1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Championship details
Dates	16 April - 3 September 1961
All-Ireland champions
Winning team	Tipperary (18th win)
Captain	Matt Hassett
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing team	Dublin
Captain	Noel Drumgoole
Provincial champions
Munster	Tipperary
Leinster	Dublin
Ulster	Not Played
Connacht	Not Played
Championship statistics
Top Scorer	Jimmy Doyle (2-17)
Player of the Year	Liam Devaney
All-Star Team	See here
← 1960 1962 →

The 1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 75th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 16 April 1961 and ended on 3 September 1961.

Wexford were the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the provincial championship. Tipperary won the title after defeating Dublin by 0-16 to 1-12 in the All-Ireland final. ^[1]

Format

All-Ireland Championship

Final: (1 match) The two provincial representatives from Leinster and Munster made up the two final teams with the winners being declared All-Ireland champions.

Results

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round

Laois v Westmeath

16 April 1961First round	Laois	4-05 - 3-08	Westmeath	O'Connor Park
	J Fitzpatrick 2-0, J Conroy 1-2, D Dunne 1-1, J Lyons 0-1, C O'Brien 0-1.		M Bolger 1-2, J Rooney 1-1, B Shields 1-0, J Carey 0-2, M Flanagan 0-1, D Bruer 0-1, S Kirby 0-1.	Referee: J Spain

Westmeath v Laois

30 April 1961First round replay	Westmeath	2-09 - 2-08	Laois	St. Brendan's Park
	M Bolger 1-1, T Houlihan 1-0, S Kirby 0-2, N Bruer 0-2, P Jackson 0-1, M Mullen 0-1, S Bolger 0-1, J Rooney 0-1.		J Conroy 1-1, D Dunne 0-4, J Fitzpatrick 1-0, D Donovan 0-1, P Brennan 0-1, S Cashin 0-1.	Attendance: 2,000 Referee: R Sheppard

Quarter-final

Westmeath v Offaly

28 May 1961Quarter-final	Westmeath	3-13 - 3-05	Offaly	Cusack Park
	J McGrath 1-5, J Rooney 1-1, B Shiels 1-0, P McCabe 0-3, M Bolger 0-2, M Mullen 0-1, S Kirby 0-1.		M Banks 1-2, J Cleary 1-1, W Loughnane 1-0, E England 0-1, G Nallen 0-1.	Referee: R Sheppard

Semi-final

Wexford v Kilkenny

18 June 1961Semi-final	Wexford	6-08 - 5-07	Kilkenny	Croke Park
	A Doyle 4-2, O McGrath 1-3, P Kehoe 1-0, E Doyle 0-2, T Flood 0-1.		B Dwyer 2-3, E Keher 1-3, S Clohessy 1-1, M Carroll 1-0.	Attendance: 31,636 Referee: J Dowling

Dublin v Westmeath

25 June 1961Semi-final	Dublin	2-15 - 2-05	Westmeath	O'Connor Park
	L Shannon 1-4, W Jackson 1-2, A Boothman 0-4, F Whelan 0-2, C Hayes 0-1, D Foley 0-1, B Boothman 0-1.		M Bolger 1-1, S Kirby 1-1, M Bruer 0-2, J McGrath 0-1.	Attendance: 5,000 Referee: J Dowling

Final ^[2]

Dublin v Wexford

16 July 1961Final	Dublin	7-05 – 4-08	Wexford	Nowlan Park
	P Croke 3-0, B Boothman 2-0, L Shannon 1-1, W Jackson 1-0, M Bohane 0-2, D Foley 0-1, C Hayes 0-1.		O McGrath 2-2, T Flood 2-2, P Kehoe 0-2, N Wheeler 0-1, J Morrissey 0-1.	Attendance: 40,000 Referee: J Dowling

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Quarter-finals

Galway v Clare

28 May 1961Quarter-final	Galway	2-13 - 0-07	Clare	MacDonagh Park
	M Cullinane 1-4, T Sweeney 0-6, J Casey 1-0, PJ Lawless 0-2, P Fahy 0-1.		J Smyth 0-3, N Jordan 0-3, J Cullinan 0-1.	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: J Stapleton (Tipperary)

Waterford v Limerick

11 June 1961Quarter-final	Waterford	4-14 - 4-05	Limerick	Cork Athletic Grounds
	T Walsh 1-2, M Flannelly 1-2, M Murphy 1-1, L Guinan 1-0, F Walsh 0-3, T Cheasty 0-2, S Power 0-2, P Grimes 0-2.		Casey 1-1, Carey 1-1, D Flynn 1-1, J Quaid 1-0, L Hogan 0-2.	Attendance: 12,500 Referee: P Cronin

Semi-finals

Tipperary v Galway

2 July 1961Semi-final	Tipperary	7-12 - 5-06	Galway	Cusack Park
	D Nealon 2-2, T Ryan 2-0, Jimmy Doyle 1-4, L Devaney 0-4, J McKenna 1-0, B Moloughney 1-0, T Moloughney 0-2.		J Gillane 3-0, S Gohety 1-0, PJ Lawless 1-0, T Sweeney 0-3, J Salmon 0-2, M Cullinane 0-1.	Attendance: 17,000 Referee: G Fitzgerald (Limerick)

Waterford v Cork

9 July 1961Semi-final	Waterford	2-07 - 5-07	Cork	Thurles Sportsfield
	F Walsh 1-3, J Condon 1-0, D Whelan 0-2, S Power 0-1, M Murphy 0-1.		C Ring 3-4, M Quane 2-1, J O'Sullivan 0-1, J O'Connor 0-1.	Attendance: 42,824 Referee: M Hayes

Final

Tipperary v Cork

30 July 1961Final	Tipperary	3-06 – 0-07	Cork	Ennis Road
	L Devaney 1-1, J Doyle [3] 1-1, D Nealon 1-1, J Daly 0-3.		C Ring 0-4, J O'Sullivan 0-2, P Barry 0-1.	Attendance: 62,175 Referee: M Hayes

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Final

Tipperary v Dublin

3 September 1961Final	Tipperary	0-16 – 1-12	Dublin	Croke Park
	J Doyle 0-9, D Nealon 0-3, M O'Gara 0-2, Moloughney 0-1, J McKenna 0-1.		B Jackson 1-2, A Boothman 0-5, L Shannon 0-3, D Foley 0-1, B Boothman 0-1.	Attendance: 67,866 Referee: G Fitzgerald (Limerick)

Main article: 1961 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final

Championship statistics

Scoring statistics

Top scorers overall

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Jimmy Doyle	Tipperary	2-14	20	3	6.66
2	Christy Ring	Cork	3-08	17	2	8.50
3	Donie Nealon	Tipperary	3-06	15	3	5.00
	Mick Bolger	Westmeath	3-06	15	4	3.75
4	Andy Doyle	Wexford	4-02	14	2	7.00
	Oliver McGrath	Wexford	3-05	14	2	7.00
	Larry Shannon	Dublin	2-08	14	3	5.66
5	Billy Jackson	Dublin	3-04	13	3	4.33
6	Joe Gillane	Galway	3-00	9	1	9.00
	J. Fitzpatrick	Laois	3-00	9	2	4.50
	Paddy Croke	Dublin	3-00	9	3	3.00
	Billy Dwyer	Kilkenny	2-03	9	1	9.00
	Jimmy Rooney	Westmeath	2-03	9	4	2.25
	Jack Conroy	Laois	2-03	9	2	4.50
	Tim Flood	Wexford	2-03	9	2	4.50
	Frankie Walsh	Waterford	1-06	9	2	4.50
	Achille Boothman	Dublin	0-09	9	3	3.00

Top scorers in a single game

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Andy Doyle	Wexford	4-02	14	Kilkenny
2	Christy Ring	Cork	3-04	13	Waterford
3	Joe Gillane	Galway	3-00	9	Tipperary
	Paddy Croke	Dublin	3-00	9	Wexford
	Billy Dwyer	Kilkenny	2-03	9	Wexford
	Jimmy Doyle	Tipperary	0-09	9	Dublin
4	Oliver McGrath	Wexford	2-02	8	Dublin
	Tim Flood	Wexford	2-02	8	Dublin
	Donie Nealon	Tipperary	2-02	8	Galway
	John McGrath	Westmeath	1-05	8	Offaly

Miscellaneous

• The Munster final between Cork and Tipperary breaks all previous attendance records. An official crowd of 62,175 is the biggest ever attendance recorded at a sporting event outside of Croke Park in Dublin. An unofficial attendance, due to spectators storming the gates, meant that the crowd could have been as high as 70,000 or more. It remains a record for a Munster decider.
• Westmeath are the top-scoring team in the championship for the first and only (as at 2021) time in their history.
• They are also the first team to be the top scorers in a championship year, yet have a negative score difference. As of July 2021, the only other team to do so would be Waterford (2008).

Sources

• 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).

References

1. "All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Roll of Honour". The GAA website. Archived from the original on 5 September 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
2. "Deadly Dublin claim Leinster title". RTÉ.ie. 7 July 2013.
3. O’Flynn, Diarmuid (2 September 2011). "Old warriors still in love with the game". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 11 December 2024.