The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 123rd staging of the All-Ireland championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The draw for the 2011 fixtures took place on 7 October 2010. The championship began on 14 May and ended on 4 September 2011. Tipperary were the defending champions.
Kilkenny secured the title with a 2–17 to 1–16 defeat of Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. This was their 33rd All-Ireland title, their eighth in twelve championship seasons.
Team changes
To Championship Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
Westmeath
From Championship Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
None
Teams A total of fourteen teams will contest the championship, including thirteen teams from the 2010 championship and one promoted team from the 2010 Christy Ring Cup.
Laois, Carlow and Wexford were the first teams to exit the 2010 championship; however, there was no relegation play-off. They would all contest the 2011 championship.
2010 Christy Ring Cup champions Westmeath secured direct promotion to the championship. The team made their top flight return after being relegated at the end of the 2006 championship.
General information Fourteen counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: nine teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship. CountyLast provincial titleLast championship titlePosition in 2010 ChampionshipAppearanceAntrim2010—Carlow—— Clare19981997 Cork20062005 Dublin19611938 Galway19991988 Kilkenny20102009 Laois19491915 Limerick19961973 Offaly19951998 Tipperary20102010 Waterford20071959Westmeath—— Wexford20041996
Team summaries
Personnel and kits
TeamColoursSponsorCaptainVice-captain(s)Manager(s)AntrimSaffron and whiteCreagh ConcreteEddie McCloskeyDinny CahillCarlowRed, green and yellowStone DevelopmentsPaudie KehoeKevin RyanClareSaffron and bluePat O'DonnellPat VaughanJohn ConlonGer O'LoughlinCorkRed and whiteO2Shane O'NeillEoin CadoganDenis WalshDublinNavy and blueVodafoneJohn McCaffreyTomás BradyAnthony DalyGalwayMaroon and whiteSupermacsDamien JoyceTony Óg ReganDamien HayesJohn McIntyreKilkennyBlack and amberGlanbiaBrian HoganBrian CodyLaoisBlue and whiteMW Hire ServicesBrian CampionBrendan FennellyLimerickGreen and whiteSporting LimerickGavin O'MahonyDónal O'GradyOffalyGreen, white and goldCarroll CuisineShane DooleyJoe BerginJoe DooleyTipperaryBlue and goldŠkoda AutoEoin KellyConor O'MahonyDeclan RyanWaterfordWhite and blue3Stephen MolumphyMichael WalshJohn MullaneDavy FitzGeraldWestmeathMaroon and white BennettEoin PriceBrian HanleyWexfordPurple and yellowSports Savers Darren StampCiarán KennyColm Bonnar
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPositionIncoming managerDate of appointmentLaoisNiall RigneyResignation30 June 2010Pre-championshipBrendan Fennelly27 September 2010LimerickJustin McCarthyEnd of term10 July 2010Pre-championshipDónal O'Grady22 September 2010TipperaryLiam SheedyMutual agreement7 October 2010Pre-championshipDeclan Ryan9 November 2010WestmeathKevin MartinSacked10 April 2011Pre-championshipBrian Hanley16 April 2011
The Championship
Format The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 2011 will be run on a provincial basis as usual. It will be a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces – there will be no seeds.
Each match will be played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there will be a replay. If that match ends in a draw a period of extra time will be played, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time another replay will take place.
Munster Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This will be a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. The losing team enters the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joins the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advance to the final while the two losing teams enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. The winning team advances to the All-Ireland semi-final while the losing team advances to the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Leinster Championship
Preliminary Round: (2 matches) These will be two matches between four of the 'weaker' teams from the province. The two winning teams advance to the quarter-finals while the two losing teams enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Quarter-finals: (3 matches) The winners of the two preliminary round games join the other four Leinster teams to make up three quarter-final pairings. The three winning teams advance to the semi-finals while the three losing teams enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The three winners of the quarter-finals join Kilkenny (who will receive a bye to this stage) to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advance to the final while the two losing teams enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. The winning team advances to the All-Ireland semi-final while the losing team advances to the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Cup competitions
Christy Ring Cup (Tier 2)
Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 3)
Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 4)
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
Stadia and locations
TeamLocationStadiumStadium capacityAntrimBelfastCasement ParkCarlowCarlowDr. Cullen ParkClareEnnisCusack ParkCorkCorkPáirc Uí ChaoimhDublinDublinParnell ParkGalwayGalwayPearse StadiumKlkennyKilkennyNowlan ParkLaoisPortlaoiseO'Moore ParkLimerickLimerickGaelic GroundsOffalyTullamoreO'Connor ParkTipperaryThurlesSemple StadiumWaterfordWaterfordWalsh ParkWestmeathMullingarCusack ParkWexfordWexfordWexford Park
Championship statistics
Scoring First goal of the championship: Simon McCrory for Antrim against Laois (Leinster preliminary round, 14 May 2011) Fastest goal of the season: 20 seconds – Paudie O'Sullivan for Cork against Galway (All-Ireland qualifiers phase 3, 9 July 2011) Widest winning margin: 34 points Cork 10–20 : Laois 1–13 (All-Ireland qualifiers preliminary round, 18 June 2011) Most goals in a match: 11 Cork 10–20 : Laois 1–13 (All-Ireland qualifiers preliminary round, 18 June 2011) Most points in a match: 45 Tipperary 3–22 : Cork 0–23 (Munster quarter-final, 29 May 2011) Galway 4–25 : Clare 0–20 (All-Ireland qualifiers phase 2, 2 July 2011) Most goals by one team in a match: 10 Cork 10–20 : Laois 1–13 (All-Ireland qualifiers preliminary round, 18 June 2011) Most goals scored by a losing team: 3 Waterford 3–15 : Limerick 3–14 (Munster semi-final, 12 June 2011) Antrim 1–21 : Laois 3–12 (Leinster quarter-final, 14 May 2011) Most points scored by a losing team: 23 Tipperary 3–22 : Cork 0–23 (Munster quarter-final, 29 May 2011)
Top scorers Overall Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average1Paul RyanDublin2–4753510.602Patrick HorganCork3–3847411.753Eoin KellyTipperary4–304258.40Neil McManusAntrim0–424258.405Joe CanningGalway3–314057.406Henry ShefflinKilkenny1–323548.757Lar CorbettTipperary7–93047.508Shane DooleyOffaly2–2228214.00Declan HannonLimerick0–282839.3310Pauric MahonyWaterford0–272739.00
Single game Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition1Patrick HorganCork3–1120Laois2Lar CorbettTipperary4–416WaterfordShane DooleyOffaly1–1316Dublin4Pauric MahonyWaterford0–1313TipperaryPaul RyanDublin0–1313GalwayPatrick HorganCork0–1313Tipperary7Eoin KellyTipperary2–612WaterfordHenry ShefflinKilkenny1–912DublinJoe CanningGalway1–912ClarePaul RyanDublin1–912KilkennyShane DooleyOffaly1–912Cork12Ryan O'DwyerDublin3–211LimerickPaul RyanDublin1–811OffalyDeclan HannonLimerick0–1111Dublin15Paudie O'SullivanGalway3–110LaoisCyril DonnellanGalway3–110WestmeathDamien HayesGalway2–410ClareEoin KellyTipperary1–710CorkBrendan MurtaghWestmeath0–1010AntrimNeil McManusAntrim0–1010WestmeathNeil McManusAntrim0–1010LaoisPatrick HorganCork0–1010OffalyJoe CanningGalway0–1010Cork
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Galway Westmeath 4–17 : 2–14 Cork Laois 10–20 : 1–13 Cork Laois 10–20 : 1–13 Dublin Limerick
Four goals in a game Player For Against Result Date Tipperary Waterford 7–19 : 0–19
Discipline First yellow card of the championship: John A. Delaney for Laois against Antrim, 39 minutes (14 May 2011) First red card of the championship: Neil McAuley for Antrim against Laois, 40 minutes (14 May 2011)
Miscellaneous Antrim's defeat of Laois in the preliminary round of the Leinster championship is the team's first ever victory in the provincial series of games. The Munster quarter-final meeting of Cork and Tipperary sets a new record as the eighth consecutive year that the sides have met in championship hurling. Previous consecutive meetings stretched from 1949 (draw and replay) to 1954 – a total of seven games in six years. Earlier, eight games were played in the seven-year period 1907 to 1913, however, two of those games were played in the calendar year of 1908. The Leinster semi-final meeting between Wexford and Kilkenny at Wexford Park is the first championship meeting between the two sides at that venue since the 1944 Leinster semi-final. The All-Ireland qualifiers preliminary round meeting between Antrim and Westmeath is the first ever championship meeting between the two sides. The All-Ireland qualifiers preliminary round meeting between Laois and Cork is the first championship meeting between the two sides since the 1915 All-Ireland final. Laois are the only team that Cork have played but never beaten in the championship. Cork's total of 10–20 against Laois in the preliminary round of the qualifiers is the first time that a side has scored ten goals in the championship since Offaly defeated Westmeath by 10–9 to 2–6 in the 1966 Leinster first round. The Leinster semi-final meeting of Galway and Dublin is not only both sides first meeting in the provincial championship but is also the first meeting of the two sides since the 1941 All-Ireland semi-final. Dublin preserve their 100% championship record over Galway with a victory in the Leinster semi-final. Previous victories came in the 1924 All-Ireland final and the 1941 All-Ireland semi-final Lar Corbett becomes Tipperary's all-time leading championship goalscorer when he scores his 21st goal against Clare in the Munster semi-final. For the first time in history Dublin qualify for the provincial minor, under-21 and senior finals in the same year. Kilkenny's defeat of Dublin in the Leinster final is their seventh consecutive provincial title and sets a new record. Kilkenny also held the previous record of six-in-a-row between 1998 and 2003. Henry Shefflin's goal in the Leinster final made him the only player in history to score a goal in thirteen consecutive championship seasons. Tipperary's 7–19 to 0–19 defeat of Waterford is the biggest margin of victory in a Munster final since Cork beat Waterford by 5–31 to 3–6 in the 1982 provincial decider. The 21-point winning margin is joint ninth in the top ten biggest Munster final victories. The last time a team scored seven or more goals in a Munster final was in 1936 when Limerick defeated Tipperary by 8–5 to 4–6. Mick Mackey scored 5–3 of their total. Brendan Cummins equalled Christy Ring's all-time championship appearances record, joining Ring on 65 appearances for Tipperary in the Munster Final.