The 2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship is the 139th edition of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Munster Council in 1888 and is the highest-tier of Hurling for senior county teams in Munster. It is contested by five Munster GAA county teams ranked 1–5 in the 2025 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
The competition began on 19 April with the final on 7 June.
Format
Group stage (10 matches) Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advanc to the Munster SHC final and the 3rd placed team advances to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Final (1 match) The top 2 teams in the group stage contested this game. The Munster champions advanced to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals and the Munster runners-up advanced to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Teams
General Information Five counties contested the 2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship: CountyLast Championship TitleLast All-Ireland TitlePosition in 2025 Championship Clare199820244th Cork20252005Champions Limerick20242023Runners-up Tipperary201620253rd Waterford201019595th
Personnel and Kits CountyManagerCaptain(s)Sponsor ClareBrian LohanConor ClearyPat O'Donnell CorkBen O'ConnorDarragh FitzgibbonSports Direct LimerickJohn KielyCian LynchJP McManus TipperaryLiam CahillRonan MaherClover WaterfordPeter QueallyConor PruntySuir Engineering
Group Stage
Table TeamQualification1 Cork44004-1073-84 +268Advance to Munster Final2 Limerick430110-1095-85 +3963 Clare42025-907-98 -144Advance to All-Ireland Quarter-Finals4 Waterford40139-906-118 –1915 Tipperary40132-949-105 –321
Fixtures
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Munster Final
Stadia and Locations
CountyLocationProvinceStadiumCapacity ClareEnnisMunsterCusack Park21,000 CorkCorkMunsterPáirc Uí Chaoimh45,000 LimerickLimerickMunsterGaelic Grounds44,023 TipperaryThurlesMunsterSemple Stadium45,690 WaterfordWaterfordMunsterWalsh Park12,100
Attendance AttendancesMatches11Total attendance319,646Average attendance29,059Highest attendance 43,369 Cork 2-22 (28) - (26) 1-23 Limerick 26 April 2026 Páirc Uí Chaoimh Reference:
Championship Statistics
Top Scorers
Top Scorer Overall RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalMatchesAverage1Aidan O'ConnorLimerick3-39485122Alan ConnollyCork1-4245511.253Stephen BennettWaterford4-2436494Tony KellyClare1-192245.55Mark RodgersClare0-212145.256Diarmuid ByrnesLimerick3-1120557Darragh McCarthyTipperary0-191944.758Brian HayesCork2-131954.759William BuckleyCork0-171754.2510Dessie HutchinsonWaterford0-161644 In A Single Game RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalOpposition12345678910
Scoring Events
Widest winning margin: 17 points Limerick 5–27 — 0–25 Tipperary (Round 5) Most goals in a match: 6 Clare 2–33 — 4–21 Waterford (Round 1)
Most points in a match: 54 Clare 2–33 — 4–21 Waterford (Round 1) Waterford 3–24 — 1–30 Tipperary (Round 2) Most goals by one team in a match: 5 Limerick 5–27 — 0–25 Tipperary (Round 5) Most points by one team in a match: 33 Clare 2–33 — 4–21 Waterford (Round 1) Highest aggregate score: 72 points Clare 2–33 — 4–21 Waterford (Round 1) Lowest aggregate score: 45 points Tipperary 0–17 — 1–25 Clare (Round 4)
Hat-trick Heros: Stephen Bennett (Waterford) 3-12 v Clare (Round 1)
See also
2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2) 2026 Christy Ring Cup (Tier 3) 2026 Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 4) 2026 Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 5)
References