2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Explained

Year:	2021
Dates:	26 June — 22 August 2021
Teams:	11
Leinster:	Kilkenny
Munster:	Limerick
Matches:	17
Team:	Limerick
Titles:	10th
Captain:	Declan Hannon
Manager:	John Kiely
Team2:	Cork
Captain2:	Patrick Horgan
Manager2:	Kieran Kingston
Totalgoals:	60 (3.52 per game)
Totalpoints:	674 (39.64 per game)
Topscorer:	Patrick Horgan (0-54)
Previous:	2020
Next:	2022

The 2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 134th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament, since its establishment in 1887. The championship began on 26 June and ended on 22 August 2021.

Antrim, having won the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup, returned to the Leinster Championship for the first time since the 2015 competition.^{[1] [2]} Limerick entered the championship as the defending champions.^[3]

The All-Ireland final was played on 22 August 2021 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Limerick and Cork, in what was their first ever meeting in a final. Limerick won the match with a display that is regarded by many to be one of the greatest performances by a team in an All Ireland Final. Limerick showed immense dominance in the first half opening a 13 point gap, the scores 3-18 to 1-11 at the interval. This dominance would continue in the second half in more subdued fashion but Limerick still managed to extend their lead to 16 by the final whistle, the full time score 3-32 to 1-22. This was the first time in history that Limerick claimed back to back championships, their 10th championship title overall and third title in four seasons.^[4]

Cork's Patrick Horgan was the championship's top scorer with 0-54.

Limerick captain Declan Hannon also made history becoming only the second captain after the legendary Christy Ring to lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup on three separate occasions.

Format change

In December 2020, a plan by the Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) was approved by the GAA's management committee. The plan saw the re-introduction of the provincial knock-out/qualifier system, in line with the pre-2018 format, thus resulting in the provincial round robins being temporarily discarded.^[5] Relegation to and promotion from the Joe McDonagh Cup was re-introduced. The two beaten Leinster quarter-final teams are due to play a preliminary qualifier round, with the losers dropping to the McDonagh Cup and winners progressing to round 1 of the qualifiers.^[6]

Round 1 of the qualifiers will feature the playoff winners playing a Munster quarter-finalist or semi-finalist, and a Leinster semi-finalist playing a Munster quarter-finalist or semi-finalist.

Round 2 of the qualifiers will feature the Round 1 winners playing a Munster or Leinster semi-finalist, with the winners advancing to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.^[7]

The draws for the hurling championship were delayed until 19 and 20 April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[8]

Qualification and progression

	Teams entering in this round	Teams advancing from previous round
Preliminary Round(2 teams)	Leinster Quarter-Finalists Leinster Quarter-Finalists
Round 1(4 teams)	Leinster Semi-Finalist Munster Semi-Finalist Munster Quarter-Finalist	Winner from the preliminary Round
Round 2(4 Teams)	Leinster Semi-Finalist Munster Semi-Finalist	2 Winners from Round 1
Quarter-Finals (4 Teams)	Leinster Runners-Up Munster Runners-Up	2 Winners from Round 2
Semi-Finals(4 teams)	Leinster Champions Munster Champions	2 winners from Quarter-Finals
Final(2 teams)		2 winners from the Semi-Finals

Team changes

To Championship

Promoted from the Joe McDonagh Cup

• Antrim

From Championship

Relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup

• None

Teams

General information

Eleven counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.

County	Last provincial title	Last championship title	Position in 2020 championship	Current championship
Antrim	2017	—	Champions (Joe McDonagh Cup)	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Clare	1998	2013	Quarter-finals	Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Cork	2018	2005	Round 2	Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Dublin	2013	1938	Round 1	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Galway	2018	2017	Semi-finals	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Kilkenny	2020	2015	Semi-finals	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Laois	1949	1915	Round 1	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Limerick	2020	2020	Champions	Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Tipperary	2016	2019	Quarter-finals	Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Waterford	2010	1959	Runners-up	Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Wexford	2019	1996	Round 2	Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Personnel and kits

Team	Manager	Captain(s)	Sponsor
Antrim	Darren Gleeson	Conor McCann, Paddy Burke
Clare	Brian Lohan	John Conlon
Cork	Kieran Kingston	Patrick Horgan
Dublin	Mattie Kenny	Danny Sutcliffe
Galway	Shane O'Neill	Pádraic Mannion
Kilkenny	Brian Cody	Adrian Mullen, Richie Reid
Laois	Séamus Plunkett	Enda Rowland
Limerick	John Kiely	Declan Hannon
Tipperary	Liam Sheedy	Séamus Callanan, Noel McGrath
Waterford	Liam Cahill	Conor Prunty, Jamie Barron (v), Stephen Bennett (v)
Wexford	Davy Fitzgerald	Lee Chin, Matthew O'Hanlon (v)

Summary

2021 County Ranking (Championship)

Pos	Team	Position	Notes
1	Limerick	All-Ireland Champions	Munster champions
2	Cork	All-Ireland Runners-Up
3	Kilkenny	Semi-Finals	Leinster champions
4	Waterford	Semi-Finals
5	Dublin	Quarter-Finals	Leinster Runners-Up
6	Tipperary	Quarter-Finals	Munster Runners-Up
7	Clare	Round 2
8	Galway	Round 2	Highest Ranked Connacht County
9	Wexford	Round 1
10	Laois	Round 1
11	Antrim	Preliminary Round	Highest Ranked Ulster County, Relegated
12	Westmeath	Joe McDonagh Cup champions	Promoted
13	Kerry	2nd (Joe McDonagh)
14	Down	3rd (Joe McDonagh)
15	Carlow	4th (Joe McDonagh)
16	Meath	5th (Joe McDonagh)
17	Kildare	6th (Joe McDonagh)	Relegated
18	Offaly	Christy Ring Cup champions	Promoted
19	Derry	2nd (Christy Ring)
20	Sligo	3rd (Christy Ring)
21	Wicklow	4th (Christy Ring)
22	Roscommon	5th (Christy Ring)	Relegated
23	London	-	Did not enter
24	Mayo	Nicky Rackard Cup champions	Promoted
25	Tyrone	2nd (Nicky Rackard)
26	Armagh	3rd (Nicky Rackard)
27	Donegal	4th (Nicky Rackard)
28	Leitrim	5th (Nicky Rackard)	Relegated
29	Warwickshire	-	Did not enter
30	Fermanagh	Lory Meagher Cup Champions	Promoted
31	Cavan	2nd (Lory Meagher)
32	Longford	3rd (Lory Meagher)
33	Louth	4th (Lory Meagher)
34	Monaghan	5th (Lory Meagher)
35	Lancashire	-	Did not enter

Provincial championships

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Leinster final

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Munster final

All-Ireland Qualifiers

Qualifiers preliminary round

The two teams beaten in the Leinster quarter-finals met in the preliminary round on 10 July with the winners going into the round 1 draw which was held on 12 July.^[9] Antrim were relegated to the 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup as a result of losing this match.

Qualifiers round 2

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

All-Ireland quarter-finals

The beaten Leinster and Munster finalists play the two winners of round two of the qualifiers. The draw was made on 26 July.^[10]

All-Ireland final

See main article: 2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final.

Championship statistics

Top scorers

Top scorer overall

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-54	54	5	10.80
2	Tony Kelly	Clare	3-41	50	4	12.50
3	Stephen Bennett	Waterford	2-40	46	5	9.20
4	T. J. Reid	Kilkenny	1-39	42	3	14.00
5	Donal Burke	Dublin	0-40	40	4	10.00
6	Lee Chin	Wexford	2-28	34	3	11.33
Jason Forde	Tipperary	1-31	34	3	11.33
8	Aaron Gillane	Limerick	2-23	29	4	7.25
9	P. J. Scully	Laois	0-27	27	3	9.00
10	Shane Kingston	Cork	4-09	21	5	4.20

In a single game

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	T. J. Reid	Kilkenny	0-16	16	Wexford
2	Tony Kelly	Clare	1-12	15	Waterford
	Lee Chin	Wexford	1-12	15	Clare
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-15	15	Kilkenny
5	Tony Kelly	Clare	1-11	14	Cork
	Lee Chin	Wexford	0-14	14	Kilkenny
7	T. J. Reid	Kilkenny	1-10	13	Dublin
	T. J. Reid	Kilkenny	0-13	13	Cork
	Donal Burke	Dublin	0-13	13	Cork
10	Tony Kelly	Clare	1-09	12	Tipperary
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-12	12	Limerick
	Jason Forde	Tipperary	0-12	12	Waterford
	Stephen Bennett	Waterford	0-12	12	Clare
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-12	12	Dublin

Miscellaneous

• Limerick won a Munster Senior Hurling Championship three-in-a-row for the first time since 1934–1935–1936.^[11]
• Kilkenny's sixth year in a row without an All-Ireland senior title, equalling their title drought of 1994–1999.^[12]
• Cork's sixteenth year in a row without an All-Ireland senior title, surpassing their title drought of 1904–1918.
• It was the first ever All-Ireland final between Cork and Limerick.
• It was the first Munster final between Limerick and Tipperary since 2019.
• It was the first Leinster final between Dublin and Kilkenny since 2014.
• It was the first Joe McDonagh Cup final between Antrim and Kerry since 2020.
• Limerick scored 3-32 (41 points) in the All-Ireland final, the highest ever score in a final.
• It is the first time since Kilkenny in 2014-2015 that a county team won back-to-back All Ireland Hurling Championship titles.
• Limerick retained the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the first time in their history. This was their tenth title, making them the first county outside the Big Three to reach double figures.
• Limerick became the 6th county in history to win back-to-back All-Ireland hurling titles after Kilkenny, Cork, Tipperary, Galway and Wexford.
• Cork reached the final for the first time since 2013.
• Two new scoring feats were achieved on 24 July. Joe Canning surpassed Henry Shefflin's record haul to become the all-time top championship scorer.^[13] Patrick Horgan became the third player, after Canning and Shefflin, to have broken the 500-point barrier.
• Limerick played against Tipperary, Waterford and Cork twice (Munster Semi-final and All-Ireland Final) to retain the Liam MacCarthy cup, the first time — and only time, to date — that any county won a championship playing only teams from a single province, in this case all Munster opposition.
• Limerick had eleven players represented on The Sunday Game team of the year, a first for any male intercounty team in both Hurling and Gaelic Football, beating the previous record of nine representatives held by both Limerick in 2020 and Kilkenny in 2008.

Awards

Sunday Game Team of the YearThe Sunday Game team of the year was picked 22 August on the night of the final.The panel consisting of Jackie Tyrrell, Brendan Cummins, Shane Dowling and Ursula Jacob chose Cian Lynch as the Sunday game player of the year.^{[14] [15] [16]}

• 1. Eoin Murphy (Kilkenny)
• 2. Sean Finn (Limerick)
• 3. Conor Prunty (Waterford)
• 4. Barry Nash (Limerick)
• 5. Diarmuid Byrnes (Limerick)
• 6. Declan Hannon (Limerick)
• 7. Kyle Hayes (Limerick)
• 8. William O’Donoghue (Limerick)
• 9. Tony Kelly (Clare)
• 10. Jack O’Connor (Cork)
• 11. Cian Lynch (Limerick)
• 12. Tom Morrissey (Limerick)
• 13. Aaron Gillane (Limerick)
• 14. Seamus Flanagan (Limerick)
• 15. Peter Casey (Limerick)

All Star Team of the YearOn 9 December, the All-Stars winners were announced with Limerick having a record twelve players named on the team.^[17] Its the first time that a county has reached double figures in the final 15.^[18] On 10 December during a televised special on RTE, Cian Lynch was named as the All Stars Hurler of the Year with Eoin Cody named the All Stars Young Hurler of the Year.^{[19] [20]}

Pos.	Player	Team	Appearances
GK	Eoin Murphy	Kilkenny	3
RCB	Seán Finn	Limerick	4
FB	Conor Prunty	Waterford	1
LCB	Barry Nash	Limerick	1
RWB	Diarmaid Byrnes	Limerick	2
CB	Declan Hannon	Limerick	2
LWB	Kyle Hayes	Limerick	2
MD	William O'Donoghue	Limerick	1
MD	Darragh O'Donovan	Limerick	1
RWF	Gearóid Hegarty	Limerick	2
CF	Cian Lynch^HOTY	Limerick	3
LWF	Tom Morrissey	Limerick	2
RCF	Tony Kelly	Clare	3
FF	Séamus Flanagan	Limerick	1
LCF	Peter Casey	Limerick	1

Notes and References

1. Web site: Antrim see off Kerry to secure McDonagh Cup success at Croke Park . 13 December 2020. Irish Examiner. 13 December 2020. Eoghan. Cormican.
2. Web site: Cusack fears for Antrim in 2021 Leinster championship. RTÉ Sport. 13 December 2020. 21 December 2020.
3. Web site: Superb Limerick regain All-Ireland title with emphatic win. Irish Examiner. 13 December 2020. 13 December 2020. John. Fogarty.
4. News: Limerick crush Cork to claim back-to-back All-Irelands. RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Eoin. Ryan. 22 August 2021. 22 August 2021.
5. Web site: No Super 8s or hurling round robin, new league format and county before club - GAA approve plan for 2021 season. Irish Independent. 18 December 2020. 21 December 2020. Colm. Keys.
6. Web site: GAA set to unveil plan for 2021 season with inter-county February start and July All-Ireland finals. The 42. 21 December 2020. 21 December 2020. Kevin. O'Brien.
7. Web site: All the football and hurling championship fixtures and dates. Meath Chronicle.
8. Web site: Limerick and Cork set for Munster SHC semi-final showdown. 19 April 2021. The 42. 20 April 2021.
9. Web site: Clare to face Wexford in qualifier Semple Stadium showdown. 12 July 2021. RTE Sport. 15 July 2021.
10. Web site: Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Semple Stadium to host quarter-finals as GAA fixtures revealed. 26 July 2021. The 42. 27 July 2021.
11. Web site: 85-year wait ends as Limerick topple Tipperary to win historic Munster hurling title. 18 July 2021. Limerick Leader. 24 July 2021.
12. Web site: Cork v Kilkenny All-Ireland Senior Hurling Semi-Final Full Preview. James. Clancy. August 7, 2021. Cork Beo.
13. Web site: Canning breaks all-time scoring record but can't prevent Galway's defeat to Deise. 24 July 2021. Hogan Stand. 24 July 2021.
14. Web site: Limerick dominate Sunday Game Hurling Team of the Year. 22 August 2021. Hogan Stand. 25 August 2021.
15. Web site: Cian Lynch on top as Sunday Game name Hurling Team of the Year. 22 August 2021. RTE Sport. 25 August 2021.
16. Web site: All-Ireland champions Limerick dominate Sunday Game Team of the Year. 22 August 2021. The 42. 25 August 2021.
17. Web site: 12 awards for Limerick as 2021 All-Star hurling team is named. 9 December 2021. The 42. 14 December 2021.
18. Web site: Record-breaking Limerick dominate 2021 PwC All-Stars hurling team. 9 December 2021. GAA.ie. 14 December 2021.
19. Web site: Limerick's Cian Lynch and Tyrone's Kieran McGeary named 2021 Hurler and Footballer of the Year. 10 December 2021. The 42. 14 December 2021.
20. Web site: Lynch and McGeary crowned PwC Players of the Year. 10 December 2021. GAA.ie. 14 December 2021.