| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Year | 2018 |
| Date | 12 May–8 July |
| Teams | 5 |
| Defending champions | Galway |
| Winners | |
| Champions | Galway (3rd win) |
| Manager | Micheál Donoghue |
| Captain | David Burke |
| Qualify for | Leinster SHC Final All-Ireland SHC |
| Runners-up | |
| Runners-up | Kilkenny |
| Manager | Brian Cody |
| Captain | Cillian Buckley |
| Promotion/Relegation | |
| Promoted team(s) | Carlow |
| Relegated team(s) | Offaly |
| Other | |
| Matches played | 12 |
The 2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship is the 2018 installment of the annual Leinster Senior Hurling Championship organised by Leinster GAA. [1]
This was the first year of a new format.
Galway won a second consecutive title and third ever by defeating Kilkenny in the final.
A new provincial hurling championship featuring five-team round-robin groups in both Leinster and Munster and the new Joe McDonagh Cup was introduced in 2018 for an initial three-year period. The proposal was carried by a narrow margin with 62% voting in favour (a majority of at least 60% was required) at the GAA's Special Congress on 30 September 2017. The top two teams in each provincial group would contest the provincial final, with the provincial winners advancing to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the losing provincial finalists advancing to the two quarter-finals. [2]
An amendment to the motion from Laois, Offaly and Meath was carried by 87%. The third-placed teams in Leinster and Munster would compete in All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals against the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists, with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.
If a non-Munster team were to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, the bottom team in the Leinster championship would be relegated to the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup and would be replaced in the following year's Leinster championship by the Joe McDonagh Cup winners. If a Munster team were to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, they would play off against the team who finished bottom in the Munster championship for the right to play in the following year's Munster championship, thereby ensuring that only Munster teams compete in the Munster championship. [3]
The restructure of hurling involved the reduction of the Leinster championship from nine teams to five while the Munster championship continued with the previous five Munster teams (Kerry previously competed in the qualifier group of the Leinster championship). A six-team Joe McDonagh Cup was created, consisting of all four teams from the 2017 Leinster qualifier group plus Antrim and Carlow, the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists.
The Leinster championship was contested by four counties from the Irish province of Leinster, as well as one county from the Irish province of Connacht, where the sport is only capable of supporting one county team at this level.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Dublin | Donnycarney | Parnell Park | 7,300 |
 Galway | Galway | Pearse Stadium | 26,197 |
 Kilkenny | Kilkenny | Nowlan Park | 27,800 |
 Offaly | Tullamore | O'Connor Park | 20,000 |
 Wexford | Wexford | Wexford Park | 25,000 |
| Team | Colours | Main Sponsor | Captain(s) | Manager(s) | Most recent success | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Ireland | Provincial | League | |||||
| Dublin | | AIG | Liam Rushe | Pat Gilroy | 1938 | 2013 | 2011 |
| Galway | | Supermac's | David Burke | Micheál Donoghue | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 |
| Kilkenny | | Glanbia | Cillian Buckley | Brian Cody | 2015 | 2016 | 2018 |
| Offaly | | Carroll Cuisine | David King | Kevin Martin | 1998 | 1995 | 1990–91 |
| Wexford | | Gain | Lee Chin Matthew O'Hanlon | Davy Fitzgerald | 1996 | 2004 | 1972–73 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galway | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 7-89 (110) | 6-62 (80) | +30 | 8 |
| 2 | Kilkenny | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5-76 (91) | 6-69 (87) | +4 | 6 |
| 3 | Wexford | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6-81 (99) | 5-68 (83) | +16 | 4 |
| 4 | Dublin | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9-73 (100) | 1-85 (88) | +12 | 2 |
| 5 | Offaly | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5-50 (65) | 14-85 (127) | –62 | 0 |
| Green background The top two teams contested the Leinster Final, with the winners advancing to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the losers advancing to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Yellow background The third-placed team advanced to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. Red background As the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup was won by Carlow (a Leinster county), the bottom team in the Leinster group, Offaly , were relegated to the 2019 Joe McDonagh Cup. | |||||||||
| 12 May 2018Round 1 | Offaly | 2-15 (21)–(33) 5-18 | Galway | Tullamore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | (HT: 1-7 – 2-9) | Venue: O'Connor Park | |||
| Gls: S Dooley 1, J Bergin 1 Pts: S Dooley 9 (8f), D King 2, J Bergin 1, D Currams 1, E Cahill 1 (f), S Kinsella 1 | Report | Gls: B Concannon 2, J Cooney 1, C Whelan 1, J Flynn 1 Pts: J Canning 8 (6f, 1 '65'), J Cooney 4, C Cooney 2, B Concannon 1, C Whelan 1, C Mannion 1, S Loftus 1 | Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick) Attendance: 8,330 |
| 13 May 2018Round 1 | Dublin | 3-16 (25)–(27) 1-24 | Kilkenny | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | (HT: 2-7 – 0-9) | Venue: Parnell Park | |||
| Gls: P Ryan 1, F Whitely 1, J Malone 1 Pts: P Ryan 6 (5f), C Keaney 4, P Winters 3 (2f), T Connolly 1, C Crummey 1, F MacGibb 1 | Report | Gls: L Blanchfield 1 Pts: TJ Reid 12 (9f, 2 '65'), E Murphy 4 (4f), C Fennelly 3, J Maher 2, W Walsh 2, J Donnelly 1 | Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork) TV: RTÉ |
| 20 May 2018Round 2 | Kilkenny | 2-19 (25)–(16) 1-13 | Offaly | Kilkenny | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | (HT: 1-10 – 0-7) | Venue: Nowlan Park | |||
| Gls: L Blanchfield 1, TJ Reid 1 Pts: TJ Reid 5 (4f), L Scanlon 4, L Blanchfield 2, J Donnelly 2, M Keoghan 2, C Fennelly 2, R Leahy 1, E Murphy 1 (f) | Report | Gls: J Bergin 1 Pts: S Dooley 5 (4f), J Bergin 3, S Kinsella 2, O Kelly 1, C Egan 1, P Camon 1 | Referee: James Owens (Wexford) Attendance: 6,996 |
| 20 May 2018Round 2 | Wexford | 0-22 (22)–(20) 2-14 | Dublin | Wexford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | (HT: 0-10 – 1-6) | Venue: Wexford Park | |||
Pts: R O'Connor 12 (11f), L Chin 2, P Foley 2 (1f), D O'Keeffe 1, K Foley 1, A Nolan 1, J O'Connor 1, P Morris 1, H Kehoe 1 | Report | Gls: P Ryan 1, R McBride 1 Pts: P Ryan 7 (6f, 1 '65'), R McBride 1, J Malone 1, P Smyth 1, C Boland 1, L Rushe 1, D Sutcliffe 1, D Treacy 1 | Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork) Attendance: 10,248 |
| 26 May 2018Round 3 | Offaly | 2-9 (15)–(39) 5-24 | Wexford | Tullamore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 | (HT: 0-6 – 3-12) | Venue: O'Connor Park | |||
| Gls: O Kelly 1, S Dooley 1 Pts: S Dooley 5 (5f), O Kelly 1, J Bergin 1, K Dunne 1, T Geraghty 1 | Report | Gls: M Fanning 1 (pen), A Nolan 1, J O'Connor 1, L Chin 1, C McDonald 1 Pts: R O'Connor 7 (5f), L Chin 4 (4f), H Kehoe 3 (2f), J O'Connor 3, P Morris 2, D Reck 1, D O'Keeffe 1, K Foley 1, A Nolan 1, C McDonald 1 | Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath) Attendance: 6,186 |
| 27 May 2018Round 3 | Galway | 1-22 (25)–(17) 2-11 | Kilkenny | Salthill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 | (HT: 1-9 – 1-5) | Venue: Pearse Stadium | |||
| Gls: J Canning 1 (pen) Pts: J Canning 12 (7f, 1 '65'), C Cooney 4, C Mannion 2, B Concannon 1, David Burke 1, J Flynn 1, N Burke 1 | Report | Gls: TJ Reid 1 (pen), W Walsh 1 Pts: TJ Reid 9 (8f, 1 '65'), W Walsh 1, L Scanlon 1 | Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) Attendance: 18,775 TV: RTÉ |
| 2 June 2018Round 4 | Wexford | 0-17 (17)–(26) 1-23 | Galway | Wexford | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00 | (HT: 0-9 – 1-12) | Venue: Wexford Park | |||
Pts: R O'Connor 12 (10f), A Nolan 2, P Morris 2, P Foley 1 | Report | Gls: C Whelan 1 Pts: J Canning 12 (8f, 2 sl), C Cooney 4, D Burke 2, C Whelan 2, J Cooney 1, J Flynn 1 (1f), N Burke 1 | Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick) Attendance: 14,500 TV: Sky Sports |
| 3 June 2018Round 4 | Dublin | 2-24 (30)–(13) 0-13 | Offaly | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:00 | (HT: 1-10 – 0-5) | Venue: Parnell Park | |||
| Gls: P Ryan 1, F Whitley 1 Pts: P Ryan 5 (4f), S Barrett 4, C Cummey 4, L Rushe 2, J Malone 2, C Keaney 2, C Boland 2, F Whitley 1, F McGibb 1, R McBride 1 | Report | Pts: J Bergin 4 (4f), D Currams 2, P Murphy 2, S Dooley 2 (2f), J Gorman 1, E Cahill 1, K Dunne 1 | Referee: Colm Lyons (Cork) Attendance: 6,000 |
| 9 June 2018Round 5 | Kilkenny | 0-22 (22)–(21) 1-18 | Wexford | Kilkenny | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | (HT: 0-7 – 1-11) | Venue: Nowlan Park | |||
Pts: TJ Reid 11 (9f, 1 '65'), J Donnelly 2, R Leahy 2, W Walsh 1, J Holden 1, E Morrissey 1, P Walsh 1, C Fogarty 1, J Maher 1, E Murphy 1 (f) | Report | Gls: P Morris 1 Pts: R O'Connor 5 (2f), P Foley 5 (4f), L Chin 3, C McDonald 2, K Foley 1, D O'Keeffe 1, P Morris 1 | Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath) Attendance: 17,516 TV: Sky Sports |
| 9 June 2018Round 5 | Galway | 0-26 (26)–(25) 2-19 | Dublin | Salthill | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | (HT: 0-16 – 0-9) | Venue: Pearse Stadium | |||
Pts: J Flynn 11 (9f), J Cooney 3, C Whelan 3, P Mannion 3, C Cooney 2, David Burke 2, S Loftus 1, C Mannion 1 | Report | Gls: P Winter 2 Pts: D Treacy 4 (3f), R McBride 4 (1 sl), P Ryan 3 (3f), A Nolan 2 (2f), D Sutcliffe 1, J Malone 1, S Moran 1, J Madden 1, C Boland 1, P Winters 1 | Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork) Attendance: 9,957 |
The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals, while the losing advanced to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
8 July 2018 15:00 Leinster Final Replay |
| Galway | 1-28 (31)–(24) 3-15 | Kilkenny |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 1-16 – 1-7) | ||
| Gls: J Glynn 1 Pts: J Canning 10 (6f), C Mannion 6, C Whelan 4, N Burke 2, A Harte 2, J Cooney 1, J Glynn 1, C Cooney 1, J Flynn 1 | Gls: G Aylward 1, R Hogan 1, C Fennelly 1 Pts: TJ Reid 9 (6f, 1 '65'), J Holden 1, C Fogarty 1, J Maher 1, J Donnelly 1, R Hogan 1, C Fennelly 1 | |