The All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship was a hurling competition held annually between 1974 and 2004 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It was contested by those county teams which were knocked out in the first round of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, with the winner awarded the championship.

The series of games began every year immediately after the completion of the National Hurling League, with the All-Ireland final being played in June or July, initially in Croke Park, Dublin, but later in provincial venues around the country and in Britain. The championship was abolished in 2004, with the teams involved later playing in, first, the Christy Ring Cup, and since 2018, the Joe McDonagh Cup.

The title was won by 11 different teams, 6 of which won the title more than once. The all-time record-holder is London, which won the competition 5 times. The history of the championship was bookended by victories for Kildare, winner of the first title in 1974 and the last in 2004.

History

Creation

Following ongoing one-sided matches in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship between counties of differing standards, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) began considering the addition of a tournament for those county teams that were eliminated in the early stages of their respective provincial championship. The GAA found broad support for the introduction of this additional championship and canvassed options for its potential structure and future inclusion within the annual calendar. The championship was branded the Senior B championship and its inaugural season was 1974.

Second and third-tier competitions have already been incorporated in hurling for several years, such as the Intermediate and Junior championships.

Development The championship remained knockout but the number of participating teams increased.

Team changes 12 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the championship.

Championship moments

New York 4-16 - 0-13 Derry (1996): New York became the first American side to win the championship.

Format The championship was open to all hurling teams who did not take part in the proper All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. It was a knock-out competition whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship.

Teams

2004 Championship The championship was suspended after the completion of the 2004 All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship. Three counties competed in 2004: CountyLocationStadiumProvincePosition in 2003ChampionshipChampionship TitlesLast Championship Title KildareNewbridgeSt Conleth's ParkLeinster—42004 MayoCastlebarMacHale ParkConnacht—0— WicklowAughrimAughrim County GroundLeinsterChampions12003

List of All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship counties TeamTotal yearsFirst year in championshipMost recent year in championshipChampionship titlesLast championship titlePosition in 2023 championshipBest Senior B finishCurrent championshipLvl Antrim1974 Carlow1974 Down1974 Hertfordshire1974 Kerry1974 Kildare1974 Laois1976 London1975 Meath1974 Roscommon1975 Westmeath1974 Wicklow1974

Team appearances (1974-1977) #TeamNo.Years in championship1Antrim41974, 1975, 1976, 1977Carlow41974, 1975, 1976, 19773Kerry31974, 1975, 1976Down31974, 1975, 1977Meath31974, 1975, 1977Wicklow31974, 1975, 1977Roscommon31975, 1976, 1977London31975, 1976, 19779Westmeath21974, 1975Laois21976, 197711Hertfordshire11974Kildare11974

Qualification for subsequent competitions

Qualification for the All-Ireland Championship The Senior B winners qualified back into the subsequent All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the quarter-final stage. The Senior B champions played a provincial winner (or ) at this stage.

All-Ireland record of Senior B teams SeasonCountyRoundOpponentScore1996New YorkQuarter-finalsGalway4-22 - 0-082004No All-Ireland path for Senior B champions

Roll of Honour

+Performances in the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship by countyCountyTitle(s)Runners-upYears wonYears runner-up London 5 16 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1995 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994 Kildare 4 1 1974, 1980, 1989, 2004 1990 Antrim 3 1 1978, 1981, 1982 1974 Kerry 3 0 1976, 1983, 1986 - Westmeath 3 0 1975, 1984, 1991 - Laois 3 0 1977, 1979, 2002 - Wicklow 1 2 2003 1995, 2002 Carlow 1 1 1992 1987 Meath1119931985 Roscommon1119942003 New York101996 - Down01 -1988 Derry01 -1996 Mayo01 -2004 +Performances in the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship by provinceProvinceTitle(s)Runners-UpTotal Leinster13518 Britain51621 Ulster336 Munster303 Connacht123 North America101

List of finals YearDateWinnersRunners-upVenueWinning marginCountyScoreCountyScore 200424 July Kildare 3-14 Mayo 3-07Croke Park7 2003 Wicklow 4-16 Roscommon 2-13Croke Park9 2002 Laois 2-20 Wicklow 2-07Semple Stadium13 1997–2001 Not contested 1996 New York 4-16 Derry 0-1315 1995 London 2-07 Wicklow 0-08O'Moore Park5 1994 Roscommon 1-10 London 1-09McGovern Park1 1993 Meath 2-16 London 1-163 1992 Carlow 2-15 London 3-102 1991 Westmeath 2-12 London 2-066 1990 London 1-15 Kildare 5-021 1989 Kildare 2-06 London 1-072 1988 London 2-06 Down 1-072 1987 London 0-20 Carlow 1-152 1986 Kerry 3-10 London 1-097 1985 London 1-09 Meath 1-063 1984 Westmeath 4-10 London 1-163 1983 Kerry 2-08 London 1-074 1982 Antrim 2-16 London 2-142 1981 Antrim 3-17 London 3-143 1980 Kildare 2-20 London 2-146 1979 Laois 1-20 London 0-176 1978 Antrim 1-16 London 3-073 1977 Laois 3-21 London 2-0915 1976 Kerry 0-15 London 1-102 197522 June Westmeath 3-23 London 2-07Croke Park19 197423 June Kildare 1-26 Antrim 3-13Croke Park7

Team records and statistics

Team results Legend

– Champions – Runners-up – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Preliminary round

For each year, the number of counties (in brackets) are shown. Team1974 (9)1975 (9)1976 (6)1977 (8)1978 (5)1979 (8)Total Antrim2ndSFHFHF1stSF6 CarlowFRQFSFFR——4 DownFRQF—SFHF—4 HertfordshireSF—————1 KerryFRHF1st——SF4 Kildare1st————HF2 Laois——QF1st—1st3 London—2nd2nd2nd2nd2nd5 MeathQFSF—FRSF—4 Roscommon—QFSFFRSFQF5 WestmeathSF1st———QF3 WicklowFR QF—SF—QF4

Teams CountyWinsMost recent winAntrim31982Carlow11992Kerry31986Kildare42004Laois32002London51995Meath11993New York11996Roscommon11994Westmeath31991Wicklow12003

Performances by province +ProvinceTitle(s)Runners-upLast Title (Year)Biggest Contributor (Titles Leinster135Kildare (2004)Kildare (4) Britain516London (1995) London (5) Ulster33Antrim (1982)Antrim (3) Munster30Kerry (1986)Kerry (3) Connacht12Roscommon (1994)Roscommon (1) North America10New York (1996)New York (1)

See also

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship

References