The All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship is an annual tournament testing the skills of Ireland's best hurlers. Poc Fada is Irish for "long puck".

Twelve competitors are invited to play each year. The competition is held every year on the Cooley mountains, Co. Louth, beginning in Annaverna. Competitors must puck a sliotar with a hurley (they may lift and strike or hit the ball from the hand). They play to the top of Carn an Mhadaidh and after a short break continue back down to finish in Aghameen. The whole course measures three miles 320 yards (5,121 metres).

An Corn Cuailgne ("The Cooley 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.

There is also the comórtas beirte (pairs competition) in which the competitors are randomly assigned partners, the pair with the lowest combined score winning.

History

The tournament was founded in 1961 by Fr. Pól Mac Seáin and the Naomh Moninne club based in Fatima, Dundalk, Louth, with Kilkenny goalkeeper Ollie Walsh the first winner, out of 16 hurlers invited. The competition went off the calendar after 1969 before returning in 1981 with 12 competitors.

Since 1996 the tournament has been sponsored by M Donnelly construction. In 2001 the Poc Fada was held at Dowdalshill racecourse due to foot-and-mouth disease, doing two laps of the circuit (2 miles 880 yards / 4,023 metres). The 2005 tournmant was won by Albert Shanahan of Cork, 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 Gerry Goodwin (Tyrone), Colin Byrne (Wicklow and Paul Dunne (Louth) have been the exceptions

The record currently stands at 48 pucks (an average of 107 metres per puck), achieved by Brendan Cummins in 2004.

Roll of Honour 1961-69 (sixteen competitors)

Roll of Honour 1981-present (twelve competitors)

Camogie Poc Fada 2004-present (seven competitors)

Uses a shorter course.

External link

The Poc Fada on gaa.ie M Donnelly (sponsor) page on the Poc Fada