1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 11 April 1954 and ended on 5 September 1954.

1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Championship details
Dates11 April – 5 September 1954
Teams14
All-Ireland champions
Winning teamCork (19th win)
CaptainChristy Ring
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamWexford
CaptainPadge Kehoe
Provincial champions
MunsterCork
LeinsterWexford
UlsterNot Played
ConnachtNot Played
Championship statistics
No. matches played14
Goals total87 (6.2 per game)
Points total183 (13.0 per game)
Top ScorerNicky Rackard (12-19)
All-Star TeamSee here
1953
1955

Cork were the defending champions and retained their title following a 1-9 to 1-6 victory over Wexford in the final.[1]

Teams

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A total of fourteen teams contested the championship, an increase of one on the previous championship. Antrim, who last participated at this level in 1949, re-entered the championship in spite of facing no competition in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

Team summaries

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Team Colours Most recent success
All-Ireland Provincial League
Antrim Saffron and white 1946
Clare Saffron and blue 1914 1932 1945-46
Cork Red and white 1953 1953 1952-53
Dublin Blue and navy 1938 1952 1938-39
Galway Maroon and white 1923 1950-51
Kilkenny Black and amber 1947 1953 1932-33
Laois Blue and white 1915 1949
Limerick Green and white 1940 1940 1946-47
Meath Green and gold
Offaly Green, white and gold
Tipperary Blue and gold 1951 1951 1953-54
Waterford White and blue 1948 1948
Westmeath Maroon and white
Wexford Purple and gold 1910 1951

Provincial championships

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First round

11 April 1954 First round Offaly 6-08 - 1-03 Westmeath O'Connor Park, Tullamore
Furlong 2-1, Errity 1-3, J Spain 1-1, J Landy 1-0, Loughnane 1-0, Mitchell 0-2, Walsh 0-1. Farrell 1-0, Carey 0-1, McGrath 0-1, Aylward 0-1.
11 April 1954 First round Laois 1-09 - 1-10 Meath O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
N McDonnell 0-1, Hogan 1-3, Styles 0-2, Harding 0-1, O'Hanrahan 0-1, Kelly 0-1. B Smyth 1-7, J O'Meara 0-1, Foran 0-1. Referee: P Connell (Offaly)

Second round

9 May 1954 Second round Meath 2-08 - 3-05 Offaly Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
F Foran 1-1, A Foran 1-1, B Smyth 0-3, J O'Meara 0-2, S O'Brien 0-1. M Furlong 1-1, J Landy 1-1, W Pyke 1-0, T Errity 0-3, Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)
30 May 1954 Second round replay Meath 3-06 - 3-04 Offaly O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
B Smyth 1-1, F Foran 1-1, Rispin 1-0, A O'Halloran 0-2, S O'Brien 0-1, M Regan 0-1. Dooley 2-2, M Furlong 1-1, E O'Brien 1-0, T Errity 0-1. Referee: J Howard

Semi-finals

6 June 1954 Semi-final Wexford 5-11 - 0-07 Kilkenny Croke Park, Dublin
T Flood 2-3, N Rackard 0-5, Padge Kehoe 1-1, D Ahearne 1-1, J Morrissey 1-0, N Wheeler 0-1. D Carroll 0-6, J Carroll 0-1. Attendance: 17,785
Referee: P Connell (Offaly)
20 June 1954 Semi-final Dublin 3-08 - 2-04 Meath Croke Park, Dublin
Daly 2-0, N Allen 1-2, Herbert 0-4, Ryan 0-2, Rispin 2-0, Smyth 0-2, O'Halloran 0-1, O'Meara 0-1. Attendance: 8,839
Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)

Final

18 July 1954 Final Wexford 8-05 - 1-04 Dublin Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
N Rackard 5-4, Padge Kehoe 1-0, T Flood 1-0, B Donovan 1-0, S Hearne 0-1. P Shanahan 1-0, Herbert 0-2, N Allen 0-1, S Daly 0-1. Attendance: 28,592
First round Second round Semi-finals Leinster final
Wexford 5-11
Kilkenny 0-7
Wexford 8-5
Meath 1-10 Dublin 1-4
Laois 1-9 Meath
(R)
2-8
3-6
Offaly 6-8 Offaly
(R)
3-5
3-4
Westmeath 1-3 Dublin 3-8
Meath 2-4

First round

13 June 1954 First round Waterford 4-03 - 0-01 Limerick Thurles Sportsfield
Doyle 2-0, S Power 1-1, D Whelan 1-1, M Flannelly 0-1. S Leonard 0-1. Attendance: 14,000
Referee: C Conway

Semi-finals

20 June 1954 Semi-final Tipperary 5-06 - 3-03 Clare Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
N Ryan 2-2, P Kenny 1-3, S Bannon 1-1, M Seymour 1-0. J Smyth 1-3, N Jordan 1-0, J Greene 1-0. Attendance: 15,000
Referee: W O'Donoghue (Limerick)
27 June 1954 Semi-final Cork 7-08 - 4-05 Waterford Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles
C Ring 1-4, P Barry 2-0, J Clifford 1-1, WJ Daly 1-0, J Hartnett 1-0, É Goulding 0-2. S Power 4-2, Own scores 1-1, P Doyle 1-0, M Flannelly 0-3. Attendance: 19,883
Referee: W O'Donoghue (Limerick)

Final

18 July 1954 Final Cork 2-08 - 1-08 Tipperary Gaelic Grounds
C Ring 1-5, P Barry 1-0, J Clifford 0-3. P Kenny 0-5, Seymour 1-0, Bannon 0-1, Ryan 0-1, Hough 0-1. Attendance: 50,071
Referee: W O'Donoghue (Limerick)
Quarter-final Semi-finals Munster final
Tipperary 5-6
Clare 3-3
Tipperary 1-8
Cork 2-8
Cork 7-8
Limerick 0-1 Waterford 4-5
Waterford 4-3

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

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All-Ireland semi-finals

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8 August 1954 Semi-final Wexford 12-17 - 2-03 Antrim Croke Park, Dublin
N Rackard 7-7, T Flood 3-0, Paddy Kehoe 1-2, Padge Kehoe 1-3, O'Donovan 0-2, J Morrissey 0-2, S Hearne 0-1. P McManus 1-0, S Mulholland 1-0, B McDonald 0-2, C Lynn 0-1. Attendance: 35,744
Referee: J Langton (Kilkenny)
8 August 1954 Semi-final Cork 4-13 - 2-01 Galway Croke Park, Dublin
WJ Daly 1-3, J Hartnett 1-2, É Goulding 1-1, C Ring 0-4, J Clifford 1-0, P Barry 0-1, G Murphy 0-1, W Moore 0-1. M McInerney 1-0, E Monaghan 1-0, P Duggan 0-1. Attendance: 35,744
Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)

All-Ireland final

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5 September 1954 Final Cork 1-09 - 1-06 Wexford Croke Park, Dublin
C Ring 0-5, J Clifford 1-0, É Goulding 0-1, WJ Daly 0-1, V Twomey 0-1, J Hartnett 0-1. T Ryan 1-0, N Rackard 0-3, T Flood, 0-2, P Kehoe 0-1. Attendance: 84,856
Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)

Championship statistics

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Top scorers

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Top scorers overall
Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average
1 Nicky Rackard Wexford 12-19 55 4 13.75
2 Christy Ring Cork 2-18 24 4 6.00
3 Tim Flood Wexford 6-05 23 4 5.75
4 Brian Smyth Meath 2-13 19 4 4.75
5 Séamus Power Waterford 5-03 18 2 9.00
6 Mickey Furlong Offaly 4-03 15 3 5.00
7 Padge Kehoe Wexford 3-05 14 4 3.50
8 Johnny Clifford Cork 3-04 13 4 3.75
9 Paddy Kenny Tipperary 1-08 11 2 5.50
10 Paddy Barry Cork 3-01 10 4 2.50
Willie John Daly Cork 2-04 10 4 2.50
Tommy Errity Offaly 1-07 10 3 3.33
Top scorers in a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition
1 Nicky Rackard Wexford 7-07 28 Antrim
2 Nicky Rackard Wexford 5-04 19 Dublin
3 Séamus Power Waterford 4-02 14 Cork
4 Brian Smyth Meath 1-07 10 Laois
5 Tim Flood Wexford 3-00 9 Antrim
Tim Flood Wexford 2-03 9 Kilkenny
6 Ned Ryan Tipperary 2-02 8 Clare
Tom Dooley Offaly 2-02 8 Meath
Christy Ring Cork 1-05 8 Tipperary
7 Mickey Furlong Offaly 2-01 7 Westmeath
Christy Ring Cork 1-04 7 Waterford

Scoring

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  • Widest winning margin: 44 points
  • Most goals in a match: 14
  • Most points in a match: 20
  • Most goals by one team in a match: 12
  • Most goals scored by a losing team: 4
  • Most points scored by a losing team: 9

Miscellaneous

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  • Meath qualified for the Leinster semi-finals for the first time in the history of the championship.
  • Antrim took part in the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 1949. It was their last game at this stage of the championship until re-entering the championship in 1984.
  • Wexford's Nicky Rackard scores 7-7 in their All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Antrim. It is believed to be a record score for an All-Ireland semi-final.
  • Cork's Christy Ring wins a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland medal as Cork claim a third successive championship for the third time in their history.

Roll of Honour

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  • Cork - 19 (1954)
  • Tipperary - 16 (1951)
  • Kilkenny - 13 (1947)
  • Limerick - 6 (1940)
  • Dublin - 6 (1938)
  • Waterford - 1 (1948)
  • Galway - 1 (1923)
  • Laois - 1 (1915)
  • Clare - 1 (1914)
  • Wexford - 1 (1910)
  • London - 1 (1901)
  • Kerry - 1 (1891)

Player facts

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Debutantes

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The following players made their début in the 1954 championship:

Player Team Date Opposition Game
Peter Darby Meath April 11 Laois Leinster first round
Mick Cashman Cork June 27 Waterford Munster semi-final
Johnny Clifford Cork June 27 Waterford Munster semi-final
Éamonn Goulding Cork June 27 Waterford Munster semi-final

Retirees

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The following players played their last game in the 1954 championship:

Player Team Last Game Date Opposition Début
Tom O'Sullivan Cork Munster final July 18 Tipperary 1953

Sources

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  • Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
  • Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
  • Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
  • Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
  • Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster HUrling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).

References

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  1. ^ "As Kilkenny aim for a historic five-in-a-row, the records show how hard it is to keep winning". Irish Independent. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 14 October 2013.