The Canon O'Brien Cup is an annual hurling match contested by Cork and University College Cork. The match, usually played in January at the Mardyke Sports Ground, is often regarded as a pre-season warm-up game for the two participants.

Canon O'Brien Cup
IrishCorn Uí Bhriain
CodeHurling
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
Region Cork (GAA)
TrophyCanon O'Brien Cup
No. of teams2
Title holders University College Cork (2nd title)
First winner Cork
Most titlesCork (5 titles)

Organised by the Cork County Board, admission to the match is free; however, those attending the game are asked to make a donation to volunteer collectors on the day, with all proceeds going to the Irish Alzheimer's Society. The fixture was first played in 2013.

The current holders (2020) are University College Cork.

History

edit

The Canon O'Brien Cup was launched in 2013 by GAA President Liam O'Neill. The Cup was planned to be an annual challenge match between Cork and University College Cork. Canon Michael O'Brien, who was heavily involved as a coach with both teams, led UCC to eight consecutive Fitzgibbon Cup titles between 1981 and 1988 and led Cork to the 1990 All-Ireland title.[1]

The cup was donated by the O’Brien family and is a replica of the Fitzgibbon Cup. It was presented to Canon O'Brien in 1983 by the UCC hurling squad after he had helped them to win three Fitzgibbon Cup titles in-a-row.[2]

List of finals

edit
Year Winners Score Runners-up Score Venue Winning Captain Winning Team
2013 Cork 3-20 University College Cork 1-16 The Mardyke Pa Cronin A Nash; S O'Neill, C Spillane, S McDonnell; T Kenny, C Joyce, S White; D Kearney, P Cronin; B Corry, C McCarthy, S Moylan; P Horgan, M Cussen, P O'Sullivan.
Subs: R O'Shea, M O'Sullivan.
[3]
2014 Cork 2-19 University College Cork 1-14 The Mardyke Anthony Nash A Nash; C Joyce, S O’Neill, K Murphy; E Keane, M Ellis, W Egan; P Haughney, L McLoughlin; B Lawton, C McCarthy, M O’Sullivan; S Moylan, P Horgan, J Coughlan.
Subs: L O’Farrell, D Kearney, S White, A Ryan, S O’Farrell.
[4]
2015 Cork 1-26 University College Cork 2-12 The Mardyke Anthony Nash A Nash; C Joyce, C Barry, W Kearney; A Walsh, L McLoughlin, C Murphy; D Kearney, P Cronin; S Harnedy, B Cooper, B Lawton; D McCarthy, P O’Sullivan, P Horgan.
Subs: C McCarthy, S Moylan, W Kearney, L O’Farrell, P Haughney.
[5]
2016 Cork 2-12 University College Cork 0-13 The Mardyke Shane O'Neill A Nash; C O’Sullivan, P O’Mahony, A Dennehy; S O’Neill, W Egan, N Cashman; P Haughney, D Kearney; P O’Sullivan, W Leahy, S Moylan; L Meade, P Cronin, D Lee.
Subs: D Browne, D Fitzgibbon, M Coleman, C Buckley.
[6]
2017 University College Cork 0-22 Cork 1-13 The Mardyke D Desmond; I Kenny, C Spillane, S Roche; N Motherway, C Gleeson, R Cahalane; J Barron, R O’Shea; M O’Brien, B McCarthy, S Hegarty; A Cadogan, J O’Flynn, A Spillane.
Subs: J Barry, G O’Brien, D Hannon, N Cashman, C Browne, D O’Brien, B O’Sullivan.
[7]
2018 No competition [8]
2019 Cork 1-24 University College Cork 1-23 The Mardyke P Collins; S O’Donoghue, D Cahalane, C O’Callaghan; C Joyce, P Leopold, W Kearney; D Kearney, C Murphy; S Kennefick, P Horgan, C Walsh; J Coughlan, D Dalton, C Beausang.
Subs: R Downey, S Condon, T O’Connell, C Power, C O’Brien.
[9]
2020 University College Cork 2-18 Cork 1-20 The Mardyke Eoghan Murphy S Hurley; D Lowney, E Murphy, S Roche; B Hennessy, N O’Leary, P O’Loughlin; A Casey, R Connolly; D Fitzgibbon, S Kingston, C Boylan; J O’Sullivan, S Conway, M O’Halloran.
Subs: J Cashman, S Roche, N Montgomery, B Sheehan, S Hayes, W Henn.
[10]
2021 No competition [11]
2022 Cork 1-17 University College Cork 1-15 The Mardyke G Collins; D Cahalane, G Millerick, S O'Donoghue; J O'Flynn, M Coleman, T O'Mahony; D Fitzgibbon, C Joyce; M Keane, S Harnedy, C Lehane; S Kingston, A Cadogan, L Meade.
Subs: P Power, R O'Flynn, C O'Brien, S Twomey, L Meade.
[12]
2023 Cork 0-25 University College Cork 1-15 The Mardyke G Connolly; C O’Callaghan, S O’Leary-Hayes, S O’Donoghue; E Downey, T O’Connell, R Downey; S Quirke, B O’Sullivan; B Keating, C Lehane, L Meade; C Walsh, D Dalton, B Hayes.
Subs: D Harrington, A Walsh-Barry, D Healy, M Kelly, K Moynihan, J Cashman, J O’Carroll, A Myers.
[13]

Records

edit

Scoring

edit
All time top scorers
Rank Player Team Scores Tally Games Era Average
1 Patrick Horgan   Cork 3-23 32 3 2013-2015 10.66
2 Willie Griffin   U.C.C. 2-15 21 2 2013-2014 10.50
3 Paudie O'Sullivan   Cork 3-07 16 3 2013-2016 5.33
4 Rob O'Shea   Cork
  U.C.C.
0-13 13 5 2013-present 2.60
5 Stephen Moylan   Cork 1-09 12 4 2013-2016 3.00
6 Anthony Spillane   U.C.C. 1-06 9 3 2015-present 3.00
7 Paul Haughney   Cork 0-08 8 4 2014-2016 2.00
8 Conor Lehane   Cork
  U.C.C.
0-07 7 2 2013-present 3.50
9 Séamus Harnedy   Cork
  U.C.C.
0-05 5 2 2013-2015 2.50
Cian McCarthy   Cork 0-05 5 4 2013-2016 1.20
Top scorers in a single game
Season Top scorer Team Score Total
2013 Patrick Horgan   Cork 2-08 16
2014 Patrick Horgan   Cork 1-09 12
2015 Anthony Spillane   U.C.C. 1-04 7
2016 Paudie O'Sullivan   Cork 1-04 7
Rob O'Shea   U.C.C. 0-7 7
2017 Alan Cadogan   U.C.C. 0-07 7
2018
2019 Patrick Horgan   Cork 0-09 9

Miscellaneous

edit
  • Daniel Kearney of Cork holds the record for playing in five Canon O'Brien Cup-winning teams.
  • Colm Spillane won Canon O'Brien Cup titles as a member of both the Cork (2013) and University College Cork (2017) teams.

References

edit
  1. ^ Hurley, Denis (17 January 2013). "Students honour Canon O'Brien". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ^ Crowe, Dermot (26 January 2014). "The Canon a key contributor to Cork honours list". Irish Independent. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  3. ^ O'Flynn, Diarmuid (21 January 2013). "Encouraging signs from Rebels". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ Hurley, Denis (27 January 2014). "Newcomers encourage JBM". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ^ Hurley, Denis (9 January 2015). "Jimmy Barry-Murphy content as new skipper Anthony Nash leads Cork home". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. ^ Hurley, Denis (11 January 2016). "Second-half goals seal victory for Cork". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. ^ Hurley, Denis (7 January 2017). "Cork outplayed as UCC finally get their hands on Canon O'Brien Cup". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  8. ^ "Tonight's Canon Michael O'Brien Cup clash is off". Hogan Stand. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  9. ^ O'Callaghan, Therese (7 January 2019). "Useful workout for Cork ahead of clash with Cats". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  10. ^ O'Callaghan, Therese (7 January 2020). "Hayes fires winning scores as UCC outsmart Rebels". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  11. ^ "Tonight's Canon Michael O'Brien Cup clash is off". Hogan Stand. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  12. ^ "Mark Keane and Conor Lehane score as Cork beat UCC in Canon O'Brien Cup". Echo Live. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Cork push on in second half to beat UCC in Canon O'Brien Cup". Echo Live. 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.