1944 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

1944 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Championship details
Dates	May - September 1944
Teams	16
All-Ireland champions
Winning team	Cork (15th win)
Captain	Seán Condon
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing team	Dublin
Captain	Mick Butler
Provincial champions
Munster	Cork
Leinster	Dublin
Ulster	Antrim
Connacht	Not Played
Championship statistics
No. matches played	17
Top Scorer	Joe Kelly (7-5)
All-Star Team	See here
← 1943 1945 →

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1944 was the 58th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Cork won the championship, beating Dublin 2-13 to 1-2 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

Pre-championship

Four-in-a-row

Coming into the 1944 championship Cork were presented with a chance to achieve something that had never been done before. Having captured their third All-Ireland title in-a-row the previous year, Cork's hurlers were primed to go one better and secure an unprecedented fourth successive All-Ireland title. The 'four-in-a-row' had already been captured by the footballers of Wexford (1915–18) and Kerry (1929–32), however, no hurling team had ever bested three-in-a-row. That feat had been achieved several times before with Cork, Tipperary and Kilkenny all claiming famous trebles. None of those teams, however, reached a fourth successive All-Ireland final as they were all beaten in the provincial series of games.

Format

Leinster Championship

First round: (2 matches) These are two lone matches between the first four teams drawn from the province of Leinster. Two teams are eliminated at this stage, while the two winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two first round games join the other two Leinster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage, while the two winners advance to the final.

Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-final.

Munster Championship

First round: (1 match) This is a lone match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the first round game join the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage, while the two winners advance to the final.

Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-final.

Ulster Championship

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The four Ulster teams are drawn against each other in two semi-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage, while the two winners advance to the final.

Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-final.

All-Ireland Championship

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The Munster and Leinster champions are paired in opposite semi-finals while Galway enter the championship at this stage. The emi-final pairings are Munster champions versus Galway and Leinster champions versus Ulster champions. Two teams are eliminated at this stage, while the two winners advance to the All-Ireland final.

Final: (1 match) The two semi-final winners will contest the All-Ireland final.

Teams

General information

Sixteen counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and four teams in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

County	Last provincial title	Last championship title	Position in 1943 Championship
Antrim	1943	—	Runners-up
Clare	1932	1914	Munster quarter-finals
Cork	1943	1943	Champions
Donegal	1932	—	—
Down	1942	—	Ulster runners-up
Dublin	1942	1938	Leinster runners-up
Galway	1922	1923	Semi-finals
Kilkenny	1943	1939	Semi-finals
Limerick	1940	1940	Munster semi-finals
Meath	—	—	Leinster semi-finals
Monaghan	1915	—	—
Offaly	—	—	Leinster semi-finals
Tipperary	1941	1937	Munster quarter-finals
Waterford	1938	—	Munster runners-up
Westmeath	—	—	Leinster quarter-finals
Wexford	1918	1910	Leinster quarter-finals

Provincial championship

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Main article: Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket

	First round 7 / 14 May				Semi-finals 18 June				Final 23 July
					Wexford	6–04
					Kilkenny	4–06
									Wexford	3–03
									Dublin	4–07
	Westmeath	5–03
	Offaly	5–05
					Offaly	1–04
					Dublin	10–07
	Meath	1–11
	Dublin	6–10

First round

May 7, 1944
First Round

Westmeath	5-3 – 5-5	Offaly

Cusack Park, Mullingar

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May 14, 1944
First Round

Meath	1-11 – 6-10	Dublin

St. Loman's Park, Trim

Semi-finals

June 18, 1944
Semi-Final

Dublin	10-7 – 1-4	Offaly

O'Connor Park, Tullamore

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June 18, 1944
Semi-Final

Wexford	6-4 – 4-6	Kilkenny

O'Kennedy Park, New Ross

Leinster Final

July 23, 1944
Final

Dublin	4-7 – 3-3	Wexford
H Gray 1-3, C Downes 1-2, N Wade 1-0, P Maher 1-0, T Leahy 0-1, M Hassett 0-1.		N Rackard 2-0, P Boggan 1-1, M Heffernan 0-2.

Nowlan Park, Kilkenny

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Munster Senior Hurling Championship

May 28, 1944
First Round

Tipperary	3-5 – 1-7	Waterford
Leahy 1-2, Joy 1-0, Larkin 1-0, T Bourke 0-2, W O'Donnell 0-1.		Eade 1-0, Hickey 0-3, Goode 0-1, Barron 0-1, D Power 0-1, V Baston 0-1.

Clonmel

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June 11, 1944
Semi-Final

Limerick	5-9 – 4-1	Clare
D Stokes 2-5, M Mackey 2-2, P McCarthy 1-1, P Fitzgerald 0-1.		O'Brien 2-0, W McAllister 1-0, Frost 1-0, Hogan 0-1.

Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

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June 25, 1944
Semi-Final

Cork	1-9 – 1-3	Tipperary
J Kelly 1-0, C Ring 0-3, J Lynch 0-2, J Quirke 0-2, S Condon 0-1, M Kennefick 0-1.		O'Donnell 1-1, Bourke 0-1, Flanagan 0-1.

Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

Attendance: 11,000

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July 16, 1944
Final

Cork	6-7 – 4-13	Limerick
J Kelly 2-2, J Quirke 3-0, J Morrison 1-0, J Lynch 0-2, S Condon 0-1, C Cottrell 0-1, C Ring 0-1.		M Mackey 2-4, D Stokes 1-6, J Clohessy 1-1, J Mackey 1-0, P McCarthy 0-2.

Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles

Attendance: 19,950

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July 30, 1944
Final Replay

Cork	4-6 – 3-6	Limerick
J Morrison 2-0, C Ring 1-0, J Kelly 1-0, J Lynch 0-2, S Condon 0-2, J Quirke 0-2.		J Mackey 2-0, M Mackey 1-1, D Stokes 0-4, P McCarthy 0-1.

Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles

Attendance: 18,000

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Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

July 9, 1944
Semi-Final

Antrim	9-7 – 0-3	Donegal

Celtic Park, Derry

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July 16, 1944
Semi-Final

Monaghan	3-7 – 1-10	Down

St. Tiernach's Park, Clones

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July 31, 1944
Final

Antrim	5-7 – 6-4	Monaghan

Corrigan Park, Belfast

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August 6, 1944
Final Replay

Antrim	7-3 – 0-1	Monaghan

Corrigan Park, Belfast

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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Bracket

	Semi-finals 13 August					All-Ireland final 3 September
	Cork		1–10
	Galway		3–03
						Cork		2–13
						Dublin		1–02
	Dublin		6–12
	Antrim		3–01

All-Ireland semi-finals

August 13, 1944
Semi-Final

Cork	1-10 – 3-3	Galway

Cusack Park, Ennis

Attendance: 9,800

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August 13, 1944
Semi-Final

Dublin	6-12 – 3-1	Antrim

Corrigan Park, Belfast

All-Ireland final

Main article: 1944 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final

September 3, 1944
Final

Cork	2-13 – 1-2	Dublin

Croke Park, Dublin

Attendance: 26,896

Referee: M. Hennessy (Clare)

Cork

Dublin

Championship statistics

Scoring

• Widest winning margin: 30 points
  • Dublin 10-7 : 1-4 Offaly (Leinster semi-final)
• Most goals in a match: 11
  • Dublin 10-7 : 1-4 Offaly (Leinster semi-final)
  • Antrim 5-7 : 6-4 Monaghan (Ulster final)
• Most points in a match: 21
  • Dublin 6-10 : 1-11 Meath (Leinster first round)
• Most goals by one team in a match: 10
  • Dublin 10-7 : 1-4 Offaly (Leinster semi-final)
• Most goals scored by a losing team: 5
  • Westmeath 5-3 : 5-5 Offaly (Leinster first round)
• Most points scored by a losing team: 11
  • Meath 1-11 : 6-10 Dublin (Leinster first round)

Miscellaneous

• The Munster final went to a replay for the first time since 1940. On that occasion both Cork and Limerick were also the two teams involved. Limerick won the replay on that occasion.
• For the first time since 1938 a team other than Kilkenny or Dublin qualified for the Leinster final. Wexford's first victory against Kilkenny since 1906 ensured the county appeared in the provincial decider for the first time since 1916.
• This was Monaghan's first appearance in the Ulster final since 1916. The team last won the provincial decider in 1915.
• The Ulster final went to a replay for the first time since 1914. On that occasion Antrim and Monaghan were also the teams involved. Monaghan won the replay on that occasion.
• A Munster team captured the All-Ireland title for a fifth consecutive season.
• Cork became the first team to win four All-Ireland titles in a row. Nine players from the team contributed to all four final victories. This record stood until 2009 when Kilkenny equalled the feat with their own four-in-a-row.

Player facts

Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1944 championship:

Player	Team	Date	Opposition	Game
Joe Kelly	Cork	June 25	Tipperary	Munster semi-final

Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1944 championship:

Player	Team	Date	Opposition	Game	Début
Mick Kennefick	Cork	June 25	Tipperary	Munster semi-final	1942

Bibliography

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
• Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).