| Inter-provincial Camogie Championship | |
|---|---|
| Irish | Craobh Idir-Chúigí Camógaíochta na hÉireann |
| Founded | 1956 |
| Trophy | Gael Linn Cup |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Title holders | Leinster (26th title) |
| First winner | Leinster |
| Most titles | Leinster (26 titles) |
TheGael Linn Cup is a biennial tournament, representative competition for elite level participants in the women's team field sport ofcamogie, contested by Ireland's four provincial teams with competitions at senior and junior level on alternate years. The tournament has existed in various guides since 1956, currently the senior tournament is played in even years and the junior tournament in odd years. An inter-provincial colleges competition is also played atsecondary school/high school level.
| County | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Leinster | 26 | 1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1962,1965,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1978,1979,1981,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1991,1993,2006,2010,2011 |
| Munster | 20 | 1961,1963,1964,1966,1980,1982,1990,1992,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2009 |
| Connacht | 4 | 1973,1974,2000 and2008 |
| Ulster | 2 | 1967,2007 |
Inter-provincialcamogie matches were played as part of the 1928 and 1932Tailteann Games programmes and a further inter-provincial match was played in July 1954 in Navan as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of theCamogie Association. Munster beat Ulster by 8–3 to 5–3 in a match that was described[by whom?] as the best of the year.
The enthusiasm generated by the match at Navan led to the establishment of an annual inter-provincial competition two years later, with the first final being contested by Leinster and by Ulster atKnockbridge, County Louth. Leinster has dominated the series, having won 26 titles, followed by Munster with 20 titles. Connacht has won four titles (in 1973, 1974, 2000 and 2008), while Ulster has won two titles (in 1967 and 2007).
In1993 and1994, the Gael Linn Cups were played with teams of 15-a-side for a two-year experimental period, as a prelude to the increase in team size form 12 to 15 in 1999 for all matches.
The series was played as a junior competition between 1974 and 1976. Senior and junior competitions were run concurrently from 1977. The competition format was moved to a single weekend in October/November during 1985–88 and, again, since 1999. The date was moved to June in 1995, back to October/November in 2004 and to May since 2008. As with theRailway Cups inGaelic Football andHurling, the competition has been popular with players, but has survived several attempts to abolish the series since 1986.
Shwarzkopf hair products sponsored the competition from 1999 to 2004. In 2009, after the withdrawal of Ulster, the series was played in a blitz format with 30 minute games.[1]
In 2010, it was decided to alternate the competition between junior and senior status, and the senior competition was restored to full match status, with four provinces contesting the semi-finals. In the absence ofAntrim players, an allDerry side represented Ulster in the 2010 semi-final.
Many players won Gael Linn Cup medals without ever winning All-Ireland titles, affording them valuable recognition in the days before theCamogie All Stars Awards were inaugurated.[tone] Geraldine Callinan (two Gael Linn Interprovincial Medals) Geraldine Callinan was the youngest ever Leinster player at 14 years of age. Scored three goals and was instrumental in winning the match after being eleven points behind at half time.
The first figure is the number of goals scored (equal to 3 points each) and the second total is the number of points scored, the figures are combined to determine the winner of a match inGaelic games.
| County | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| Munster | 17 | 1975,1977,1978,1980,1983,1985,1987,1988,1992,1994,1996,1997,2003,2004,2005,2008,2011 |
| Ulster | 8 | 1979,1989,1990,1991,1993,1998,2000 and2002 |
| Leinster | 7 | 1976,1982,1984,1986,1999,20012007 |
| Connacht | 4 | 1981,1995,2006 and2009 |
Leinster won the first five competitions, have won five in a row and seven-in-a-row since then, and have fielded players from nine of the province's 12 counties on victorious teams.
Kathleen Woods (Louth), May Kavanagh (Wicklow), Claire Monaghan (Kildare), Ettie Kearns (Meath), May Kavanagh (Dublin), Lily Parle (Wexford), Annette Corrigan (Dublin),Kathleen Mills (Dublin), Fran Maher (Dublin), Mary O'Sullivan (Dublin),Una O'Connor (Dublin), Kay Douglas (Wicklow), Subs: Kathleen Duffy (Louth), Madge Quigley (Louth), Brigid Judge (Kildare).
Munster won their first competition on a sodden field at Salthill in 1961, in the year Connacht surprisingly inflicted Leinster's first defeat in the competition.
Maeve Gilroy was the star in Ulster's first success in the 1967 at Parnell Park, achieved with ten players from Antrim and two from Down.
Connacht's breakthrough victory came in 1973, when an allGalway side defeated an all-Cork Munster side 1–6 to 1–1 in a replayed semi-final described in the Connacht Tribune as “one of the best exhibitions of the game for many a year”[10] and then beat Leinster in the final by a single point atParnell Park, Dublin.
The teams for the 1954 revival match at Navan were:
     Leinster |    Ulster |
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