The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:
1890s: 4 each for Cork (1890, 92, 93, 94) and Tipperary (1895, 96, 98, 99)1900s: 4 for Kilkenny (1904, 05, 07, 09)1910s: 3 for Kilkenny (1911, 12, 13)1920s: 3 each for Dublin (1920, 24, 27) and Cork (1926, 28, 29)1930s: 4 for Kilkenny (1932, 33, 35, 39)1940s: 5 for Cork (1941, 42, 43, 44, 46)1950s: 3 each for Tipperary (1950, 51, 58) and Cork (1952, 53, 54)1960s: 4 for Tipperary (1961, 62, 64, 65)1970s: 4 each for Cork (1970, 76, 77, 78) and Kilkenny (1972, 74, 75, 79)1980s: 3 for Galway (1980, 87, 88)1990s: 2 each for Cork (1990, 99); Kilkenny (1992, 93); Offaly (1994, 98) and Clare (1995, 97)2000s: 7 for Kilkenny (2000, 02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09)2010s: 4 so far for Kilkenny (2011, 12, 14, 15)As of 4 September 2016Between 1887 and 1996 the championship was played on a straight knock out format whereby the All-Ireland champions were the only undefeated team of the competition. The introduction of the qualifier system in 1997 has resulted in five 'back-door' All-Ireland champions:
Offaly (1998) were beaten by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.Cork (2004) were beaten by Waterford in the Munster final.Tipperary (2010) were beaten by Cork in the first round of the Munster championship.Kilkenny (2012) were beaten by Galway in the Leinster final.Clare (2013) were beaten by Cork in the Munster semi final.On a number of occasions teams have been defeated twice but have remained in the championship:
Limerick (2005) were beaten by Tipperary and Galway but still qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-final.Waterford (2005) were beaten by Cork and Clare but still qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-final.Limerick (2006) were beaten by Tipperary and Clare but still qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-final.Cork (2007) were beaten by Waterford and Tipperary but still qualified for the All-Ireland quarter-final.Only one county has appeared in the final once, being victorious on that occasion:
Kerry (1891)When a county won its first All Ireland before losing a final at a later time
Tipperary (1887-1909)On the opposite end of the scale, only one county has appeared in the final more than once, losing on each occasion:
Antrim (1943, 1989)Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the All-Ireland championship, their provincial championship and the National Hurling League:
Kilkenny in 1933, 1982, 1983, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2014.Tipperary in 1949, 1950, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1988 and 2001.Cork in 1926, 1941 and 1953.Limerick in 1934 and 1936Galway in 1987.Wexford in 1956.The most one sided All-Ireland finals:34 points – 1896: Tipperary 8-14 – 0-4 Dublin29 points – 1894: Cork 5-20 – 2-0 Dublin27 points – 1943: Cork 5-16 – 0-4 Antrim27 points – 1921: Cork 6-12 – 1-0 Galway26 points – 1918: Limerick 9-5 – 1-3 Wexford23 points – 2008: Kilkenny 3-30 – 1-13 WaterfordThe most one sided All-Ireland semi-finals:52 points – 1900: Galway 10-23 – 0-1 Antrim44 points – 1954: Wexford 12-17 – 2-3 Antrim36 points – 1925: Tipperary 12-9 – 2-3 Antrim35 points – 1912: Limerick 11-4 – 0-2 Antrim35 points – 1904: Cork 8-18 – 2-3 AntrimThe most one sided All-Ireland quarter-finals:36 points – 1906: Kilkenny 7-21 - 1-3 Antrim34 points – 1971: Galway 7-24 - 1-8 Antrim30 points – 1986: Galway 4-24 - 1-3 Kerry26 points – 1988: Galway 4-30 - 2-8 London26 points – 1996: Galway 4-22 - 0-8 New YorkThe most one sided Munster finals:31 points – 1918: Limerick 11-3 – 1-2 Clare31 points – 1982: Cork 5-31 – 3-6 Waterford28 points – 1893: Cork 5-13 – 0-0 Limerick27 points – 1903: Cork 5-16 – 1-1 Waterford26 points – 1905: Cork 7-12 – 1-4 LimerickOnly 5 teams of the 13 who have won the All-Ireland championship have ever successfully defended the title. These are:
Kilkenny on 13 attempts out of 34 (1905, 1912, 1913, 1933, 1975, 1983, 1993, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015)Cork on 12 attempts out of 30 (1893, 1894, 1903, 1929, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1953, 1954, 1977, 1978, 2005)Tipperary on 7 attempts out of 26 (1896, 1899, 1900, 1950, 1951, 1962, 1965)Wexford on 1 attempt out of 6 (1956)Galway on 1 attempt out of 4 (1988)Longest gaps between successive All-Ireland titles:81 years: Clare (1914-1995)57 years: Galway (1923-1980)45 years: Wexford (1910-1955)33 years: Limerick (1940-1973)28 years: Dublin (1889-1917)28 years: Wexford (1968-1996)Longest gaps between successive All-Ireland final appearances:63 years: Clare (1932-1995)46 years: Antrim (1943-1989)45 years: Waterford (1963-2008)34 years: Laois (1915-1949)33 years: Wexford (1918-1951)Only on four occasions has the All-Ireland final involved two teams from the same province:Tipperary vs Clare (1997)Kilkenny vs Offaly (1998)Kilkenny vs Offaly (2000)Cork vs Clare (2013)The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Munster, with six: Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 21 games held by Kilkenny. It began with a 1-23 to 1-9 win against Westmeath in their opening game of the 2006 championship and finished with a 3-22 to 0-19 win against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final of the 2010 championship. The 21 game unbeaten streak, which included no drawn game, ended with a 4-17 to 1-18 loss to Tipperary in the 2010 All-Ireland final.
This broke the previous record of 16 consecutive games unbeaten by Tipperary, which began in May 1949 with a victory in the opening round of the championship, and ended with a seventeen-point defeat of Waterford in the Munster semi-final of the 1952 championship. The 16 game unbeaten streak, which included 15 wins and one draw, ended with a 1-11 to 2-6 loss to Cork in the subsequent Munster final.
As of 4 September 2016As of 4 September 2016Henry Shefflin from Kilkenny is the only player to win ten All-Ireland medals on the field of play: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014Five players have won nine All-Ireland medals through a combination of being on the field and as non-playing substitutes:Noel Hickey of Kilkenny: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012Noel Skehan of Kilkenny: 1963, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983J.J. Delaney of Kilkenny: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014Tommy Walsh of Kilkenny: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014Jackie Tyrrell of Kilkenny: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015Winners of All-Ireland medals on the field of play in three decades::Paddy 'Balty' Ahern (Cork) (1919, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1931)Frank Cummins (Kilkenny) (1969, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1982, 1983)Jimmy Doyle (Tipperary) (1958, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1971)John Doyle (Tipperary) (1949, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965)Tommy Doyle (Tipperary) (1937, 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951)Declan Ryan (Tipperary) (1989, 1991, 2001)Oldest lived All-Ireland medal winners
100+
90+
Just five players have ever been sent off in an All-Ireland final: Tom Ryan of Tipperary and Lar Foley of Dublin in the 1961 final, Éamonn Scallan of Wexford in the 1996 final against Limerick (sent off in the 34th minute); Benny Dunne of Tipperary in the 2009 final (sent off in the 53rd minute for striking Kilkenny player Tommy Walsh); and Cyril Donnellan of Galway in the 2012 final replay (sent off in the 49th minute for striking Kilkenny player J. J. Delaney).
Brian Cody is the only manager to win the All-Ireland title eleven times, in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 (all Kilkenny).Just two managers have reached the All-Ireland final with two different teams:Michael "Babs" Keating with Galway (1979) and Tipperary (1988, 1989, 1991).Davy Fitzgerald with Waterford (2008) and Clare (2013).In 2009, Justin McCarthy became the first manager to reach the All-Ireland semi-finals with three different teams: Cork (1975, 1984), Waterford (2002, 2004, 2006, 2007) and Limerick (2009). In addition, he was in charge of Clare in the 1978 Munster final, when a win would have qualified them directly for the all-Ireland final.Fourteen individuals have won the All-Ireland as a player then later as a manager:Johnny Clifford of Cork won as a player in 1954 and as a manager in 1986.Ollie Walsh of Kilkenny won as a player in 1957, 1963, 1967 and 1969 and as a manager in 1992, and 1993.Michael "Babs" Keating of Tipperary won as a player in 1964 and 1971 and as a manager in 1989 and 1991.Eddie Keher of Kilkenny won as a player in 1963, 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974 and 1975 and as a co-manager in 1979.Justin McCarthy of Cork won as a player in 1966 and as a co-manager in 1984.Pat Henderson of Kilkenny won as a player in 1967, 1969, 1972, 1974 and 1975 and as a manager in 1979, 1982 and 1983.Brian Cody of Kilkenny won as a player in 1975, 1982 and 1983 and as a manager in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015Jimmy Barry-Murphy of Cork won as a player in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1984 and 1986 and as a manager in 1999.John Allen of Cork won as a player in 1978 and as a manager in 2005.Dónal O'Grady of Cork won as a player in 1984 and as a manager in 2004.Nicky English of Tipperary won as a player in 1989 and 1991 and as a manager in 2001.Davy Fitzgerald of Clare won as a player in 1995 and 1997 and as a manager in 2013.Eamonn Cregan of Limerick won as a player in 1973 and as a manager with Offaly in 1994.Michael Ryan of Tipperary won as a player in 1991 and as a manager in 2016
