1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Championship details
Dates	13 May - 2 September 1973
All-Ireland champions
Winning team	Limerick (7th win)
Captain	Éamonn Grimes
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing team	Kilkenny
Captain	Pat Delaney
Provincial champions
Munster	Limerick
Leinster	Kilkenny
Ulster	Not Played
Connacht	Not Played
Championship statistics
Top Scorer	Richie Bennis (2-25)
Player of the Year	Éamonn Grimes
All-Star Team	See here
← 1972 1974 →

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1973 was the 87th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Limerick won the championship, beating Kilkenny 1-21 to 1-14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

Format

Overview

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1973 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.

Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If both sides were still level at the end of that game another replay had to take place.

The Championship

Munster Championship

Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.

Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.

Leinster Championship

First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.

Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the two quarter-final pairings.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.

Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.

All-Ireland Championship

Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between London and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.

Semi-final: (1 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairing.

Final: (1 match) The winner of the lone semi-final contested this game with the Leinster champions receiving a bye into the final.

Results

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Offaly v Kildare

13 May 1973 First round	Offaly	4-12 – 3-6	Kildare	O'Moore Park
	J Kirwan 2-0, J Conroy 2-0, B Moylan 0-4, M Cleere 0-4, S Moylan 0-2, J Dolan 0-1, P McLoughney 0-1.		J Walsh 2-2, T Carew 1-2, B Burke 0-1, T Christian 0-1.	Referee: J Rankins (Laois)

Dublin v Westmeath

28 May 1973 Quarter-final	Dublin	0-17 - 1-6	Westmeath	Páirc Tailteann
	P Quigley 0-10, JJ Holden 0-2, B Sweeney 0-1, D Brannigan 0-1, M Bermingham 0-1, V Holden 0-1, D Rheinisch 0-1.		K Kenry 1-0, G Whelan 0-2, L Maher 0-2, C Connaughton 0-1, K Gavan 0-1.	Referee: J Kearns (Offaly)

Offaly v Laois

28 May 1973 Quarter-final	Offaly	3-10 – 3-10	Laois	St. Brendan's Park
	B Moylan 0-7, P Horan 1-1, S Moylan 1-0, J Kirwan 1-0, M Cleere 0-2.		G Linehan 2-6, T Keenan 1-1, F Keenan 0-2, M Walshe 0-1.	Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny)

Laois v Offaly

10 June 1973 Quarter-final replay	Laois	3-10 – 5-6	Offaly	O'Moore Park
	E Dollard 1-3, G Conroy 1-1, G Lanham 0-4, G Cuddy 1-0, P Dillon 0-1, P Dowling 0-1.		B Moylan 2-4, P Mulcare 2-1, W Gorman 1-0, P Horan 0-1.	Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny)

Kilkenny v Dublin

10 June 1973 Semi-final	Kilkenny	2-19 – 2-11	Dublin	Wexford Park
	E Keher 0-10, M Brennan 1-2, K Purcell 1-0, P Broderick 0-2, S Cooke 0-2, P Delaney 0-2, B Cody 0-1.		P Quigley 0-6, M Bermingham 1-1, D Rheinisch 1-1, R Walsh 0-1, H Dalton 0-1, M Holden 0-1.	Referee: J Rankins (Laois)

Wexford v Offaly

24 June 1973 Semi-final	Wexford	2-14 – 2-9	Offaly	Nowlan Park
	T Doran 2-1, T Byrne 0-6, M Maher 0-2, N Buggy 0-2, D Bernie 0-1, C Keogh 0-1, M Quigley 0-1.		B Moylan 1-3, J Flaherty 1-3, J Kirwan 0-1, E Moyles 0-1, P Corcoran 0-1.	Referee: J Murphy (Kilkenny)

Kilkenny v Wexford

8 July 1973 Final	Kilkenny	4-22 – 3-15	Wexford	Croke Park
	E Keher 0-11, P Delaney 2-2, M Brennan 1-4, K Purcell 1-2, P Broderick 0-2, L O'Brien 0-1.		T Byrne 2-6, M Quigley 0-4, J Berry 1-0, P Wilson 0-1, N Buggy 0-1, C Jacob 0-1, T Doran 0-1, C Keogh 0-1.

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

Tipperary v Waterford

20 May 1973 Quarter-final	Tipperary	1-16 – 2-8	Waterford	Semple Stadium
	F Loughnane 0-8, D Ryan 1-0, J Flanagan 0-3, L Gaynor 0-2, N O'Dwyer 0-1, J Ryan 0-1, S Hogan 0-1.		S Greene 1-1, J Kirwan 1-1, P Enright 0-4, M Kirwan 0-1, M Hickey 0-1.	Referee: S O'Connor (Limerick)

Limerick v Clare

24 June 1973 Semi-final	Limerick	3-11 – 3-9	Clare	Semple Stadium
	É Cregan 2-1, B Hartigan 1-1, R Bennis 0-3, É Grimes 0-2, M Dowling 0-2, F Nolan 0-1, L O'Donoghue 0-1.		T Ryan 0-5, G Lohan 1-0, M O'Connor 1-0, J Callanan 1-0, P Russell 0-2, N Ryan 0-1, M McKeogh 0-1.	Referee: S Moloney (Tipperary)

Tipperary v Cork

1 July 1973 Semi-final	Tipperary	5-4 – 1-10	Cork	Gaelic Grounds
	R Ryan 2-0, S Hogan 1-1, F Loughnane 1-1, J Flanagan 1-0, PJ Ryan 0-1, P Byrne 0-1.		G McCarthy 0-8, M Malone 1-1, P Moylan 0-1.	Referee: M Slattery (Clare)

Tipperary v Limerick

29 July 1973 Final	Tipperary	2-18 – 6-7	Limerick	Semple Stadium
	F Loughnane 2-10, M Keating 0-4, S Hogan 0-2, J Flanagan 0-1, N O'Dwyer 0-1.		R Bennis 1-5, F Nolan 2-1, É Cregan 2-0, M Dowling 1-0, L O'Donoghue 0-1.	Referee: M Slattery (Clare)

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

London v Galway

29 July 1973 Quarter-final	London	4-7 – 3-5	Galway	Dunlo GAA Ground
	L Burke 2-0, F Canning 1-1, P O'Neill 1-1, B Barry 0-4, Linnane 0-1.		G Holland 1-0, J Faul 1-0, E Burke 1-1, G Cone 0-2, P Fahy 0-2.	Referee: M Spain (Offaly)

Limerick v London

5 August 1973 Semi-final	Limerick	1-15 – 0-7	London	Cusack Park
	R Bennis 1-7, L O'Donoghue 0-4, É Cregan 0-2, B Hartigan 0-1, F Nolan 0-1.		F Canning 0-2, P O'Neill 0-2, L Corless 0-1, T Connolly 0-1, P McDermott 0-1.	Referee: M Spain (Offaly)

Limerick v Kilkenny

2 September 1973 Final	Limerick	1-21 – 1-14	Kilkenny	Croke Park
	R Bennis (0-10), M Dowling (1-1), É Grimes (0-4), F Nolan (0-2), N Rea (0-2), B Hartigan (0-1), J McKenna (0-1).		C Dunne (0-7), P Delaney (1-1), M Crotty (0-3), L O'Brien (0-2), M Brennan(0-1).	Attendance: 58,009 Referee: M Slattery (Clare)

See also: 1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final

Top scorers

Overall

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Richie Bennis	Limerick	2-25	31	4	7.75
2	Francis Loughnane	Tipperary	3-19	28	3	9.33
3	Barney Moylan	Offaly	3-18	27	4	6.75
4	Eddie Keher	Limerick	0-21	21	2	10.50
5	Tom Byrne	Wexford	2-12	18	2	9.00
6	George Lanham	Laois	2-10	16	2	8.00
	Pat Quigley	Dublin	0-16	16	2	8.00
8	Éamonn Cregan	Limerick	4-3	15	4	3.75
9	Pat Delaney	Kilkenny	3-5	14	3	4.66
10	Mick Brennan	Kilkenny	2-7	13	3	4.33

Single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Francis Loughnane	Tipperary	2-10	16	Limerick
2	Tom Byrne	Wexford	2-6	12	Kilkenny
	George Lanham	Laois	2-6	12	Offaly
4	Eddie Keher	Kilkenny	0-11	11	Wexford
5	Barney Moylan	Offaly	2-4	10	Laois
	Richie Bennis	Limerick	1-7	10	London
	Richie Bennis	Limerick	0-10	10	Kilkenny
	Eddie Keher	Kilkenny	0-10	10	Dublin
	Pat Quigley	Dublin	0-10	10	Westmeath
10	Johnny Walsh	Kildare	2-2	8	Offaly
	Pat Delaney	Kilkenny	2-2	8	Offaly
	Richie Bennis	Limerick	1-5	8	Tipperary
	Francis Loughnane	Tipperary	0-8	8	Waterford
	Gerald McCarthy	Cork	0-8	8	Tipperary

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

• Limerick win the Munster title for the first time since 1955.
• Kilkenny win the Leinster title for the third consecutive year. It is their seventh provincial three-in-a-row.
• London's win over Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final is their first championship victory since defeating Cork in the 1901 All-Ireland final.
• In the All-Ireland semi-final between Limerick and London, a unique situation arose when brothers Ned and Gerry Rea marked one another. Ned was full-forward on the Limerick team while Gerry was at full-back for London.
• Limerick win the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1940. It was their first time playing Kilkenny in the championship since then.

Player facts

Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1973 championship:

Player	Team	Date	Opposition	Game
Jimmy Crampton	Tipperary	May 20	Waterford	Munster quarter-final
Mick Culligan	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Seán Hehir	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Séamus Horgan	Limerick	June 24	Clare	Munster semi-final
Ger Loughnane	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Michael O'Connor	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Noel Ryan	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Tim Ryan	Clare	June 24	Limerick	Munster semi-final
Joe McKenna	Limerick	June 24	Clare	Munster semi-final
John Buckley	Cork	July 1	Tipperary	Munster semi-final
Noel Dunne	Cork	July 1	Tipperary	Munster semi-final
Pat Moylan	Cork	July 1	Tipperary	Munster semi-final
Tom Ryan	Limerick	July 29	Tipperary	Munster final
Brian Cody	Kilkenny	September 2	Limerick	All-Ireland final

Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1973 championship:

Player	Team	Last Game	Date	Opposition	Début
Jimmy Doyle	Tipperary	Munster quarter-final	May 20	Waterford	1957
Mick Culligan	Clare	Munster semi-final	June 24	Limerick	1973
Mick Kilmartin	Clare	Munster semi-final	June 24	Limerick	1971
Michael O'Connor	Clare	Munster semi-final	June 24	Limerick	1973
Tim Ryan	Clare	Munster semi-final	June 24	Limerick	1973
Jimmy Crampton	Tipperary	July 29	Munster final	Waterford	1973
Len Gaynor	Tipperary	July 29	Munster final	Waterford	1973
Christy Jacob	Wexford	Leinster final	August 5	Kilkenny	1966
Éamonn Morrissey	Kilkenny	Leinster final	August 5	Wexford	1972
Martin Coogan	Kilkenny	All-Ireland final	September 2	Limerick	1961
John Kinsella	Kilkenny	All-Ireland final	September 2	Limerick	1967

Sources

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
• Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).