The Carbery Junior A Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bandon Co-op Carbery Junior A Football Championship and abbreviated to the Carbery JAFC) is an annual club Gaelic football competition organised by the West Cork Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the top-ranking junior clubs in West Cork, Ireland, deciding the competition winners through a group stage and knockout format. It is the most prestigious competition in West Cork Gaelic football.
Introduced in 1926 as the West Cork Junior Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament. The competition went through a number of format changes since then, including the introduction of a back-door or second chance for beaten teams. The competition took on its current format in 2022, adding a round-robin group stage and limiting the number of entrants.
In its current format, the Carbery Junior Football Championship begins with a group stage in late summer. The 16 participating teams are divided into four groups of four and play each other in a round-robin system. The two top-ranking teams in each group proceed to the knockout phase that culminates with the final. The winner of the Carbery Junior Championship, as well as receiving the Mick McCarthy Cup, also qualifies for the subsequent Cork Junior A Football Championship.
The competition has been won by 22 teams, 18 of which have won it more than once. Bandon are the most successful team in the tournament's history, having won it 16 times. Kilmacabea are the title-holders, after defeating Diarmuid Ó Mathúna's by 1-12 to 1-4 in the 2024 final.
Format
Group stage
The 16 teams are divided into four groups of four. Over the course of the group stage, each team plays once against the others in the group, resulting in each team being guaranteed at least three 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 two teams in each group qualify for the knockout stage.
Knockout stage
Quarter-finals: The four group winners are paired with the four group runners-up. Four teams qualify for the next round.
Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these games advance to the final.
Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.
The Mick McCarthy Perpetual Memorial Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. It was commissioned to honour Mick McCarthy who played for O'Donovan Rossa, Carbery, Cork and Munster, and who died from injuries sustained in a road traffic accident on 5 February 1998, at the age of 33.[1][2][3] The cup was unveiled in October 1998 and first presented to Eugene Murphy, captain of the Carbery Rangers team which won the 1998 final. The cup replaced the Little Norah Cup which, after being donated by Beamish and Crawford in 1949, was last presented in 1997.[4][5]
In accordance with GAA rules, the West Cork Board awards a set of medals to the championship winners.
Sponsorship
Period
Sponsor(s)
Name
#
Buckley Financial
The Buckley Financial South West Junior A Football Championship
Five teams have won the South West Junior Football Championship and the South West Junior Hurling Championship in a single year as part of a Gaelic football-hurlingdouble. Kilbrittain became the first team to win the double in 1926. Bandon are the record holders having claimed the double on four occasions - 1929, 1960, 1971 and 1975. Dohenys are the only club to have won a back-to-back double - 1958 and 1959. Newcestown (1967) and Clonakilty (1977) complete the list of double-winning teams.
Club sides Argideen Rangers, Ballinascarthy and O'Donovan Rossa also hold the distinction of being dual divisional junior championship-winning teams, however, these were not achieved in a single calendar season.
