The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship had many winners and losers located around Ireland.
When tracing the history of the Hurling Championship back to its beginning, it is possible to easily pick out periods when specific teams or counties dominated the competition, only to find themselves rapidly superseded by another dominant team or teams.
The format of the championship had also undergone several significant changes throughout the years, with the creation of the 'back-door system' in 1997.
1887–1888
The format of the first hurling championship was unique in that it was the only open draw All-Ireland championship ever-played. The five participating teams were paired off against each other regardless of their provincial locations. Three teams - Galway, Kilkenny and Wexford - advanced directly to the semi-final stages of the competition, while Clare and Tipperary met in a lone 'quarter-final.' Disputes in Cork and Limerick as to what club should represent the respective counties led to neither county participating.
The inaugural All-Ireland senior hurling final was played on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1888, in Birr, County Offaly. Tipperary and Galway were the opponents, with both sides vigorously contesting the game from start to finish. Early in the game one of the Thurles players received facial injuries when he fell on his hurley and had to retire from the game. In a sporting gesture of unrivalled magnitude Galway representatives Meelick withdrew one of their own players to level the teams. Thurles, the Tipp representatives, scored a point after eleven minutes and led by that score at half-time. With no number of points equaling a goal in those days the destination of the first All-Ireland hurling title was wide open. At a crucial stage in the second-half, Jim Stapleton lead a charge down the field. The Thurles captain spotted an opening and passed the ball to Tom Healy. Healy made no mistake in sending a low, hard drive to the back of the Galway net. The game ended shortly afterwards with Tipperary winning on a score line of 1 goal, 1 point and 1 forfeit point to Galway's no score.
The second ever championship in 1888 remains unfinished due to the so-called 'invasion' tour of the United States, which saw the infant GAA's organisational staff and 48 players go on a promotional tour of the United States. The tour was a failure and the All-Ireland was left unfinished with Kilkenny, Cork and Clare left in the tournament. Seventeen of the 'invaders' never returned to Ireland.
1889–1891 In 1889 Clare won the first Munster final before taking on Dublin in the All-Ireland final. The Clare men, who played in their bare feet, took a 1–5 to 1–0 lead at the interval in atrocious weather conditions. W.J. Spain scored three goals for the metropolitans in the second half as Clare were held to a point. the 5–1 to 1–6 score line gave Dublin their first All-Ireland title and meant that goal-scoring hero Spain became the first dual All-Ireland winner as he won an All-Ireland football medal with Limerick in 1887.
In 1890 Cork and Wexford battled in the All-Ireland final. The game was a controversial one and was marred by ill-tempered behaviour. A Cork player had his toe broken by one of his Wexford counterparts. Cork captain Dan Lane walked his men off the field in protest. At the time Cork were trailing by 2–2 to 1–6; however, the GAA's Central Council later backed Cork and the team were awarded the All-Ireland title.
The 1891 championship saw the novelty of Kerry contesting the All-Ireland final with Wexford. The game itself was the second game of a triple-header played at Clonturk Park on 28 February 1892. The first game that day was the All-Ireland football semi-final between Dublin and Cavan. This was followed by the All-Ireland furling final and the programme of games finished with the All-Ireland football final between Cork and the winners of the first game. The hurling decider was an exciting affair with the Kerry team playing in their bare feet in grey jumpers with a gold band. Paddy 'Carr' Carroll scored Kerry's first point after five minutes with the team's second score coming after another twenty minutes. At half-time Kerry led by 0–2 to 0–1. The game, however, was not without controversy. At full-time the referee said that the score was 1-1 apiece and that extra-time was necessary. The Kerry team were reluctant to play the extra thirty minutes with captain John Mahony one of the most vocal opponents. It was only after being persuaded by the chairman of the Kerry County Board that the team decided to line out for a third half hour of hurling. Both sides upped their games considerably for the only occasion that extra time was played in an All-Ireland final. Kerry went on to win the game by 2–3 to 1–5 to capture their first and only All-Ireland hurling title.
1892–1894 1892 saw Cork begin a three-year dominance of the championship. That year's All-Ireland final saw 'the Rebels' take on Dublin for the first time. The game turned into a controversial one as referee Dan Fraher changed his mind after initially awarding a goal to Cork. He eventually decided that the GAA's Central Council should decide the matter. Dublin, however, had walked off the field as some of the players had to return to work and, because of this, Cork were awarded the title.
Cork qualified for a third All-Ireland final in three seasons in 1893 and, they proved again that they were the hurling masters. The championship decider pitted Cork against Kilkenny. It was the first meeting of these two rivals in the history of the championship. The game was fixed for Ashtown; however, upon arrival both teams refused to play there as somebody had neglected to have the grass cut. After a long delay the goalposts were uprooted and both teams and their supporters headed to the Phoenix Park where the game took place after some delay. The game itself turned into a rout as Cork scored a huge tally of 6–8 to Kilkenny's 0–2. It was Cork's second All-Ireland title in-a-row.
The 1894 championship saw Cork retain their provincial title for the third consecutive occasion. The subsequent All-Ireland final pitted Cork against Dublin for the second time in three years. Cork showed their class and the game turned into a rout. A 5–20 to 2–0 score line gave another victory to Cork. The 29 point defeat of ‘the Dubs’ marks the game out as one of the most one-sided All-Ireland finals in history. It was a record-making third All-Ireland title in-a-row for Cork.
1895–1900
Had it not been for a slip up in 1897, it is not beyond the bounds of reality to surmise that Tipperary could have won a six All-Ireland titles in succession.
In 1895 the Tipp team stormed to the provincial title and into the All-Ireland final where Kilkenny were the opponents in the first championship decider to be played at what is now Croke Park. Tipp took a commanding 1–6 to 1–0 lead at half-time and went on to hammer "the Cats" by 6–8 to 1–10 at the final whistle. Tipperary's Paddy Riordan is said to have scored all but one point of his team's total.
Tipperary were the masters of the hurling world again in 1896. After securing a second consecutive Munster title the team lined out against Dublin in the All-Ireland final. Tipp scored a goal in the first minute and took a 4–6 to 0–1 lead at half-time. The game turned into a rout as Tipperary won easily by 8–14 to 0–4. This game still holds the record as the most one-sided All-Ireland final of all-time.
Tipperary surrendered their provincial crown to Limerick in 1897, who later faced Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final. Both sides were hoping to win the All-Ireland title for the first time. "The Cats" started and led by 2–4 to 1–1 at half-time. Limerick, however, powered on in the second half and used their new technique of hooking. They got two quick goals early in the half and scored the winning goal from a free after fifty-two minutes. At the final whistle Limerick emerged victorious by 3–4 to 2–4. It was Limerick's first All-Ireland title.
Tipperary reclaimed the provincial title in 1898 and qualified for an All-Ireland final showdown with Kilkenny. In an offensive showcase game with Kilkenny, Kilkenny had the higher score for the first twenty-five minutes. In the second-half Tipperary took the upper-hand with captain Mikey Maher scoring three goals. A 7–13 to 3–10 score line gave Tipperary this victory.
After retaining the provincial title in 1899 Tipperary subsequently advanced to the All-Ireland final where Wexford provided the opposition. Wexford held Tipp for the first fifteen minutes; however, the Munster men still took a 2–6 to 1–3 lead at half-time. Tipp went on the rampage in the second half and finished with a score of 3–12 to 1–4. The Wexford team walked off the field with ten minutes left in the game because they couldn't find a substitute for an injured player. Tipp were awarded the title.
In 1900 Tipperary trounced Kerry, Kilkenny and Galway to book a place in the All-Ireland final. A new innovation was introduced this year as London were permitted to take on the winners of the so-called 'home' final to decide the resting place of the All-Ireland title. This game was a close affair with both sides level at 0–5 with eight minutes to go. London then took the lead; however, they later conceded a free. Captain Mikey Maher stepped up, took the free and a forward ‘charge’ carried the sliotar over the line. Tipp scored another goal following a weak puck out and claimed the victory. It was Maher's fifth and final All-Ireland title by 2–6 to 0–6. It was a fifth All-Ireland title in six years.
1901–1903 After a number of seasons out of the limelight Cork bounced back by capturing the Munster title in 1901. 'The Rebels' subsequently defeated Galway and Wexford to set up an All-Ireland final meeting with London. Cork were the overwhelming favourites against a team of exiles which was made up of nine Cork men. A downpour made the underfoot conditions difficult as London settled better and Cork floundered. A goal for London with ten minutes left in the game sealed Cork's fate and London by 1–5 to 0–4. It was the first time that the All-Ireland cup went overseas.
The Cork-London rematch took place in 1902, following Cork's victory over Dublin in the 'home' final. The game was played in Cork to mark the opening of the new Cork Athletic Grounds. After defeat in 1901 the Cork side made no mistake on this occasion and powered to a 3–13 to 0–0 victory. It was a huge triumph for Cork.
In 1903 Cork defeated Kilkenny in the All-Ireland 'home' final before doing battle with London for the third year in succession. Cork were well on top for the entire game and secured a merited 3–16 to 1–1 victory.
1904–1913 1904 saw Kilkenny begin a hugely successful era as Cork were heading into decline. Both sides met in the final and 'the Cats' won the game thanks to Dick Doyle’s first-half goal, while Pat 'Fox' Maher made a save at the end to help his team to a 1-9 to 1-8 victory. It was Kilkenny's first All-Ireland title from five appearances in the championship decider.
In 1905, Kilkenny and Cork had another All-Ireland final showdown; a high-scoring match with Cork winning by 5-10 to 3-13. The game, however, had to be replayed as Cork goalkeeper Daniel McCarthy was a British army reservist and Kilkenny’s Matt Gargan had played with Waterford in the Munster championship. The game was another high-scoring one, with Jimmy Kelly scoring 5-2. A puck-out by Cork's Jamesy Kelleher is said to have hopped over the Kilkenny crossbar. Kilkenny won the game by 7-7 to 2-9, with all seven of their goals coming in a thirty-minute spell. It was Kilkenny's second All-Ireland title in succession.