Branagan Cup
The Branagan Cup is a team event run by the Leinster Chess Union. It is the first tier of the Knockout Cups
which are normally held after the end of the Leinster Leagues. It was named after Mai Branagan (1930s - 2010s) of Rathmines Chess Club who played on the Irish team in the 4th Women's Olympiad in Lublin 1969 [1] and was a former president of the LCU.
The Branagan Cup
To be eligible players must have played for the same team in Divisions 1 or 2 of the leagues in that season.
Teams consist of six players.
As interest grew the format moved from a knockout competition to a group phase followed by a knockout phase, usually semi-finals and a final. In some years there were many groups, usually of 3 - 4 teams. In other years it was run as a weekend event.
Players have to be registered with the Irish Chess Union
and all matches are rated by the ICU and by FIDE.
Winners
The Branagan Cup was first awarded in the 1973/74 season. From IRLChess[2] and the engraved cup and the winners
at the end of each season were as below.
- 1974 UCD
- 1975 UCD
- 1976 Rathmines
- 1977 Dundrum
- 1978 Rathfarnham
- 1979 Rathfarnham
- 1980 Raheny
- 1981 Raheny
- 1982 Raheny
- 1983 Raheny
- 1984 Raheny
- 1985 Dundrum
- 1986 Kevin Barry
- 1987 Dundrum
- 1988 Phibsboro
- 1989 Dún Laoghaire
- 1990 Dún Laoghaire
- 1991 Phibsboro
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994 No competition
- 1995 Crumlin
- 1996 Crumlin
- 1997 St. Benildus A
- 1998 Bray/Greystones
- 1999 Bray/Greystones B
- 2000 Dublin
- 2001 Phibsboro
- 2002 Phibsboro
- 2003 Dún Laoghaire B
- 2004 Phibsboro
- 2005 Rathmines
- 2006 Phibsboro
- 2007 Phibsboro
- 2008 Phibsboro
- 2009 Bray/Greystones
- 2010 Rathmines
- 2011 Elm Mount
- 2012 Elm Mount
- 2013 Elm Mount
- 2014 Elm Mount
- 2015 Gonzaga
- 2016 No competition
- 2017 Gonzaga
- 2018 No competition
- 2019 Gonzaga
- 2020 No competition due to Covid
- 2021 No competition due to Covid
- 2022 Dublin
- 2023 1 Elm Mount, 2 Gonzaga A
- 2024 1 Elm Mount, 2 Gonzaga, 3 St Benildus, 4 Dún Laoghaire
In 2022 cups were held as Covid restrictions were lifted. The cup in use in 2024 only had winners engraved from 1999-2012 so it is possible that the original cup or base was replaced prior to this.
References
- Mary (Mai) Branagan. Wikipedia. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
- Branagan Cup. IRLchess - Irish chess history & records. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
Source
John Loughran. Originally written in 2024.
Please send corrections and updates to John Loughran on skerrieschess.com/contact.