| Year: | 1956 |
| Dates: | 22 April – 23 September 1956 |
| Teams: | 13 |
| Munster: | Cork |
| Leinster: | Wexford |
| Matches: | 12 |
| Team: | Wexford |
| Titles: | 3rd |
| Captain: | Jim English |
| Team2: | Cork |
| Captain2: | Tony O'Shaughnessy |
| Totalgoals: | 85 (7.08 per game) |
| Totalpoints: | 199 (16.58 per game) |
| Topscorer: | Nicky Rackard (12-15) |
| Previous: | 1955 |
| Next: | 1957 |
The 1956 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 70th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 22 April 1956 and ended on 23 September 1956.
Wexford were the defending champions, and retained their All-Ireland crown following a 2–14 to 2–8 defeat of Cork.[1]
A total of thirteen teams contested the championship, a reduction of one on the previous championship. Wicklow withdrew and did not field a team in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
| Team | Colours | Most recent success | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Ireland | Provincial | League | |||
| Clare | Saffron and blue | 1914 | 1932 | 1945-46 | |
| Cork | Red and white | 1954 | 1954 | 1952-53 | |
| Dublin | Blue and navy | 1938 | 1952 | 1938-39 | |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1950-51 | ||
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1947 | 1953 | 1932-33 | |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1949 | ||
| Limerick | Green and white | 1940 | 1940 | 1946-47 | |
| Meath | Green and gold | ||||
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | ||||
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1951 | 1951 | 1954-55 | |
| Waterford | White and blue | 1948 | 1948 | ||
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | ||||
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1955 | 1955 | 1955-56 | |
First round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Quarter-final
Semi-finals
Final
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 12-15 | 51 | 4 | 12.75 |
| 2 | Christy Ring | Cork | 5-13 | 28 | 4 | 7.00 |
| 3 | Seán Clohessy | Kilkenny | 2-12 | 18 | 3 | 6.00 |
| 4 | Billy Dwyer | Kilkenny | 4-05 | 17 | 3 | 5.66 |
| 5 | Jimmy Daly | Westmeath | 4-02 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| 6 | Paddy Barry | Cork | 4-01 | 13 | 4 | 3.25 |
| 7 | Dinny O'Callaghan | Westmeath | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| Tom Dixon | Wexford | 2-06 | 12 | 4 | 3.00 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 5-03 | 18 | Galway |
| 2 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 4-03 | 15 | Laois |
| 3 | Jimmy Daly | Westmeath | 3-02 | 11 | Meath |
| 4 | Dinny O'Callaghan | Westmeath | 3-00 | 9 | Meath |
| Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-03 | 9 | Kilkenny | |
| Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 1-06 | 9 | Kilkenny | |
| Seán Clohessy | Kilkenny | 0-09 | 9 | Westmeath | |
| 4 | Seán Clohessy | Kilkenny | 2-02 | 8 | Dublin |
| Mick Ryan | Cork | 2-02 | 8 | Waterford | |
| Terry Kelly | Cork | 2-02 | 8 | Limerick | |
| Christy Ring | Cork | 1-05 | 8 | Wexford |