The Killane Shield is a team event run by the Leinster Chess Union. It is the second tier of the Knockout Cups which are normally held after the end of the Leinster Leagues. It may have been named after Jack Killane of Rathmines Chess Club, as he served on the LCU in the early noughties.

The Killane Shield

To be eligible players must have played for the same team in Division 3 or lower divisions 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. Players have to be registered with the Irish Chess Union and all matches are rated by the ICU.

The Killane Shield was first awarded in the 2004-05 season. From the engraved cup the winners at the end of each season were as below.

In 2019 the Killane and Brennan Cups were combined due to low entries and winners were decided as described here [1]. No knockout cups were held in 2020 or 2021 due to Covid restrictions, though they were held in 2022 following the lifting of restrictions, even though the leagues were not run in that season. This heralded a welcome return to over the board play for teams.

Killane Shield engraving, recorded by John Loughran, originally written in August 2024.

Please send corrections and updates to John Loughran on skerrieschess.com/contact, including any information on the missing years. In some of those years the competition may not have been run.