British University Ladies' Gaelic Football Championship
British football championship
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The British University Ladies' 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).
| British University Ladies' 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 | University of Liverpool (3rd title) |
| Most titles | St Mary's University, Twickenham (11 titles) |
| Official website | "British Universities GAA". |
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.
Teams
The teams competing in the BUGAA divisions of ladies' Gaelic football, as of the 2025/26 season, are as follows:
BUGAA Championships rolls of honour
BUGAA Division 1 Championship
- 1998 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 1999 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2000 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2001 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2002 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2003 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2004 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2005 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2006 Liverpool Hope University
- 2007 Liverpool Hope University
- 2008 Liverpool Hope University
- 2009 Queen Margaret University
- 2010 Robert Gordon University
- 2011 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2012 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2013 Robert Gordon University
- 2014 Robert Gordon University
- 2015 Liverpool Hope University
- 2016 Queen Margaret University
- 2017 St Mary's University, Twickenham
- 2018 Liverpool Hope University
- 2019 Liverpool John Moores University
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 University of Liverpool
- 2023 University of Liverpool
- 2024 Coventry University
- 2025 Coventry University
- 2026 University of Liverpool
BUGAA Division 2 Championship
- 2004 University of Chester
- 2005 University of Chester
- 2006
- 2007
- 2008
- 2009
- 2010 Northumbria University
- 2011 Northumbria University
- 2012 University of Liverpool
- 2013 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2014 University of Dundee
- 2015 Coventry University
- 2016 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2017 University of Glasgow
- 2018 Coventry University
- 2019 University of Manchester
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2023 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2024 Glasgow Caledonian University
- 2025 University of Glasgow
- 2026 Liverpool Hope University
BUGAA Division 3 Championship
- 2011 Manchester Metropolitan University
- 2012
- 2013 University of Glasgow
- 2014 University of Birmingham
- 2015 Teesside University
- 2016 University of Glasgow
- 2017 University of Manchester
- 2018 University of Manchester
- 2019 University of Stirling
- 2020 not played
- 2021 not played
- 2022 not played
- 2023 not played
- 2024 not played
- 2025 University of Edinburgh
- 2026 Glasgow Caledonian University
Winners by university
| Rank | University | Division 1 wins | Division 2 wins | Division 3 wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
St Mary's University, Twickenham | 11 | 0 | 0 |
 |
Liverpool Hope University | 5 | 1 | 0 |
 |
University of Liverpool | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Robert Gordon University | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Coventry University | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Queen Margaret University | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Liverpool John Moores University | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Glasgow Caledonian University | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 9 | University of Glasgow | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| =10 | Northumbria University | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| University of Chester | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 11 | University of Manchester | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | University of Dundee | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| =13 | Manchester Metropolitan University | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Teesside University | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Birmingham | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Edinburgh | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| University of Stirling | 0 | 0 | 1 |
BUGAA Championship finals
BUGAA Division 1 Championship
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 | 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 | 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.