The season is over and the results [or nearly all of them] are in. We can now see how teams and clubs did on the field. Of course the final say on promotions and relegations rests with the Open Competitions Committee. There will be a few difficult decisions to make in conclave before the line up for 2016 is known. 

 

But in terms of what happened on the pitch there are clear winners and losers. There are a few clubs where it is clear that the overall performance will see their teams play in higher divisions next year, a few where the opposite applies, but in most cases what is evident is that teams within the club have performed very differently. Whether this is a result of selection policy, the particular leagues they are in or for some other reason is not clear from the figures. 

 

A notable feature of the league tables this year is the wide spread of league champions among the clubs. No less than 14 clubs took league titles with only Merrion and Phoenix being successful in more than one. 

 

The balance in performance between the larger and smaller clubs is something we look at each year to see whether the 1st XIs of teams have moved higher up the leagues or not. For the past few years there has been a general movement upwards of the 1st XIs of clubs, but this has come to an end this year. Although the overall figure for 1st XIs [excluding D1 which are all 1st XIs] for promotions and relegations is the same [six each] there is a higher proportion of relegations in the top divisions. Based it must be said solely on results on the field - there will be one fewer 1st XI team in the top six division next year. 

 

The most successful clubs this year, taking into account promotions and relegations, are Phoenix, North County, Adamstown and Bagenalstown. If one takes into account D1 [where there is no promotion] then North County might be counted as having the best season with three teams in the top two positions and no team relegated. The overall scorecard is set out below.