National Hurling League

Allianz National Hurling League
Current season or competition: 2017 National Hurling League
Irish	Sraith Iomána Náisiúnta
Code	Hurling
Founded	1925–26
Region	Ireland (GAA)
Trophy	Dr. Croke Cup
No. of teams	34 (2015)
Title holders	Clare (4th title)
Most titles	Tipperary (19 titles)
Sponsors	Allianz
TV partner(s)	TG4 Setanta Sports Premier Sports
Official website	Official Website

The National Hurling League is a league competition featuring amateur inter-county hurling teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925, it is regarded as the secondary inter-county hurling competition after the All-Ireland Championship. The National Hurling League has been associated with a title sponsor since 1985. As this sponsor has changed over the years the league too has been known by various names. After its title sponsors, the National Hurling League has formerly been known as the Ford National Hurling League, the Royal Liver National Hurling League and the Church & General National Hurling League. The competition is currently known as the Allianz Hurling League.

Currently it has 34 teams divided into six divisions, which are known as Divisions 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B. Six teams participate in the top five divisions with four teams contesting the bottom division. Promotion and relegation between these divisions is a central feature of the National Hurling League. Although primarily a competition for Irish inter-county teams, teams from England, London and Warwickshire, also take part, while in the past New York also fielded a team for the latter stages of the League.

The Gaelic Athletic Association organises the league, which begins in February and concludes in May, at which stage the league final is held. The prize for the winning Division 1A team is the Dr. Croke Cup. In some seasons, including 2012, the winner of Division 1B is allowed to compete in the knockout stages of the Division 1A title.

The Division 1 title has been won at least once by ten different teams, nine of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Tipperary, who have won the competition 19 times. Clare are the current champions.

History

The NHL was first held in 1925–26, 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 1997, the league was changed to a February–April calendar, which has increased interest with attendances growing and live games broadcast on TG4.

Format

Jason Flynn in action for Galway against Kilkenny in the 2015 National Hurling League

34 teams play in the National Hurling League. There are six teams in the top five divisions, and four teams in Division 3B. Each team plays each other once, either home or away. 2 points are awarded for a win, and 1 for a draw. Where two teams are level on points, the team that won the head-to-head match is ranked ahead. If this game was a draw, points difference (total scored minus total conceded in all games) is used to rank the teams. Where three or more teams are level on points, points difference is used to rank them. Cavan and New York are the only teams not to contest in the National Hurling League.

• Division 1A: Top four teams qualify for NHL quarter-finals. Bottom two teams play a relegation play-off, with the losing team relegated to Division 1B.
• Division 1B: Top team promoted to 1A. Top four teams qualify for NHL quarter-finals. Bottom two teams play a relegation play-off, with the losing team playing a promotion-relegation match against the Division 2A champions.
• Division 2A: Top two teams play Division 2A final, with the winning team playing a promotion-relegation match against the loser of the Division 1B relegation play-off. Bottom team relegated to Division 2B.
• Division 2B: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted. Bottom two teams play a relegation play-off, with the losing team playing a promotion-relegation match against the Division 3A champions.
• Division 3A: Top two teams play Division 3A final, with the winning team playing a promotion-relegation match against the loser of the Division 2B relegation play-off. Bottom team relegated to Division 3B.
• Division 3B: Top two teams play division final, with the winner being promoted.^[1]

Performance by county

County	Wins	Years won	Runners-up	Years runners-up
Tipperary	19	1927–28, 1948–49, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1993–94, 1999, 2001, 2008	18	1930-31, 1937-38, 1939-40, 1947-48, 1952-53, 1955-56, 1962-63, 1965-66, 1970-71, 1974-75, 1988-89, 1991-92, 1995-96, 2000, 2003, 2009, 2013, 2014
Kilkenny	17	1932–33, 1961–62, 1965–66, 1975–76, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1994–95, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014	11	1946-47, 1949-50, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1964-65, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1976-77, 1977-78, 2007, 2011
Cork	14	1925–26, 1929–30, 1939–40, 1940–41, 1947–48, 1952–53, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1973–74, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1992–93, 1998	8	1928-29, 1948-49, 1959-60, 1961-62, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2015
Limerick	11	1933–34, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1946–47, 1970–71, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1991–92, 1997	9	1932-33, 1957-58, 1969-70, 1971-72, 1972-73, 1973-74, 1979-80, 1982-83, 2006
Galway	9	1930–31, 1950–51, 1974–75, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2000, 2004, 2010	5	1978-79, 1985-86, 1993-94, 1997, 1999, 2008
Wexford	4	1955–56, 1957–58, 1966–67, 1972–73	10	1950-51, 1951-52, 1954-55, 1963-64, 1968-69, 1981-82, 1983-84, 1989-90, 1990-91, 1992-93
Clare	4	1945–46, 1976–77, 1977–78, 2016	6	1975-76, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1994-95, 2001, 2005
Dublin	3	1928–29, 1938–39, 2011	5	1925-26, 1929-30, 1933-34, 1940-41, 1945-46
Waterford	3	1962–63, 2007, 2015	6	1938-39, 1958-59, 1960-61, 1998, 2004, 2016
Offaly	1	1990–91	2	1980-81, 1987-88

The top provinces by number of wins:

	Province	Wins	Last win	Top county
1	Munster	51	Clare, 2016	Tipperary (19)
2	Leinster	25	Kilkenny, 2014	Kilkenny (17)
3	Connacht	9	Galway, 2010	Galway (9)
4	Ulster	0

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	5-2	1-1	Tipperary		Mick Mackey
1938–39	Dublin	1–8	1–4	Waterford		Mick Daniels
1939–40	Cork	8-9	6-4	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 (Replay)	Waterford	3-6 3-10	3-6 1-10	New York	Croke Park Nowlan Park	John Meaney
Home final	Waterford	2–15	4–7	Tipperary		John Meaney
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
Home final	Kilkenny	0–9	0–7	Tipperary		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
Home final	Tipperary	3–9	1–13	Kilkenny		Mick Roche
1968–69	Cork	3–12	1–14	Wexford		Denis Murphy
1969–70	Cork	5–21	6–16	New York	Gaelic Park	Gerald McCarthy
Home final	Cork	2–17	0–7	Limerick		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	Gaelic Grounds	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
Home final	Kilkenny	3-12	1-10	Wexford	Croke 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	Joe O'Connor
1992–93 (Replay) (2nd replay)	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	Gaelic Grounds	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
2012	Kilkenny	3-21	0–16	Cork	Semple Stadium	Eoin Larkin
2013	Kilkenny	2-17	0–20	Tipperary	Nowlan Park	Colin Fennelly
2014	Kilkenny	2-25	1-27	Tipperary	Semple Stadium	Lester Ryan
2015	Waterford	1-24	0-17	Cork	Semple Stadium	Kevin Moran
2016	Clare	1-23	2-19	Waterford	Semple Stadium	Cian Dillon & Tony Kelly

Division 2

Year	Winners	Score		Runners-up	Venue	Winning Captain
2000	Meath	5-14 (29)	2-10 (16)	Carlow	Cusack Park	Paul Donnelly
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
2012	Clare	0-21 (21)	1-16 (19)	Limerick	Gaelic Grounds	Patrick Donnellan
2013	Dublin	1-16 (19)	1-15 (18)	Limerick	Semple Stadium	John McCaffrey

Division 3A

Year	Winners	Score		Runners-up	Venue	Winning captain
1980	Mayo	2-13 (19)	0-7 (10)	Monaghan	Carrick on Shannon	Michael Nolan
1981	Mayo	2-13 (19)	1-7 (10)	Louth	Croke Park	Tony Henry
1982	Derry	1-10 (13)	4-6 (18)	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	Páirc Tailteann
2003	Mayo	2-11 (17)	2-6 (12)	Sligo	MacHale Park
2004	Sligo	3-12 (21)	1-8 (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
2012	Fermanagh	2-15 (21)	2-5 (11)	Warwickshire	Parnell Park	Karl Kehoe
2013	Longford	1-8 (11)	0-9 (9)	Sligo	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
2014	Tyrone	0-13 (13)	1-9 (12)	Leitrim	Markievicz Park

Division 4

Year	Winners	Score		Runners-up	Venue	Winning Captain
2002 (R)	Mayo	1-14 (17) 1-15 (18)	4-5 (17) 1-5 (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

Players with most league wins

Rank	Player	Team	Era	Wins	Finals
1	John Doyle	Tipperary	1948-1967	10	1949-50, 1951-52, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1963-64, 1964-65
2	Michael Maher	Tipperary	1951-1966	8	1951-52, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1960-61, 1963-64, 1964-65
	J. J. Delaney	Kilkenny	2001-2014	8	2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
4	Mickey Byrne	Tipperary	1945-1960	7	1948-49, 1949-50, 1953-54, 1954-55, 1956-57, 1958-59, 1959-60

Sponsorship

Since 1985, the National Hurling League has had title sponsorship rights sold to several companies.

• 1985–1987: Ford (Ford National Hurling League)
• 1987–1993: Royal Liver (Royal Liver National Hurling League)
• 1993–1999: Church & General (Church & General National Hurling League)
• 1999–present: Allianz (Allianz Hurling League)

Broadcasting rights

Setanta Sports broadcasts live matches in Australia. Setanta Sports also provides matches from the National Hurling League in Asia. In Ireland TG4 shows live matches each week on Sunday afternoon, with deferred coverage of a second match shown straight after. Setanta Sports broadcasts matces live on the Saturday evening slot. Highlights for all the games are shown at 7:00pm on League Sunday on RTÉ2.

See also

• List of National Hurling League winning teams
• National Camogie League

References

1. "2015 fixtures: Opening trips for Tipp and Kilkenny". RTÉ. 18 September 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2015.

External links

• NHL Results and Fixtures
• Semi-final and final results 1926-2005