All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1997

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The Guinness Hurling Championship 1997 ran from May to September of that year and saw the biggest ever change in the competition's format with the introduction of the Qualifier or "back-door" system. The All-Ireland Hurling Final was won by Clare who beat Tipperary by 0-20 to 2-13.

[edit] New format

The 1997 championship saw the biggest ever innovation in the competition's format up to that point. The Qualifier or "back-door" system was intoduced to provide more games in the All-Ireland series of games. From the first competitions in 1887 until 1997 if any team was defeated at any stage of the Provincial or All-Ireland competitions it meant automatic elimination. This system was deemed the fairest as the All-Ireland Champions were effectively the team who won all of their games. However, there were some problems with this system. Over the years Galway had become the only credible hurling team in Connacht, thus giving them an automatic pass into the All-Ireland semi-finals every year. Similarly in Ulster there were problems as hurling was much weaker in the northern province.

While the Munster, Leinster and Ulster provincial championships were played as normal the new plan introduced by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1997 allowed the defeated Munster and Leinster provincial finalists another chance to play in the All-Ireland series of games. While the two provincial final winners would automatically qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals the two defeated provincial teams would join Galway and the Ulster provincial final winners in two play-off games or "quarter-finals". The two winners from these two games would then qualify for the semi-finals where they would be drawn against the Leinster and Munster champions.

Tipperary as defeated Munster finalists and Kilkenny as defeated Leinster finalists were the first two teams to benefit from the new Qualifier system. After losing their respective provincial finals they still managed to qualify for the All-Irelad semi-finals.

[edit] All-Ireland Final

As a result of the new Qualifier system of games the All-Ireland final was contested by two teams from the same province for the first time ever. The final was essentially a repeat of the Munster final with Clare taking on Tipperary. Clare were playing in their second All-Ireland final in three years and were looking for their third ever win. With ten minutes to go Clare looked home and dry, however, two quick goals by Tipperary levelled the scores. A last minute point by Jamesie O'Connor of Clare edged "the Banner County" clear and landed them their second All-Ireland title of the 1990s. They were also only the third team to win an All-Ireland final without scoring a goal.

[edit] Ulster Senior Hurling Championship

[edit] Connacht Senior Hurling Championship

[edit] Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

[edit] Munster Senior Hurling Championship

[edit] All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

1997 All-Ireland Champions: CLARE

[edit] See also