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The Walsh Cup ((アイルランド語:Corn Uí Bhreatnach)), originally known as the Leinster Accident Fund Tournament, is an annual hurling competition staged in Ireland by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Contested by the top county and college teams from the provinces of Leinster, Ulster and Connacht, the tournament has taken place every year with a few exceptions since 1954. The competition operates on a straight knock-out system and runs from January to February, with most games played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, the others during weekday evenings. Sponsored by Bord na Móna, it is therefore officially known as the Bord na Móna Walsh Cup. The Walsh Cup is part of a series of GAA tournaments known as the Bord na Móna Leinster GAA Series, along with the Kehoe Cup and the O'Byrne Cup. The original purpose of these competitions was to raise funds to supplement an injury scheme for the players. Nowadays, the funds generated are used to alleviate hardship among players, mentors and families who are in financial difficulty. The funds are administered through the twelve counties of Leinster. Apart from this, the competitions provide an opportunity for the county teams to select their panel for the year and prepare for the National Hurling League (NHL), as well as preparing the college teams for the Fitzgibbon Cup. Twelve teams currently participate in the Walsh Cup, most of which are from the province of Leinster. Since its inception in 1954, a total of 9 teams have won the tournament. Kilkenny have been the most successful team with 19 titles to their name. ==History== In 1954, the Leinster Council established a new inter-county tournament in an effort to raise funds to supplement the medical bills of players who were in financial difficulty. This scheme, known as the Players' Injury Fund, was the first of its kind to be offered by a provincial GAA council. Originally known as the Leinster Accident Fund Tournament, it started as a knockout competition for the 12 counties in Leinster. In its inaugural year, the hurling tournament was the first to be played out and was won by Leinster champions, Wexford. The final took place on September 19, 1954 when they beat Dublin by 1-8 to 0-2 in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford. This famous Wexford team then went on to win successive All-Irelands in 1955 and 1956. Following the death of former Leinster Council chairman Tom Walsh (Kilkenny) in July 1956, a cup was donated to the Leinster Council in his honour and thus the tournament became known as the Walsh Cup. The first winners of the new cup were All-Ireland champions Wexford, who beat Kilkenny in the final by 2-10 to 1-8 in Enniscorthy on October 14, 1956. During the fifties and sixties, the tournament was dominated by the stronger hurling counties of Kilkenny and Wexford. As a result of this, the Walsh Cup was not contested for much of the seventies. In 1977, a second cup was presented to the Leinster Council for a hurling competition which became known as the Kehoe Cup. The Leinster Council decided to alternate it with the Walsh Cup between the stronger and developing counties for the Players' Injury Fund. As a result, Kilkenny and Wexford were moved to the Kehoe Cup and for the first time an Offaly team lifted the Walsh Cup after beating Dublin in the final by 7-7 to 1-7 on December 4, 1977 in Birr, County Offaly. The Walsh Cup was not contested again until 1980 when Laois won their first title, beating Carlow in the final by 2-12 to 2-10 on July 16 in Portlaoise. This was followed with wins by Offaly and Westmeath in 1981 and 1982. There was a break in the competition again from 1983 to 1986. When it recommenced in 1987, it was decided by the Leinster Council that the Walsh Cup would be used exclusively for the stronger hurling counties and the Kehoe Cup for the developing counties. The last decade has seen many new teams enter into the Walsh Cup, including non-Leinster and college teams. In 2003, the Down hurlers made history by becoming the first non-Leinster team to compete in the tournament. In the year that followed, UCD became the first ever college team to enter the competition. They even won their debut tournament beating All-Ireland champions, Kilkenny, in Nolan Park by 2-16 to 0-5 on February 7, 2004. Antrim followed suit of Down when they joined the competition in 2005 and made history as the first Ulster team to win the tournament on February 3, 2008. They lifted the trophy in front of a home crowd in Casement Park after beating Offaly by 3-9 to 2-7. That same year saw Down lose in the quarter-finals, after which they moved to the Kehoe Cup. Galway were the first Connacht team to enter the Walsh Cup which came about in 2009 as part of their move from the Connacht Championship to the Leinster Championship in a bid to play hurling in a more competitive environment. Along with the county hurlers, Galway colleges GMIT and NUIG followed suit, as well as Dublin College DIT. Despite GMIT moving to the Kehoe Cup in 2010, the Galway county hurlers won their first ever Walsh Cup, beating Dublin by 1-22 to 1-15 on February 14 in Parnell Park. In November 2011, Antrim decided to withdraw from the 2012 competition due to the appointment of a new management team, but then returned to the competition in 2013. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Walsh Cup (hurling)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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