All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship

The All-Ireland Poc Fada Hurling & Camogie Championships is an annual tournament testing the skills of Ireland's best hurlers and camogie players. Poc Fada is Irish for "long puck". The championships are sponspored by M Donnelly & Co. since 1996.

The date varies but it is on the Saturday of the August Bank Holiday each year (since 2005) For 2012 the date is the 4th of August. The starting time is 12.00 (On the 2.5km course the Boys Under 16 final pucks off first, followed by the Camogie Final with the Senior Final following thereafter on the 5km course). Beginning at "An Fhána Mór", Annaverna, County Louth, competitors must puck a sliotar with a hurley to the top of Annaverna Mountain, "An Céide," and onwards to "Carn an Mhadaidh"' and after a short break continue down to "An Gabhlán," finishing back at "An Fhána Mór," Annaverna. The whole course measures 5 kilometres (3.1 mi).

Tournaments

Seniors Final - An Corn Setanta (The Setanta Cup)

The 12 competitors competing in this category qualify as the 4 Provincial champions, the 4 Provincial runners-up, the current champion, a wild card and 2 invitationals (in the past competitors have come from USA and South Africa).

For 2012 there will be the eight provincial qualifiers, a European qualifier, the current champion (the All Ireland defending champion has an automatic place in the following year's event), there will also be two invitational's/wild cards. An Corn Setanta ("The Setanta Cup") is awarded to the player who takes the lowest number of pucks. Ties are broken by the distance by which the player's last puck crosses the finish line.

Comórtas Beirte (Pairs) - An Corn Cualigne (The Cooley Cup) & An Corn Craobh Rua (The Red Branch Cup).

Shared between the pairing drawn prior to the competition as the Pair returrning the least number of combined pucks for the course. Record holders still to be clarified!

Camogie Final - (The Camogie Poc Fada Cup)

There are 7 competitors in the Ladies event, if there is an invitional place/wildcard on offer there may be 8. Presently the current champion, the 4 Provincial qualifiers, a qualifier from Co. Louth and a qualifier from Co. Armagh (The latter 2 counties being the hosts). In the past the invitional/wildcard has gone to the London Cumann.

The U16 Boys Final - An Corn Sean Og Mac Seáin (The Sean Og Mac Seáin Cup)

There are currently only 4 paticipants in this event, 1 from each of the 4 provincial qualifiers

History

The tournament was founded in 1960 by Fr. Pól Mac Sheáin and the Naomh Moninne club based in Fatima, Dundalk, Louth, with the first All Ireland event taking place in 1961 Limerick man Vincent Godfrey the first winner, out of 16 hurlers invited. The competition went off the calendar after 1969 before returning in 1981 with 12 competitors. The concept of the competition originates in the Irish legend of “Táin Bó Cuailgne” when Cúchulainn, who as the boy Setanta set out from his home to the King's court at Emain Macha hitting his sliotar before him and running ahead to catch it.

In 2001 the Poc Fada was held at Dundalk Stadium (Dundalk Racecourse) due to foot-and-mouth disease on the Cooley Peninsula, doing two laps of the circuit (2 miles 880 yards / 4,023 metres). The 2005 tournmant was won by Albert Shanahan of Limerick, with international soccer player Niall Quinn (who played for Dublin in the All-Ireland minor final of 1983) also competing.

Almost all of the winners have been from the traditional hurling counties, but Dinny Donnelly (Meath), Gerry Goodwin (Tyrone), Colin Byrne (Wicklow), Paul Dunne (Louth), Mary Henry (Westmeath), 2009 champion Gerry Fallon (Roscommon) and the 2010 champion Graham Clarke (Down) have been the exceptions. The record currently stands at 48 pucks (an average of 104 metres per puck), achieved by Brendan Cummins (Tipperary) in 2004, while for the camogie course Mary Henry has the record with 28. The most successful competitors have generally been goalkeepers, owing to the need for goalkeepers to puck the ball far up the field in a game of hurling.

Poc Fada Hall of Fame

Roll of Honour

Poc Fada Seniors

§ short course - took place at the Dundalk Racecourse (two and a half-mile) due to foot-and-mouth disease.

Camogie Poc Fada since 2004

Uses a shorter course of just 2 stages from "An Fhana Mór" to "An Gabhlan" and back, a distance of 2.5 km (1½ miles).

Boys U16 Poc Fada since 2007

Uses the same course as the Camogie finalists.

References

• An Poc Fada.net - The Poc Fada portal for News, History, Pictures and Results
• The Poc Fada on gaa.ie

External links

• An Poc Fada.net - The Poc Fada portal for News, History, Pictures and Results
• The Poc Fada on gaa.ie