| Munster Junior B Club Hurling Championship | |
| Currentlyrunning: | 2023 Munster Junior B Club Hurling Championship |
| Irish: | Craobh Iomána Sóisear B na Mumhan |
| Code: | Hurling |
| Region: | Munster |
| Trophy: | Michael Fitzmaurice Memorial Cup |
| Teams: | 6 |
| Title Holders: | Bruff |
| Currentordinal: | 1 |
| Super: | st |
| Sponsors: | Killeedy GAA Club |
The Munster Junior B Club Hurling Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by Killeedy GAA Club in Limerick since 2005 for the champion junior B hurling teams in the province of Munster in Ireland.
The series of games are played during the winter months with the Munster final currently being played in January. The prize for the winning team is the Michael Fitzmaurice Memorial Cup. The championship has always been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship.
The Munster Championship is an integral part of the wider All-Ireland Junior B Club Hurling Championship. The winners and runners-up of the Munster final join the winners and runners-up of the Leinster in the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland Championship.
Bruff are the title-holders after defeating Thurles Sarsfields by 0–10 to 1–06 in the 2022 Munster final.[1]
A Munster Club Championship for respective junior B champions was the idea of the Killeedy GAA Club who, after winning the Limerick JBHC title in 2005, realised there was no provincial competition in that grade of hurling.[2] A senior championship had been running side 1965, while intermediate and junior competitions had been recently introduced by GAA President Seán Kelly.[3] [4] Members of the Killeedy club approached a supportive Kelly, however, their proposal was rejected by Central Council.[5] In spite of this setback, Killeedy organised their own unofficial provincial competition for Junior B championship winners before eventually securing the official support of the Munster Council.[6]
The Munster Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is no seeding.
Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level there are penalties. Only the final, if both teams are still level after a period of extra time, goes to a replay.
Quarter-finals: Four teams contest this round. The two winning teams advance directly to the semi-final stage. The two losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals: Four teams contest this round. The two winning teams advance directly to the final. The two losing teams are eliminated from the championship.
Final: The final is contested by the two semi-final winners.
| County | Championship | Qualifying team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare | Clare Junior B Hurling Championship | Champions | |
| Cork | Cork Junior B Hurling Championship | Champions | |
| Kerry | Kerry Junior Hurling Championship | Champions | |
| Limerick | Limerick Junior B Hurling Championship | Champions | |
| Tipperary | Tipperary Junior B Hurling Championship | Champions | |
| Waterford | Waterford Junior B Hurling Championship | Champions |
At the end of the Munster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the Michael Fitzmaurice Memorial Cup in honour of a former Killeedy hurler, is held by the winning team until the following year's final.[7] [8] Traditionally, the presentation is made by a high-ranking official from the Munster Council. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to lift the cup.
| County | Winners | Runners-up | Total | Winning years | Runner-up years | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork | 6 | 1 | 7 | 2005, 2006, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, | 2007 | |
| 2 | Tipperary | 5 | 9 | 14 | 2007, 2012, 2014, 2019, 2021 | 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022 | |
| Limerick | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2008, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2022 | 2005, 2011, 2014, 2019 | ||
| 4 | Clare | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2011 | 2012, 2018, 2021 |
| 2005 | St James' | 0-20 | Killeedy | 2-12 | [9] | |
| 2006 | Dohenys | 1-14 | Kiladangan | 3-07 | ||
| 2007 | Ballingarry | 2-12 | St. Ita's | 0-12 | [10] | |
| 2008 | Bruree | 1-12 | Moyne-Templetuohy | 2-07 | ||
| 2009 | St. Mary's/Seán Finns | 0-14 | Templederry Kenyons | 0-13 | ||
| 2010 | Doneraile | 4-11 | Thurles Sarsfields | 1-07 | ||
| 2011 | Clonlara | 1-12 | Croom | 1-08 | ||
| 2012 | Roscrea | 4-05 | Tubber | 1-11 | [11] | |
| 2013 | Templeglantine | 2-12 | Holycross-Ballycahill | 1-09 | [12] | |
| 2014 | Killenaule | 2-11 | Doon | 1-13 | [13] | |
| 2015 | Shanballymore | 0-14 | Éire Óg Annacarty | 1-09 | [14] | |
| 2016 | Whitechurch | 0-17 | Upperchurch–Drombane | 1-11 | [15] | |
| 2017 | Killavullen | 0-10 | Thurles Sarsfields | 0-05 | [16] | |
| 2018 | Cappamore | 0-10 | Inagh-Kilnamona | 0-08 | ||
| 2019 | Drom-Inch | 2-23 | Garryspillane | 2-17 | ||
| 2020 | No championship | |||||
| 2021 | Clonoulty-Rossmore | 2-06 | Scariff | 0-10 | ||
| 2022 | Bruff | 0-10 | Thurles Sarsfields | 1-06 | ||