The final of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the ultimate match in the annual hurling competition organised since 1887 by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Contested by the top hurling teams in Ireland, the tournament has taken place every year, except in 1888, when the competition was not played due to a tour of the United States by would-be competitors. In 2012 the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was listed in second place by CNN in its "10 sporting events you have to see live", after the Olympic Games and ahead of both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Football Championship. [1] The most recent All-Ireland Hurling Final was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 20 July 2025, and saw Tipperary beat Cork out the gate by 15 points (final score: Tipperary 3–27 to Cork: 1–18).
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The final, held in mid-late summer serves as the culmination of a series of games played during the summer months, and the results determine which county's team receives the Liam MacCarthy Cup. The Championship was initially a straight knockout competition open only to the champions of each of the four provinces of Ireland. During the 1990s the competition was expanded, firstly incorporating a "back-door system" and later a round-robin group phase involving more games. In the present format, the championship begins in late April with provincial championships held in Leinster and Munster. The Munster and Leinster champions gain automatic admission to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship semi-finals, where they are joined by the two winners of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship qualifiers via two lone quarter-finals.
Thirteen teams currently participate in the Championship, the most dominant teams coming from the provinces of Leinster and Munster. Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary are considered "the big three" of hurling. Between them, these teams have won 94 out of 136 (69%) championships completed during its history — though Limerick have had huge success in recent years, winning five of the 6 finals in 2018-2023.
In all, the title has been won by 13 different teams, 10 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Kilkenny, who won their 36th title in 2015. The current champions are Tipperary.
