| Championship details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 13 May – 2 September 1973 |
| All-Ireland champions | |
| Winning team | Limerick (7th win) |
| Captain | Éamonn Grimes |
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Kilkenny |
| Captain | Pat Delaney |
| Provincial champions | |
| Munster | Limerick |
| Leinster | Kilkenny |
| Ulster | Not Played |
| Connacht | Not Played |
| Championship statistics | |
| Top Scorer | Richie Bennis (2-25) |
| Player of the Year | Éamonn Grimes |
| All-Star Team | See here |
← 1972 1974 → | |
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1973 was the 87th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Limerick won the championship, beating Kilkenny 1-21 to 1-14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1973 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.
Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If both sides were still level at the end of that game another replay had to take place.
Munster Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
Leinster Championship
First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first-round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the two quarter-final pairings.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
All-Ireland Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between London and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.
Semi-final: (1 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairing.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the lone semi-final contested this game with the Leinster champions receiving a bye into the final.
| 13 May 1973First round | Offaly | 4-12 – 3-6 | Kildare | O'Moore Park |
| J Kirwan 2-0, J Conroy 2-0, B Moylan 0-4, M Cleere 0-4, S Moylan 0-2, J Dolan 0-1, P McLoughney 0-1. | J Walsh 2-2, T Carew 1-2, B Burke 0-1, T Christian 0-1. | Referee: J Rankins (Laois) |
| 28 May 1973Quarter-final | Dublin | 0-17 - 1-6 | Westmeath | Páirc Tailteann |
| P Quigley 0-10, JJ Holden 0-2, B Sweeney 0-1, D Brannigan 0-1, M Bermingham 0-1, V Holden 0-1, D Rheinisch 0-1. | K Kenry 1-0, G Whelan 0-2, L Maher 0-2, C Connaughton 0-1, K Gavan 0-1. | Referee: J Kearns (Offaly) |
| 28 May 1973Quarter-final | Offaly | 3-10 – 3-10 | Laois | St. Brendan's Park |
| B Moylan 0-7, P Horan 1-1, S Moylan 1-0, J Kirwan 1-0, M Cleere 0-2. | G Linehan 2-6, T Keenan 1-1, F Keenan 0-2, M Walshe 0-1. | Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny) |
| 10 June 1973Quarter-final replay | Laois | 3-10 – 5-6 | Offaly | O'Moore Park |
| E Dollard 1-3, G Conroy 1-1, G Lanham 0-4, G Cuddy 1-0, P Dillon 0-1, P Dowling 0-1. | B Moylan 2-4, P Mulcare 2-1, W Gorman 1-0, P Horan 0-1. | Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny) |
| 10 June 1973Semi-final | Kilkenny | 2-19 – 2-11 | Dublin | Wexford Park |
| E Keher 0-10, M Brennan 1-2, K Purcell 1-0, P Broderick 0-2, S Cooke 0-2, P Delaney 0-2, B Cody 0-1. | P Quigley 0-6, M Bermingham 1-1, D Rheinisch 1-1, R Walsh 0-1, H Dalton 0-1, M Holden 0-1. | Referee: J Rankins (Laois) |
| 24 June 1973Semi-final | Wexford | 2-14 – 2-9 | Offaly | Nowlan Park |
| T Doran 2-1, T Byrne 0-6, M Maher 0-2, N Buggy 0-2, D Bernie 0-1, C Keogh 0-1, M Quigley 0-1. | B Moylan 1-3, J Flaherty 1-3, J Kirwan 0-1, E Moyles 0-1, P Corcoran 0-1. | Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny) |
| 8 July 1973Final | Kilkenny | 4-22 – 3-15 | Wexford | Croke Park |
| E Keher 0-11, P Delaney 2-2, M Brennan 1-4, K Purcell 1-2, P Broderick 0-2, L O'Brien 0-1. | T Byrne 2-6, M Quigley 0-4, J Berry 1-0, P Wilson 0-1, N Buggy 0-1, C Jacob 0-1, T Doran 0-1, C Keogh 0-1. |
| 20 May 1973Quarter-final | Tipperary | 1-16 – 2-8 | Waterford | Semple Stadium |
| F Loughnane 0-8, D Ryan 1-0, J Flanagan 0-3, L Gaynor 0-2, N O'Dwyer 0-1, J Ryan 0-1, S Hogan 0-1. | S Greene 1-1, J Kirwan 1-1, P Enright 0-4, M Kirwan 0-1, M Hickey 0-1. | Referee: S O'Connor (Limerick) |
| 24 June 1973Semi-final | Limerick | 3-11 – 3-9 | Clare | Semple Stadium |
| É Cregan 2-1, B Hartigan 1-1, R Bennis 0-3, É Grimes 0-2, M Dowling 0-2, F Nolan 0-1, L O'Donoghue 0-1. | T Ryan 0-5, G Lohan 1-0, M O'Connor 1-0, J Callanan 1-0, P Russell 0-2, N Ryan 0-1, M McKeogh 0-1. | Referee: S Moloney (Tipperary) |
| 1 July 1973Semi-final | Tipperary | 5-4 – 1-10 | Cork | Gaelic Grounds |
| R Ryan 2-0, S Hogan 1-1, F Loughnane 1-1, J Flanagan 1-0, PJ Ryan 0-1, P Byrne 0-1. | G McCarthy 0-8, M Malone 1-1, P Moylan 0-1. | Referee: M Slattery (Clare) |
| 29 July 1973Final | Tipperary | 2-18 – 6-7 | Limerick | Semple Stadium |
| F Loughnane 2-10, M Keating 0-4, S Hogan 0-2, J Flanagan 0-1, N O'Dwyer 0-1. | R Bennis 1-5, F Nolan 2-1, É Cregan 2-0, M Dowling 1-0, L O'Donoghue 0-1. | Referee: M Slattery (Clare) |
| 29 July 1973Quarter-final | London | 4-7 – 3-5 | Galway | Dunlo GAA Ground |
| L Burke 2-0, F Canning 1-1, P O'Neill 1-1, B Barry 0-4, Martin Linnane 0-1. | G Holland 1-0, J Faul 1-0, E Burke 1-1, G Cone 0-2, P Fahy 0-2. | Referee: M Spain (Offaly) |
| 5 August 1973Semi-final | Limerick | 1-15 – 0-7 | London | Cusack Park |
| R Bennis 1-7, L O'Donoghue 0-4, É Cregan 0-2, B Hartigan 0-1, F Nolan 0-1. | F Canning 0-2, P O'Neill 0-2, L Corless 0-1, T Connolly 0-1, P McDermott 0-1. | Referee: M Spain (Offaly) |
| 2 September 1973Final | Limerick | 1-21 – 1-14 | Kilkenny | Croke Park |
| R Bennis (0-10), M Dowling (1-1), É Grimes (0-4), F Nolan (0-2), N Rea (0-2), B Hartigan (0-1), J McKenna (0-1). | C Dunne (0-7), P Delaney (1-1), M Crotty (0-3), L O'Brien (0-2), M Brennan(0-1). | Attendance: 58,009 Referee: M Slattery (Clare) |
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 2-25 | 31 | 4 | 7.75 |
| 2 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 3-19 | 28 | 3 | 9.33 |
| 3 | Barney Moylan | Offaly | 3-18 | 27 | 4 | 6.75 |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-21 | 21 | 2 | 10.50 |
| 5 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 2-12 | 18 | 2 | 9.00 |
| 6 | George Lanham | Laois | 2-10 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| Pat Quigley | Dublin | 0-16 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 | |
| 8 | Éamonn Cregan | Limerick | 4-3 | 15 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 9 | Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 3-5 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| 10 | Mick Brennan | Kilkenny | 2-7 | 13 | 3 | 4.33 |
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 2-10 | 16 | Limerick |
| 2 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 2-6 | 12 | Kilkenny |
| George Lanham | Laois | 2-6 | 12 | Offaly | |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-11 | 11 | Wexford |
| 5 | Barney Moylan | Offaly | 2-4 | 10 | Laois |
| Richie Bennis | Limerick | 1-7 | 10 | London | |
| Richie Bennis | Limerick | 0-10 | 10 | Kilkenny | |
| Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-10 | 10 | Dublin | |
| Pat Quigley | Dublin | 0-10 | 10 | Westmeath | |
| 10 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 2-2 | 8 | Offaly |
| Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 2-2 | 8 | Offaly | |
| Richie Bennis | Limerick | 1-5 | 8 | Tipperary | |
| Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 0-8 | 8 | Waterford | |
| Gerald McCarthy | Cork | 0-8 | 8 | Tipperary |
The following players made their début in the 1973 championship:
| Player | Team | Date | Opposition | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Crampton | Tipperary | May 20 | Waterford | Munster quarter-final |
| Mick Culligan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Seán Hehir | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Séamus Horgan | Limerick | June 24 | Clare | Munster semi-final |
| Ger Loughnane | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Michael O'Connor | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Noel Ryan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Tim Ryan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Joe McKenna | Limerick | June 24 | Clare | Munster semi-final |
| John Buckley | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Noel Dunne | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Pat Moylan | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Tom Ryan | Limerick | July 29 | Tipperary | Munster final |
| Brian Cody | Kilkenny | September 2 | Limerick | All-Ireland final |
The following players played their last game in the 1973 championship:
| Player | Team | Last Game | Date | Opposition | Début |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmy Doyle | Tipperary | Munster quarter-final | May 20 | Waterford | 1957 |
| Mick Culligan | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Mick Kilmartin | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1971 |
| Michael O'Connor | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Tim Ryan | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Jimmy Crampton | Tipperary | July 29 | Munster final | Waterford | 1973 |
| Len Gaynor | Tipperary | July 29 | Munster final | Waterford | 1973 |
| Christy Jacob | Wexford | Leinster final | August 5 | Kilkenny | 1966 |
| Éamonn Morrissey | Kilkenny | Leinster final | August 5 | Wexford | 1972 |
| Martin Coogan | Kilkenny | All-Ireland final | September 2 | Limerick | 1961 |
| John Kinsella | Kilkenny | All-Ireland final | September 2 | Limerick | 1967 |