2012 National Hurling League

National Hurling League 2012

League Details
Dates	25 February – 6 May 2012
Teams	34
Division 1 Champions
Winners	Kilkenny (15th win)
Captain	Eoin Larkin
Manager	Brian Cody
Division 1 Runners-up
Finalists	Cork
Captain	Patrick Horgan
Manager	Jimmy Barry-Murphy
Other division champions
Division 1B	Clare
Division 2A	Carlow
Division 2B	Kildare
Division 3A	Fingal
Division 3B	Fermanagh
← 2011 2013 →

The 2012 National Hurling League commenced in February 2012. 34 GAA county hurling teams: 32 from Ireland (including Fingal but not Cavan), London and Warwickshire, contested it.

On 6 May Kilkenny defeated Cork in the final to win their 15th NHL title, moving them to second place in the all-time roll of honour, behind Tipperary who have won 19 Leagues.^[1][2][3]

Format

The 2012 format was originally to consist of five divisions: Divisions 1 and 2 having eight teams in each, Division 3A six, Division 3B seven, and six teams in Division 4.

However, this was controversially altered to a system of six divisions, with six teams in divisions 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 3A, and four in division 3B.^[4] This meant that many counties were effectively relegated to a lower division.^[5][6] It was agreed in October 2011 that here will no longer be an eight team Division 1, with the top division hurling counties giving their approval to the new system.^[7] The league settings are as follows:

• Division 1A: Top three teams qualify for NHL semi-finals. Bottom two teams play a relegation playoff, with the losing team relegated.
• Division 1B: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted and qualifying for NHL semi-final. Bottom two teams play a relegation playoff, with the losing team relegated.
• Division 2A: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted. Bottom two teams play a relegation playoff, with the losing team relegated.
• Division 2B: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted. No relegation.
• Division 3A: Top two teams play division final, but the winner is not promoted. Bottom two teams play a relegation playoff, with the losing team relegated.
• Division 3B: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted.

Fixtures and results

Division 1A

      NHL finalists       Relegated team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Kilkenny	5	4	0	1	13-95	8-69	41	8
Cork	5	3	1	1	9-88	6-90	7	7
Tipperary	5	2	2	1	2-87	8-65	4	6
Waterford	5	2	0	3	4-79	5-98	-22	4
Galway	5	2	0	3	4-81	8-86	-17	4
Dublin	5	0	1	4	10-70	7-92	-13	1

• Waterford are placed ahead of Galway as they won the head-to-head match between the teams.

Fixtures and results

Round 1 25 February 2012	Cork	3-17 - 0-18	Waterford	Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork
19:00	C Lehane 0-07, P O'Sullivan 2-01, P Horgan 0-04, C Naughton 1-01, B O'Connor, D Sweetnam, P Cronin, S Og O hAilpin 0-01 each.	Report	M O'Neill 0-05, P Mahony 0-04, G O'Brien 0-02, P O'Brien, K Moran, J Nagle, K Casey, S Prendergast, E McGrath, T Ryan 0-01 each.	Attendance: 7,356 Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath)

Round 1 26 February 2012	Kilkenny	2-17 - 0-15	Tipperary	Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
14:30	R Power 1-11 (1-00 pen, 0-10f, 0-01 '65'), E Larkin 1-02, M Rice 0-02, M Ruth, TJ Reid 0-01 each.	Report	P Bourke 0-06 (0-05f, 0-01 '65'), N McGrath, S Bourke 0-03 each, C O'Mahony (0-01f), B Maher, E Kelly 0-01 each	Attendance: 10,664 Referee: M Wadding (Waterford)

Round 1 26 February 2012	Galway	0-20 - 0-13	Dublin	Pearse Stadium, Galway
14:30	N Burke (0-10, 3fs, 2'65); C Cooney (0-04); J Regan (0-03); C Donnellan (0-01); I Tannian (0-01); D Hayes (0-01).	Report	P Ryan (0-06, 5fs, 1'65); C McCormack (0-02); R O'Dwyer (0-02fs); S Durkin (0-01); D Sutcliffe (0-01); L Rushe (0-01).	Attendance: 3,241 Referee: D Kirwan (Cork)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Dublin	2-17 - 2-18	Cork	Croke Park, Dublin
14:00	P Ryan 0-8 (2 ’65, 2f), S Lambert 1-2, D Sutcliffe 0-4, R O’Dwyer 1-0, J Boland 0-2, L Rushe 0-1.	Report	P Horgan 0-7 (5f), P Cronin 1-3, C Naughton 1-1, C Lehane 0-3, P O’Sullivan 0-2, B O’Connor 0-1, W Egan 0-1.	Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Waterford	1-15 - 2-21	Kilkenny	Walsh Park, Waterford
14:30	M Shanahan 1-3, M O’Neill 0-6 (4fs), G O’Brien, T Browne (1f) 0-2 each; S Prendergast, Paudie Mahony (f) 0-1 each.	Report	R Power 0-10 (8fs), M Ruth 2-1, E Larkin 0-3, R Hogan, C Fennelly, TJ Reid (1 s/l) 0-2 each, M Fennelly 0-1.	Referee: J Sexton (Cork)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Tipperary	2-20 - 2-18	Galway	Semple Stadium, Thurles
14:30	P Bourke 1-6 (0-5f), N McGrath 1-3 (0-1f), J Woodlock, B Maher, J O’Neill & S Bourke 0-2 each, C O’Mahony (65), B O’Meara, J Ryan 0-1 each.	Report	N Burke 0-7f, D Hayes 1-3, J Regan 1-2, C Cooney 0-3 (1f), B Burke 0-2, B Daly 0-1.	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Cork	2-13 - 2-17	Galway	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
12:45	P Horgan 0-6 (0-6f), C Lehane 0-5, C Naughton, L McLoughlin 1-0 each, P O’Sullivan, J Coughlan 0-1 each.	Report	N Burke 1-10 (0-7f), D Hayes 1-1, A Smith, D Burke 0-2 each, D Glennon 0-1.	Attendance: 12,821 Referee: J Owens (Wexford)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Kilkenny	5-16 - 6-12	Dublin	Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
14:30	R. Power 1-8 (5fs, 1 65), R Hogan 1-3, A Fogarty 1-1, M Ruth, C Fennelly 1-0 each, E Larkin 0-3, TJ Reid 0-1.	Report	D Sutcliffe 2-3, P Ryan 1-3 (2fs), A McCrabbe 0-4 (3fs), C McCormack, E Dillon, D O’Callaghan 1-0 each, L Rushe, M O’Brien 0-1 each.	Attendance: 5,571 Referee: B Kelly (Westmeath)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Tipperary	0-31 - 2-15	Waterford	Semple Stadium, Thurles
14:30	N McGrath 0-7 (0-1f); P Bourke 0-7 (0-4f); B O’Meara 0-3; P Maher 0-2; B Maher 0-2; J Woodlock 0-2; J O’Neill 0-2; S Bourke 0-2; S McGrath 0-2; J Ryan, T Stapleton, 0-1 each.	Report	M Shanahan 1-4 (1-0p, 0-1f); M O’Neill 0-4 (4f); S Molumphy 1-0; S O’Sullivan 0-2; G O’Brien, S Walsh, J Nagle, K Moran, E McGrath, 0-1 each.	Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Round 4 24 March 2012	Dublin	2-15 - 0-21	Tipperary	Croke Park, Dublin
	D Treacy, L Rushe both 1-2, A McCrabbe 0-3 (2f), R Dwyer, D Sutcliffe, N McMorrow all 0-2, J McCaffrey, D O’Callaghan both 0-1	Report	P Bourke 0-6 (5f), B O’Meara 0-5, N McGrath 0-4 (2f), J O’Brien 0-2, S Bourke, J Ryan, S McGrath, B Maher all 0-1	Referee: B Gavin (Offaly)

Round 4 25 March 2012	Galway	0-16 - 1-14	Waterford	Pearse Stadium, Galway
	N Burke 0-5 (0-3f), D Burke 0-3, A Smith, B Daly 0-2 each, C Cooney, N Donoghue, B Flaherty 0-1 each.	Report	P Mahony 0-9 (0-9f), S Walsh 1-2, J Mullane 0-2, M Shanahan 0-1.	Referee: A Stapleton (Laois)

Round 4 25 March 2012	Cork	1-17 - 1-15	Kilkenny	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
	P Horgan (0-8, 0-7f), P O’Sullivan (1-1), C Naughton (0-2), W Egan (0-2, 0-1 65, 0-1f), D Sweetnam (0-1); C Lehane (0-1), P Cronin (0-1), J Coughlan (0-1).	Report	R Power (1-11, 0-9f), R Hogan (0-2), M Rice (0-1); TJ Reid (0-1).	Referee: M Wadding

Round 5 1 April 2012	Waterford	0-17 - 0-13	Dublin	Fraher Field, Dungarvan
14:30	M Shanahan (0-4,0-2f), G O'Brien (0-4), P Mahony (0-3f);, J Mullane (0-2), S Walsh (0-1), T Browne (0-1), K Moran (0-1), E Kelly (0-1).	Report	D Tracey (0-4,0-3f), E Dillon (0-3), R O'Carroll (0-2), D Sutcliffe (0-1), R O'Dwyer (0-1), J McCaffery (0-1f), N McMorrow (0-1).

Round 5 1 April 2012	Kilkenny	3-26 - 0-10	Galway	Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
14:30	E Larkin 1-7 (5fs), TJ Reid 1-6, M Ruth 1-1, M Rice, C Fennelly 0-3 each, M Fennelly, R Hogan (1f) 0-2 each, A Fogarty, M Bergin 0-1 each.	Report	N Burke 0-5fs, A Smith 0-2, T Regan, C Donnellan, A Harte 0-1 each.

Round 5 1 April 2012	Tipperary	1-23 - 1-23	Cork	Semple Stadium, Thurles
14:30	P Bourke (1-6, 1-2f), N McGrath (0-5), J O’Brien (0-3), S Bourke (0-3), G Ryan (0-2), J Woodlock (0-1), P Maher (0-1), T Stapleton (0-1), E Kelly (0-1).	Report	P Horgan (0-9, 3f), C Lehane (1-2), C Naughton (0-4), D Sweetnam (0-3), J Coughlan (0-2), W Egan (0-1f), P Cronin (0-1), J Gardiner (0-1).

Relegation play-off 15 April 2012	Galway	0-26 - 2-20 (aet)	Dublin	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
14:30	J Canning 0-12 (6f); N Burke 0-5 (4f); C Donnellan 0-2; D Hayes 0-2; D Burke, C Cooney, J Coen, J Glynn, J Regan, 0-1.	Report	P Ryan 0-9 (8f, 1 65); D Sutcliffe 0-3; N McMorrow 0-3 (1f, 1 65); C McCormack 1-0; R O’Carroll 1-0; J McCaffrey, A McCrabbe (65), S Lambert, D Plunkett, D Treacy, 0-1.

Relegation play-off replay 21 April 2012	Dublin	0-19 - 4-21	Galway	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
16:00	P Ryan (0-11, 8f), M Quilty (0-3), C McCormack (0-2), J McCaffrey (0-1), D Treacy (0-1), J Boland (0-1)	Report	J Canning (2-7, 1-6f), D Burke (1-3), N Burke (0-4), D Glennon (1-2), C Donnellan (0-2) D Hayes (0-1), I Tannian (0-1), J Coen (0-1).	Referee: J Sexton (Cork)

Semi-final 22 April 2012	Kilkenny	1-20 - 0-14	Clare	Semple Stadium, Thurles
14:00	M Ruth 1-3, R Power 0-9 (7f), C Fennelly 0-4, J Mulhall, E Larkin, K Joyce, TJ Reid 0-1 each.	Report	C McGrath 0-6 (5f), C Ryan 0-3 (2f), N O’Connell 0-2 (2f), L Markham, P Donnellan, S Collins 0-1 each.	Attendance: 15,424 Referee: Alan kelly

Semi-final 22 April 2012	Cork	1-25 - 2-15	Tipperary	Semple Stadium, Thurles
16:00	L O’Farrell 1-02, P Horgan 0-09 (6f), N McCarthy, W Egan (2f) 0-03 each, P Cronin, C Lehane 0-02 each, J Gardiner, P O’Sullivan, D Sweetnam, A Nash 0-01 each.	Report	B O’Meara 1-02, E Kelly 1-01 (1-01f), P Bourke 0-07 (5f), J Woodlock, G Ryan, N McGrath, S Bourke, J O’Brien 0-01 each.	Attendance: 15,424 Referee: M Wadding (Waterford)

Final 6 May 2012	Kilkenny	3-21 — 0-16	Cork	Semple Stadium, Thurles
		Report		Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Top scorers

Season

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Richie Power	Kilkenny	3-49	58	5	11.60
2	Niall Burke	Galway	1-47	50	7	7.14
3	Pa Bourke	Tipperary	2-38	44	6	7.33
4	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-43	43	6	7.16

Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Richie Power	Kilkenny	1-11	14	Cork
	Richie Power	Kilkenny	1-11	14	Tipperary
3	Joe Canning	Galway	2-7	13	Dubln
	Niall Burke	Galway	1-10	13	Cork
5	Joe Canning	Galway	0-12	12	Dublin
6	Paul Ryan	Dublin	0-11	11	Galway
	Richie Power	Kilkenny	1-8	11	Dublin
8	Eoin Larkin	Kilkenny	1-7	10	Galway
	Niall Burke	Galway	0-10	10	Dublin
	Richie Power	Kilkenny	0-10	10	Waterford
11	Danny Sutcliffe	Dublin	2-3	9	Kilkenny
	T. J. Reid	Kilkenny	1-6	9	Galway
	Pa Bourke	Tipperary	1-6	9	Galway
	Pa Bourke	Tipperary	1-6	9	Cork
	Paul Ryan	Dublin	0-9	9	Galway
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-9	9	Tipperary
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-9	9	Tipperary
	Richie Power	Kilkenny	0-9	9	Clare
19	Paul Ryan	Dublin	0-8	8	Cork
	Patrick Horgan	Cork	0-8	8	Kilkenny

Division 1B

      Division champions and promoted team       Relegated team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Clare	5	5	0	0	10-98	3-75	44	10
Limerick	5	3	1	1	9-95	8-81	17	7
Offaly	5	2	1	2	8-98	8-83	15	5
Antrim	5	2	0	3	5-65	7-73	-14	4
Wexford	5	2	0	3	9-87	10-91	-7	4
Laois	5	0	0	5	6-74	11-109	-50	0

• Antrim are placed ahead of Wexford as they won the head-to-head match between the teams.

Fixtures and results

Round 1 25 February 2012	Limerick	1-13 - 2-24	Clare	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
19:00	S Dowling 0-7 (4f), J N Moran 1-1, C Allis 0-2 (1 sl), D O’Grady, J Ryan & K Downes 0-1 each.	Report	C McGrath 1-10 (0-8f), C Ryan 1-1, J Conlon 0-4, N O’Connell 0-3, C McInerney & S Collins 0-2 each, P Donnellan & F Lynch 0-1.	Attendance: 5,390 Referee: J Ryan (Tipperary)

Round 1 26 February 2012	Offaly	1-27 - 0-18	Laois	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
14:30	S Dooley (0-7, 0-3 frees), B Murphy (0-5), J Bergin (0-4), J Mulrooney (1-1), S Ryan (0-3), T Carroll (0-2), R Hanniffy, D Morkan, D Molloy, C Mahon, C Egan (0-1 each).	Report	W Hyland (0-8, 0-4 frees), B Dunne (0-4), J Fitzpatrick, T Fitzgerald, J Brophy (0-2 each).	Referee: J Owens (Wexford)

Round 1 26 February 2012	Antrim	3-18 - 2-15	Wexford	Casement Park, Belfast
14:30	S McNaughton 1-7 (6f), K Stewart 1-3, PJ O'Connell 0-3, K Sheeran 1-0, N McManus (2f), M Herron 0-2 each, N McAuley 0-1.	Report	E Quigley 2-0, T O'Leary, G Sinnott, G Moore (2f), P Morris (1f), R Jacob, J Berry (2f) 0-2 each, R Kehoe, PJ Nolan, S Murphy 0-1 each	Referee: E Hasson (Derry)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Clare	0-20 - 0-12	Antrim	Cusack Park, Ennis
14:30	N O’Connell (0-6) 4 f’s, C McGrath (0-6) 4 f’s, C Ryan (0-3), C Morey (0-2), J Conlon, D Keane, C McInerney (0-1) each.	Report	S McNaughton (0-5) f’s, N McManus (0-4) 1 f, K Stewart, PJ O’Connell, C McFall 90-1) each.	Referee: B Gavin (Offaly)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Wexford	3-18 - 2-20	Offaly	Wexford Park, Wexford
14:30	H Kehoe (0-7, five frees), G Moore (1-1), D O’Keeffe (1-1), J Guiney (1-0, a free) E Quigley (0-2), D Redmond (0-2), PJ Nolan (0-2), T O’Leary (0-1), R Kehoe (0-1), R Jacob (0-1).	Report	S Dooley (0-9, eight frees), B Murphy (1-2), C Egan (1-1), D Molloy (0-2), J Bergin (0-2), D Morkham (0-1, free), S Ryan (0-1), D Mooney (0-1), T Carroll (0-1).	Referee: A Stapleton (Laois)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Laois	2-12 - 1-24	Limerick	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
14:30	W Hyland 0-8 (6frees), B Dunne 1-2, M McEvoy 1-0, J Fitzpatrick, T Fitzgerald 0-1 each.	Report	D Breen 1-4, G Mulcahy, S Dowling (4frees) 0-6 each, C Allis 0-5 (3frees, ’65), N Moran 0-2, P Browne 0-1.	Referee: T Carroll (Offaly)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Laois	2-13 - 2-22	Clare	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
12:45	W Hyland 1-6 (1 pen, 3f), N Foyle 1-1, M Whelan, J Walsh, M McEvoy, J Brophy, S Maher, C Murray 0-1 each	Report	J Conlon 1-3, C Ryan 0-5 (3f), P Donnellan 0-4, S Collins 1-1, D Keane 0-3, J McInerney, J Clancy 0-2 each, N O'Connell (1f), C Morey 0-1 each	Referee: E Hasson (Derry)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Offaly	1-22 - 1-17	Antrim	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
14:30	S Dooley 1-10 (0-10f), J Bergin 0-04, B Murphy 0-03, C Mahon, J Mulrooney 0-02 each, R Hanniffy 0-01	[8]	S McNaughton 0-10 (0-08f, 0-01 '65'), D Lynch 1-00, P Shiels, PJ O'Connell, N McManus (0-01 '65') 0-02 each, M Herron 0-01	Attendance: Sparse Referee: Johnny Ryan (Tipperary).

Round 3 18 March 2012	Wexford	0-18 - 2-20	Limerick	Wexford Park, Wexford
14:30	H Kehoe 0-7, (5f, 1 '65'), J Guiney 0-3 (2f, 1, 65), D Redmond, D O'Keeffe, S Banville 0-2 each, PJ Nolan, R Jacob, 0-1 each	Report	N Moran 1-5, D O'Grady 1-2, C Allis 0-6 (5f), G Mulcahy 0-3, G O'Mahoney (f) , P Browne, M Ryan, N Maher 0-1 each	Referee: C Lyons (Cork)

Round 4 24 March 2012	Limerick	2-16 - 4-10	Offaly	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
19:00	S Tobin 1-2, C Allis 0-4 (2f, 1 '65'), N Moran 1-0, T Quaid 0-3, D Breen, G Mulcahy 0-2 each, P Browne, N Maher, S O'Brien 0-1 each.	Report	S Dooley 2-5 (1-0 pen, 0-3f, 0-1 '65', 0-1 sl), C Mahon, G Healion 1-0 each, B Murphy, J Rigney 0-2 each, D Horan 0-1.	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Round 4 25 March 2012	Clare	3-16 - 0-18	Wexford	Cusack Park, Ennis
14:30	C McGrath (1-7, four frees), J Conlon (1-2), S Collins (1-1), N O’Connell (0-3, one free), L Markham (0-2), F Lynch (0-1).	Report	J Guiney (0-12, 10 frees, one 65), H Kehoe (0-2, free), D O’Keeffe (0-1), R Kehoe (0-1), J Berry (0-1), D Lyng (0-1).	Referee: A Kelly (Galway)

Round 4 25 March 2012	Antrim	2-18 - 2-16	Laois	Casement Park, Belfast
14:30	S McNaughton (1-8, 4f), N McManus (0-4), C Carson (1-0), P Shiels (0-2), C Donnelly (0-1f), S McCrory (0-1), PJ O’Connell (0-1), B McFall (0-1).	Report	W Hyland (0-9, 0-6f), C Murray (1-2), B Reddin (1-0), D O’Mahoney (0-2), W Dunphy (0-1), S Bourke (0-1), A Collier (0-1).	Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Round 5 1 April 2012	Wexford	4-18 - 0-15	Laois	Wexford Park, Wexford
14:30	J Guiney 1-8 (1-5fs, 1 65), P Morris 2-2, R Jacob 1-2, H Kehoe 0-2, S Murphy, D Lyng, PJ Nolan, J Fogarty 0-1 each.	Report	W Hyland 0-9, (3fs, 1 65), S Lowney 0-3, M Whelan 0-2 (1f), J Walsh 0-1.	Referee: T Carroll (Laois)

Round 5 1 April 2012	Offaly	0-19 - 2-14	Clare	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
14:30	S Dooley 0-12 (0-8 frees, 0-1 ’65 & 0-1 penalty), J Bergin 0-3, S Ryan 0-1, C Egan 0-1, D Morkan 0-1, C Parlon 0-1.	Report	C Ryan 0-7 (0-6 frees), B Donnellan 1-0, C Chaplin 1-0, C McInerney 0-2, A Cunningham 0-2, C Morey 0-1, L Markham 0-1, P Kelly 0-1.	Referee: J Sexton (Cork)

Round 5 1 April 2012	Antrim	0-17 - 3-22	Limerick	Casement Park, Belfast
14:30	S McNaughton (0-9, 4f), M Herron (0-2), E McCloskey (0-2), K Stewart (0-1), PJ O’Connell (0-1), N McManus (0-1), B McFall (0-1).	Report	S Dowling (2-4, 2-0 frees, 0-1 pen), C Allis (0-9, 2f, 0-2 ‘65s’), S Tobin (1-2), J Ryan (0-2), D Breen (0-2), N Moran (0-1), S Walsh (0-1), T Quaid (0-1).	Referee: A Nitwit Kelly (Galway)

Final 7 April 2012	Clare	0-21 - 1-16	Limerick	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
18:00	C McGrath (0-12, 0-10f), N O'Connell (0-3, 2'65's, 1f), C Ryan (0-3), P Donnellan (0-1), J Conlon (0-1), A Cunningham (0-1).	Report	S Dowling (1-7, 1pen, 4f, '65), G Mulcahy (0-3), S O'Brien (0-2), J Ryan (0-1), N Moran (0-1), T Quaid (0-1), K Downes (0-1).	Attendance: 9,897 Referee: B Gavin (Offaly)

Relegation play-off 15 April 2012	Wexford	5-12 - 0-19	Laois	Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
14:00	J Guiney 3-5 (4fs), D Redmond, P Morris 1-1 each, H Kehoe, R Jacob 0-2 each, PJ Nolan 0-1.	Report	W Hyland 0-11 (8fs, 2 s/l), C Murray 0-3, S Bourke 0-2, J Walsh, T Fitzgerald, B Reddin 0-1.	Referee: D Kirwan (Cork)

Top scorers

Season

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Willie Hyland	Laois	1-61	64	6	10.66
2	Shane Dooley	Offaly	3-43	52	5	10.40
3	Shane McNaughton	Antrim	2-39	45	5	9.00
4	Conor McGrath	Clare	2-35	41	4	10.25

Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Jack Guiney	Wexford	3-5	14	Laois
2	Conor McGrath	Clare	1-10	13	Limerick
	Shane Dooley	Offaly	1-10	13	Antrim
4	Jack Guiney	Wexford	0-12	12	Clare
	Conor McGrath	Clare	0-12	12	Limerick
	Shane Dooley	Offaly	0-12	12	Clare
7	Shane Dooley	Offaly	2-5	11	Limerick
	Jack Guiney	Wexford	1-8	11	Laois
	Shane McNaughton	Antrim	1-8	11	Laois
	Willie Hyland	Laois	0-11	11	Wexford
11	Shane Dowling	Limerick	2-4	10	Antrim
	Shane Dowling	Limerick	1-7	10	Clare
	Shane McNaughton	Antrim	1-7	10	Wexford
	Conor McGrath	Clare	1-7	10	Wexford
	Shane McNaughton	Antrim	0-10	10	Offaly
16	Willie Hyland	Laois	1-6	9	Clare
	Shane Dooley	Offaly	0-9	9	Wexford
	Willie Hyland	Laois	0-9	9	Antrim
	Willie Hyland	Laois	0-9	9	Wexford
	Shane McNaughton	Antrim	0-9	9	Limerick

Division 2A

      Division champions and promoted team       Relegated team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Carlow	5	4	1	0	8-86	4-58	40	9
Westmeath	5	4	0	1	10–94	9-68	29	8
Derry	5	2	1	2	4-71	7-75	-13	5
Kerry	5	2	0	3	11-77	2-87	17	4
Wicklow	5	0	3	2	2–64	9-74	-31	3
Down	5	0	1	4	7-72	11-102	-42	1

Fixtures and results

Round 1 26 February 2012	Carlow	3-17 - 1-6	Down	Dr Cullen Park, Carlow
14:00	M Kavanagh 1-6 (4f), C Doyle 1-3, S Kavanagh 1-1 (1f), A Gaule, J Kane, D Roberts 0-2 each, P Kehoe 0-1f	Report	P Braniff 0-4f, D Toner 1-1, D Hughes 0-1	Referee: S Cleere (Kilkenny)

Round 1 26 February 2012	Westmeath	0-19 - 3-8	Kerry	Cusack Park, Mullingar
14:30	B Murtagh (0-13, 9F, 1 '65), A Mitchell (0-2), J Gilligan (0-1, P Dowdall (0-1), A Mcgrath (0-1), Frank Boyle (0-1).	Report	P Boyle (3-0), S Brick (0-4, 3f), W O'Dwyer (0-2), S Nolan (0-1), A Boyle (0-1).

Round 1 26 February 2012	Wicklow	0-14 - 1-11	Derry	O'Byrne Park, Aughrim
14:30	J O'Neill 0-11 (8f), A O'Brien, E Glynn, R Keddy 0-1 each	Report	S Farren 1-4 (3f), R Convery 0-4 (1f), O McCloskey, P McCloskey, J Mulholland 0-1 each	Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Kerry	0-13 - 0-20	Carlow	Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney
12:45	S Nolan 1-3, S Brick 0-5 (3f), W O'Dwyer 0-2, P Boyle, J Griffin, D O'Connell (1f) 0-1 each	Report	P Kehoe 0-11 (10f), C Doyle 0-3, R Coady 0-2, M Brennan, J Kane, M Kavanagh, E Byrne 0-1 each	Referee: J O'Connell (Cork)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Down	2-11 - 0-17	Wicklow	Páirc Esler, Newry
14:30	P Braniff 1-6 (1f), D Toner 1-0, K McGarry , P Sheehan 0-2 each, P Keith 0-1	Report	J O'Neill 0-9 (7f), J Connors 0-4, A O'Brien 0-2, E Glynn, G Bermingham 0-1 each	Referee: L McAuley (Antrim)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Derry	2-13 - 3-19	Westmeath	Celtic Park, Derry
14:30	P Henry 0-10 (9f), R Convery 1-2, A Grant 1-0, P McCloskey 0-1	Report	B Murtagh 0-9 (8f, 1 '65'), P Greville 1-3, D Carthy 1-1, F Boyle 0-4, J Gilligan 1-0, J Clarke, A Dermody 0-1 each	Referee: D Magee (Down)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Down	1-14 - 1-20	Derry	Pairc Esler, Newry
12:45	P Braniff 1-8 (1-8f), D Toner 0-3, E Clarke 0-2 (1 '65'), F Conway 0-1	Report	P Henry 1-10 (10f), R Convery, O McCloskey 0-3 each, S Farren 0-2, L Hinphey, B Quigley 0-1 each	Referee: O Elliott (Antrim)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Wicklow	1-12 - 2-22	Kerry	O'Byrne Park, Aughrim
12:45	P Farrell 1-0, A O'Brien 0-4f, J O'Neill 0-3 (2f), T Doyle, E Glynn 0-2 each, C Moorehouse 0-1	Report	S Brick 0-10 (4f, 2 '65), S Nolan 2-3, J Flaherty 0-3, D Dineen 0-2, A O'Connor, C Harty, D O'Connell, PJ Connolly 0-1 each	Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)

Round 3 18 March 2012	Carlow	2-17 - 1-16	Westmeath	Dr Cullen Park, Carlow
12:45	R Smithers 2-2, S Kavanagh (3f), M Kavanagh (3f), C Doyle 0-3 each, P Kehoe (2f), M Brennan 0-2 each, J Kavanagh, E Byrne 0-1 each	Report	B Murtagh 1-10 (1-9f, 1 '65'), J Shaw 0-2, P Greville, A Clarke, D Carty, E Price 0-1 each

Round 4 24 March 2012	Westmeath	3-19 - 0-10	Wicklow	Cusack Park, Mullingar
14:30	B Murtagh 2-9 (1-6fs), P Greville 1-1, J Shaw 0-3, F Boyle 0-2, P Dowdall, C Boyle, A Clarke and A Dermody 0-1 each.	Report	A O’Brien 0-6 (5fs, 1‘65’), E Kearns, R Keddy, E Glynn and T Doyle 0-1 each.	Referee: J O'Mahony (Limerick)

Round 4 25 March 2012	Kerry	4-27 - 1-21	Down	Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney
12:45	S Nolan 1-6, S Brick 1-5 (3f), A Boyle 2-0, W O’Dwyer, D O’Connell 0-4 each, D Walsh 0-3, D Dineen (1 sl) 0-2, C Harty, PJ Connolly, J Flaherty 0-1 each.	Report	P Braniff (1-6f) 1-9, F Conway, E Clarke (1 65, 1 sl) 0-3 each, P Keith, C Baillie 0-2 each, D Toner, P Sheehan 0-1 each.

Round 4 25 March 2012	Carlow	2-21 - 0-12	Derry	Dr Cullen Park, Carlow
12:45	S Kavanagh 1-3 (2fs, 1 65), E Byrne 0-4, M Brennan 1-1, P Kehoe 0-3fs, J Kavanagh, J Kane, C Doyle, A Gaul 0-2 each, R Smithers, H P O’Byrne 0-1 each.	Report	P Henry 0-9, (8fs, 1 65), P Kelly, O McCloskey, K Hinphey 0-1 each.

Round 5 1 April 2012	Wicklow	1-11 - 1-11	Carlow	O'Byrne Park, Aughrim
14:30	A O’Brien 0-10 (6fs), W O’Gorman 1-0, E Dunne 0-1.	Report	P Coady 0-4 (3fs), S Kavanagh 0-3 (2fs, 1 65), M Brennan 1-0, D Roberts 0-2, P Kehoe, K McCabe 0-1 each.	Referee: P Casey (Waterford)

Round 5 1 April 2012	Down	2-20 - 3-21	Westmeath	Páirc Esler, Newry
14:30	P Braniff 0-13 (11fs, 1 65), C Mageean 1-1, D Toner 1-0, C Bailie 0-2, M Ennis, E Clarke, D Hughes, F Conway 0-1 each.	Report	E Price, D Carty 1-4 each, N O’Brien 1-0, B Murtagh 0-5 (1f), J Shaw, A Dermody 0-2 each, J Clarke, A Clarke, D McCormack, R Grenville 0-1 each.	Referee: G Duffy (Antrim)

Round 5 1 April 2012	Derry	0-15 - 1-7	Kerry	Celtic Park, Derry
14:30	K Hinphey 0-5, R Convery 0-3, P Henry 0-2, P Kelly 0-2, C Gilmore, L Craig, A Grant 0-1 each.	[www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/hurling/derry-dominate-kingdom-189136.html Report]	D O’Connell 0-5, J Lahert 1-0, PJ Connolly 0-2.	Referee: O Elliot (Antrim)

Final 15 April 2012	Carlow	1-14 - 0-12	Westmeath	Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
16:00	M. Clowry (1-0), P. Kehoe (0-3, 0-2 from frees), S. Kavanagh (0-3 from frees), M. Kavanagh (0-2 from frees), C. Doyle (0-2), A. Gaule (0-2), D. Roberts (0-1), J. Kavanagh (0-1).	Report	B. Murtagh (0-5, 0-2 from frees), N. O’Brien (0-5, 0-3 from frees, 0-1 from a ’65), D. McCormack (0-2).	Referee: C Lyons (Cork)

Relegation play-off 22 April 2012	Wicklow	2-14 — 0-17	Down	St. Loman's Park, Trim
2:30 p.m.	J O'Neill (1-0 pen, 0-1f), E Kearns 1-1 each; W Gorman, E Glynn 0-3 each; A O'Brien, R Keddy 0-2 each; B Cuddihy, C Moorehouse 0-1 each	Report	P Braniff 0-14 (10f); M Cunningham (s/l), D Toner, A O'Prey 0-1 each	Referee: F Smith (Meath)

Top scorers

Season

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Brendan Murtagh	Westmeath	3-51	60	6	10.00
2	Paul Braniff	Down	3-37	46	5	9.20
3	Paddy Henry	Derry	1-31	34	4	8.50

Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Brendan Murtagh	Westmeath	2-9	15	Wicklow
2	Brendan Murtagh	Westmeath	1-10	13	Carlow
	Paddy Henry	Derry	1-10	13	Down
	Paul Braniff	Down	0-13	13	Westmeath
	Brendan Murtagh	Westmeath	0-13	13	Kerry
6	Paul Braniff	Down	1-8	11	Derry
	Paudie Kehoe	Carlow	0-11	11	Kerry
	Jonathan O'Neill	Wicklow	0-11	11	Derry
9	Paddy Henry	Derry	0-10	10	Westmeath
	Andy O'Brien	Wicklow	0-10	10	Carlow
	Shane Brick	Kerry	0-10	10	Wicklow
12	Pádraig Boyle	Kerry	3-0	9	Westmeath
	Shane Nolan	Kerry	1-6	9	Down
	Paul Braniff	Down	1-6	9	Kerry
	Paul Braniff	Down	1-6	9	Wicklow
	Brendan Murtagh	Westmeath	0-9	9	Derry
	Jonathan O'Neill	Wicklow	0-9	9	Down
	Paddy Henry	Derry	0-9	9	Carlow

Division 2B

      Division champions and promoted team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Kildare	5	4	0	1	13-104	2-68	69	8
Meath	5	3	1	1	7-74	5-50	30	7
Mayo	5	2	1	2	6-69	5-84	-12	5
London	5	2	0	3	7-75	6-74	4	4
Armagh	5	2	0	3	1-66	12-95	-62	4
Roscommon	5	1	0	4	7-68	11-85	-29	2

• London are placed ahead of Armagh because they won the head-to-head game between the teams.

Fixtures and results

Round 1 26 February 2012	Meath	0-13 - 1-12	Kildare	Páirc Tailteann, Navan
14:30	N Horan 0-5 (5f), S Clynch 0-3 (2f), N Kirby (0-2), S Donoghue (0-1), E Marsh (0-1), P Durnin (0-1).	Report	P Divilly 1-2 (0-2f), L Quinn (0-3), R Hoban (0-2 one free, one '65'), C Kenny (0-2), M Maloney (0-1), D Harney (0-1), J Enright (0-1).

Round 1 26 February 2012	Roscommon	1-8 - 0-16	Mayo	Athleague
14:30	G Fallon (1-0), D Nolan (0-3), G Fallon (0-2), S Curley (0-1), T Seale (0-1), J Coyne (0-1).	Report	K Higgins (0-10), C Freeman (0-4), C McCrudden (0-1), K Feeney (0-1).	Referee: C Browne (Galway)

Round 1 26 February 2012	London	2-21 - 0-12	Armagh	Ruislip
14:30	E Brennan 2-1, P Sloane 0-5 (2f, 1 ’65), E Gleeson 0-3, E Cooney, S Ryan, T Dunne 0-2 each, G Fennelly, N Forde, M O’Meara, H Vaughan, N Rogers 0-1 each.	Report	D Carvill 0-5 (4f), C Carvill 0-2, D Coulter (f), F Bradley, A Carville, M Lennon 0-1 each.	Referee: F Smith (Meath)

Round 2 11 March 2012	Kildare	0-24 - 0-15	London	Newbridge
12:45

Round 2 11 March 2012	Mayo	3-12 - 1-18	Meath	McHale Park, Castlebar
12:45

Round 2 11 March 2012	Armagh	1-20 - 1-14	Roscommon	Athletic Grounds, Armagh
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	Armagh	0-11 - 0-5	Mayo	Athletic Grounds, Armagh
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	Roscommon	1-13 - 5-19	Kildare	Athleague
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	London	0-7 - 2-8	Meath	Ruislip
14:30

Round 4 24 March 2012	London	3-18 - 1-10	Mayo	Ruislip
14:30

Round 4 25 March 2012	Kildare	7-30 - 0-7	Armagh	Newbridge
12:45

Round 4 25 March 2012	Meath	3-16 - 1-11	Roscommon	Pairc Tailteann, Navan
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Roscommon	3-22 - 2-14	London	Athleague
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Armagh	0-8 - 1-19	Meath	Athletic Grounds, Armagh
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Mayo	1-20 - 0-19	Kildare	McHale Park, Castlebar
14:30	K Feeney (0-11,9f, 1 65’), S Hoban (1-3), B Hunt (0-3), C Freeman (0-2), K Higgins (0-1).		P Divilly (0-8,7f), M Fitzgerald (0-4, 1f), T Murphy (0-2), R Kelly (0-1), D Butler (0-1), M Moloney (0-1), D Smith (0-1), L Quinn (0-1).	Referee: C Brown (Galway)

Final 15 April 2012	Kildare	3-13 - 1-12	Meath	Parnell Park

Division 3A

      Division champions (not promoted)       Relegated team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Monaghan	5	4	1	0	6-78	5-50	31	9
Fingal	5	4	0	1	9-73	4-69	19	8
Louth	5	2	2	1	6–87	4-63	30	6
Tyrone	5	2	0	3	4-82	7-75	-2	4
Donegal	5	1	0	4	7-61	9-99	-44	2
Sligo	5	0	1	4	8-58	11-83	-34	1

Fixtures and results

Round 1 26 February 2012	Tyrone	3-18 - 2-09	Sligo	Healy Park, Omagh
14:30

Round 1 26 February 2012	Monaghan	1-18 - 1-11	Donegal	Clones
14:30

Round 1 26 February 2012	Louth	0-12 - 1-13	Fingal	Dowdallshill
14:30

Round 2 11 March 2012	Sligo	2-13 - 1-16	Louth	Markievicz Park, Sligo
12:45

Round 2 11 March 2012	Fingal	0-11 - 0-16	Monaghan	Swords
14:30

Round 2 11 March 2012	Donegal	1-10 - 0-24	Tyrone	Letterkenny
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	Monaghan	1-09 - 1-09	Louth	Inniskeen
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	Fingal	4-15 - 0-14	Tyrone	Swords
14:30

Round 3 18 March 2012	Donegal	1-16 - 2-12	Sligo	Letterkenny
14:30

Round 4 25 March 2012	Sligo	0-15 - 2-15	Fingal	Markievicz Park, Sligo
14:30

Round 4 25 March 2012	Tyrone	1-10 - 0-17	Monaghan	Healy Park, Omagh
12:45

Round 4 25 March 2012	Louth	4-24 - 0-12	Donegal	Dowdallshill
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Fingal	2-19 - 4-12	Donegal	Swords
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Monaghan	0-24 - 0-16	Sligo	Inniskeen
14:30

Round 5 1 April 2012	Louth	4-18 - 2-9	Tyrone	Dowdallshill
14:30

Relegation playoff 15 April 2012	Donegal	2-13 - 0-16	Sligo	Brewster Park, Enniskillen
16:30

Final 15 April 2012	Fingal	w/o — scr.	Monaghan	O'Connor Park, Tullamore

The Monaghan team gave a walkover after a dispute with the county board, who had refused to reschedule Gaelic football club games to allow their players to rest for the final.^[9]

Division 3B

      Division champions and promoted team

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Fermanagh	3	3	0	0	6-41	3-16	34	6
Warwickshire	3	2	0	1	11-49	2-29	47	4
Leitrim	3	1	0	2	6-35	9-57	-31	2
Longford	3	0	0	3	1-15	10-38	-50	0

Fixtures and results

Round 1 18 March 2012	Longford	1-8 - 2-21	Leitrim	Michael Fay Park, Longford
14:30

Round 1 18 March 2012	Fermanagh	0-14 - 1-10	Warwickshire	Brewster Park, Enniskillen
14:30

Round 2 25 March 2012	Warwickshire	8-19 - 0-5	Longford	Páirc na hÉireann, Solihull
14:30

Round 2 25 March 2012	Leitrim	2-6 - 6-27	Fermanagh	Seán O'Heslin park, Ballinamore
14:30

Round 3 1 April 2012	Leitrim	2-10 - 2-20	Warwickshire	Seán O'Heslin park, Ballinamore
14:30

Round 3 1 April 2012	Fermanagh	w/o - scr.	Longford	Irvinestown
14:30		Report

Final 14 April 2012	Warwickshire	2-5 - 2-15	Fermanagh	Parnell Park, Dublin
14:00

Broadcasting rights

Setanta Sports and TG4 provided live coverage of matches in Ireland with RTE providing highlights on Sunday nights. The finals were all shown live on TG4. Setanta Sports broadcasts live matches in Australia. Setanta Sports also provides matches from the National Hurling League in Asia.

References

1. ↑ "Kilkenny's early blitz ends Rebel resistance". Irish Independent. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
2. ↑ "Just another test passed for in-form Larkin and Kilkenny". Irish Times. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
3. ↑ "As it Happened: Cork 0-16 Kilkenny 3-21". RTÉ Sport. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012. 
4. ↑ "Counties to vote on new hurling league format". Irish Independent. 11 August 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 
5. ↑ "Hurling League changes are announced". RTÉ Sport. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 
6. ↑ "Revamp announced for next year’s hurling league". Irish Examiner. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 
7. ↑ "Hurling's elitist divide". Irish Independent. 15 October 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2012. 
8. ↑ "Offaly Antrim". 
9. ↑ Entertainment. "Skerries rugby success - Gaelic Football, Sport". Fingal-Independent.ie. Retrieved 15 August 2012. 

External links

• 2012 National Hurling League Fixtures and Results

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