Collingwood Plate
| Organising body | Irish Universities Football Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1914 |
| Region |
 Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland
|
| Current champions |
UCC
|
| Most successful club(s) |
UCD (39+) QUB (13+) UCC (12) |
 2015
|
|
The Collingwood Cup is an association football cup competition featuring university teams from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It is organized by the Irish Universities Football Union. It is the oldest surviving all Ireland association football competition. University College Dublin were the inaugural winners and they remain the cup's most successful team. It has been played almost annually since 1914, taking a break during the First World War/Irish War of Independence era and then again in 1934 due to a dispute between the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland. In 2014 the Collingwood Cup celebrated its centenary with a dinner that featured Martin O'Neill as a guest speaker. The 2014 final was also broadcast live on Setanta Sports and the tournament was sponsored by Eircom.
The Collingwood Cup features several clubs/teams that play in leagues and divisions within the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland football league systems.
Traditionally the Collingwood Cup has been played as a straight knockout competition. It is currently played in February over one week with all games hosted by one of the universities. However, in the past it has also been played using a group stage format. In 1971 the Collingwood Plate was introduced as a consolation tournament for teams knocked out in the early stages. In 2006, when the competition reverted to a straight knockout format, the Plate was replaced with three consolation cups. The Duggan Cup and the Spillane Cup features teams knocked out in the first round, while the Farquhar Cup featured the defeated quarter-finalists.
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