0 | Annadale Grammar School | [4] [5] | |
| 1963-64 | Cookstown High School | 1 | 0 | Newry Grammar School | [6] | |
| 1964-65 | Ballycastle High School | 3 | 2 | Newry Grammar School | [7] | |
| 1965-66 | Methodist College Belfast | 1 | 0 | Ballycastle High School | [8] | |
| 1966-67 | Newry High School | 1 | 0 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | ||
| 1967-68 | Annadale Grammar School | 2 | 1 | Methodist College Belfast | [9] | |
| 1968-69 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 0 | Cookstown High School | [10] |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969-70 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 2 | 1 | Cookstown High School | [11] | |
| 1970-71 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution & Kilkeel High School | 0 | 0 | TROPHY SHARED | after extra time[12] [13] | |
| 1971-72 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 0 | Cookstown High School | [14] | |
| 1972-73 | Cookstown High School | 2 | 0 | Kilkeel High School | [15] | |
| 1973-74 | Cookstown High School | 2 | 0 | Newry High School | ||
| 1974-75 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 0 | Friends School Lisburn | [16] | |
| 1975-76 | Cookstown High School &<Br />Bangor Grammar School | 3 | 3 | TROPHY SHARED | after extra time[17] | |
| 1976-77 | Friends School Lisburn | 2 | 1 | Cookstown High School | after extra time | |
| 1977-78 | Friends School Lisburn | 2 | 1 | Cookstown High School | [18] | |
| 1978-79 | Cookstown High School | 2 | 1 | Bangor Grammar School |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-80 | Friends School Lisburn | 3 | 2 | Cookstown High School | ||
| 1980-81 | Friends School Lisburn | 2 | 0 | Newry High School | ||
| 1981-82 | Wallace High School | 0 | 0 | Newry High School | Wallace HS won 5–4 on penalties | |
| 1982-83 | Bangor Grammar School | 3 | 1 | Methodist College Belfast | ||
| 1983-84 | Wallace High School | 3 | 2 | Bangor Grammar School | ||
| 1984-85 | Cookstown High School | 2 | 1 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | ||
| 1985-86 | Banbridge Academy | 1 | 0 | Cookstown High School | [19] | |
| 1986-87 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 1 | Methodist College Belfast | R.B.A.I. won 3–2 on penalties[20] | |
| 1987-88 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 1 | Banbridge Academy | R.B.A.I. won 4–2 on penalties[21] | |
| 1988-89 | Wallace High School | 2 | 0 | Bangor Grammar School | [22] |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 4 | 0 | Bangor Grammar School | [23] | |
| 1990-91 | Bangor Grammar School | 2 | 2 | Cookstown High School | Bangor GS won 3–1 on penalties[24] | |
| 1991-92 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 3 | 2 | Banbridge Academy | [25] | |
| 1992-93 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 3 | 0 | Banbridge Academy | [26] | |
| 1993-94 | Banbridge Academy | 1 | 1 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | Banbridge won 3–1 on penalties[27] | |
| 1994-95 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 1 | 0 | Cookstown High School | [28] | |
| 1995-96 | Wellington College Belfast | 2 | 1 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | [29] | |
| 1996-97 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 5 | 2 | Bangor Grammar School | after extra time[30] | |
| 1997-98 | Bangor Grammar School | 3 | 0 | Methodist College Belfast | [31] | |
| 1998-99 | Cookstown High School | 3 | 0 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | [32] |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-00 | Regent House, Newtownards | 2 | 0 | Royal & Prior School, Raphoe | after extra time[33] | |
| 2000-01 | Cookstown High School | 1 | 0 | Royal & Prior School, Raphoe | ||
| 2001-02 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 3 | 3 | Kilkeel High School | R.B.A.I. won 4–1 on penalties | |
| 2002-03 | Banbridge Academy | 3 | 0 | Cookstown High School | ||
| 2003-04 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 4 | 3 | Banbridge Academy | [34] | |
| 2004-05 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 2 | 1 | Banbridge Academy | ||
| 2005-06 | Banbridge Academy | 4 | 1 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | ||
| 2006-07 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 6 | 1 | Banbridge Academy | ||
| 2007-08 | Cookstown High School | 4 | 4 | Banbridge Academy | Cookstown won 4–3 on penalties[35] | |
| 2008-09 | Cookstown High School | 3 | 0 | Sullivan Upper School | [36] |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Banbridge Academy | 4 | 2 | Wallace High School | [37] | |
| 2010-11 | Cookstown High School | 4 | 2 | Banbridge Academy | [38] [39] | |
| 2011-12 | Cookstown High School | 5 | 3 | Banbridge Academy | [40] | |
| 2012-13 | Banbridge Academy | 3 | 1 | Sullivan Upper School | [41] | |
| 2013-14 | Wallace High School | 3 | 2 | Friends School Lisburn | after extra time[42] [43] | |
| 2014-15 | Banbridge Academy | 2 | 1 | Wallace High School | [44] [45] | |
| 2015-16 | Sullivan Upper School | 4 | 3 | Wallace High School | [46] | |
| 2016-17 | Banbridge Academy | 2 | 1 | Royal & Prior School | [47] | |
| 2017-18 | Sullivan Upper School | 2 | 2 | Friends School Lisburn | [48] Sullivan won 4–3 on penalties | |
| 2018-19 | Wallace High School | 2 | 2 | Sullivan Upper School | Wallace won 4–3 on penalties | |
| Year | Winner | Runner-up | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Friends School Lisburn | 3 | 0 | Wallace High School | ||
| 2020-21 | not played due to COVID-19 pandemic | |||||
| 2021-22 | Banbridge Academy | 3 | 1 | Wallace High School[49] | ||
| 2022-23 | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | 2 | 2 | Banbridge Academy | RBAI win on penalty run-ins |