2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

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2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Championship details
Dates18 April — 19 July 2026[1]
Teams11 (All-Ireland)
36 (overall)
All-Ireland champions
Provincial champions
MunsterLimerick
LeinsterGalway
UlsterNot Played
ConnachtNot Played
Championship statistics
Top Scorer Donal Burke (3-67)
All-Star TeamSee here
← 2025
2027 →

The 2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) is the 139th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament, since its establishment in 1887.

The All-Ireland final will be played on 19 July at Croke Park in Dublin.

Champions Tipperary entered the competition seeking back-to-back All-Ireland titles for the first time since 1965[2] but after finishing last in the Munster championship, they failed to qualify for the All-Ireland knockouts.[3]

Limerick , winners in 2018 and in 2020–23, are considered one of the major contenders after winning the 2026 National Hurling League — along with Cork who were runners-up in both the previous edition of this competition and the 2026 League, but have not won an All-Ireland SHC title since 2005.

Leinster teams, including Galway, are hoping to end an 8 year run of wins by Munster counties from 2018 to 2025. Kildare play in the Leinster SHC for the first time since 2004 after winning the 2025 Joe McDonagh Cup.[4][5]

Format

Leinster Championship

Participating counties (6)

Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Kilkenny, Offaly, Wexford

Group stage (15 matches)

Each team play each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Leinster SHC final and the 3rd placed team advances to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team is relegated to the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup.

Final (1 match)

The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Leinster champions advance to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals and the Leinster runners-up advanced to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.

Munster Championship

Participating counties (5)

Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford

Group stage (10 matches)

Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams will advance to the Munster SHC final and the 3rd placed team advance to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals. The lowest placed team in this year's Munster championship will not be relegated to the 2027 Joe McDonagh Cup as a result of the relegation of Kerry to the 2026 Christy Ring Cup.

Final (1 match)

The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Munster champions advance to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals while the Munster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.

All-Ireland Championship

Unlike previous years the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists don't advance to preliminary quarter-finals, with these fixtures being scrapped by the 2026 GAA Congress.[6]

Quarter-finals (2 matches)

The Munster runners-up play the third-placed team in Leinster and the Leinster runners-up play the third-placed team in Munster.

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.

Final (1 match)

The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game.

Team changes

From Championship

Relegated to Joe McDonagh Cup

Removal of Preliminary Quarter-Finals[6]

Relegated to Christy Ring Cup

Teams

General information

Eleven counties compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.

County Last provincial title Last championship title Position in 2025 Championship Current championship
Clare 1998 2024 4th in Munster SHC Munster SHC
Cork 2025 2005 Finalists Munster SHC
Dublin 2013 1938 Semi-finals Leinster SHC
Galway 2018 2017 Quarter-finals Leinster SHC
Kildare — — Joe McDonagh Cup winners Leinster SHC
Kilkenny 2025 2015 Semi-finals Leinster SHC
Limerick 2024 2023 Quarter-finals Munster SHC
Offaly 1995 1998 5th in Leinster SHC Leinster SHC
Tipperary 2016 2025 All-Ireland champions Munster SHC
Waterford 2010 1959 5th in Munster SHC Munster SHC
Wexford 2019 1996 4th in Leinster SHC Leinster SHC

Personnel and Kits

County Manager Captain Sponsor
Clare Brian Lohan Conor Cleary Pat O'Donnell
Cork Ben O'Connor Darragh Fitzgibbon Sports Direct
Dublin Niall Ó Ceallacháin Chris Crummey Staycity
Galway Micheál Donoghue Darren Morrissey Supermac's
Kildare Brian Dowling Rian Boran Brady Family Ham
Kilkenny Derek Lyng TJ Reid Avonmore
Limerick John Kiely Cian Lynch JP McManus
Offaly Johnny Kelly Charlie Mitchell Glenisk
Tipperary Liam Cahill Ronan Maher[7] Clover
Waterford Peter Queally Conor Prunty Suir Engineering
Wexford Keith Rossiter Jack O'Connor Zurich Insurance Group

Teams by Province

The participating teams, listed by province, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the 2026 National Hurling League (after promotion and relegation are applied and after finals are played) before the championship were:

Connacht (1)

Leinster (5)

Munster (5)

Ulster (0)

  • None Participated

Summary

Championships

Competition Year Champions Title Runners-up Level on pyramid
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2026 1
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Galway 4th Dublin
Munster Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Limerick 26th Cork
Joe McDonagh Cup 2026 Laois 2nd Carlow 2
Christy Ring Cup 2026 Derry 1st Kerry 3
Nicky Rackard Cup 2026 New York 1st Tyrone 4
Lory Meagher Cup 2026 Longford 3rd Leitrim 5

Key: (C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Provincial Championships

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Group Stage

Source:[8]

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Dublin 5 4 1 0 11-114 5-106 +26 9 Advanced to Leinster Final
2 Galway (C) 5 4 0 1 11-125 9-92 +39 8
3 Offaly 5 2 2 1 8-114 7-105 +12 6 Advance to All-Ireland Quarter-Finals
4 Kilkenny 5 2 1 2 11-105 5-105 +18 5
5 Wexford 5 1 0 4 7-95 12-108 –28 2
6 Kildare (R) 5 0 0 5 3-84 13-122 –68 0 Relegation to Joe McDonagh Cup

Round 1

Galway v Kilkenny
18 April 2026 Round 1 Galway 3-25 (34) - (19) 1-16 Kilkenny Galway
16:30 Stadium: Pearse Stadium
Attendance: 10,489[9]
Kildare v Wexford
18 April 2026 Round 1 Kildare 1-14 (17) - (25) 1-22 Wexford Newbridge
18:30 Stadium: Cedral St Conleth's Park
Attendance: 3,848
Offaly v Dublin
18 April 2026 Round 1 Offaly 4-22 (34) - (34) 2-28 Dublin Tullamore
18:30 Stadium: Glenisk O'Connor Park
Attendance: 4,651 [10]

Round 2

Kilkenny v Wexford
25 April 2026 Round 2 Kilkenny 5-21 (36) - (19) 1-16 Wexford Kilkenny
18:30 Report[11] Stadium: UPMC Nowlan Park
Attendance: 13,576
Dublin v Kildare
26 April 2026 Round 2 Dublin 3-24 (33) - (22) 1-19 Kildare Dublin
16:30 Report[12] Stadium: Parnell Park
Galway v Offaly
26 April 2026 Round 2 Galway 2-26 (32) - (21) 1-18 Offaly Galway
15:30 Report[13] Stadium: Pearse Stadium
Attendance: 6,557

Round 3

Kildare v Galway
9 May 2026 Round 3 Kildare 1-22 (25) - (34) 4-22 Galway Newbridge
15:30 Stadium: Cedral St Conleth's Park
Wexford v Dublin
9 May 2026 Round 3 Wexford 0-22 (22) - (27) 2-21 Dublin Wexford
16:00 Stadium: Chadwicks Wexford Park
Attendance: 7,816
Offaly v Kilkenny
10 May 2026 Round 3 Offaly 0-24 (24) - (24) 1-21 Kilkenny Tullamore
15:00 Stadium: Glenisk O'Connor Park
Attendance: 6,066

Round 4

Galway v Dublin
16 May 2026 Round 4 Galway 0-21 (21) – (24) 3-15 Dublin Galway
16:30 Report Stadium: Pearse Stadium
Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork)
Offaly v Wexford
16 May 2026 Round 4 Offaly 2-21 (27) – (21) 2-15 Wexford Tullamore
18:00 Report Stadium: Glenisk O'Connor Park
Attendance: 8,103
Kilkenny v Kildare
16 May 2026 Round 4 Kilkenny 4-25 (37) – (14) 0-14 Kildare Kilkenny
18:00 TJ Reid 2-6 (0-3f), H Shine 1-2, E Cody 1-2, M Keoghan 0-4, T Phelan 0-3, L Moore 0-2; C Kenny, P Deegan, D Blanchfield, A Mullen, T Clifford, K Doyle 0-1 each Report Darragh Melville 0-3, Jack Sheridan 0-2fs, Gerry Keegan 0-2, Cathal Dowling 0-2; Dan O'Meara, Conan Boran, Jack Travers, James Burke, Muiris Curtin 0-1 each Stadium: UPMC Nowlan Park
Referee: Eamonn Furlong (Wexford)

Round 5

Dublin v Kilkenny
24 May 2026 Round 5 Dublin 1-26 (29) - (22) 0-22 Kilkenny Dublin
14:00 Stadium: Parnell Park
Attendance: ~9,000
Kildare v Offaly
24 May 2026 Round 5 Kildare 0-15 (15) - (32) 1-29 Offaly Newbridge
14:00 Stadium: Cedral St Conleth's Park
Attendance: 5,602
Wexford v Galway
24 May 2026 Round 5 Wexford 3-20 (29) - (37) 2-31 Galway Wexford
14:00 Stadium: Chadwicks Wexford Park

Leinster Final

Leinster Final
Dublin4-15 (27) - (41) 4-29 Galway
Attendance: 46,463

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Group Stage

Sources:[14]

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Cork 4 4 0 0 4-107 3-84 +26 8 Advance to Munster Final
2 Limerick (C) 4 3 0 1 10-109 5-85 +39 6
3 Clare 4 2 0 2 5-90 7-98 -14 4 Advance to All-Ireland Quarter-Finals
4 Waterford 4 0 1 3 9-90 6-118 –19 1
5 Tipperary 4 0 1 3 2-94 9-105 –32 1

Round 1

Clare v Waterford
19 April 2026 Round 1 Clare 2-33 (39) - (33) 4-21 Waterford Ennis
14:00 Stadium: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg
Attendance: 18,338[15]
Tipperary v Cork
19 April 2026 Round 1 Tipperary 1-22 (25) - (29) 0-29 Cork Thurles
16:00 Stadium: FBD Semple Stadium
Attendance: 44,348[16]

Round 2

Cork v Limerick
26 April 2026 Round 2 Cork 2-22 (28) - (26) 1-23 Limerick Cork
14:00 Stadium: SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh
Attendance: 43,369
Waterford v Tipperary
26 April 2026 Round 2 Waterford 3-24 (33) - (33) 1-30 Tipperary Waterford
16:00 Stadium: Azzurri Walsh Park
Attendance: 11,982

Round 3

Clare v Limerick
3 May 2026 Round 3 Clare 1-18 (21) - (36) 2-30 Limerick Ennis
18:00 Stadium: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg
Attendance: 20,187
Waterford v Cork
9 May 2026 Round 3 Waterford 0-25 (25) - (29) 1-26 Cork Waterford
16:00 Stadium: Azzurri Walsh Park
Attendance: 12,017

Round 4

Tipperary v Clare
16 May 2026 Round 4 Tipperary 0-17 (17) – (28) 1-25 Clare Thurles
19:00 Report Stadium: FBD Semple Stadium
Attendance: 32,327
Limerick v Waterford
17 May 2026 Round 4 Limerick 2-29 (35) – (26) 2-20 Waterford Limerick
15:00 Stadium: TUS Gaelic Grounds
Attendance: 22,425

Round 5

Cork v Clare
24 May 2026 Round 5 Cork 1-30 (33) - (17) 1-14 Clare Cork
16:00 Stadium: SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh
Attendance: 42,269
Limerick v Tipperary
24 May 2026 Round 5 Limerick 5-27 (42) - (25) 0-25 Tipperary Limerick
16:00 Stadium: TUS Gaelic Grounds
Attendance: 29,019
Referee: Colm Lyons

Munster Final

Munster Final
Cork2-17 (23) 1-21 (24) Limerick
Attendance: 43,365

Cup Competitions

Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2)

Group Stage

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Carlow 5 4 0 1 17-96 7-94 +32 8 Advanced to Final
2 Laois (C,P) 5 4 0 1 13-125 6-104 +42 8
3 Down 5 3 0 2 6-117 10-103 +2 6
4 Antrim 5 3 0 2 6-122 10-89 +21 6
5 Westmeath 5 1 0 4 7-102 12-120 -33 2
6 London (R) 5 0 0 5 6-71 10-123 -64 0 Relegated to Christy Ring Cup


Final

Carlow v Laois
6 June 2026 Final Carlow 1-18 (21) – (30) 1-27 Laois Dublin  
15:45 (HT: 1-07 - 0-13) Venue: Croke Park
TV: RTÉ 2


Christy Ring Cup (Tier 3)

Group Stage

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Kerry 5 4 0 1 20-101 5-84 +62 8 Advance to Final
2 Derry (C,P) 5 3 1 1 9-89 7-72 +23 7
3 Meath 5 3 1 1 7-97 10-79 +9 7
4 Wicklow 5 2 0 3 7-66 13-91 –43 4
5 Donegal 5 1 1 3 5-88 11-79 –9 3
6 Roscommon 5 0 1 4 6-65 8-101 –42 1 Not relegated because New York won the Nicky Rackard Cup[17]

Final

Kerry v Derry
30 May 2026 Final Kerry 3-19 (28) – (33) 3-24 Derry Dublin  
15:00 (HT: 0-09 - 1-12) Venue: Croke Park
TV: TG4


Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 4)

Group Stage

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Tyrone 5 5 0 0 21-84 6-89 +40 10 Advance to Final
2 Mayo 5 4 0 1 10-128 9-76 +55 8 Advance to Semi-Final
3 Sligo 5 3 0 2 8-124 10-67 +51 6
4 Louth 5 2 0 3 6-78 8-106 -34 4
5 Fermanagh 5 1 0 4 7-71 10-122 -60 2
6 Armagh (R) 5 0 0 5 9-82 18-107 -52 0 Relegated to Lory Meagher Cup

Semi-Final

New York v Mayo
24 May 2025 Semi-Final New York 4-18 (30) – (21) 1-18 Mayo Longford  
14:00 Venue: Glennon Brothers Pearse Park
Referee: Ciarán O'Donovan


Final

Tyrone v New York
30 May 2026 Final Tyrone 2-17 (23) – (28) 2-22 New York Dublin  
13:00 (HT: 1-10 - 1-14) Venue: Croke Park
TV: Spórt TG4


Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 5)

Group Stage

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1 Leitrim 5 5 0 0 7-99 8-68 +28 10 Advance to Final
2 Longford (C,P) 5 4 0 1 17-95 7-66 +59 8
3 Monaghan 5 2 0 3 6-89 10-75 +2 4
4 Warwickshire 5 2 0 3 13-77 12-84 -4 4
5 Cavan 5 2 0 3 9-76 9-93 -17 4
6 Lancashire 5 0 0 5 10-61 16-111 -68 0

Final

Leitrim v Longford
31 May 2026 Final Leitrim 1-13 (16) – (21) 1-18 Longford Dublin  
12:30 (HT: 0-10 - 0-08) Venue: Croke Park
TV: Spórt TG4


All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket

Quarter-Finals
20/21 June 		Semi-Finals
4/5 July 		All-Ireland Final
19 July
Galway  
Cork 6-25 Cork  
Offaly 2-11      
     
Limerick  
Dublin 0-16 Clare  
Clare 0-29

Quarter-Finals

Dublin v Clare
20 June 2026 Quarter-Final Dublin 0-16 (16) – (29) 0-29 Clare Thurles  
19:00 (HT: 0-11 – 0-14) Venue: Semple Stadium

Pts: Dónal Burke 12 (9fs), Seán Currie 1, Ronan Hayes 1, Conal Ó Riain 1, Conor Groarke 1		 Report
Pts: Tony Kelly 7 (3fs), Seán Rynne 5, Mark Rodgers 5(fs), Peter Duggan 3 (1s/l), Cathal Malone 2, Shane Meehan 2, Shane O’Donnell 2, Niall O’Farrell 1, Diarmuid Stritch 1, David Fitzgerald 1		 Referee: James Owens (Wexford)
Attendance: 13,279
TV: RTÉ One


Cork v Offaly
21 June 2026 Quarter-Final Cork 6-25 (43) – (17) 2-11 Offaly Thurles  
15:30 (HT: 5-13 – 0-06) Venue: Semple Stadium
Gls: B Hayes 3, A Walsh 2, S Barrett 1
Pts: A Connolly 7 (4fs, 2 '65'), S Barrett 3, D Fitzgibbon 2 (1f), B Roche 2, D Healy 2, S Harnedy 2, E Downey 1, R Downey 1, M Coleman 1, S O’Donoghue 1, R O’Flynn 1, W Buckley 1, A Walsh 1		 Report Gls: A Screeney 1, O Kelly 1
Pts: B Duignan 3, E Cahill 2 (1f, 1 '65'), A Screeney 2 (1f), T Guinan 1, D Bourke 1, L Hoare 1		 Referee: S Stack (Dublin).
Attendance: 40,185
TV: RTÉ One


Semi-Finals

Galway v Cork
4 July 2026 Semi-Final Galway v Cork Dublin  
15:30 Venue: Croke Park
TV: RTÉ 2


Limerick v Clare
5 July 2026 Semi-Final Limerick v Clare Dublin  
16:00 Venue: Croke Park
TV: RTÉ 2


Final

Semi-Final Winner v Semi-Final Winner
19 July 2026 (2026-07-19)
TBC
Final
Semi-Final Winner v Semi-Final Winner

Stadia and locations

Locations of the 2026 All-Ireland SHC teams.
Red: Munster SHC; Green: Leinster SHC.
County Location Province Stadium Capacity
Clare Ennis Munster Cusack Park 19,000
Cork Cork Munster Páirc Uí Chaoimh 45,000
Dublin Dublin Leinster Croke Park (neutral) 82,300
Donnycarney Leinster Parnell Park (official home venue) 8,500
Galway Galway Connacht Pearse Stadium 26,197
Kildare Newbridge Leinster St Conleth's Park 15,000
Kilkenny Kilkenny Leinster Nowlan Park 27,000
Limerick Limerick Munster Gaelic Grounds 44,023
Offaly Tullamore Leinster O'Connor Park 18,000
Tipperary Thurles Munster Semple Stadium 45,690
Waterford Waterford Munster Walsh Park 11,046
Wexford Wexford Leinster Chadwicks Wexford Park 18,000

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall
Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average
Donal Burke Dublin 3–67 76 7 10.8
Alan Connolly Cork 1-49 52 6 8.6
Lee Chin Wexford 2–44 50 5 10.00
Aidan O'Connor Limerick 3-39 48 5 9.6
Eoghan Cahill Offaly 1–42 45 6 7.5
T. J. Reid Kilkenny 4–31 43 5 8.60
Jack Sheridan Kildare 2-30 36 5 7.20
Stephen Bennett Waterford 4-24 36 3 12.00
Aaron Niland Galway 1-30 33 4 5.50
Adam Screeney Offaly 3–21 30 5 6.00
Brian Hayes Cork 5–13 28 6 4.3
Mark Rodgers Clare 0-26 26 4 6.5
Rory Burke Galway 4-06 18 3 6.00

From Play

Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

In a single game

Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Scoring events

  • Widest winning margin: 32 points
  • Most goals in a match: 10

Notable events and records

  • Kildare played in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship for the first time since 2004, and played their first ever All-Ireland game against Kilkenny.
  • Offaly reach the All-Ireland quarter-final stage for the first time since 2003.[18]
  • Kilkenny failed to win the All-Ireland for the eleventh year in a row, the longest wait for a title in their history ever since they won their first All-Ireland SHC in 1904. They were knocked out in the Leinster championship and did not appear in the All-Ireland qualifiers or series for the first time since 1996.[19]

See also

Notes

References

  1. Harrington, John (2025-12-03). "GAA Master Fixtures for 2026 published". www.gaa.ie. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  2. O'Riordan, Ian. "Pádraic Maher says Tipperary hurlers must 'find something extra' to end 61-year wait". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  3. "Tipp top to total flops: Tipperary's All-Ireland defence has been a total failure". Extra.ie. 20 May 2026. Retrieved 23 June 2026.
  4. O'Donoghue, Niamh (January 3, 2026). "Huge step up for Kildare hurlers in 2026". www.kildarenow.com.
  5. Nolan, Daragh (April 15, 2026). "Ticket information for Kildare's Leinster Senior Hurling Championship opener". www.ireland-live.ie.
  6. "Motion to dispense with All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals passed". www.gaa.ie. 2026-02-28. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  7. Quinn, Michael (2026-01-20). "Tipperary Senior Hurling Captain Announcement". Tipperary GAA. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  8. "Leinster GAA Senior Hurling Championship 2026". Leinster GAA. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  9. "Lightning strikes twice as Galway hammer Kilkenny to start Leinster campaign". The Journal. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  10. "Late Burke point earns Dublin draw in pulsating clash with four-goal Offaly". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  11. "Leinster SHC: Kilkenny summon defiant response". GAA. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  12. "Dubs get up and running as they canter past Kildare". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  13. "Late goals puts seal on Galway victory over Offaly in Leinster Hurling Championship". RTE. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  14. "Senior - Munster GAA". Munster GAA - Aras Mumhan. 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  15. "2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship – Clare 2-33 Waterford 4-21". Munster GAA. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  16. "2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship – Cork 0-29 Tipperary 1-22". Munster GAA. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. GAA Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) (29 November 2025). "GAA Master Fixtures Booklet 2026" (PDF). GAA. p. 9. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  18. "Ben Conneely wants Offaly glory after a decade of graft". RTE Sport. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  19. "Dubs surge into Leinster final and end Kilkenny's championship". RTE Sport. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 25 May 2026.