The Kirk Cup is the oldest hockey tournament in Ulster and the oldest provincial hockey trophy in Ireland . It has become a tradition since the 1966–67 season for the final to be played on Boxing Day, a date previously reserved for the Anderson Cup Final. The final attracts the largest crowd of the Ulster hockey season. The cup is named after its donor, Mr. John Kirk, J.P, who was a member of the Antrim club . Following the creation of the Irish Hockey League , the competition remained open only to Ulster Senior League members, until 2018–19, when Irish Hockey League teams from Ulster were admitted.
18-772: In the early years of the competition it was also known as the Ulster Senior Challenge Cup . From the introduction of the Cup in the 1897–98 season until the major re-organisation of the Ulster Senior League for the 1969–70 season, the format was that of a knockout competition. The Cup was competed for towards the end of the season. From the 1969-70 all the teams in Senior League Section One and Two were split into four groups. The winner of each group would go forward to an open draw for semi-final matches. From
36-589: Is a field hockey league organised by Hockey Ireland that features men's teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. It replaced the All-Ireland Club Championships as the top level men's field hockey competition in Ireland. Since 2015–16 the league has been sponsored by Ernst & Young and, as a result, it is also known as
54-490: The EY Hockey League . The league was first played for during the 2008–09 season. Between 2008–09 and 2014–15 the league used pool stages and play-offs to determine the league champion. Teams were divides into two pools with the winners and runners-up in each pool then qualifying for the semi-finals. The league title was then decided by a final. Teams continued to play in their respective provincial leagues and qualified for
72-495: The 2000-01 until the 2008–09 season, the format of the competition was altered slightly. The eight teams in the Ulster Premier Hockey League were drawn into four groups. The top eight teams from Section One were drawn into these groups to create four groups of four teams each. The eight Section One teams were the relegated Premier League team from the previous season and the teams finishing in second to eighth places in
90-835: The Senior League. At the end of each league season the winner of Section A played the winner of Section B in a Test Match to decide the winner of the Keightley Cup. The loser of the Test Match was awarded the Ireland's Saturday Night Cup. During this period the trophy was always won by the Section A winner. Prior to the start of the 1957–58 season, the Council of the Ulster Branch made a controversial decision. Portrush, who had finished bottom of Section A in 1956–57 were demoted to Section B. Parkview,
108-579: The Ulster Senior League season. From its formation until 1953 entry to the Ulster Senior League could only be obtained by application to the Ulster Hockey Union . The applicant club would then have to be successful in a vote amongst the Senior Clubs. The size of the Senior League varied between seven competing clubs in the 1900s to as many as eighteen in the late 1920s. With eighteen teams it
126-511: The final league standings of the previous season. Each club played the other teams in their Group once. The winners of each Group proceed to semi-final matches, with the ties decided via an open draw. The Premier League reverted to ten teams for the 2009–10 season and these teams together with the top six teams in Section One were drawn into four groups of four teams. Each team played the other teams in their group once. The group winners contested
144-584: The first teams of men's hockey clubs affiliated to the Ulster Hockey Union of Hockey Ireland . At a Special General Meeting of the Union held on 15 October 1897 in the Royal Avenue Hotel, Belfast, the clubs present resolved to form the Ulster Senior League. Eight teams participated in the first season: Antrim , Ards , Cliftonville , King's (Liverpool) Regiment, Lisburn, North Down , North Staffordshire Regiment and Ulster In 2024–25, there are 10 clubs in
162-611: The league title for the first time. They secured the title after defeating Lisnagarvey 4–2. Glenanne were 2–0 down before Shane O'Donoghue scored a hat-trick. The 2018–19 season saw the introduction of a Division 2. The new division revived the original format of the league. It uses pool stages and play-offs to determine the Division 2 champion and which teams get promoted to Division 1. Division 2 teams will continue to play in their respective provincial leagues. Source : Source : Source : In addition to introducing
180-494: The league, with a further Intermediate section below that. The formation of the sections again proved controversial, as some clubs were not placed in the section that their previous seasons standing would merit. In particular, it was reported that Saintfield (Intermediate A) had finished above four clubs in 1957–58 that were placed in Qualifying B. At the end of the 1968–69 season the Senior League expanded from eight to ten teams and
198-654: The new Irish Hockey League (IHL) and the league reduced from three divisions to two. The League champions now qualify for the Provincial play-offs where they compete for promotion to the IHL. Four teams dropped into junior hockey and the two divisions were amalgamated into a single Premier League of fourteen teams. The Intermediate League was revived. Key: Key: Key: Key: Key: KEY Information gathered from Belfast Newsletter and Ireland Saturday Night Irish Hockey League (men%27s hockey) The Men's Irish Hockey League
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#1733085492833216-635: The next season's national league via their position in the provincial league. However for the 2015–16 season the league was reorganised. The pool stages were abandoned and replaced with a full league programme consisting of 18 rounds of home and away matches. In addition the play-offs were effectively replaced by a new competition, the EY Champions Trophy. Furthermore the clubs no longer entered their senior teams in provincial leagues. Graham Shaw guided Monkstown to three successive league titles in 2012–13, 2013–14 and 2014–15. In 2017–18 Glenanne won
234-468: The semi-final with the ties decided by an open draw. The two semi-final winners contested the final which is scheduled for Boxing Day. This format was used in 2010-11 too. For the start of the 2011–12 season the entry was restricted to the Premier League teams. The ten Premier League teams were drawn in two pools of five teams, with each team playing the other teams in their pool once. The semi-finals saw
252-414: The winner of one pool playing the runner-up of the other pool, with the winners of the semi-finals going on to contest the final. In 2016–17, the top sixteen teams in the Ulster Senior League were drawn into four groups of four, but since 2017-18 it has reverted to two groups of five. (records incomplete) Ulster Senior League (Men%27s Hockey) The Ulster Senior League is a league competition for
270-538: The winners of Section B in 1956–57, were moved to Section A. This signalled the intention of the League to move to Promotion and Relegation. A report was commissioned by the Council of the Ulster Branch to establish new league structures. The report and debate lead to the league reorganising to allow for promotion and relegation prior to the start of the 1958–59 season. There were eight teams in each league section. A Qualifying League in two sections provided two lower rungs for
288-549: Was as follows In 2001 Section 1 was reduced to eight teams, and was renamed as the Premier League . Section 2 remained with twelve teams and was renamed as Senior 1 . The Intermediate League was renamed as Senior 2 , with all remaining teams placed in this section. The top three teams in the Premier League at the end of the season qualify for the All-Ireland Club Championship. The top four teams departed for
306-538: Was necessary to play the league in two pools with the winners of the pools playing a Test Match to decide that year's league champions. In 1953 the eight team Senior League amalgamated with the eight team Qualifying League. There was no realignment of teams at this time, the only difference was the renaming of the two leagues as Senior League Section A (the old Senior League) and Senior League Section B (the old Qualifying League). Teams did not change Sections during this period and no teams were promoted or relegated to or from
324-469: Was renamed as Senior League Section 1 . The remaining six Qualifying League 'A' were joined by the top four teams from Qualifying 'B' to form a ten team league known as Senior League Section 2 . All remaining club first teams were entered in the Intermediate League . In season 1975–76 Section 2 was increased to 12 teams. Membership of the two Senior League Sections at the start of the 1969–70 season
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