National Hurling League

Allianz National Hurling League
Current season or competition:
National Hurling League 2011
Irish Sraith Iomána Náisiúnta
Code Hurling
Founded 1925
Region Ireland (GAA)
Trophy Dr. Croke Cup
No. of teams 35 (2011)
Title holders Dublin (3rd title)
Most titles Tipperary (20 titles)
Sponsors Allianz
TV partner(s) TG4
Setanta Sports
Premier Sports
Official website www.allianzleagues.ie

The National Hurling League (NHL) (Irish: Sraith Iomána Náisiúnta) is an annual hurling competition between the county teams of Ireland. Contested by 34 teams (31 Irish County teams plus London, Warwickshire and Fingal (a sub county representation to increase hurlings reach)), it operates on a system of promotion and relegation between six different divisions, with Division 1A comprising the top six teams in the country. It is sponsored by Allianz and therefore officially known as the Allianz National Hurling League.

The league is organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and is played from February until May when the final is held. The prize for the winning division one team is the Dr. Croke Cup. In some seasons, including 2012, the winner of the second division (1B) is allowed compete in the knockout stages of the division 1A title.

The Division One title has been won at least once by ten different counties, nine of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Tipperary, who have won the competition 20 times. Dublin are the current champions.

Contents

History

The NHL was first held in 1925-1926, 38 years after the first All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, with Cork being the first winners. The League has traditionally played second fiddle to the All-Ireland, with most counties using it as a warm-up for the All-Ireland. This was not helped by the fact that the League was played in winter (November-March usually) while the championship had the more attractive summer dates and knockout structure.

In 2002 the league was changed to a February-April calendar, which has increased interest with attendances growing and live games broadcast on TG4.

Previous winners

Division 1

All-Ireland champions
All-Ireland runners-up
Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Winning Captain
1925-26 Cork 3–7 1–5 Dublin Seán Óg Murphy
1926-27 League not held
1927-28 Tipperary won on points system with 14 points from eight games Johnny Leahy
1928-29 Dublin 7–4 5–5 Cork Mick Gill
1929-30 Cork 3–5 3–0 Dublin Eudie Coughlan
1930-31 Galway 4–5 4–4 Tipperary Ignatius Harney
1931-32 League not held
1932-33 Kilkenny 3–8 1–3 Limerick Nowlan Park Eddie Doyle
1933-34 Limerick 3–6 3–3 Dublin Gaelic Grounds Mick Kennedy
1934-35 Limerick won on points system with 15 points from eight games Timmy Ryan
1935-36 Limerick won on points system with 15 points from eight games Timmy Ryan
1936-37 Limerick won on points system with 13 points from eight games Mick Mackey
1937-38 Limerick 5-02 1-01 Tipperary Mick Mackey
1938-39 Dublin 1–8 1–4 Waterford Mick Daniels
1939-40 Cork 8-09 6-04 Tipperary Jack Lynch
1940-41 Cork 4–11 2–7 Dublin Connie Buckley
1941-45 League suspended for four seasons
1945-46 Clare 2–10 2–5 Dublin After a replay Mick Daly
1946-47 Limerick 3–8 1–7 Kilkenny After a replay
1947-48 Cork 3–3 1–2 Tipperary Jim Young
1948-49 Tipperary 3–5 3–3 Cork Pat Stakelum
1949-50 Tipperary 3–8 1–10 Kilkenny Seán Kenny
1950-51 Galway 6–7 3–4 Wexford M. J. 'Inky' Flaherty
1951-52 Tipperary 4–7 4–6 Wexford Pat Stakelum
1952-53 Cork 2–10 2–7 Tipperary David O'Leary
1953-54 Tipperary 3–10 1–4 Kilkenny Jimmy Finn
1954-55 Tipperary 3–5 1–5 Wexford John Doyle
1955-56 Wexford 5–9 2–14 Tipperary Jim English
1956-57 Tipperary 3–11 2–7 Kilkenny
1957-58 Wexford 5–7 4–8 Limerick
1958-59 Tipperary 0–15 0–7 Waterford
1959-60 Tipperary 2–15 3–8 Cork Tony Wall
1960-61 Tipperary 6–6 4–9 Waterford Matt Hassett
1961-62 Kilkenny 1–16 1–8 Cork Alfie Hickey
1962-63 Waterford 2–15 4–7 Tipperary
1963-64 Tipperary 5–12 1–4 Wexford
1964-65 Tipperary 3–14 2–8 Kilkenny Jimmy Doyle
1965-66 Kilkenny 10–15 2–15 New York Jim Lynch
1966-67 Wexford 3–10 1–9 Kilkenny Jimmy O'Brien
1967-68 Tipperary 6–27 4–22 New York Gaelic Park Mick Roche
1968-69 Cork 3–12 1–14 Wexford Denis Murphy
1969-70 Cork 5–21 New York Gaelic Park Gerald McCarthy
1970-71 Limerick 3–12 3–11 Tipperary Cork Athletic Grounds Tony O'Brien
1971-72 Cork 3–14 2–14 Limerick Gaelic Grounds Frank Norberg
1972-73 Wexford 4–13 3–7 Limerick Gaelic Grounds John Quigley
1973-74 Cork 6–15 1–12 Limerick Gaelic Grounds John Horgan
1974-75 Galway 4–9 4–6 Tipperary Semple Stadium John Connolly
1975-76
(R)		 Kilkenny 0–16
6–14		 2–10
1–14		 Clare Semple Stadium
Semple Stadium		 Phil 'Fan' Larkin
1976-77 Clare 2–8 0–9 Kilkenny Semple Stadium John McNamara
1977-78 Clare 3-10 1-10 Kilkenny Semple Stadium Seán Stack
1978-79 Tipperary 3–15 0–8 Galway Gaelic Grounds Paddy Williams
1979-80
(R)		 Cork 2–10
4–15		 2–10
4–6		 Limerick Páirc Uí Chaoimh
Páirc Uí Chaoimh		 Dermot Mac Curtain
1980-81 Cork 3–11 2–8 Offaly Semple Stadium Dónal O'Grady
1981-82 Kilkenny 2–14 1–11 Wexford Croke Park Brian Cody
1982-83 Kilkenny 2–14 2–12 Limerick Semple Stadium Liam Fennelly
1983-84 Limerick 3–16 1–9 Wexford Semple Stadium Leonard Enright
1984-85 Limerick 3–12 1–7 Clare Semple Stadium Leonard Enright
1985-86 Kilkenny 2–10 2–6 Galway Semple Stadium Frank Holohan
1986-87 Galway 3–12 3–10 Clare Semple Stadium Conor Hayes
1987-88 Tipperary 3–15 2–9 Offaly Croke Park Pat O'Neill
1988-89 Galway 2–16 4–8 Tipperary Croke Park Conor Hayes
1989-90 Kilkenny 0–19 0–9 New York Gaelic Park Kevin Fennelly
1990-91 Offaly 2–6 0–10 Wexford Croke Park Danny Owens
1991-92 Limerick 0–14 0–13 Tipperary Gaelic Grounds J. O'Connor
1992-93
(R)
(R2)		 Cork 2–11
0–18
3–11		 2–11
3–9
1–12		 Wexford Semple Stadium
Semple Stadium
Semple Stadium		 Brian Corcoran
1993-94 Tipperary 2–14 0–12 Galway Gaelic Grounds George Frend
1994-95 Kilkenny 2–12 0–9 Clare Semple Stadium Bill Hennessy
1995-96 Galway 2–10 2–8 Tipperary Gaelic Grounds Michael Coleman
1997 Limerick 1–12 1–9 Galway Cusack Park Gary Kirby
1998 Cork 2–14 0–13 Waterford Semple Stadium Diarmuid O'Sullivan
1999 Tipperary 1–14 1–10 Galway Cusack Park Tommy Dunne
2000 Galway 2–18 2–13 Tipperary Gaelic Grounds Joe Rabbitte
2001 Tipperary 1–19 0–17 Clare Gaelic Grounds Tommy Dunne
2002 Kilkenny 2–15 2–14 Cork Semple Stadium Andy Comerford
2003 Kilkenny 5–14 5–13 Tipperary Croke Park D.J. Carey
2004 Galway 2–15 1–13 Waterford Gaelic Grounds Ollie Canning
2005 Kilkenny 3–20 0–15 Clare Semple Stadium Peter Barry
2006 Kilkenny 3–11 0–14 Limerick Semple Stadium Jackie Tyrrell
2007 Waterford 0–20 0–18 Kilkenny Semple Stadium Michael 'Brick' Walsh
2008 Tipperary 3–18 3–16 Galway Semple Stadium Eoin Kelly
2009 Kilkenny 2–26 4–17 Tipperary Semple Stadium Henry Shefflin
2010 Galway 2–22 1–17 Cork Semple Stadium Shane Kavanagh
2011 Dublin 0–22 1–07 Kilkenny Croke Park John McCaffrey

Division 2

Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Winning Captain
2000 Meath 5-14 (29) 2-10 (16) Carlow Cusack Park
2001 Kerry 4-14 (22) 3-10 (19) Westmeath Croke Park Michael 'Boxer' Slattery
2002 Laois 1-20 (23) 2-14 (20) Antrim Semple Stadium John Lyons
2003 Antrim 3-18 (27) 3-12 (21) Kerry Croke Park
2004 Down 5-15 (30) 3-7 (16) Westmeath Gaelic Grounds Simon Wilson
2005 Offaly 6-21 (39) 4-7 (19) Carlow Semple Stadium Barry Teehan
2006 Dublin 0-16 (16) 1-6 (9) Kerry Semple Stadium Philip Brennan
2007 Laois 2-19 (25) 0-8 (8) Wicklow Semple Stadium Joe FitzPatrick
2008 Westmeath 2-12 (18) 0-12 (12) Carlow Gaelic Grounds Brendan Murtagh
2009 Offaly 1-13 (16) 0-13 (13) Wexford Semple Stadium Ger Oakley
2010 Wexford 1-16 (19) 2-9 (15) Clare Semple Stadium Diarmuid Lyng
2011 Limerick 4-12 (24) 2-13 (19) Clare Cusack Park Gavin O'Mahony

Division 3A

Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Winning Captain
1981 Mayo 2-13 (19) 1-07 (10) Louth
1982 Derry 1-10 (13) 0-06 (06) Monaghan
2000 Louth 0-16 (16) 1-11 (14) Longford Cusack Park
2001 Donegal 3-13 (22) 2-10 (16) Fermanagh
2002 Longford 1-12 (15) 0-12 (12) Louth Pairc Tailteann
2003 Mayo 2-11 (17) 2-6 (12) Sligo McHale Park
2004 Sligo 3-12 (21) 1-08 (11) Tyrone Ballyshannon
2005 Mayo 1-14 (17) 2-10 (16) Donegal Markievicz Park
2006 Armagh 3-10 (19) 1-11 (14) Longford Kingspan Breffni Park
2007 Roscommon 1-13 (16) 0-15 (15) Sligo Kingspan Breffni Park Mervyn Connaughton
2008 Louth 1-16 (19) 0-11 (11) Donegal Rooskey David Dunne
2009 Kildare 2-18 (24) 1-18 (21) Meath Kingspan Breffni Park Oisin Lynch
2010 Kerry 2-18 (24) 1-15 (18) Derry Pádraig Pearse's Shane Brick
2011 Wicklow 2-20 (26) 3-14 (23) Derry Pearse Park Jonathan 'Bosco' O'Neill

Division 3B

Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Winning Captain
2009 London 2-19 (25) 2-13 (19) Roscommon Dr. Hyde Park
2010 Wicklow 3-18 (27) 2-9 (15) Louth Parnell Park
2011 Roscommon 0-17 (17) 1-12 (15) Mayo Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada Shane Curley

Division 4

Year Winners Score Runners-up Venue Winning Captain
2002
(R)		 Mayo 1-14 (17)
1-15 (18)		 4-05 (17)
1-05 (8)		 Monaghan St. Loman's, Mullingar
Markievicz Park
2008 Monaghan 1-27 (30) 5-14 (29) South Down Kingspan Breffni Park
2009 Sligo 1-13 (16) 2-8 (14) Monaghan Kingspan Breffni Park Colin Herity
2010 Monaghan 1-18 (21) 1-10 (13) Longford Kingspan Breffni Park Brian McGuigan
2011 Tyrone 1-15 (18) 0-11 (11) South Down Athletic Grounds Seán Paul Begley

Performance by County

County Winners Winning Years
Tipperary 20 1928, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1979, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2008
Cork 14 1926, 1930, 1940, 1941, 1948, 1953, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1993, 1998
Kilkenny 14 1933, 1962, 1966, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1995, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009
Limerick 11 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1947, 1971, 1984, 1985, 1992, 1997
Galway 9 1931, 1951, 1975, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2010
Dublin 3 1929, 1939, 2011
Clare 3 1946, 1977, 1978
Wexford 3 1956, 1958, 1973
Waterford 2 1963, 2007
Offaly 1 1991

Division placings for 2012 season

Division 1A

Cork | Tipperary | Kilkenny | Dublin | Galway | Waterford
Division 1B

Offaly | Laois | Clare | Antrim | Limerick | Wexford
Division 2A

Westmeath | Down | Kerry | Carlow | Derry | Wicklow
Division 2B

Mayo | Armagh | Kildare | Meath | Roscommon | London
Division 3A

Monaghan | Louth | Donegal | Tyrone | Fingal | Sligo
Division 3B

Fermanagh | Leitrim | Longford | Warwickshire |

Teams not competing:

National Hurling Leagues
Tournaments

1925–26  · 1926–27  · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30  · 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 · 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 · 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 · 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 · 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 · 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 · 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1997 · 1998 · 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005 · 2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011  · 2012

External links

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