The Cork Under-21 Hurling Championship is a hurling competition for players under the age of 21. Clubs affiliated to Cork board compete to win this championship. Seven of the divisions in Cork organize their own championship (Beara is the exception). The divisional winners compete against each other to decide the county title. Since 2008, Duhallow has been permitted to field a divisional team, rather than the winner of their own competition. As a result, they have become very successful.
The winning team is presented the Dick Barrett Cup. The Dick Barrett Cup was presented to Cork County Board by the Dick Barrett Memorial Committee in 1974. Dick Barrett was born in 1889 in Hollyhill, near Ballineen. He qualified as a schoolteacher and when he got a teaching post in Upton, he becam involved with the local Gaelic Athletic Association club there, Knockavilla. In fact, he was club secretary for a time, and was a staunch supporter of the idea that Knockavilla should retain its autonomy and not amalgamate with its parish neighbours, Valley Rovers. He was a member of the IRB and fought on the anti-Treaty side in the Irish Civil War, meeting his death by execution in 1922.