Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship
| Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship | |
|---|---|
| Current season or competition: File:Current event clock.svg 2025 Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship | |
| Irish | Craobh Iomána Sinsearach B Uibh Fháilí |
| Code | Hurling |
| Founded | 2018 |
| Region | File:Colours of Offaly.svg Offaly (GAA) |
| Trophy | Michael Verney Cup |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Title holders | File:Colours of Cork.svg Lusmagh (1st title) |
| First winner | File:Colours of Kerry.svg Ballinamere |
| Most titles | File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kilcormac–Killoughey (2 titles) |
| Sponsors | Molloy Environmental Systems |
| Official website | Offaly GAA |
The Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Molloy Environmental Systems Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Offaly SBHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 2018 for the second tier senior hurling teams in the county of Offaly in Ireland.
In its current format, the Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship begins with a group stage. The six participating 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 Glenisk O'Connor Park. The winner of the Offaly Senior B Championship qualifies for the subsequent Leinster Intermediate Club Championship.
Lusmagh are the title holders after defeating Carrig & Riverstown by 1–19 to 0–19 in the 2025 final.[1]
History
[edit | edit source]The Offaly Intermediate Championship was founded in 1929 in an effort to bridge the standard of play between the Offaly Senior Championship and the Offaly Junior Championship. For almost 90 years, the Offaly Intermediate Championship was effectively the second tier championship in the Offaly hurling championship system.
A review of Offaly's hurling structures in 2017 proposed that the Offaly SHC and Offaly IHC be reduced from 12 to eight teams. This resulted in the creation of a new eight-team Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship. The inaugural championship in 2018 featured four regraded teams from the 2017 Offaly SHC: Clodiagh Gaels, Lusmagh, Shamrocks and Tullamore. The remaining four teams were the 2017 Offaly IHC semi-finalists: Ballinamere, Brosna Gaels, Carrig-Riverstown and Drumcullen.[2]
The very first match in the inaugural championship took place on 1 April 2018, with Tullamore beating Clodiagh Gaels by 3–17 to 2–11. Ballinamere won the inaugural championship after beating Shamrocks in the final. Brosna Gaels were the first team to suffer relegation after losing a playoff to Carrig-Riverstown.[3]
Format
[edit | edit source]Group stage
[edit | edit source]Six 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 five group 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 four teams qualify for the knockout stage
Knockout stage
[edit | edit source]Semi-finals: The top four teams from the group stage 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.
Relegation
[edit | edit source]The fifth and sixth-placed teams from the group stage take part in a relegation playoff to determine who drops to the Offaly Intermediate Hurling Championship.
Teams
[edit | edit source]2025 Teams
[edit | edit source]The 6 teams competing in the 2025 Offaly Senior B Hurling Championship are:
| Team | Location | Position in 2024 | In championship since | Championship titles | Last championship title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Colours of Laois.svg Carrig & Riverstown | Birr | Semi-finals | 2024 | 0 | — | |
| File:Colours of Limerick.svg Coolderry | Birr | Champions (Promoted) | 2022 | 0 | — | |
| File:Colours of Sligo.svg Clara | Clara | White and black | Relegation playoff winners | 2020 | 0 | — |
| Border Clodiagh Gaels | Killeigh | Runners-up | 2023 | 1 | 2021 | |
| File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kilcormac–Killoughey | Kilcormac and Killoughey | Champions | 2019 | 2 | 2024 | |
| File:Colours of Cork.svg Lusmagh | Lusmagh | Semi-finals | 2018 | 0 | — |
Qualification for subsequent competitions
[edit | edit source]At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent Leinster Intermediate Club Hurling Championship, the winner of which progresses to the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship.
List of finals
[edit | edit source]| Year | Winners | Runners-up | Venue | # | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Score | Club | Score | |||
| 2025 | Lusmagh | 1–19 | Carrig & Riverstown | 0–19 | Grant Heating St Brendan's Park | |
| 2024 | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 1–13 | Clodiagh Gaels | 0–09 | Glenisk O'Connor Park | [4] |
| 2023 | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 0–12 | Clodiagh Gaels | 0–08 | Glenisk O'Connor Park | [5] |
| 2022 | Tullamore | 3–09 | Clara | 0–09 | Glenisk O'Connor Park | [6] |
| 2021 | Clodiagh Gaels | 2–10 | Tullamore | 1–12 | St Brendan's Park | [7] |
| 2020 | Kinnitty | 0–16 | Drumcullen | 1–10 | Bord na Móna O'Connor Park | [8] |
| 2019 | Seir Kieran | 1–20 | Clodiagh Gaels | 0–14 | St Brendan's Park | [9] |
| 2018 | Ballinamere | 2–16 | Shamrocks | 3–10 | Bord na Móna O'Connor Park | [10] |
Roll of honour
[edit | edit source]By club
[edit | edit source]| # | Club | Titles | Runners-up | Championship wins | Championship runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kilcormac–Killoughey | 2 | 0 | 2023, 2024 | — |
| 2 | Clodiagh Gaels | 1 | 3 | 2021 | 2019, 2023, 2024 |
| Tullamore | 1 | 1 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| Ballinamere | 1 | 0 | 2018 | — | |
| Seir Kieran | 1 | 0 | 2019 | — | |
| Kinnitty | 1 | 0 | 2020 | — | |
| 7 | Shamrocks | 0 | 1 | — | 2018 |
| Drumcullen | 0 | 1 | — | 2020 | |
| Clara | 0 | 1 | — | 2022 |
See also
[edit | edit source]- Offaly Senior Hurling Championship
- Offaly Intermediate Hurling Championship
- Offaly Junior A Hurling Championship
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Official website Archived 25 September 2023 at the Wayback Machine
