2003 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 2003 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness Hurling Championship) was the 117th since its establishment in 1887. The first matches of the season were played in May 2003, and the championship ended on 14 September 2003. Kilkenny went into the 2003 championship as defending champions, having won their twenty-seventh All-Ireland title the previous year.

The championship culminated with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin. The match was contested by Kilkenny and Cork. It was their first meeting in the final since 1999. Kilkenny won the game by 1–14 to 1–11. It was their second All-Ireland title in succession.

Team changes

To Championship Promoted from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship

Kerry

From Championship Regraded to the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship

None

Format

Leinster Championship

Participating counties (10) Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Preliminary rounds (6 matches) The lower ranked 7 teams in the province contest these rounds. The winners advance to the semi-finals and the losers advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Semi-finals (2 matches) The quarter-final winner and 3 highest ranked teams contest this round. The winners advance to the final and the losers advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Final (1 match) The 2 semi-final winners contest this game. The Leinster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Leinster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers round 2.

Munster Championship

Participating counties (6) Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford

Quarter-finals (2 matches) The lower ranked 4 teams in the province contest this round. The winners advance to the semi-finals and the losers advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Semi-finals (2 matches) The 2 quarter-final winners and 2 highest ranked teams contest this round. The winners advance to the final and the losers advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Final (1 match) The 2 semi-final winners contest this game. The Munster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Munster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers round 2.

Ulster Championship

Participating counties (5) Antrim, Derry, Down, London, New York

Quarter-finals (1 match) The lower ranked 2 teams in the province contest this round. The winners advance to the semi-finals and the losers are eliminated from the championship.

Semi-finals (2 matches) The quarter-final winners and 3 highest ranked teams contest this round. The winners advance to the final and the losers are eliminated from the championship.

Final (1 match) The 2 semi-final winners contest this game. The Ulster champions advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals and the Ulster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Qualifiers

All-Ireland Championship

Quarter-finals (2 matches) The 3 winners of the qualifiers join the Ulster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches) The winners of the quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate semi-finals where possible. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final (1 match) The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game.

Teams

General information Twenty two counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, ten teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship. CountyLast provincial titleLast championship titlePosition in 2002 ChampionshipCurrent championship Antrim2002 —Quarter-finalsUlster Senior Hurling Championship Carlow — —First round (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship)Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Clare19981997Runners-upMunster Senior Hurling Championship Cork20001999Round 2Munster Senior Hurling Championship Derry2001 —Semi-finals (Ulster Senior Hurling Championship)Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Down1997 —Round 1Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Dublin19611938Round 1Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Galway19991988Quarter-finalsConnacht Senior Hurling Championship Kerry18911891 –Munster Senior Hurling Championship Kildare — —First round (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship)Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Kilkenny20022002ChampionsLeinster Senior Hurling Championship Laois19491915Champions (All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship)Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Limerick19961973Round 1Munster Senior Hurling Championship London —1901Quarter-finals (Ulster Senior Hurling Championship)Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Meath — —Round 1Leinster Senior Hurling Championship New York — —Semi-finals (Ulster Senior Hurling Championship)Ulster Senior Hurling Championship Offaly19951998Round 2Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Tipperary20012001Semi-finalsMunster Senior Hurling Championship Waterford20021959Semi-finalsMunster Senior Hurling Championship Westmeath — —Second round (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship)Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Wexford19971996Round 2Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Wicklow — —Runners-up (All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship)Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Summary

Championships Level on PyramidCompetitionChampionsRunners-upTier 1All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Kilkenny CorkLeinster Senior Hurling Championship Kilkenny WexfordMunster Senior Hurling Championship Cork WaterfordUlster Senior Hurling Championship Antrim DerryTier 2All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship Wicklow RoscommonTier 3All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship Cork KilkennyTier 4All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship Mayo Donegal

Provincial championships

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket (Preliminary rounds)

Bracket (Final rounds)

Preliminary rounds

Semi-finals

Leinster final

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Munster final

Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket

Preliminary round

Semi-finals

Ulster final

All-Ireland qualifiers

Preliminary Rounds

Round 1

Round 2

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 Championship statistics

Top scorers

Overall RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalMatchesAverage1Joe DeaneCork4–294158.22Brian McFallAntrim5–2540410.0Paul CoddWexford2–344066.674Paul FlynnWaterford6–193757.45Tomás McGraneDublin2–303657.2Eoin KellyTipperary2–303657.27James YoungLaois0–353557.08Henry ShefflinKilkenny3–253448.59Mike SlatteryKerry3–233256.410Ollie CollinsDerry0–282839.33

Scoring events Last goal of the championship: Martin Comerford for Kilkenny against Cork (All-Ireland final) First hat-trick of the championship: John Mullane for Waterford against Cork (Munster final) Widest winning margin: 43 points Antrim 8–27 – 1-05 London (Ulster preliminary round) Most goals in a match: 9 Antrim 8–27 – 1-05 London (Ulster preliminary round) Most points in a match: 41 Tipperary 3–28 – 0–13 Laois (All-Ireland qualifiers) Most goals by one team in a match: 8 Antrim 8–27 – 1-05 London (Ulster preliminary round) Most goals scored by a losing team: 3 Waterford 3–12 – 3–16 Cork (Munster final) Carlow 3-07 – 3–15 Waterford (Munster final) Most points scored by a losing team: 17 Galway 1–17 – 1–18 Tipperary (All-Ireland qualifiers)

Team statistics Most goals scored – Antrim (13) Most points scored – Tipperary (91) Most goals conceded – Carlow and Wexford (10) Most points conceded – Wexford (102) Fewest goals scored – Kildare and Wicklow (0) Fewest points scored – Kildare (7) Fewest points conceded – Kildare (15) Fewest goals conceded – Wicklow (0)

Miscellaneous First-time championship meetings: Kerry v Westmeath (Qualifiers preliminary round) Kerry v Carlow (Qualifiers preliminary round) Kerry v Derry (Qualifiers preliminary round) Wexford v Waterford (Qualifiers round 2) Kerry return to the Munster Senior Hurling Championship for the first time since 2000. Kerry's wins over Westmeath, Carlow and Derry were the first time they won three All-Ireland Senior Hulring Championship matches in a row.

See also

2003 All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship 2003 All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship 2003 All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship

References