British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championship
| British University Ladies's Gaelic Football Championships | |
|---|---|
| Current season or competition: 2025/26 | |
| Code | Gaelic Football (British University Championship) |
| Founded | 1997/98 |
| Region | LGFA Higher Education Colleges (GAA) |
| Title holders | Coventry University (2nd title) |
| Most titles | St Mary's University, Twickenham (11 titles) |
| Official website | "British Universities GAA". |
The British University Ladie's Gaelic Football Championships are a group of an annual Gaelic football tournaments held for universities in Great Britain. They are organised by the British Universities Gaelic Atheltic Association (BUGAA); a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee overseeing Gaelic Games in universities across England, Wales, and Scotland; in tandem with the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Unlike the men's competition, it is not affiliated with British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS).
History
The first organised ladies' Gaelic football tournament was held in Dundee in 1997, with St Mary's winning the inaugural competition. St Mary's would go on to win the first 8 championship titles up until 2005, with Liverpool Hope University breaking their monopoly with a hat-trick of titles in 2006, 2007, and 2008.
Between 2001 and 2009, the British Division 1 championship winners entered the Lynch Cup - then the Division 2 championship for universities in Ireland - at the semi-final stage. While no British team won the competition during these years, St Mary's University, Twickenham made the Lynch Cup final twice in 2002 and 2005 (losing to Mary Immaculate College, Limerick and Trinity College, Dublin),[1] while Liverpool Hope University made the Lynch Cup final 3 years in a row from 2006 to 2008, losing to Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology and University College Cork.[1]
A reorganisation of HEC competitions in the 2009/10 season saw the Lynch Cup become the Division 3 championship in Ireland, and British teams represented in different Irish HEC competitions each year. In 2015, Liverpool Hope reached the final of the Moynihan Cup - then the Division 4 championship for universities in Ireland - losing to St Patrick's College, Drumcondra,[2] and in 2026, Coventry University became the first British winners of an Irish HEC competition with victory over a team from DCU Dóchas Éireann in the Lagan Cup, the Division 6 championship.[2]
Format
Gaelic Games in Britain are run by the Gaelic Games Council of Britain, and ladie's Gaelic football in Britain is overseen by the Provincial Council of Britain Ladies Gaelic Football Association. University Gaelic football competitions in Britain are organised by the British Universities Gaelic Atheltic Association (BUGAA); a branch of the Higher Education GAA committee.
Teams tcompete from September to February in regional leagues, split into Scotland, North-West England, and Midlands & Southern England. The top 5 teams across the BUCS leagues qualifying for the Division 1 Championship tournament in March. The qualifying teams play in a round-robin to decide the champion.
Teams that did not qualify for Division 1 drop into the Division 2 Championship. The teams compete in 3 groups of 4. The top 8 teams across the 3 groups compete in knockouts (via quarter finals, semi finals, and a final) for the Division 2 title, with the other 4 teams forming the Division 3 Championship.
Current teams
The teams competing in the BUGAA divisions of ladies' Gaelic football, as of the 2025/26 season, are as follows:
British University Ladies' Championship Finals by year
BUGAA Division 1 Championship
Roll of Honour
- 11 - St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 5 - Liverpool Hope University
- 3 - Robert Gordon University, University of Liverpool
- 2 - Coventry University, Queen Margaret University
- 1 - Liverpool John Moores University
BUGAA Division 2 Championship
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003/04[7] | Chester | 3-09 | Teesside | 0-00 |
| 2004/05[4] | Chester | Bangor | ||
| 2005/06 | ||||
| 2006/07 | ||||
| 2007/08 | ||||
| 2008/09 | ||||
| 2009/10 | Northumbria | |||
| 2010/11 | Northumbria | 3-06 | Liverpool | 0-04 |
| 2011/12 | Liverpool | 3-12 | Manchester Metropolitan | 1-08 |
| 2012/13 | Glasgow Caledonian | 6-09 | Dundee | 0-04 |
| 2013/14 | Dundee | 1-04 | Glasgow | 2-00 |
| 2014/15 | Coventry University | 3-07 | Birmingham | 1-06 |
| 2015/16[8] | Glasgow Caledonian | 4-05 | Northumbria | 1-02 |
| 2016/17 | Glasgow | 6-09 | Birmingham | 3-08 |
| 2017/18 | Coventry University | 4-10 | Glasgow | 0-10 |
| 2018/19 | Manchester | Glasgow Caledonian | ||
| 2019/20 | not played | |||
| 2020/21 | ||||
| 2021/22 | Glasgow Caledonian | 3-05 | Manchester | 1-01 |
| 2022/23 | Glasgow Caledonian | 7-12 | Manchester | 5-04 |
| 2023/24 | Glasgow Caledonian | 2-14 | Glasgow | 3-01 |
| 2024/25 | Glasgow | 0-08 | Dundee | 1-04 (AET & 25m Kicks) |
| 2025/26 | Liverpool Hope | 2-01 | Manchester | 0-05 |
BUGAA Division 3 Championship
| Year | Winner | Score | Runner-up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010/11 | Manchester Metropolitan | 1-03 | UCLAN2 | 0-02 |
| 2011/12 | ||||
| 2012/13 | Glasgow | 1-03 | Birmingham | 1-02 |
| 2013/14 | Birmingham | 0-07 | Manchester Metropolitan | 1-02 (AET) |
| 2014/15 | Teesside | Heriot-Watt | ||
| 2015/16 | Glasgow | |||
| 2016/17 | Manchester | 4-09 | Stirling | 0-06 |
| 2017/18 | Manchester | 4-07 | Stirling | 1-01 |
| 2018/19 | Stirling | |||
| 2019/20 | not played | |||
| 2020/21 | ||||
| 2021/22 | ||||
| 2022/23 | ||||
| 2023/24 | ||||
| 2024/25 | Edinburgh | 1-04 | Nottingham / Nottingham Trent | 1-00 |
| 2025/26 | Glasgow Caledonian | 1-04 | Edinburgh | 1-03 |
1 Known as St Mary's University College until 2014.
2 Renamed to the University of Lancashire in 2025.
References
- ^ a b "LGFA Lynch Cup Roll of Honour". LGFA.
- ^ a b "HEC Roll of Honour". Ladies Gaelic Football. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Darby, Paul; Hassan, David (18 October 2013). Emigrant Players: Sport and the Irish Diaspora. Routledge. ISBN 9781317968450.
- ^ a b "British Universities Gaelic Games Sponsored by O'Neill's". www.uni-gaa.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "Results | GaelicSportsCast". www.gaelicsportscast.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "Success for St Mary's at British Gaelic Football Championships". St Mary's University. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- ^ "British Universities Gaelic Games Sponsored by Gaelic Gear". www.uni-gaa.com. Archived from the original on 8 April 2004. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ^ "Ladies Gaelic Strike Silver! @ GCU Students' Association". www.gcustudents.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2018.