All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship

The GAA Hurling Intermediate All-Ireland Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, was an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Effectively contested by the second string teams of the top inter-county hurling sides in Ireland, the tournament took place every year between 1997 and 2018—having originally been run between 1961 and 1973.

The final served as the culmination of a series of games played during the early summer, and the results determined which team receives the Michael Cusack Cup. The All-Ireland Championship was always played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they were eliminated from the championship, however, the qualification procedures for the championship changed several times throughout its history. In the final editions of the competition, qualification was limited to teams competing in the Leinster Championship and the Munster Championship.

The most successful teams came from the province of Munster, with teams representing this province winning a total of 17 All-Ireland titles.

The title was won by 11 different teams, 6 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Cork, who won the championship on 9 occasions. Cork were also the last champions.

History Creation

The Commission for the Improvement and Spread of Hurling had suggested the introduction of a new grade to improve the standard of hurling. It was also hoped that a new grade would prove successful in bridging the gap between the junior and senior grades. At the GAA's annual Congress in April 1960, the All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship won the approval of the delegates. It was the fourth All-Ireland championship to be created after the corresponding championships in senior (1887), junior (1912) and minor (1928).

Beginnings

The inaugural All-Ireland Championship in 1961 used a provincial format, with teams contesting the respective championships in Leinster and Munster. Galway continued with their policy of competing in the Munster Championship in all grades, while Antrim, a team who faced little competition in Ulster, competed in the Leinster Championship.

Dublin and Antrim contested the very first championship match on Sunday 2 April 1961 at Croke Park, Dublin. The inaugural All-Ireland final took place on 17 September 1961, with Wexford defeating London to take the title.

Format

The first five All-Ireland Championships featured the Leinster and Munster champions contesting the All-Ireland home final, with the winners of that game facing London in the All-Ireland final proper. Semi-finals were introduced in 1966 as the respective champions from Connacht and Ulster entered the All-Ireland series for the first time. After winning the All-Ireland title for the second year in succession, London left the intermediate grade in 1969. Because of this, the All-Ireland series was reduced to two semi-finals and a final.

In 1970, Galway became the sole representatives of Connacht and gained automatic entry to the All-Ireland semi-finals. The format of facing a British team in the All-Ireland final returned with the entry of Warwickshire to the All-Ireland series.

Following the conclusion of the 1973 championship, the All-Ireland Championship was disbanded and replaced with the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship.

At the GAA Congress in 1996, the All-Ireland Championship was reintroduced.

Format Qualification

ProvinceChampionshipQualifying teamsLeinsterLeinster Intermediate Hurling ChampionshipChampionsMunsterMunster Intermediate Hurling ChampionshipChampionsUlsterUlster Intermediate Hurling ChampionshipChampionsConnachtConnacht Intermediate Hurling ChampionshipChampionsBritainBritish Intermediate Hurling ChampionshipChampions

Trophy and medals At the end of the All-Ireland final, the winning team was presented with a cup. The cup was named in honour of Michael Cusack. GAA Central Council awarded up to twenty-four gold medals to the winners of the All-Ireland final.

List of finals YearWinnersRunners-upVenueWinning CaptainCountyScoreCountyScore 1961 Wexford 3–15 London 4–04 Wexford Park Larry Byrne 1962 Carlow 6–15 London 3–03 Croke Park Pat Somers 1963 Tipperary 1–10 London 1–07 Thurles Sportsfield Jackie Lanigan 1964 Wexford 4–07 London 1–11 O'Kennedy Park 1965 Cork 2–20 London 5–05 Cork Athletic Grounds Dave Murphy 1966 Tipperary 4–11 Dublin 2–12 O'Kennedy Park Bill O'Grady 1967 London 1–09 Cork 1–05 Gaelic Grounds 1968 London 4–15 Dublin 0–03 Croke Park 1969 Kildare 2–08 Cork 3–04 Thurles Sportsfield Bobby Burke 1970 Antrim 3–16 Warwickshire 3–13 Croke Park Seán Burns 1971 Tipperary 3–16 Wicklow 3–13 Nowlan Park Éamonn Butler 1972 Tipperary 2–13 Galway 1–09 St. Brendan's Park Paddy Kelly 1973 Kilkenny 5–15 London 2–09 Walsh Park Paddy Grace 1974–1996Championship suspended 1997 Cork 2–11 Galway 1–12 Gaelic Grounds Pat Mulcahy 1998 Limerick 4–16 Kilkenny 2–17 Semple Stadium John Cormican 1999 Galway 3–13 Kilkenny 2–10 St. Brendan's Park Noel Larkin 2000 Tipperary 2–17 Galway 1–10 St. Brendan's Park Declan Corcoran 2001 Cork 2–17 Wexford 2–08 Fraher Field Paddy Barry 2002 Galway 2–15 (1–20) Tipperary 1–10 (2–17) St. Brendan's Park 2003 Cork 1–21 Kilkenny 0–23 Semple Stadium Brendan Lombard 2004 Cork 1–16 (2–11) Kilkenny 1–10 (2–11) Semple Stadium Brendan Walsh 2005 Wexford 1–15 Galway 0–16 O'Moore Park 2006 Cork 3–15 Kilkenny 1–18 Fraher Field Darren Dineen 2007 Wexford 1–11 Waterford 1–09 Nowlan Park 2008 Kilkenny 1–16 Limerick 0–13 Semple Stadium David Prendergast 2009 Cork 2–23 Kilkenny 0–16 Semple Stadium Dara McSweeney 2010 Kilkenny 2–17 Cork 1–13 Semple Stadium Bill Beckett 2011 Clare 2–13 Kilkenny 1–11 Semple Stadium Tony Carmody 2012 Tipperary 3–13 Kilkenny 1–17 Semple Stadium Michael Ryan 2013 Tipperary 2–14 Kilkenny 2–11 Nowlan Park David Young 2014 Cork 2–18 Wexford 2–12 Nowlan Park John O'Callaghan 2015 Galway 0–23 Cork 0–14 Gaelic Grounds James Skehill 2016 Kilkenny 5–16 Clare 1–16 Semple Stadium Nicky Cleere 2017 Kilkenny 2–23 Cork 2–18 Páirc Uí Chaoimh Darragh Brennan 2018 Cork 2–19 Kilkenny 0–18 Nowlan Park Michael Russell2019–No championship

Roll of Honour

By county CountyTitlesRunners-upYears wonYears runners-up Cork9 51965, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2014, 2018 1967, 1969, 2010, 2015, 2017 Tipperary7 11963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 2000, 2012, 2013 2002 Kilkenny5 101973, 2008, 2010, 2016, 2017 1998, 1999, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018 Wexford4 21961, 1964, 2005, 2007 2001, 2014 Galway3 51999, 2002, 2015 1972, 1973, 1997, 2000, 2005 London2 51967, 1968 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 Limerick1 11998 2008 Clare1 12011 2016 Carlow101962 — Kildare101969 — Antrim101970 — Dublin0 2 — 1966, 1988 Warwickshire0 1 — 1970 Wicklow0 1 — 1971 Waterford0 1 — 2007

By province DivisionTitlesRunners-upTotal Munster18927 Leinster111526 Connacht358 Britain268 Ulster101

Team records and statistics

Provincial champions by year * = representative of province YearBritain Connacht Leinster Munster Ulster2018——Kilkenny*Cork*—2017——KilkennyCork—2016——KilkennyClare—

All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship

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