1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Championship details
Dates	11 April - 5 September 1954
Teams	14
All-Ireland champions
Winning team	Cork (19th win)
Captain	Christy Ring
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing team	Wexford
Captain	Padge Kehoe
Provincial champions
Munster	Cork
Leinster	Wexford
Ulster	Not Played
Connacht	Not Played
Championship statistics
No. matches played	14
Goals total	87 (6.2 per game)
Points total	183 (13.0 per game)
Top Scorer	Nicky Rackard (12-19)
All-Star Team	See here
← 1953 1955 →

The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 11 April 1954 and ended on 5 September 1954.

Cork were the defending champions and retained their title following a 1-9 to 1-6 victory over Wexford in the final.^[1]

Teams

A total of fourteen teams contested the championship, an increase of one on the previous championship. Antrim, who last participated at this level in 1949, re-entered the championship in spite of facing no competition in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

Team summaries

Team	Colours	Most recent success
		All-Ireland	Provincial	League
Antrim	Saffron and white		1946
Clare	Saffron and blue	1914	1932	1945-46
Cork	Red and white	1953	1953	1952-53
Dublin	Blue and navy	1938	1952	1938-39
Galway	Maroon and white	1923		1950-51
Kilkenny	Black and amber	1947	1953	1932-33
Laois	Blue and white	1915	1949
Limerick	Green and white	1940	1940	1946-47
Meath	Green and gold
Offaly	Green, white and gold
Tipperary	Blue and gold	1951	1951	1953-54
Waterford	White and blue	1948	1948
Westmeath	Maroon and white
Wexford	Purple and gold	1910	1951

Results

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Offaly v Westmeath

11 April First round	Offaly	6-8 - 1-3	Westmeath	O'Connor Park

Laois v Meath

11 April First round	Laois	1-9 - 1-10	Meath	O'Moore Park
				Attendance: P Connell Referee: P Connell

Meath v Offaly

2 May Quarter-final	Meath	Postponed	Offaly	O'Moore Park

Meath v Offaly

9 May Quarter-final refixture	Meath	2-8 - 3-5	Offaly	Nowlan Park
				Referee: J Mulcahy

Meath v Offaly

30 May Quarter-final replay	Meath	3-6 - 3-4	Offaly	O'Moore Park
				Referee: J Howard

Wexford v Kilkenny

6 June Semi-final	Wexford	5-11 - 0-7	Kilkenny	Croke Park
				Attendance: 17,785 Referee: P Connell

Dublin v Meath

20 June Semi-final	Dublin	3-8 - 2-4	Meath	Croke Park
				Referee: J Mulcahy

Wexford v Dublin

18 July Final	Wexford	8-5 - 1-4	Dublin	Nowlan Park
	N. Rackard (5-4), Kehoe (1-0), Flood (1-0), O'Donovan (1-0), Hearne (0-1).		Shanahan (1-0), Herbert (0-2), Allen (0-1), Daly (0-1).	Attendance: 28,592

	First round					Second round					Semi-finals					Leinster final
											Wexford		5-11
											Kilkenny		0-7
																Wexford		8-5
	Meath		1-10													Dublin		1-4
	Laois		1-9			Meath (R)		2-8 3-6
	Offaly		6-8			Offaly (R)		3-5 3-4
	Westmeath		1-3								Dublin		3-8
											Meath		2-4

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Waterford v Limerick

13 June Quarter-final	Waterford	4-3 - 0-1	Limerick	Thurles Sportsfield
				Attendance: 14,000 Referee: C Conway

Tipperary v Clare

20 June Semi-final	Tipperary	5-6 - 3-3	Clare	Gaelic Grounds
				Attendance: 15,000 Referee: W O'Donoghue

Cork v Waterford

27 June Semi-final	Cork	7-8 - 4-5	Waterford	Thurles Sportsfield
				Attendance: 19,883 Referee: W O'Donoghue

Cork v Tipperary

18 July Final	Cork	2-8 - 1-8	Tipperary	Gaelic Grounds
	Ring (1-5), Barry (1-0), Clifford (0-3).		P Kenny (0-5), Seymour (1-0), Bannon (0-1), Ryan (0-1), Hough (0-1).	Attendance: 50,071 Referee: W O'Donoghue

	Quarter-final					Semi-finals					Munster final
						Tipperary		5-6
						Clare		3-3
											Tipperary		1-8
											Cork		2-8
						Cork		7-8
	Limerick		0-1			Waterford		4-5
	Waterford		4-3

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Wexford v Antrim

8 August Semi-final	Wexford	12-17 - 2-3	Antrim	Croke Park
	N Rackard (7-7), Padge Kehoe (1-3), Flood (3-0), Paddy Kehoe (1-2), O'Donovan (0-2), Morrissey (0-2), Hearne (0-1).		McManus (1-0), Mulholland (1-0), McDonald (0-2), Lynn (0-1).	Attendance: 35,744 Referee: J Langton

Cork v Galway

8 August Semi-final	Cork	4-13 - 2-1	Galway	Croke Park
	Daly (1-3), Hartnett (1-2), Goulding (1-1), Ring (0-4), Clifford (1-0), Barry (0-1), Murphy (0-1), Moore (0-1).		McInerney (1-0), Monahan (1-0), Duggan (0-1).	Attendance: 35,744 Referee: J Mulcahy

Cork v Wexford

5 September Final	Cork	1-9 - 1-6	Wexford	Croke Park
	C Ring (0-5), J Clifford (1-0), É Goulding (0-1), WJ Daly (0-1), V Twomey (0-1), J Hartnett (0-1).		T Ryan (1-0), N Rackard (0-3), T Flood, (0-2), P Kehoe (0-1).	Attendance: 84,856 Referee: J. Mulcahy

Championship statistics

Scoring

• Widest winning margin: 44 points
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals in a match: 14
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most points in a match: 20
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals by one team in a match: 12
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals scored by a losing team: 4
  • Waterford 4-5 : 7-8 Cork (Munster semi-final)
• Most points scored by a losing team: 9
  • Laois 1-9 : 1-10 Meath (Leinster first round)

Miscellaneous

• Meath qualified for the Leinster semi-finals for the first time in the history of the championship.
• Antrim took part in the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 1949. It was their last game at this stage of the championship until re-entering the championship in 1984.
• Wexford's Nicky Rackard scores 7-7 in their All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Antrim. It is believed to be a record score for an All-Ireland semi-final.
• Cork's Christy Ring wins a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland medal as Cork claim a third successive championship for the third time in their history.

Player facts

Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1954 championship:

Player	Team	Date	Opposition	Game
Peter Darby	Meath	April 11	Laois	Leinster first round
Mick Cashman	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final
Johnny Clifford	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final
Éamonn Goulding	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final

Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1954 championship:

Player	Team	Last Game	Date	Opposition	Début
Tom O'Sullivan	Cork	Munster final	July 18	Tipperary	1953

Sources

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
• Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
• Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
• Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster HUrling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).

References

1. "As Kilkenny aim for a historic five-in-a-row, the records show how hard it is to keep winning". Irish Independent. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2013.