The Irish Quiz Organisation held our inaugural Interprovincial Quiz Championships on Sunday 31st March 2019 in The Dalton Inn Hotel, Claremorris, Co. Mayo (and Warde’s Pub next door).
All provinces produced strong squads, with over two dozen quizzers coming from all corners of the island and some even flying in from the UK.
Tournament structure
We had enough participants to form two 3-person teams for each of the 4 Irish provinces. These two teams per province were designated A & B, with the players in each team being picked roughly by order in the Irish quiz rankings.
Each team then played against the other 3 provinces at the same level (whether A or B). For example, Connacht A played in turn against Munster A, Leinster A and Ulster A.
League table points were then awarded for each result as follows:
A-team matches:
- Win: 50 league points
- Draw: 30 league points
- Loss: 20 league points for a 1-point loss, 18 points for a 2-point loss, and so on, down to 2 points for a 10-point loss. No league points awarded for a loss by 11 points or more
B-team matches:
- Win: 25 league points
- Draw: 15 league points
- Loss: 10 league points for a 1-point loss, 9 points for a 2-point loss, and so on, down to 1 point for a 10-point loss. No league points awarded for a loss by 11 points or more
After all matches were played, the overall league table was calculated, with the two provinces at the top of the table playing each other in the final, and the bottom two provinces contesting a 3rd place playoff. These final matches consisted of both A & B teams playing together (i.e. 6 players per team).
Results
Match 1:
- Connacht A 34-41 Leinster A
- Connacht B 28-39 Leinster B
- Ulster A 37-42 Munster A
- Ulster B 32-25 Munster A
Match 2:
- Connacht A 40-41 Ulster A
- Connacht B 40-25 Ulster B
- Leinster A 49-37 Munster A
- Leinster B 35-41 Munster B
Match 3:
- Connacht A 28-47 Munster A
- Connacht B 28-19 Munster B
- Leinster A 43-40 Ulster A
- Leinster B 42-29 Ulster B
So the league table after all three rounds of matches were:
- Leinster: 5 wins, 205 points
- Munster: 3 wins, 120 points
- Ulster: 2 wins, 103 points
- Connacht: 2 wins, 78 points
Final:
- Leinster 47-57 Munster
3rd place playoff:
- Connacht 56-36 Ulster
So the final placings were:
- Champions: Munster
- Runners-up: Leinster
- 3rd place: Connacht
- 4th place: Ulster
Congratulations to Munster, the inaugural Interprovincial Quiz Champions! They therefore have the honour of hosting the next tournament, which provisionally will be in Ennis, Co. Clare in March 2022 (exact details to be confirmed).
Questions & answers
- Match 1 questions & answers
- Match 2 questions & answers
- Match 3 questions & answers
- Final questions & answers
Thanks to the IQO’s John Groarke for writing the questions, and to all our attendees who contributed to such a fun day, especially those who volunteered to read and keep score during the matches. We hope to make this an annual event: see you all again after COVID!
Photo gallery
A sunny day in Claremorris 
IQO chairman John Nolan addressing the attendees 
Our wonderful makeshift trophy! 
Our attendees reviewing the fixture list 
The all-important results board 
The Dalton Inn, Claremorris 
The Ulster A team 
Leinster vs Connacht 
Munster vs Ulster 
The Munster A team 
The Leinster A team 
The Connacht A team for Match 1 
The Connacht A team for Match 2 
The Leinster squad 
The Ulster squad 
The Connacht squad 
Spectators watching the Munster vs Leinster final 
A tense moment in the Leinster vs Munster final 
The victorious Munster squad
