The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) was the 131st staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. It is the first tier of senior inter-county championship hurling.Hurling tiers – 1. All-Ireland (Liam MacCarthy Cup) 2. Joe McDonagh Cup 3. Christy Ring Cup 4. Nicky Rackard Cup 5. Lory Meagher Cup
The competition began on 12 May 2018 and ended on 19 August 2018. The draw for the championship round-robin fixtures was held off camera on 19 October 2017 and announced on the championship draw broadcast on RTÉ2. The 2018 championship saw the biggest change in format since the introduction of the qualifiers in 2002.
The competition was won by Limerick, who were crowned champions after overcoming Galway in the final by a scoreline of 3–16 to 2–18. It was Limerick's eighth title and a first since 1973.
The 2018 Championship has been described by many as one of the best ever.
New format
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.
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.
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.
Leinster Championship Participating counties (5): Dublin, Galway, Kilkenny, Offaly, Wexford
Group stage (10 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Leinster final and the 3rd placed team advances to the all-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team may face relegation to next years Joe McDonagh Cup.
Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Leinster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Leinster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Munster Championship Participating counties (5): Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford
Group stage (10 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Munster final and the 3rd placed team advances to the all-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team may face relegation to next years Joe McDonagh Cup.
Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Munster champions advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals and the Munster runners-up advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
Joe McDonagh Cup Participating counties (6): Antrim, Carlow, Kerry, Laois, Meath, Westmeath
Group stage (15 matches): Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advance to the Joe McDonagh Cup final. All other teams are eliminated from the championship and the bottom placed team are relegated to next years Christy Ring Cup.
Final (1 match): The top 2 teams in the group stage contest this game. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up advance to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals.
All-Ireland Championship Preliminary quarter-finals (2 matches): The 3rd placed teams from the 2018 Leinster and Munster championships played the Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up. Two teams were eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals (2 matches): The winners of the preliminary quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster runners-up to make up the quarter-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate semi-finals where possible. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final (1 match): The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game.
Team changes
To Championship Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
Antrim Carlow
From Championship Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
None
Teams General information Sixteen counties competed in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: five teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and six teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup. CountyLast provincial titleLast championship titlePosition in 2017 championshipCurrent championship Antrim2017 —Runners-up (Christy Ring Cup)Joe McDonagh Cup Carlow — —Preliminary roundJoe McDonagh Cup Clare19982013Quarter-finalsMunster Senior Hurling Championship Cork20172005Semi-finalsMunster Senior Hurling Championship Dublin20131938Round 2Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Galway20172017ChampionsLeinster Senior Hurling Championship Kerry18911891Group Stage (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) Joe McDonagh Cup Kilkenny20162015Round 2Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Laois19491915Round 1Joe McDonagh Cup Limerick20131973Round 1Munster Senior Hurling Championship Meath — —Group Stage (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) Joe McDonagh Cup Offaly19951998Round 1Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Tipperary20162016Semi-finalsMunster Senior Hurling Championship Waterford20101959Runners-upMunster Senior Hurling Championship Westmeath — —Round 1Joe McDonagh Cup Wexford20041996Quarter-finalsLeinster Senior Hurling Championship
Personnel and colours
CountyManager(s)Captain(s)Sponsor ClareDonal MoloneyGerry O'ConnorPatrick O'ConnorPat O'Donnell CorkJohn MeylerSéamus HarnedyChill Insurance DublinPat GilroyLiam RusheAIG GalwayMicheál DonoghueDavid BurkeSupermac's KilkennyBrian CodyCillian BuckleyGlanbia LimerickJohn KielyDeclan HannonSporting Limerick OffalyKevin MartinDavid KingCarroll Cuisine TipperaryMichael RyanPádraic MaherIntersport/Elverys WaterfordDerek McGrathTQS Integration WexfordDavy FitzgeraldLee ChinMatthew O'HanlonGain
Summary
Championships Level on PyramidCompetitionChampionsRunners upTier 12018 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Limerick GalwayTier 1 (Leinster)2018 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Galway KilkennyTier 1 (Munster)2018 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Cork ClareTier 22018 Joe McDonagh Cup Carlow WestmeathTier 32018 Christy Ring Cup Kildare LondonTier 42018 Nicky Rackard Cup Donegal WarwickshireTier 52018 Lory Meagher Cup Sligo Lancashire
Provincial championships
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Group Stage TeamQualification1 Galway44007–89 (110)6–62 (80)+308Advance to Leinster Final2 Kilkenny43015–76 (91)6–69 (87)+463 Wexford42026–81 (99)5–68 (83)+164 Advance to All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals4 Dublin41039–73 (100) 1–85 (88)+1225 Offaly40045–50 (65)14–85 (127)−620Relegated to Joe McDonagh Cup
Finals
Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Group Stage TeamQualification1 Cork42205–94 (109)4–89 (101)+86Advance to Munster Final2 Clare43014–97 (109)5–77 (92)+1763 Limerick42113–92 (101)4–81 (93)+85Advance to All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals4 Tipperary40227–77 (98)5–91 (106)−825 Waterford40136–76 (94)7–98 (119)−251
Final
Cup competitions
Joe McDonagh Cup
The inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup, the second tier of senior inter-county championship hurling, was contested by Antrim, Carlow, Kerry, Laois, Meath and Westmeath. Each team played all the other teams once in a round-robin format, with the top two teams progressing to the Joe McDonagh Cup final and also advancing to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, where they played the teams that finished third in the Leinster and Munster championships. Westmeath confirmed their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup final on 2 June 2018 after winning their first four matches, with Carlow confirming their place on 9 June after beating Westmeath.
Group Stage TeamQualification1 Carlow5401122102208Advance to Knockout Stage and All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals2 Westmeath54011301151583 Kerry530210597864 Laois5203118123 −545 Antrim5203130116144Advance to Relegation Playoff6 Meath500594146 −520Relegated to Christy Ring Cup The top two teams at the end of the round-robin, Westmeath and Carlow, faced each other in the final on 1 July 2018. The game, which took place in Croke Park, saw Carlow emerge victorious by a margin of five points to claim the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup title.
Final
Carlow were automatically promoted to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship for 2019, replacing Offaly.
Christy Ring Cup
Group 1 TeamQualification1 Kildare33008958316Advance to Knockout Stage2 Wicklow32017264843Roscommon31024871 −2224 Mayo30034663 −170Relegation to Nicky Rackard Cup
Group 2 TeamQualification1 London32018860284Advance to Knockout Stage2Derry320189652443 Down320192692344 Armagh300339114 −750Relegation to Nicky Rackard Cup
Knockout stage
Nicky Rackard Cup
Group 1 TeamQualification1 Warwickshire33006852 +166Advance to knockout stage2 Monaghan31116958 +1133Longford31024859 −1124Louth30124965 −161Advance to relegation playoff
Group 2 TeamQualification1 Donegal22006329 +344Advance to knockout stage2 Tyrone21014649 −323Leitrim20023465 −310Advance to relegation playoff
Knockout stage
Lory Meagher Cup
Group stage TeamQualification1 Lancashire32014–627–33 +204Advance to Final2 Sligo32014–497–47 −743 Cavan31118–403–58 −334 Fermanagh30122–423–55 −171
Final
Bracket
Preliminary quarter-finals The preliminary quarter-finals saw the third-placed teams from the two provincial round-robins play the two teams who competed in the Joe McDonagh Cup Final, with the two finalists having home advantage. Joe McDonagh champion Carlow faced third-placed Munster team Limerick at Dr Cullen Park, while runners-up Westmeath met Wexford, the third-place finished from Leinster, at Mullingar's Cusack Park.
Quarter-finals The two quarter-finals saw the losing provincial finalists play the winners of the two preliminary quarter-finals. As both third-place finishers from the provincial series won in the previous round, they were kept apart from the teams they had already met in the round-robin phase to prevent a repeat fixture. Munster runners-up Clare met Wexford, with beaten Leinster finalists Kilkenny facing Limerick the following day. Both games were held at neutral venues.
Semi-finals