All Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2026 (Munster & Leinster Championships, Liam McCarthy Cup)

I was trying to crunch the numbers on hurling attendance in the last 20 years.

I wouldn’t have got Carlow on the list that’s for sure. Always forget their proximity to Kilkenny is a factor. The fact Offaly has such high per capita support during a fallow period is seriously impressive.


The following list ranks the top 10 counties for inter-county hurling support based on their true 20-year combined average match-going numbers (home and away, league and championship) relative to population size.

• 1. Kilkenny
  • County Population: 103,621
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 14,800
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 14.2%
  • Kilkenny is the benchmark for hurling devotion. Over 20 years of nearly constant presence in All-Ireland semi-finals and finals, balanced against steady spring league turnouts at Nowlan Park, more than 14% of the entire county consistently mobilises year-round.
• 2. Clare
  • County Population: 127,938
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 13,500
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 10.5%
  • "The Banner" features an incredibly loyal and travel-heavy support base. Their home league fixtures at Cusack Park in Ennis draw excellent crowds, and their massive summer turnouts in Munster round-robin games keep their per capita baseline firmly in double digits.
• 3. Tipperary
  • County Population: 167,895
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 16,200
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 9.6%
  • Semple Stadium in Thurles is the spiritual home of hurling, and local support reflects that status. Over the 20-year cycle—including heavy All-Ireland rivalries with Kilkenny and Limerick—Tipperary has maintained one of the highest absolute and per capita baselines in the country.
• 4. Limerick
  • County Population: 209,536
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 18,500
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 8.8%
  • Limerick’s 20-year average is heavily boosted by the incredible era of dominance under John Kiely. While winter league gates in the lower divisions during the late 2000s pull down their long-term numbers slightly, their massive green-and-white home and away blocks over the last decade keep them near the very top.
• 5. Waterford
  • County Population: 127,363
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 10,200
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 8.0%
  • Despite having a smaller stadium capacity at Walsh Park for many years, Waterford fans travel exceptionally well to neutral venues and Munster Championship round-robin fixtures, ensuring high long-term engagement relative to their population.
• 6. Wexford
  • County Population: 163,919
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 11,800
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 7.2%
  • Wexford supporters are famously passionate and travel in huge numbers when the team is performing well. Their home ground at Chadwicks Wexford Park regularly sees high-volume turnouts for both league and provincial campaigns.
• 7. Offaly
  • County Population: 82,668
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 4,800
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 5.8%
  • Offaly's inclusion in the top tier is a testament to their dedicated core. Even during a difficult 20-year stretch where they transitioned between the Joe McDonagh Cup and top-flight hurling, the base at O'Connor Park in Tullamore remained remarkably resilient per head of population.
• 8. Galway
  • County Population: 276,451
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 13,200
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 4.7%
  • Galway is a massive dual-county. While their hurling heartlands in the south and east of the county turn out in massive percentages, the total population baseline includes football-only regions in the west and north, lowering their overall county-wide per capita percentage.
• 9. Cork
  • County Population: 584,156
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 21,500
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 3.6%
  • Cork draws the largest absolute crowds in hurling outside of Croke Park, regularly filling Páirc Uí Chaoimh with 30,000+ fans for major summer fixtures. However, because the county has a large population base centered around Cork City and its massive footballing/soccer footprint, their true 20-year per capita average resolves to 3.6%.
• 10. Carlow
  • County Population: 61,961
  • 20-Year Combined Average Attendance: 1,600
  • Combined Per Capita Support: 2.5%
  • Carlow completes the top ten due to its small population base. While their absolute numbers at Netwatch Cullen Park are modest compared to the Munster giants, their dedicated hurling community represents a steady percentage of the local county population.

Also Cork, Limerick and Tipp have the same size stadiums so on a full house day you could say Cork have way more willing fans missing out.

I see Andy Comerford has said Dublin aren't all that. A great motivation for Sunday.

Am I right in thinking he is trying to make a name for himself with strong comments or am I mixing people up ?

Hopefully he will throw his hat in the ring when a vacancy arises.

Steady on. You will draw the ire from our Cork posters. Touch of Irish soccer fans about them, "best fans in the wurld".

After All is a brilliant song, can't understand why it is not a Cork GAA song, the lads are as Cork as you can get and come across really well.

It's definitely now a Cork GAA song.

Perfect timing because you don't want the Dublin hurlers believing their own hype. As someone said too many up and downs over the years. The best chance of winning Leinster for Galway and Dublin is eliminating them from the final or even better the championship. So many opportunities from both counties over the years to make a Galway/dub final and they came up just short.

Haven't cork sold out their last 10 games Inna row in championship so it's hard to find out what percentage would attend their matches. If PUC could hold 60k for Cork Vs Clare this weekend they'd sell it out. Brought 70k up to Dublin last year and out numbered Dublin in their home patch by a ridiculous amount. Great fans who bring huge energy to the championship.

Galway's best chance of winning the Leinster championship is being good enough, opposition should be irrelevant.

Not sure what Andy Comerford thinks he'll gain by those comments, bar a bit of notoriety...

Completely sold out. There was probably a few club returns but I checked back when they announced meath were playing cork in the football the same weekend and it wasn't even available then.

It'll be interesting to see how long cork will keep the sold out streak going. If they make the Munster final and semi final it'll likely continue but if they've to play a quarter final it might not.

Excellent Galway team . Without niland too and rabbitte was only ok when he came in . Should be a cracking final against clare

Cork v Dublin was. It was sold out many days in advance.

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/arid-41656184.html

I was also in the upper Cusack it was packed.