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

Why is their such an obsession with getting the game to take off in non traditional areas. Just embrace it for what it is, it is a niche sport played on a small island. It is more or less contested between counties in the Golden Vale. Even though it is only played in a small area, it consistently fills stadiums when these teams meet and produces madness that enthrall the crowds. Enjoy it and be thankfull for it, it is not going to take offin non traditional areas because of the thing that makes it so intriguing, its uniqueness.

The reason football has improved so much is that the rule changes have brought it closer to modern hurling.

Shorter passages of play rather than long spells of over and back possession. Way more shots being taken and scores landed, massive comebacks from teams that look dead and buried..…

There have been loads of great hurling matches over the last 3/4 years, some of the best ever played. The Limerick/ Clare munster finals, the various Limerick/Cork games, the 2024 all ireland final, some epic county finals and all ireland club games across all grades. Even this year, which has had a lot more one sided games than usual, youve had really enjoyable games like Offaly v Dublin, Waterford v Clare, Waterford v Tipp.

There were epic games 15 years ago and plenty of bad games also. Same as every era.

The period around 2009/2011 is often referenced as being a better era of hurling.

Take 2011. Kilkenny won the Leinster championship by winning two games against Wexford and Dublin by 11 points each.

Tipp won munster beating Cork by 8, Clare by 9 and Waterford by 21 in the final.

In the all ireland series, Galway beat Clare by 17 and Cork by 12, before themselves losing by 10 to Waterford. Limerick got to a quarter final by beating Antrim by 19. Cork beat Laois by 35.

I remember being at a Munster Championship game in 09 where Limerick drew with Waterford 1-8 to 0-11.

Despite the epic Tipp/Kilkenny finals, it wasnt necessarily a halcyon period of hurling.

It probably helped that kk and tipp didn't play each other five times in four months.

Just to liven things up......how many Cork players would make the Limerick team?? 3/4 ??

I can totally understand the desire to get as many hurling counties as possible playing at the highest level. It increases the chances of more competitive games and differing permutations, it could only add to the championship.

As Realt said, want more games in June\early July. April average temperatures are 10-13 or 14C. Pitches are often still heavy.

On an aside I remember an interview with Ger Loughnane before the 1997 All Ireland Final, in mid September, v Tipp. He was asked if that game would be similar to the Munster Final the teams played in July. He answered that the Munster Final was in the heart of Summer and the ball would travel more quickly on a drier warmer sod than it would in September! Found it an unusual observation at the time, September 1997 was a warm reasonably dry month.

Just 2 - Hayes and Fitzgibbon. Maybe O'Donoghue on current form.

Its hard for either side to drop players for others. I can't think of any Limerick player I would drop for anyone but that doesn't mean they are definitely better.

1 to 4 for Limerick are the ones I have no problem saying are better but that's not just compared to Cork. I would put them against any 4 I have ever seen.

Yeah, certainly Id take Limerick’s 1to 4 for Cork - albeit in 2026 (as opposed to 2022 say) there is not much between the corner backs any more.

in terms of all time 1-4s, they are right up there too but KKs 2-4 from 2006 onwards (at various times Tommy, Hickey, JJ, etc) were ridiculous and even Corks 1-4 in the early 2000s (Cusack, Murphy, The Rock and Sherlock) would be in the mix too.

Note that most of the Limerick players have 5-6 All-Irelands, whereas the Cork lads have zero.

If you were picking a best 15 from the two countries what would it be then?

• GK : Quaid v Collins - I go for Quaid
• RCB: Finn or O'Leary - I go for Finn
• FB: Morrissey or Cahalane - I go for Morrissey
• LCB: Nash or O'Donoghue - a toss-up
• RWB - Byrnes or E. Downey - I go for Byrnes
• CB: Will O'Donoghue or Rob Downey - a toss-up, let's go with Downey
• LWB: Kyles Hayes or Coleman - I go for Hayes
• MF: English, O'Donovan, O'Mahoney, O'Connell, Fitzgibbon - I'd go with English and Fitzgibbon
• RWF: Hegarty or Barry Walsh - I go for Hegarty
• CF: Cian Lynch or Barrett - close one but you'd have to go with Lynch
• LWF: Cathal O'Neill or Healy - I go for O'Neill
• RCF: - Gillane or A.Connolly - I go for Gillane
• FF: Brian Hayes all day
• LCF: Peter Casey v William Buckley - I'd go for Casey

I know some players play multiple positions and so on, but only Hayes and Fitzgibbon clearly make the team.

Maybe could make a case for Sean O'Donoghue or Rob Downey. But equally could make a case for Barry Foley or Will O'Donoghue.

So 11-13 Limerick players as of now.

I would say that Cork do have a younger team with great potential, for example I'd probably rather have William Buckley at the start of his career than Peter Casey in his twilight of his, but I'd prefer Casey for a match tomorrow.

It depends on the system being used as others have said above. For example, lots of teams go 2 up top, with Nash following the 3rd inside forward further out. He’s fantastic at that and often the forward ends up doing as much defending of Nash as the other way around.

But to play as an actual traditional corner back, I definitely wouldn’t say he makes any team the way you’d say about peak Sean Finn.

I didn’t say or imply that he’s a poor defender or anything of the sort, obviously he’s excellent. I was responding to your claim that he’d make any team. And I disagree with your last line that he’s the best corner back in the country in any tactical system. Sean Finn for one is better.

Anyway tbh these topics of combined teams are one for winter when there’s no matches on rather than during the peak of championship.

Lynch and Barrett is not close. One is a 2 time hurler of the year, the other is a fine hurler but nowhere near Lynch's level

Think the whole season should be 4 x weekends of club games, 4 x weekends of county games with the AI final in late October. Croke Park is well able to be in good condition for the 5 games that will be played there, and any delay to club matches will be only affecting the lucky few.

Means clubs are engaged with GAA from April onwards (at the moment, loads of Wexford/Waterford/Kilkenny/Tipp players gone to America), supporters aren't expected to pony up a fortune in 6 weeks, and the inter county game gets its best window throughout the summer.

The best time of year for hurling and gaelic football, the biggest shopping window of the whole year, and the GAA shut the blinds to the masses. You couldn't make it up, a desperate own goal.

If inter county managers have a problem, cry me an fng river the GAA isn't just about them.

Yes. Previous pairings are avoided.