2015 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship

2015 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship

Dates	19 September 2015 - 25 October 2015
Teams	12
Sponsor	St. Canice's Credit Union
Champions	Clara (3rd title) Keith Hogan (captain) Mick Purcell (manager)
Runners-up	O'Loughlin Gaels Martin Comerford (captain) Aidan Fogarty (manager)
Relegated	Carrickshock
Tournament statistics
Matches played	13
Goals scored	24 (1.85 per match)
Points scored	379 (29.15 per match)
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The 2015 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship was the 121st staging of the Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment in by the Kilkenny County Board in 1887. The championship began on 19 September 2015 and ended on 25 October 2015.

Ballyhale Shamrocks were the defending champions, however, they were defeated by O'Loughlin Gaels in the semi-final.^[1][2][3]

On 25 October 2015, Clara won the championship following a 2-12 to 1-13 defeat of O'Loughlin Gaels.^[4][5] This was their third championship title, their first in two championship seasons.

Teams

All but one of the twelve teams from the 2014 championship are participating in the top tier of Kilkenny hurling in 2015.

Mullinavat, who defeated St. Patrick's by 0-17 to 0-14 in the final of the intermediate championship in 2014, availed of their right to automatic promotion to the senior championship.

Similarly, Fenians defeated Tullaroan by 3-10 to 0-8 in the 2014 senior relegation play-off, and so Tullaroan were relegated to the intermediate grade for 2015.^[6]

Results

First round

James Stephens v Ballyhale Shamrocks

19 September 2015 First round	James Stephens	0-18 - 0-20	Ballyhale Shamrocks	Thomastown Sportsfield
14:00				Referee: G Quilty

Mullinavat v Carrickshock

19 September 2015 First round	Mullinavat	2-16 - 1-13	Carrickshock	Mooncoin GAA Complex
15:30				Referee: E Crowley

Dicksboro v Danesfort

19 September 2015 First round	Dicksboro	1-20 - 2-17	Danesfort	Páirc Shéamuis Stíophán
17:30				Referee: P Neary

Erin's Own v St. Martin's

20 September 2015 First round	Erin's Own	0-16 - 0-12	St. Martin's	Nowlan Park
12:00				Referee: S Cleere

Dicksboro v Danesfort

26 September 2015 First round replay	Dicksboro	0-15 - 1-8	Danesfort	Páirc Shéamuis Stíophán
14:00				Referee: P Burke

Relegation play-off

Carrickshock v St. Martin's

3 October 2015 Play-off	Carrickshock	0-13 - 2-13	St. Martin's	Nowlan Park

Quarter-finals

Clara v Erin's Own

26 September 2015 Quarter-final	Clara	0-12 - 1-5	Erin's Own	Páirc Lactáin
16:30				Referee: P Bowden

Fenians v Ballyhale Shamrocks

27 September 2015 Quarter-final	Fenians	0-16 - 3-17	Ballyhale Shamrocks	Tom Ryall Park
14:00				Referee: G Rafter

Rower-Inistioge v Mullinavat

27 September 2015 Quarter-final	Rower-Inistioge	0-12 - 0-18	Mullinavat	Thomastown Sportsfield
17:00				Referee: S Cleere

O'Loughlin Gaels v Dicksboro

3 October 2015 Quarter-final	O'Loughlin Gaels	2-15 - 1-13	Dicksboro	Páirc Shéamuis Stíophán

Semi-finals

Ballyhale Shamrocks v O'Loughlin Gaels

11 October 2015 Semi-final	Ballyhale Shamrocks	2-13 - 2-15	O'Loughlin Gaels	Nowlan Park
	H Shefflin (0-8, 0-6 frees), TJ Reid, (1-2, 0-1 free), B Aylward (1-0), J Fitzpatrick, C Fennelly, M Aylward (0-1 each).	Report	M Bergin (1-9, 0-6 frees), M Kelly (1-1), M Comerford (0-3), D Burke and J Nolan (0-1).

Mullinavat v Clara

11 October 2015 Semi-final	Mullinavat	0-14 - 1-23	Clara	Nowlan Park
	M Mansfield (0-8, 0-3 frees, 0-1 65, 0-1 sideline), J Gahan (0-2), I Duggan, W O’Dwyer, G Malone, M Jones (0-1 each).	Report	K Hogan (1-5, 0-2 frees, 0-1 65), Liam Ryan and Lester Ryan (0-6 each), J Murphy, C O’Shea (0-2 each), D Langton, J Byrne (0-1 each).

Final

O'Loughlin Gaels v Clara

25 October 2015 Final	O'Loughlin Gaels	1-13 - 2-12	Clara	Nowlan Park
	M Bergin 0-8 (7f), D Loughnane 1-0, D Burke, J Nolan, M Comerford, S Johnston, S Murphy (f) 0-1 each.	Report	C O'Shea 1-2, Liam Ryan 0-4, C Prendergast 1-0, K Hogan 0-3 (2f), D Langton, Lester Ryan, C Bolger 0-1 each.	Attendance: 7,217 Referee: P Burke

Championship Statistics

Miscellaneous

• The final between Clara and O'Loughlin Gaels presented a rare occasion when a set of brothers lined out on opposing teams. Brian Hogan was at centre-back for O'Loughlin Gaels, while his brother, Keith Hogan, captained the Clara team from centre-forward. During the course of the game the two brothers marked each other.^[7]

External links

• 2015 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship fixtures and results

References

1. "Reid fires Ballyhale to 15th title". Hogan Stand. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
2. "Perfect 10 from TJ Reid gives Ballyhale another Kilkenny senior hurling title". The Score. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
3. "Ballyhale’s reign as All-Ireland club champions comes to an end in Kilkenny". The 42. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
4. Breheny, Martin (26 October 2015). "Gaels are outgunned by Clara's power play". Irish Independent. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
5. McEvoy, Enda (26 October 2015). "Clara’s fitting celebration of Johnny Ryan". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
6. "Grehan's lost time point keeps Fenians senior". Kilkenny People. 5 October 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
7. "Brother against brother". Hogan Stand. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2015.