The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was the 85th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Kilkenny won the championship, beating Cork 3–24 to 5–11 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

Calendar Round Date Leinster First Round Saturday 14 May 1972 Munster First RoundSunday 22 May 1972 Leinster FinalSunday 9 July 1972 Munster FinalSunday 30 July 1972 Leinster Final ReplaySunday 30 July 1972 All-Ireland Quarter-Final Sunday 23 July 1972 All-Ireland Semi-Finals Sunday 6 August 1972 All-Ireland Final Sunday 3 September 1972

Format Overview The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces – there were no seeds.

Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If that match ended in a draw a period of extra time was played, however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay had to take place.

Participating counties

ProvinceCountyMost recent successAll-IrelandProvincialLeinsterDublin19381961KildareKilkenny19711969Laois19151949OffalyWestmeathWexford19681970MunsterClare19141932Cork19701970Limerick19401955Tipperary19711971Waterford19591963ConnachtGalway19231922UlsterAntrim1946BritainLondon1901

The Championship

Munster Championship

Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.

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

Leinster Championship

First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.

Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the quarter-final pairings.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.

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

All-Ireland Championship

Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between Antrim and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined London and the Munster and Leinster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. The provincial champions were drawn in opposite semi-finals.

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

Fixtures Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Championship statistics Scoring

Widest winning margin: 27 points Kilkenny 5–28 : 3–7 Galway (All-Ireland semi-final) Most goals in a match: 12 Kilkenny 6–13 : 6–13 Wexford (Leinster final) Most points in a match: 35 Kilkenny 3–24 : 5–11 Cork (All-Ireland final) Kilkenny 5–28 : 3–7 Galway (All-Ireland semi-final) Most goals by one team in a match: 7 Galway 7–16 : 4–7 Antrim (All-Ireland quarter-final) Cork 7–20 : 1–12 London (All-Ireland semi-final) Most goals scored by a losing team: 5 Cork 5–11 : 3–24 Kilkenny (All-Ireland final) Most points scored by a losing team: 14 Wexford 1–14 : 3–16 Kilkenny (Leinster final)

Top scorers Season Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average1Eddie KeherKilkenny6–4664512.82Charlie McCarthyCork3–334267.03Ray CumminsCork7–103165.14Seánie O'LearyCork8–32764.55Pat DelaneyKilkenny4–132555.06Éamonn FlynnDublin2–111728.50Dan QuigleyWexford2–111735.668Phil DillonLaois3–61527.50Tony DoranWexford2–91535.0010Jimmy HughesGalway3–21125.60Pádraic FahyGalway0–111125.60

Single game Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition1Eddie KeherKilkenny0–1717Galway2Eddie KeherKilkenny2–915CorkCharlie McCarthyCork2–915Clare4Eddie KeherKilkenny2–511WexfordEddie KeherKilkenny1–811WexfordPat DelaneyKilkenny2–511Galway7Eddie KeherKilkenny1–710LaoisTom RyanGalway3–110Antrim9Seánie O'LearyCork3–09LondonRay CumminsCork2–39KilkennyEddie DonnellyAntrim2–39GalwayPhil DillonLaois2–39Kilkenny

Player facts Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1972 championship:

Player Team Date Opposition GameFrank NorbergCorkMay 22WaterfordMunster semi-final

Retirees The following players played their last game in the 1972 championship:

Player Team Date Opposition Game DébutFrank NorbergCorkSeptember 5KilkennyAll-Ireland final1972

Stadia The following stadia were used during the championship:

County Stadium Antrim Ballycastle GAA Field Clare Cusack Park Cork Cork Athletic Grounds Dublin Croke Park Kilkenny Nowlan Park Laois O'Moore Park Limerick Gaelic Grounds Tipperary Semple Stadium

References

Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005). Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005). Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).