Wexford Senior Hurling Championship

The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pettitt's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1889.

Ferns St Aidan's are the title holders (2022) after defeating St Martin's by 1-20 to 0-22 in the final.

History
The title has been won at least once by 28 different teams. The all-time record-holders are Rathnure who have won a total of 20 titles.

Since 1994 the Wexford County Championship has been sponsored by Wexford-based supermarket Pettitt's SuperValu. It is one of the longest sponsorship deals of any county championship in Ireland.

Format
The series of games are played during the spring and autumn months with the county final currently being played at Chadwicks Wexford Park in October. Initially played as a knock-out competition, the championship currently uses a round robin format followed by a knock-out stage.

The Wexford County Championship features a group stage followed by a knock-out stage. Each team in the championship is guaranteed at least five games. Relegation and promotion also takes place with the second tier Wexford Intermediate Hurling Championship.

Group stage
Group stage: The 12 club teams are divided into two groups of six. 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 five 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 four teams in each group progress to the quarter-finals.

Knockout stage
Quarter-finals: The top four teams in each group contest this round. The 1st-placed teams play the 4th-placed teams from the other group and the 2nd-placed teams play the 3rd-placed teams from the other group. The four winners from these four games advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: The four quarter-final winners contest this round. The two winners from these two games advance to the final.

Final: The two semi-final winners contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

Relegation
The two bottom-placed teams from the group stage take part in a relegation play-offs, with the losing team being relegated to the Wexford Intermediate Hurling Championship.

Qualification for subsequent competitions
At the end of the championship, the winning team qualify to the subsequent Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship, the winner of which progresses to the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship.

Honours
The winning team is presented with the Dr. R. J. Bowe Cup. A native of Enniscorthy, Bowe served as team doctor to the Wexford senior hurling team for a period of 25 years from the 1960s until the late 1980s.

The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship winners qualify for the subsequent Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship. A team representing Wexford has won the provincial title on 10 occasions.

The Wexford County Championship is an integral part of the wider Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship. The winners of the Wexford county final join the champions of the other hurling counties to contest the provincial championship.

Managers
Managers in the Wexford Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players. Their influence varies from club-to-club and is related to the individual club committees. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and a backroom team consisting of various coaches.

By decade
The most successful teams of each decade, judged by number of Wexford Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:


 * 1910s: 2 each for Castlebridge (1910–19) and Glenbrien (1915–16)
 * 1920s: 2 for Adamstown (1926–27)
 * 1930s: 6 for Adamstown (1931-32-33-35-36-37)
 * 1940s: 3 for Geraldine O'Hanrahans (1943-44-45)
 * 1950s: 7 for St Aidan's Enniscorthy (1952-53-54-56-57-58-59)
 * 1960s: 3 for Faythe Harriers (1960-62-65)
 * 1970s: 6 for Rathnure (1971-72-73-74-77-79)
 * 1980s: 6 for Buffers Alley (1982-83-84-85-88-89)
 * 1990s: 3 each for Rathnure (1990-96-98) and Oulart–The Ballagh (1994-95-97)
 * 2000s: 4 for Oulart–The Ballagh (2004-05-07-09)
 * 2010s: 6 for Oulart–The Ballagh (2010-11-12-13-15-16)

Gaps
Top five longest gaps between successive championship titles:


 * 76 years: St Anne's Rathangan (1924–2000)
 * 42 years: Cloughbawn (1951–1993)
 * 21 years: Geraldine O'Hanrahans (1945–1966)
 * 20 years: Faythe Harriers (1981–2001)
 * 16 years: Faythe Harriers (1965–1981)