All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

All-Ireland Senior
Hurling Championship
Current season or competition:
2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
IrishCraobh Shinsir Iomána na hÉireann
CodeHurling
Founded1887; 137 years ago (1887)
RegionRepublic of Ireland Ireland (GAA)
TrophyLiam MacCarthy Cup
No. of teams17
Title holders Limerick (12th title)
Most titles Kilkenny (36 titles)
SponsorsBord Gáis Energy
Centra
Eir
TV partner(s)RTÉ
BBC Northern Ireland
MottoBe there. All the way
Official websitegaa.ie/hurling/all-ireland

The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in Ireland, and has been contested every year except one since 1887.

The final, formerly held in September, then August and now controversially moved to July, is the culmination of a series of games played during July and August, with the winning team receiving the Liam MacCarthy Cup. For the majority of its existence, the All-Ireland Championship has been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship. In more recent years, the qualification procedures for the championship have changed several times. Currently, qualification is limited to teams competing in 3 feeder competitions; three teams from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, three teams from the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and two teams also qualify to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals from the second tier Joe McDonagh Cup. Annual promotion and relegation allows teams outside these competitions (teams from the Christy Ring Cup - tier 3, the Nicky Rackard Cup - tier 4 and the Lory Meagher Cup - tier 5) to eventually reach the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Seventeen teams currently participate in the All-Ireland Championship, with the most successful teams coming from the provinces of Leinster and Munster. Kilkenny, Cork, and Tipperary are considered "the big three" of hurling. They have won 94 championships between them.

The title has been won by 13 different teams, 10 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Kilkenny, who have won the championship on 36 occasions. Limerick are the current title holders, their captain Cian Lynch leading them to their most recent win completing 4 titles in a row, defeating Kilkenny by 0–30 to 2–15 in the 2023 final.

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final was listed in second place by CNN in its "10 sporting events you have to see live", after the Olympic Games.[1]

History

Creation

Following the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884, new rules for Gaelic football and hurling were drawn up and published in the United Irishman newspaper. In 1886, county committees began to be established, with several counties affiliating over the next few years. The GAA ran its inaugural All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship in 1887. The decision to establish that first championship was influenced by several factors. Firstly, inter-club contests in 1885 and 1886 were wildly popular and began to draw huge crowds. Clubs started to travel across the country to play against each other and these matches generated intense interest as the newspapers began to speculate which teams might be considered the best in the country. Secondly, although the number of clubs was growing, many were slow to affiliate to the Association, leaving it short of money. Establishing a central championship held the prospect of enticing GAA clubs to process their affiliations, just as the establishment of the FA Cup had done much in the 1870s to promote the development of the Football Association in England. The championships were open to all affiliated clubs who would first compete in county-based competitions, to be run by local county committees. The winners of each county championship would then proceed to represent that county in the All-Ireland series.[2]

Beginnings

The inaugural All-Ireland Championship used, for the only time in its history, an open draw format without the provincial series of games. All of the existing county boards were eligible to enter a team, however, only six chose to do so. Disputes in Cork and Limerick over which club should represent the county resulted in neither county fielding a team. Dublin later withdrew from the championship. In all five teams participated: Clare (Garraunboy Smith O'Briens), Galway (Meelick), Kilkenny (Tullaroan) Tipperary (Thurles) and Wexford (Castlebridge).

Galway and Wexford contested the very first championship match on Saturday 2 July 1887. Postponements, disqualifications, objections, withdrawals and walkovers were regular occurrences during the initial years of the championship. The inaugural All-Ireland final took place on 1 April 1888 in Birr, County Offaly, with Tipperary defeating Galway to take the title.[3][4][5]

Development

The provincial championships were introduced in 1888 in Munster, Leinster, Connacht and Ulster on a knock-out basis. The winners of the provincial finals participated in the All-Ireland semi-finals. Over time the Leinster and Munster teams grew to become the superpowers of the game, as Gaelic football was the more dominant sport in Ulster and Connacht. After some time Galway became the only credible team in Connacht and was essentially given an automatic pass to the All-Ireland semi-final every year. This knock-out system persisted for over 100 years and was considered to be the fairest system as the All-Ireland champions would always be the only undefeated team of the year.

Unlike in other European countries, such as neighbouring England, where annual sports events were cancelled during the twentieth century due to the First and Second World Wars, the All-Ireland Championship has been running continuously since 1887, with the final running since 1889 (the 1888 competition was played but no final was held due to the Invasion). The competition continued even in spite of the effects on the country of the Civil War and the Second World War (the National Hurling League was not held during the latter). In 1941, the All-Ireland Championship was disrupted by an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.[6]

The duration of certain championship matches increased from 60 to 80 minutes during the 1970s. They were settled at 70 minutes after five seasons of this in 1975.[7] This applied only to the provincial finals, All-Ireland semi-finals and finals.[8]

In the mid-1990s the Gaelic Athletic Association looked at developing a new system whereby a defeat in the championship for certain teams would not mean an immediate exit from the Championship. In the 1997 championship the first major change in format arrived when the 'back-door system' was introduced. This new structure allowed the defeated Munster and Leinster finalists another chance to regain a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals. Tipperary and Kilkenny were the first two teams to benefit from the new system when they defeated Down and Galway respectively in the quarter-finals. The All-Ireland final in the first year of this new experiment was a replay of the Munster final with Clare defeating Tipperary. The first team to win the All-Ireland through the 'back-door' was Offaly in 1998, winning a replay of the Leinster final by beating Kilkenny 2–16 to 1–13.

Fireworks and light displays in Croke Park in Dublin to mark the 125th anniversary of the Gaelic Athletic Association, January 2009

The new "back-door system" proved successful and was expanded over the following years. The 2005 Championship saw even bigger changes in the "back-door" or qualifier system. The Munster and Leinster champions and defeated finalists automatically qualified for the new quarter-final stages, while two groups of four other teams played in a league format to fill the vacant four places in the quarter-finals. Many criticised the structure for not being a real championship at all, for degrading the Munster and Leinster championships and for penalising the strongest teams.

2008 brought a change to the competition format, whereby the team that won the Leinster and Munster championships advanced to the All-Ireland semi-finals, and the losers of the provincial finals advanced to two quarter-finals. A series of knockout qualifiers for the remaining teams decided which other two teams would reach the quarter-finals. The updated qualifier structure provided more games and gave renewed hope to the "weaker" teams, as a defeat in the first round no longer meant the end of a county's All-Ireland ambitions.

Since 2018, the All-Ireland SHC final is held on the third Sunday in August.

Format

Current format

Leinster Championship (six teams)

Group stage (15 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Leinster final and the 3rd placed team advances to the all-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team may face relegation to next years Joe McDonagh Cup.

Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Leinster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Leinster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Munster Championship (five teams)

Group stage (10 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Munster final and the 3rd placed team advances to the all-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team may face relegation to next years Joe McDonagh Cup.

Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Munster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Munster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Joe McDonagh Cup (six teams)

Group stage (15 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Joe McDonagh Cup final. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team are relegated to next years Christy Ring Cup.

Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up advance to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals.

All-Ireland Championship

Preliminary quarter-finals (2 matches): The 3rd placed teams from the Leinster and Munster championships play the Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals (2 matches): The winners of the preliminary quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster runners-up to make up the quarter-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate semi-finals where possible. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final (1 match): The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game.

All-Ireland knockout-stage allocation

Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
Preliminary quarter-finals
(4 teams)
Quarter-finals
(4 teams)
  • Leinster runner-up
  • Munster runner-up
  • 2 winning teams from the preliminary quarter-finals
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • Leinster champion
  • Munster champion
  • 2 winning teams from the quarter-finals
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winning teams from the semi-finals

Current championship pyramid

Teams from the first two levels are eligible for the All-Ireland series in that year. Teams from tiers 3 to 5 may reach tiers 1 and 2 through promotion.

Level Total teams (35) Championship
1 11 Munster Senior Hurling Championship

5 counties – 0 or 1 relegations

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

6 counties – 0 or 1 relegations

2 6 Joe McDonagh Cup

6 counties – 1 promotion, 1 relegation

3 6 Christy Ring Cup

6 counties – 1 promotion, 1 relegation

4 6 Nicky Rackard Cup

6 counties – 1 promotion, 1 relegation

5 6 Lory Meagher Cup

6 counties – 1 promotion

Teams

2024 Championship

Seventeen counties will compete in the 2024 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and six teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

County Stadium Province Position in 2023 Championship First year in championship In championship since Current championship Provincial titles Last provincial title Championship titles Last championship title
Antrim Corrigan Park Ulster 5th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 1900 2021 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 58 2017 0
Carlow Dr Cullen Park Leinster Preliminary quarter-finals 1963 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup 0 0
Clare Cusack Park Munster Semi-finals 1887 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 6 1998 4 2013
Cork Páirc Uí Chaoimh Munster 4th (Munster Senior Hurling Championship) 1888 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 54 2018 30 2005
Down McKenna Park Ulster 5th (Joe McDonagh Cup) 1905 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup 4 1997 0
Dublin Parnell Park Leinster Quarter-finals 1887 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 24 2013 6 1938
Galway Pearse Stadium Connacht Semi-finals 1887 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 28 2018 5 2017
Kerry Austin Stack Park Munster 4th (Joe McDonagh Cup) 1889 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup 1 1891 1 1891
Meath Páirc Tailteann Leinster 1st (Christy Ring Cup) 1919 2024 Joe McDonagh Cup 0 0
Kilkenny Nowlan Park Leinster Runners-up 1887 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 75 2023 36 2015
Laois O'Moore Park Leinster 3rd (Joe McDonagh Cup) 1888 1977 Joe McDonagh Cup 3 1949 1 1915
Limerick Gaelic Grounds Munster Champions 1888 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 24 2023 12 2023
Offaly O'Connor Park Leinster Preliminary quarter-finals 1897 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup 9 1995 4 1998
Tipperary Semple Stadium Munster Quarter-finals 1887 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 42 2016 28 2019
Waterford Walsh Park Munster 5th (Munster Senior Hurling Championship) 1888 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 9 2010 2 1959
Westmeath Cusack Park Leinster 6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 1913 2022 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 0 0
Wexford Chadwicks Wexford Park Leinster 4th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 1887 1927 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 21 2019 6 1996

Venues

Croke Park in Dublin has hosted all but two finals since 1910.
FitzGerald Stadium in Killarney was the venue for the 1937 final.
Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork hosted the semi-finals in 1976.
Semple Stadium in Thurles hosted the centenary year final in 1984.

Attendances

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the GAA and for the teams involved. For the 2017 championship, the average attendances for the five games was 56,565 with a total aggregate attendance figure of 282,826. The 2017 figure represented the highest combined total for an All-Ireland Championship since 2012, when 294,079 fans attended six games, including a final replay between Kilkenny and Galway. The highest all-time aggregate attendance for the championship was 332,387 in 2007 when eight games were played.

Quarter-finals

Croke Park was initially used as the venue for All-Ireland quarter-finals following their introduction in 1997. These games were usually played as a double-header. From 2008 until 2017 the quarter-finals were played at Semple Stadium in Thurles.

Semi-finals

The All-Ireland semi-finals have been played exclusively at Croke Park since 1977. Croke Park had been regularly used as a semi-final venue prior to this, however, a number of other stadiums around the country were also used. St Brendan's Park and St Cronan's Park were regularly used for semi-finals involving Kilkenny and Galway. Other regular semi-final venues included the Markets Field, Páirc Uí Chaoimh, St Ciarán's Park, the Cork Athletic Grounds and Cusack Park.

Final

Since 1910, Croke Park has been the regular venue for the All-Ireland final. Only on two occasions since then has the final been played outside of Croke Park. Construction of the Cusack Stand in 1937 meant that that year's final was played at the newly opened FitzGerald Stadium in Killarney.[9] In 1984 the GAA celebrated its centenary by playing the All-Ireland final at Semple Stadium in Thurles.[10]

In the years prior to 1910, the All-Ireland final was held in a variety of locations around the country, including Jones's Road as Croke Park was known before its dedication to Thomas Croke. The inaugural final in 1887 was played at Birr, before Dublin venues Clonturk Park, the Pond Field and the Phoenix Park were used in the early 1890s. Fraher Field hosted the final on three occasions, while the final was played at the newly opened Cork Athletic Grounds on two occasions.

2023 Stadia and locations

Locations of the 2023 All-Ireland SHC teams.
Red: Munster SHC; Green: Leinster SHC; Blue: Joe McDonagh Cup.
County Location Province Stadium Capacity
Antrim Belfast Ulster Corrigan Park 3,700
Carlow Carlow Leinster Dr Cullen Park 21,000
Clare Ennis Munster Cusack Park 19,000
Cork Cork Munster Páirc Uí Chaoimh 45,000
Down Newry Ulster Páirc Esler 20,000
Dublin Dublin Leinster Croke Park 82,300
Galway Galway Connacht Pearse Stadium 26,197
Kerry Tralee Munster Austin Stack Park 40,000
Kildare Newbridge Leinster St Conleth's Park 8,200
Kilkenny Kilkenny Leinster Nowlan Park 27,000
Laois Portlaoise Leinster O'Moore Park 27,000
Limerick Limerick Munster Gaelic Grounds 44,203
Offaly Tullamore Leinster O'Connor Park 20,000
Tipperary Thurles Munster Semple Stadium 45,690
Waterford Waterford Munster Fraher Field 15,000
Westmeath Mullingar Leinster Cusack Park 11,000
Wexford Wexford Leinster Chadwicks Wexford Park 20,000

Managers

Brian Cody of Kilkenny is the most successful manager in the history of the championship.
Davy Fitzgerald managed Clare to the title in 2013.

Managers in the All-Ireland Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players from the club championships. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the individual county boards. From 2018, all inter-county head coaches must be Award 2 qualified. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. Prior to the development of the concept of a manager in the 1970s, teams were usually managed by a team of selectors with one member acting as chairman.

Winning Managers

Winning managers (1976−2023)
Manager Team Wins Winning years
Brian Cody Kilkenny 11 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014
2015
John Kiely Limerick 5 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Bertie Troy Cork 3 1976, 1977, 1978
Pat Henderson Kilkenny 1979, 1982, 1983
Cyril Farrell Galway 1980, 1987, 1988
Michael O'Brien Cork 2 1984, 1990
Michael "Babs" Keating Tipperary 1989, 1991
Ollie Walsh Kilkenny 1992, 1993
Ger Loughnane Clare 1995, 1997
Liam Sheedy Tipperary 2010, 2019
Eddie Keher Kilkenny 1 1979
Andy Gallagher Offaly 1981
Justin McCarthy Cork 1984
Dermot Healy Offaly 1985
Johnny Clifford Cork 1986
Éamonn Cregan Offaly 1994
Liam Griffin Wexford 1996
Michael Bond Offaly 1998
Jimmy Barry-Murphy Cork 1999
Nicky English Tipperary 2001
Donal O'Grady Cork 2004
John Allen Cork 2005
Davy Fitzgerald Clare 2013
Michael Ryan Tipperary 2016
Micheál Donoghue Galway 2017

Current managers

# Manager County team Appointed Years as manager
1 John Kiely Limerick 14 September 2016[11] 7
2 Ronan Sheehan Down 2017 6
3 David Herity Kildare 2018 5
4 Darren Gleeson Antrim 9 September 2019 4
5 Brian Lohan Clare 31 October 2019[12] 4
6 Stephen Molumphy Kerry September 2021[13] 3
7 Henry Shefflin Galway 20 October 2021[14] 3
8 Tom Mullally Carlow January 2021 2
9 Joe Fortune Westmeath September 2021 2
10 Darragh Egan Wexford September 2021 2
11 Pat Ryan Cork 7 July 2022[15] 1
12 Liam Cahill Tipperary 18 July 2022 1
13 Derek Lyng Kilkenny 4 August 2022[16] 1
14 Davy Fitzgerald Waterford 11 August 2022[17] 1
15 Micheál Donoghue Dublin 22 August 2022 1
16 Johnny Kelly Offaly 5 September 2022 1
17 Willie Maher Laois 12 September 2022 1

Trophy and medals

At the end of the All-Ireland final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The Liam MacCarthy Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Ard Chomairle section of the Hogan Stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The Liam MacCarthy Cup commemorates the memory of Liam MacCarthy. Born in London to Irish parents in 1851, he was prominently involved in the establishment of a county board in London in the 1890s. In 1922 he presented the GAA with £500 to commission a cup for the All-Ireland champions. The cup, which was constructed to look like a medieval Irish drinking vessel called a mather, was made by jeweller Edmund Johnson at his premises on Dublin's Grafton Street. It replaced the Great Southern Cup as the All-Ireland trophy and was first presented to Bob McConkey of Limerick in 1923.[18]

Declan Carr of Tipperary was the last recipient of the original Liam MacCarthy Cup in 1991 before it was retired. It is now on display in the GAA Museum in Croke Park. JMK Gold & Silversmith's produced an exact replica which was first awarded to Liam Fennelly of Kilkenny in 1992.[19]

In accordance with GAA rules, the Central Council awards up to twenty-six gold medals to the winners of the All-Ireland final. The medals are 9 carat gold and depict the design of the GAA. Trophies are awarded to the All-Ireland runners-up. A miniature replica of the Liam MacCarthy Cup is awarded to the captain of the winning team.

Sponsorship

Since 1995, the All-Ireland Championship has been sponsored. The sponsor has usually been able to determine the championship's sponsorship name.

Period Sponsor(s) Name
1887−1994 No main sponsor The All-Ireland Championship
1995−2007 Republic of Ireland Guinness The Guinness Hurling Championship
2008−2009 Republic of Ireland RTÉ Sport, United Arab Emirates Etihad Airways, Republic of Ireland Guinness The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Championship
2010−2012 Republic of Ireland Centra, United Arab Emirates Etihad Airways, Republic of Ireland Guinness The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Championship
2013−2016 Republic of Ireland Centra, United Arab Emirates Etihad Airways, United States Liberty Insurance The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Championship
2017−2019 Republic of Ireland Centra, Republic of Ireland Littlewoods Ireland, Republic of Ireland Bord Gáis Energy The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Championship

Media coverage

From the early 1920s, British Pathé recorded newsreel footage of the All-Ireland finals which was later shown in cinemas around the country. The National Film Institute and Gael Linn later produced their own newsreels of All-Ireland finals with Michael O'Hehir providing commentary. These newsreels were staples for cinema-goers until the 1960s.

Following the establishment of 2RN, Ireland's first radio broadcasting station, on 1 January 1926, sports coverage, albeit infrequent, was a feature of the schedules. Early broadcasts consisted of team announcements and short reports on events of interest. 2RN recorded a broadcasting first on 29 August 1926, when former hurler and journalist P.D. Mehigan carried a live commentary of the All-Ireland semi-final between Kilkenny and Galway. It was the first live radio broadcast of a field game outside of the United States. Although there was no designated sports department within Irish radio for many years, a two-way relationship between the national broadcaster and the GAA was quickly established. As well as exclusive live commentaries, Seán Ó Ceallacháin began broadcasting a weekly results programme on Radio Éireann in 1930.[20]

When Telefís Éireann was established on 31 December 1961, the new station was interested in the broadcasting of championship games. The GAA, however, were wary that live television coverage would result in lower attendances at games. Because of this, the association restricted annual coverage of its games to the All-Ireland hurling and football finals, the two All-Ireland football semi-finals and the two Railway Cup finals. The first live broadcast of a hurling championship match was the All-Ireland final between Tipperary and Wexford on 2 September 1962. While the All-Ireland semi-finals were reintroduced in 1969, RTÉ was still confined to just broadcasting the final. In spite of this, highlights of the semi-finals were regularly shown.

The All-Ireland final between Tipperary and Kilkenny on 5 September 1971 was the first to be broadcast in colour.

The first All-Ireland semi-final to be broadcast live was the meeting of Cork and Galway on 7 August 1977. The popularity of the evening highlights programme led to the development of The Sunday Game, which was first broadcast on 8 July 1979.[21] For the early years financial and logistical reasons restricted the programme to featuring just one full championship game and discussion about it. The show, however, soon expanded featuring coverage of one or more of the day's main championship games, followed by extended highlights of the other major games of the day.

The 1981 All-Ireland final between Offaly and Galway was simultaneously broadcast on RTÉ 1 and RTÉ 2, with Ger Canning providing commentary in the Irish language on the secondary channel.[22]

In 1983, Channel 4 began broadcasting RTÉ's coverage of the All-Ireland final in Britain. This simulcast lasted until 1992 when the live broadcast was dropped; however, the entire match was shown at a later time.

In 2014, the GAA signed a three-year broadcasting deal with Sky Sports.[23] While Sky were granted exclusive rights to some high-profile games, they were also permitted to broadcast live coverage of the All-Ireland semi-finals and final, however, these games were also broadcast live on RTÉ.

List of Finals

List of finals (since the introduction of the provincial round robins)

Year Date Winners Runner-up Winning margin Venue Captains Referee
County Score County Score Winning captain Losing captain
2023 23 July Limerick 0-30 Kilkenny 2-15 9 Croke Park, Dublin Cian Lynch Eoin Cody John Keenan
2022 17 July Limerick 1-31 Kilkenny 2-26 2 Croke Park, Dublin Declan Hannon Richie Reid Colm Lyons
2021 22 August Limerick 3-32 Cork 1-22 16 Croke Park, Dublin Declan Hannon Patrick Horgan Fergal Horgan
2020 13 December Limerick 0-30 Waterford 0-19 11 Croke Park, Dublin Declan Hannon Conor Prunty Fergal Horgan
2019 18 August Tipperary 3-25 Kilkenny 0-20 14 Croke Park, Dublin Séamus Callanan TJ Reid James Owens
2018 19 August Limerick 3-16 Galway 2-18 1 Croke Park, Dublin Declan Hannon David Burke James Owens

Roll of honour

Performances in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship by county
County Title(s) Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Kilkenny 36 29 1904, 1905, 1907, 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1922, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1939, 1947, 1957, 1963, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1992, 1993, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 1893, 1895, 1897, 1898, 1916, 1926, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1940, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1959, 1964, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1978, 1987, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2022, 2023
Cork 30 20 1890, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1902, 1903, 1919, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1966, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1999, 2004, 2005 1901, 1904, 1905, 1907, 1912, 1915, 1920, 1927, 1939, 1947, 1956, 1969, 1972, 1982, 1983, 1992, 2003, 2006, 2013, 2021
Tipperary 28 13 1887, 1895, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1916, 1925, 1930, 1937, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1989, 1991, 2001, 2010, 2016, 2019 1909, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1922, 1960, 1967, 1968, 1988, 1997, 2009, 2011, 2014
Limerick 12 9 1897, 1918, 1921, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1973, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 1910, 1923, 1933, 1935, 1974, 1980, 1994, 1996, 2007
Dublin 6 15 1889, 1917, 1920, 1924, 1927, 1938 1892, 1894, 1896, 1906, 1908, 1919, 1921, 1930, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1961
Wexford 6 11 1910, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1996 1890, 1891, 1899, 1918, 1951, 1954, 1962, 1965, 1970, 1976, 1977
Galway 5 20 1923, 1980, 1987, 1988, 2017 1887, 1924, 1925, 1928, 1929, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1993, 2001, 2005, 2012, 2015, 2018
Offaly 4 3 1981, 1985, 1994, 1998 1984, 1995, 2000
Clare 4 3 1914, 1995, 1997, 2013 1889, 1932, 2002
Waterford 2 6 1948, 1959 1938, 1957, 1963, 2008, 2017, 2020
London 1 3 1901 1900, 1902, 1903
Laois 1 2 1915 1914, 1949
Kerry 1 0 1891
Antrim 0 2 1943, 1989

All Ireland Senior Hurling Champions Timeline

Performances in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship by province
County Title(s) Runners-up Total
Munster 77 51 128
Leinster 53 60 113
Connacht 5 20 25
Britain 1 3 4
Ulster 0 2 2

The following counties have never won an All-Ireland in hurling:

Province No. Counties
Connacht 4 Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo
Leinster 7 Carlow, Kildare, Longford, Louth, Meath, Westmeath, Wicklow
Ulster 9 Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Derry, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone
Britain 2 Lancashire, Warwickshire

Team records and statistics

Team results (since the introduction of the Joe McDonagh Cup)

Legend

For each year, the number of teams eligible for the All-Ireland (in brackets) are shown.

Team 2018 (16) 2019 (15) 2020 (10) 2021 (11) 2022 (17) 2023 (17) 2024 (17) Years
Antrim JM JM JM PR PQF L 6
Carlow PQF L JM JM JM PQF 5
Clare SF M QF R2 SF SF 7
Cork SF QF R2 2nd QF M 7
Down CR CR CR JM JM JM 3
Dublin L PQF R1 QF L QF 7
Galway 2nd L SF R2 SF SF 7
Kerry JM JM JM JM PQF JM 5
Kildare CR CR CR JM CR JM CR 1
Kilkenny QF 2nd SF SF 2nd 2nd 7
Laois JM QF R1 R1 L JM 7
Limerick 1st SF 1st 1st 1st 1st 7
Meath JM CR JM JM JM CR 3
Offaly L JM CR CR JM PQF 5
Tipperary M 1st QF QF M QF 7
Waterford M M 2nd SF M M 7
Westmeath PQF PQF JM JM L L 5
Wexford QF SF R2 R1 QF L 7
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Champions — Timeline

Kilkenny are the most successful hurling county to date, having won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship the most times (36). Kilkenny have also been runners-up more often than any other team (28).

# Team Wins Last win Final losses Last losing final Final win ratio
1 Kilkenny 36 2015 29 2023 55%
2 Cork 30 2005 20 2021 60%
3 Tipperary 28 2019 13 2014 68%
4 Limerick 12 2023 9 2007 57%
5 Dublin 6 1938 15 1961 30%
Wexford 1996 11 1977 35%
7 Galway 5 2017 20 2018 20%
8 Offaly 4 1998 3 2000 57%
Clare 2013 3 2002 50%
10 Waterford 2 1959 6 2020 25%
11 London 1 1901 3 1903 25%
Laois 1915 2 1949 33%
Kerry 1891 0 100%
14 Antrim 0 2 1989 0%

Only three teams have won the Championship on four consecutive occasions — Cork (1941–44), Kilkenny (2006–09) and Limerick (2020–23).

Only four teams have won the Championship on three consecutive occasions - Cork (1892–94, 1941–44 (4 times), 1952–54 & 1976–78), Tipperary (1898–1900, 1949–51), Kilkenny (1911–13, 2006–09 (4 times)) and Limerick (2020-2023 (4 times)).

Additionally, Galway (1987–1988) and Wexford (1955-1956) have both won back-to-back titles.

Antrim hold the unfortunate record of appearing in two All-Ireland Finals (1943 and 1989) without ever winning the cup.

Debut of counties

Year Debutants Total
1887 Clare, Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Wexford 6
1888 Cork, Kildare, Laois, Limerick, Waterford 5
1889 Kerry, Louth 2
1890-96 None 0
1897 Offaly 1
1898-1912 None 0
1900 Antrim, London, Sligo 3
1901 Derry, Roscommon 2
1902 None 0
1903 Donegal 1
1904 None 0
1905 Down, Mayo 2
1906-07 None 0
1908 Cavan, Fermanagh 2
1909 Monaghan 1
1910-12 None 0
1913 Glasgow, Lancashire, Westmeath 3
1914-18 None 0
1919 Meath 1
1920-42 None 0
1943 Wicklow 1
1944-45 None 0
1946 Armagh 1
1947-62 None 0
1963 Carlow 1
1964-95 None 0
1996 New York 1
1997- None 0
Total 33

Leitrim, Longford and Tyrone never competed in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

List of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship counties

The following teams have competed in the All-Ireland Championship for at least one season.

County Total years First year in championship Most recent year in championship Provincial Title(s) All-Ireland Title(s) Position in 2023 championship Best All-Ireland SHC finish Current Championship Lvl
Antrim 1900 2024 58 0 5th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 2nd Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Armagh 1946 0 0 3rd (Nicky Rackard Cup) Ulster final Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Carlow 1963 2024 0 0 Preliminary quarter-finals Quarter-finals Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Cavan 1908 1925 0 0 3rd (Lory Meagher Cup) Ulster final Lory Meagher Cup 5
Clare 1887 2024 6 4 Semi-finals 1st Munster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Cork 1888 2024 54 30 4th (Munster Senior Hurling Championship) 1st Munster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Derry 1901 2004 4 0 Runners-up (Christy Ring Cup) Semi-finals Christy Ring Cup 3
Donegal 1903 1946 3 0 Runners-up (Nicky Rackard Cup) Semi-finals Christy Ring Cup 3
Down 1905 2024 4 0 5th (Joe McDonagh Cup) Semi-finals Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Dublin 1887 2024 24 6 Quarter-finals 1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Fermanagh 1908 1946 0 0 6th (Nicky Rackard Cup) Ulster semi-finals Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Galway 1887 2024 28 5 Semi-finals 1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Glasgow 1 1913 1913 0 0 N / A Semi-finals
Kerry 1889 2024 1 1 4th (Joe McDonagh Cup) 1st Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Kildare 1888 2023 0 0 6th (Joe McDonagh Cup) Quarter-finals Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Kilkenny 1887 2024 75 36 Runners-up 1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Lancashire 1 1913 1913 0 0 Runners-up (Lory Meagher Cup) Semi-finals Lory Meagher Cup 5
Laois 1888 2024 3 1 3rd (Joe McDonagh Cup) 1st Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Limerick 1888 2024 24 12 Champions 1st Munster Senior Hurling Championship 1
London 1900 2014 0 1 4th (Christy Ring Cup) 1st Christy Ring Cup 3
Louth 4 1889 1920 0 0 5th (Nicky Rackard Cup) Leinster quarter-finals Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Mayo 3 1905 1913 1 0 6th (Christy Ring Cup) Semi-finals Christy Ring Cup 3
Meath 1919 2024 0 0 Champions (Christy Ring Cup) Quarter-finals Christy Ring Cup 3
Monaghan 1909 1946 2 0 Champions (Lory Meagher Cup) Ulster final Lory Meagher Cup 5
New York 6 1996 2004 0 0 N / A Quarter-finals
Offaly 1897 2024 9 4 Preliminary quarter-finals 1st Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Roscommon 20 1901 1999 1 0 4th (Nicky Rackard Cup) Semi-finals Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Sligo 2 1900 1913 0 0 3rd (Christy Ring Cup) Connacht final Christy Ring Cup 3
Tipperary 1887 2024 42 28 Quarter-finals 1st Munster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Waterford 1888 2024 9 2 5th (Munster Senior Hurling Championship) 1st Munster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Westmeath 1913 2024 0 0 6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) Quarter-finals Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Wexford 1887 2024 21 6 4th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Wicklow 1943 2004 0 0 Champions (Nicky Rackard Cup) Leinster quarter-finals Nicky Rackard Cup 4

Player records

Player of the year

Year Player County
2023 Aaron Gillane Limerick
2022 Diarmaid Byrnes Limerick
2021 Cian Lynch (2) Limerick
2020 Gearóid Hegarty Limerick
2019 Séamus Callanan Tipperary
2018 Cian Lynch Limerick
2017 Joe Canning Galway
2016 Austin Gleeson Waterford
2015 T. J. Reid Kilkenny
2014 Richie Hogan Kilkenny
2013 Tony Kelly Clare
2012 Henry Shefflin (3) Kilkenny
2011 Michael Fennelly Kilkenny
2010 Lar Corbett Tipperary
2009 Tommy Walsh Kilkenny
2008 Eoin Larkin Kilkenny

Scoring records

All-time top scorers in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (Championship scores only)
Rank Player Team Goals Points Tally Games Era Average
1 T. J. Reid Kilkenny 30 551 641 82 2008–present 7.8
2 Patrick Horgan Cork 24 555 627 75 2008–present 8.3
3 Joe Canning Galway 27 486 567 62 2008–2021 9.3
4 Henry Shefflin Kilkenny 27 484 565 71 1999–2014 8.0
5 Eddie Keher Kilkenny 35 336 441 50 1959–1977 8.8
6 Eoin Kelly Tipperary 21 369 432 63 2000–2014 6.8
7 Tony Kelly Clare 14 310 352 56 2012–present 6.2
8 Séamus Callanan Tipperary 40 226 343 66 2008–2023 5.1
9 Christy Ring Cork 33 208 307 65 1940–1963 4.7
10 Aaron Gillane Limerick 14 246 288 36 2017–present 8.0
11 D. J. Carey Kilkenny 33 188 287 57 1989–2005 5.0
As of 23 July 2023 (Bold denotes players still active),
Average score shows score in points per Championship game

Scoring statistics

  • In 1971 Eddie Keher of Kilkenny broke his own record of 14 points from the 1963 final by capturing 2–11 against Tipperary (although his team lost). This record was broken by Nicky English of Tipperary in 1989 when he scored 2–12 against Antrim. Keher's tally of 6–45 in the 1972 championship is also a record.
  • The official hurling records owned and published by Croke Park, and authenticated by the county historians of participating counties, note three records. (This information comes from p. 40 of official programme published the GAA on the day of 2005 final between Cork and Galway).
  • (1) The 80 minute final. This 80 minute final took place in 1971 between Tipperary and Kilkenny. Eddie Keher scored 2-11 which makes a total of 17 points. However 2-8 of this was scored from frees. (2) The record for all 70 minute finals. This record was made in 1989. This hurling final was between Tipperary and Antrim. Nicholas English scored 2-12 points which equals a total of 18 points. However 0-9 of this was achieved from frees. (3) The 60 minute final: The overall scoring record is held by Michael Gah Ahern the greatest sharpshooter of the 1920s and early 1930s. He scored 5–4. What makes this scoring record remarkable is that he scored all of his scores from his hands.
  • Nicky Rackard of Wexford got the highest total in a championship game. In Wexford's 12−17 to 2–3 defeat of Antrim in the 1954 semi-final, he scored a remarkable 7-7.
  • Prior to the 1930s, scoring records for championship games were rarely kept. A number of players have been credited with enormous tallies. Andy 'Dooric' Buckley scored at least 6 goals when Cork beat Kilkenny by 8–9 to 0–8 in the 1903 All-Ireland 'home' final. Other newspaper reports credit him with 7 goals and 4 points.
  • P. J. Riordan is alleged[by whom?] to have scored all but 1 point of Tipperary's total when they beat Kilkenny by 6–8 to 0−1 in the 1895 All-Ireland final.
  • Jimmy Kelly of Kilkenny is said[by whom?] to have scored 7 goals in 30 minutes against Cork in the replay of the 1905 final.
  • In 1990 the rule prohibiting a hand-passed score was introduced. This had a large bearing on scoring, with fewer goals being scored in open play.[citation needed]

Championship Tiers

Title Holders

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Next edition
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2023 Limerick 12th Kilkenny 2024
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 2023 Kilkenny 75th Galway 2024
Munster Senior Hurling Championship 2023 Limerick 24th Clare 2024
Joe McDonagh Cup 2023 Carlow 2nd Offaly 2024
Christy Ring Cup 2023 Meath 3rd Derry 2024
Nicky Rackard Cup 2023 Wicklow 1st Donegal 2024
Lory Meagher Cup 2023 Monaghan 1st Lancashire 2024

2024 Teams

Championship County team Province
Munster SHC Clare Munster
Cork Munster
Limerick Munster
Tipperary Munster
Waterford Munster
Leinster SHC Antrim Ulster
Carlow Leinster
Dublin Leinster
Galway Connacht
Kilkenny Leinster
Wexford Leinster
Joe McDonagh Cup Down Ulster
Kerry Munster
Laois Leinster
Meath Leinster
Offaly Leinster
Westmeath Leinster
Christy Ring Cup Derry Ulster
Kildare Leinster
London Britain
Sligo Connacht
Tyrone Ulster
Wicklow Leinster
Nicky Rackard Cup Armagh Ulster
Donegal Ulster
Louth Leinster
Mayo Connacht
Monaghan Ulster
Roscommon Connacht
Lory Meagher Cup Cavan Ulster
Fermanagh Ulster
Lancashire Britain
Leitrim Connacht
Longford Leinster
Warwickshire Britain

Former championships

See also

References

  1. ^ Donnelly, Shawn (2 April 2012). "10 sporting events you have to see live: Because the real glory of athletic competition is being able to say, "I was there!"". CNN. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  2. ^ Rouse, Paul. "How Leix Won the All-Ireland Hurling Championship of 1915". Century Ireland. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  3. ^ McDonnell, Brian (2 December 2016). "A history of Tipperary hurling in ten games". Tipperary Star. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Tesco to build on field where first hurling final was played". The Irish Times.
  5. ^ "The day of the first All-Ireland hurling final". RTÉ.ie. 20 September 2018.
  6. ^ Moran, Seán (11 September 2019). "Remembering when Kerry kicked ahead of Dublin 78 years ago: This year will be only the third replay between the counties, and the first in Croke Park". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 September 2019. Dublin [footballers]... hadn't won Leinster for seven years and didn't go into the All-Ireland semi-final as provincial champions – they were nominated by the province because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak that year, which caused the Leinster [football] final against Carlow to be postponed until November.
  7. ^ Breheny, Martin. "The Final Verdict: The Greatest of my Lifetime" in Martin Breheny's Greatest All-Ireland Finals. Irish Independent. 1 September 2018, p. 2.
  8. ^ Moran, Seán (11 September 2019). "Will time be on Dublin's side once more?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 September 2019. Another issue touched on by John O'Keeffe in his interview was the strange decision to extend senior championship provincial finals, All-Ireland semi-finals and finals to 80 minutes – which was an extra third on the previous duration of an hour. Curiously, it made little difference to the outcome of matches. Of the five finals plus 1972 replay played over 80 minutes – the length of a match was settled at 70 minutes from 1975 onwards – only the 1971 Offaly-Galway result would have been affected. Had it been played over an hour, it would have ended in a draw instead of Offaly's first All-Ireland triumph.
  9. ^ "Killarney's hurling showpiece". The Kerryman. 9 September 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  10. ^ "Approval sought for floodlights at Semple Stadium". Irish Times. 16 August 2007. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  11. ^ "Limerick manager". 30 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Clare manager". 23 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Kerry manager". 7 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Galway manager". The Irish Times.
  15. ^ "Cork manager". 4 July 2022.
  16. ^ "Kilkenny manager". 4 August 2022.
  17. ^ "Waterford manager". 11 August 2022.
  18. ^ Sweeney, Peter (2 September 2017). "Liam MacCarthy - not just a trophy, a symbol of history". RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  19. ^ Parsons, Michael (5 September 2008). "Final touches: Liam MacCarthy Cup repaired before Croke Park appearance". Irish Times. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
  20. ^ "The Early Years of Broadcasting". RTÉ. Retrieved 14 April 2009.
  21. ^ "Bill O'Herlihy: A man of charm and humanity". 26 May 2015.
  22. ^ Moynihan, Michael (1 June 2009). "Three decades making the big calls for Canning". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  23. ^ Keys, Colm (2 April 2014). "GAA faces backlash over Sky Sports deal". Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 February 2018.

External links