The 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 114th staging of Ireland's premier hurling competition since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. A total of thirteen teams competed in the championship, with Tipperary unseating the four-time defending champions Kilkenny by 4–17 to 1–18 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin. The championship began on 22 May 2010 and concluded on 5 September 2010.
Pre-championship The build-up to the opening of the championship was dominated by Kilkenny and the 'drive for five'. 'The Cats' were installed as the bookies' favourites to retain the All-Ireland title for an unprecedented fifth successive occasion. In 2007, they surpassed Cork, while in 2009 the team equalled the seemingly unbeatable record of four All-Ireland titles in-a-row. Winning an elusive five-in-a-row would close the argument.
Tipperary were regarded as the primary challengers to Kilkenny's dominance. Many believed that they had the beating of Kilkenny in the previous year's All-Ireland final, however, 'the Cats' pulled away in the last ten minutes to seal the victory. With an extra year of experience many felt that Tipp may finally triumph for the first time in nine years.
A second tier of teams waited just behind the two clear front-runners. Galway entered the championship as the newly crowned National Hurling League champions and were also seen as a stumbling block on Kilkenny's march to immortality. The westerners were regarded as potential Leinster and maybe even All-Ireland finalists. Cork were buoyed by some impressive displays in the National League. 'The Rebels' defeated both Kilkenny and Tipperary in the group stages and finished the campaign as runners-up. Similarly, Cork enjoyed a trouble-free winter and would enter the championship without any off-field controversy. Waterford were also viewed as a team that had the potential to make life difficult for any of the other top-tier teams.
Limerick entered the championship in the midst of a crisis. After team manager Justin McCarthy dropped twelve players from the panel in October 2009, many of the remaining players decided to withdraw their services over the course of the next few months. The crisis developed into something of a 'civil war' with the vast majority of the 2009 panel remaining 'on strike', while McCarthy was retained as manager and developed a new panel of players for 2010. The result was Limerick losing all of their National League matches and being relegated to Division 2.
Team changes
To Championship Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
Carlow
From Championship Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
None
Teams
General information Thirteen counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: eight teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship. CountyLast provincial titleLast championship titlePosition in 2009 ChampionshipAppearanceAntrim2009—Carlow—— Clare19981997 Cork20062005 Dublin19611938 Galway19991988 Kilkenny20092009 Laois19491915 Limerick19961973 Offaly19951998 Tipperary20092001 Waterford20071959 Wexford20041996
Personal and kits TeamColoursSponsorHome stadiumCaptainManagerAntrimSaffron and whiteCreagh ConcreteCasement ParkPaul ShieldsDinny CahillCarlowRed, green and yellowStone DevelopmentsDr Cullen ParkEdward CoadyKevin RyanClareSaffron and bluePat O'DonnellCusack ParkBrian O'ConnellGer O'LoughlinCorkRed and whiteO2Páirc Uí ChaoimhKieran 'Fraggy' MurphyDenis WalshDublinNavy and blueVodafoneParnell ParkStephen HineyAnthony DalyGalwayMaroon and whiteSupermacsPearse StadiumShane KavanaghJohn McIntyreKilkennyBlack and amberGlanbiaNowlan ParkT. J. ReidBrian CodyLaoisBlue and whiteMW Hire ServicesO'Moore ParkBrian CampionNiall RigneyLimerickGreen and whiteSporting LimerickGaelic GroundsGavin O'MahonyDónal O'GradyOffalyGreen, white and goldCarroll CuisineO'Connor ParkBrian CarrollJoe DooleyTipperaryBlue and goldEnferSemple StadiumEoin KellyLiam SheedyWaterfordWhite and blue3Walsh ParkStephen MolumphyDavy FitzGeraldWexfordPurple and yellowSports Savers Wexford ParkDiarmuid LyngColm Bonnar
Format
Format The 2010 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 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 would take place.
Munster Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This is 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 joins the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game.
Leinster Championship
First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Leinster.
Quarter-finals: (3 matches) The winner of the first-round game joins five other Leinster teams to make up the three quarter-final pairings.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the three quarter-finals join Kilkenny, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contest this game.
Qualifiers
The qualifiers gave teams defeated in the provincial championships another chance at winning the All-Ireland.
Preliminary Round (1 match): the five teams who fail to reach a provincial semi-final will enter the qualifiers at this stage. The first two teams drawn will play each other in the preliminary round with the winner of that match joining the other three teams in Phase 1.
Phase 1: (2 matches) The winner of the preliminary round and the other three remaining teams will play off. The two winners enter Phase 3.
Phase 2: (2 matches) The two beaten Leinster semi-finalists will play the two beaten Munster semi-finalists. The two winners enter Phase 3.
Phase 3: (2 matches) The four winners of Phase 1 and Phase 2 games meet in Phase 3. The two winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
All-Ireland Series
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The beaten Munster and Leinster finalists will play the winners of the Phase 3 qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The Munster and Leinster champions will play the winners of the quarter-finals.
Final: (1 match) The two semi-final winners will contest the final.
Provincial championships
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
Cup competitions
Christy Ring Cup (Tier 2)
Bracket
Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 3)
Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 4)
Bracket
All-Ireland Qualifiers
Preliminary round
Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Bracket Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The provincial champions are marked by an asterisk.
All-Ireland quarter-finals
All-Ireland semi-finals
All-Ireland Final
Miscellaneous In the Leinster quarter-final Galway defeat Wexford for the first time in the history of the championship. Kilkenny's Henry Shefflin scores twelve points against Dublin in the Leinster semi-final to become the highest-scoring player in the history of the championship. The record was previously held by Shefflin's fellow county man Eddie Keher and had stood since 1973. In the All-Ireland qualifiers Antrim defeat Dublin for the first time in the history of the championship. Lar Corbett becomes the first player since Eddie O'Brien in 1970 to score a hat-trick of goals in an All-Ireland final.
Player facts
Debutants The following players made their début in the 2010 senior championship:
Player Team Date Opposition Game Eoin Reilly Laois May 22 Carlow Leinster first round Hugh Paddy O'Byrne Carlow May 22 Laois Leinster first round Eoin Nolan Carlow May 22 Laois Leinster first round Aidan Harte Galway May 29 Wexford Leinster quarter-final David Burke Galway May 29 Wexford Leinster quarter-final Donal Barry Galway May 29 Wexford Leinster quarter-final Noel Carton Wexford May 29 Galway Leinster quarter-final Paul Morris Wexford May 29 Galway Leinster quarter-final Lar Prendergast Wexford May 29 Galway Leinster quarter-final Colm McFall Antrim May 30 Offaly Leinster quarter-final Thomas McCann Antrim May 30 Offaly Leinster quarter-final James Dempsey Offaly May 30 Antrim Leinster quarter-final Stephen Egan Offaly May 30 Antrim Leinster quarter-final Shane Kelly Offaly May 30 Antrim Leinster quarter-final Michael Cahill Tipperary May 30 Cork Munster quarter-final Brian O'Meara Tipperary May 30 Cork Munster quarter-final Timmy Hammersley Tipperary May 30 Cork Munster quarter-final Séamus Hennessy Tipperary May 30 Cork Munster quarter-final Jody Brennan Tipperary May 30 Cork Munster quarter-final Lorcán McLoughlin Cork May 30 Tipperary Munster quarter-final Michael Cussen Cork May 30 Tipperary Munster quarter-final Ruairí Trainor Dublin June 6 Laois Leinster quarter-final Shane Ryan Dublin June 6 Laois Leinster quarter-final Neil Foyle Laois June 6 Dublin Leinster quarter-final Liam Lawlor Waterford June 7 Clare Munster semi-final Donal Tuohy Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Cian Dillon Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Nicky O'Connell Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Seán Collins Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final John Conlon Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Darach Honan Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Cormac O'Donovan Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Domhnall O'Donovan Clare June 7 Waterford Munster semi-final Shane O'Neill Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Kieran O'Rourke Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Shaun O'Riordan Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Tommy O'Brien Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Andrew Brennan Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Seán Herlihy Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Graeme Mulcahy Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Anthony Owens Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Richie McKeogh Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Lorcan O'Dwyer Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Peter Russell Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Cathal Mullane Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Nicky Quaid Limerick June 20 Cork Munster semi-final Ray Ryan Cork June 20 Limerick Munster semi-final John Mulhall Kilkenny June 20 Dublin Leinster semi-final Éanna Ryan, Jnr Galway June 26 Offaly Leinster semi-final replay Alan McDonald Carlow June 26 Laois All-Ireland qualifier Michael Heffernan Tipperary July 3 Wexford All-Ireland qualifier Patrick Maher Tipperary July 3 Wexford All-Ireland qualifier David Young Tipperary July 3 Wexford All-Ireland qualifier Barry Kenny Wexford July 3 Tipperary All-Ireland qualifier Kieran McGourty Antrim July 3 Carlow All-Ireland qualifier Michael Noonan Limerick July 10 Offaly All-Ireland qualifier Cian Hayes Limerick July 10 Offaly All-Ireland qualifier Daniel Moore Limerick July 10 Offaly All-Ireland qualifier James V. O'Brien Limerick July 10 Offaly All-Ireland qualifier Chris O'Connell Antrim July 3 Carlow All-Ireland qualifier Luke O'Farrell Cork July 17 Waterford Munster final replay William Egan Cork July 17 Waterford Munster final replay Brian O'Halloran Waterford July 17 Cork Munster final replay Thomas Ryan Waterford August 15 Tipperary All-Ireland semi-final
Retirees The following players played their last game in the 2010 championship: