1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1954 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 68th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 11 April 1954 and ended on 5 September 1954.

Cork were the defending champions and retained their title following a 1-9 to 1-6 victory over Wexford in the final.

Teams

A total of fourteen teams contested the championship, an increase of one on the previous championship. Antrim, who last participated at this level in 1949, re-entered the championship in spite of facing no competition in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

Team summaries

Team	Colours	Most recent success
		All-Ireland	Provincial	League
Antrim	Saffron and white		1946
Clare	Saffron and blue	1914	1932	1945-46
Cork	Red and white	1953	1953	1952-53
Dublin	Blue and navy	1938	1952	1938-39
Galway	Maroon and white	1923		1950-51
Kilkenny	Black and amber	1947	1953	1932-33
Laois	Blue and white	1915	1949
Limerick	Green and white	1940	1940	1946-47
Meath	Green and gold
Offaly	Green, white and gold
Tipperary	Blue and gold	1951	1951	1953-54
Waterford	White and blue	1948	1948
Westmeath	Maroon and white
Wexford	Purple and gold	1910	1951

Provincial championships

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round

Second round

Semi-finals

Final

Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round

Semi-finals

Final

Championship statistics

Top scorers

Top scorers overall

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Nicky Rackard	Wexford	12-19	55	4	13.75
2	Christy Ring	Cork	2-18	24	4	6.00
3	Tim Flood	Wexford	6-05	23	4	5.75
4	Brian Smyth	Meath	2-13	19	4	4.75
5	Séamus Power	Waterford	5-03	18	2	9.00
6	Mickey Furlong	Offaly	4-03	15	3	5.00
7	Padge Kehoe	Wexford	3-05	14	4	3.50
8	Johnny Clifford	Cork	3-04	13	4	3.75
9	Paddy Kenny	Tipperary	1-08	11	2	5.50
10	Paddy Barry	Cork	3-01	10	4	2.50
	Willie John Daly	Cork	2-04	10	4	2.50
	Tommy Errity	Offaly	1-07	10	3	3.33

Top scorers in a single game

Rank	Player	Club	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Nicky Rackard	Wexford	7-07	28	Antrim
2	Nicky Rackard	Wexford	5-04	19	Dublin
3	Séamus Power	Waterford	4-02	14	Cork
4	Brian Smyth	Meath	1-07	10	Laois
5	Tim Flood	Wexford	3-00	9	Antrim
	Tim Flood	Wexford	2-03	9	Kilkenny
6	Ned Ryan	Tipperary	2-02	8	Clare
	Tom Dooley	Offaly	2-02	8	Meath
	Christy Ring	Cork	1-05	8	Tipperary
7	Mickey Furlong	Offaly	2-01	7	Westmeath
	Christy Ring	Cork	1-04	7	Waterford

Scoring

• Widest winning margin: 44 points
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals in a match: 14
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most points in a match: 20
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals by one team in a match: 12
  • Wexford 12-17 : 2-3 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals scored by a losing team: 4
  • Waterford 4-5 : 7-8 Cork (Munster semi-final)
• Most points scored by a losing team: 9
  • Laois 1-9 : 1-10 Meath (Leinster first round)

Miscellaneous

• Meath qualified for the Leinster semi-finals for the first time in the history of the championship.
• Antrim took part in the All-Ireland semi-finals for the first time since 1949. It was their last game at this stage of the championship until re-entering the championship in 1984.
• Wexford's Nicky Rackard scores 7-7 in their All-Ireland semi-final meeting with Antrim. It is believed to be a record score for an All-Ireland semi-final.
• Cork's Christy Ring wins a record-breaking eighth All-Ireland medal as Cork claim a third successive championship for the third time in their history.

Roll of Honour

• Cork - 19 (1954)
• Tipperary - 16 (1951)
• Kilkenny - 13 (1947)
• Limerick - 6 (1940)
• Dublin - 6 (1938)
• Waterford - 1 (1948)
• Galway - 1 (1923)
• Laois - 1 (1915)
• Clare - 1 (1914)
• Wexford - 1 (1910)
• London - 1 (1901)
• Kerry - 1 (1891)

Player facts

Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1954 championship:

Player	Team	Date	Opposition	Game
Peter Darby	Meath	April 11	Laois	Leinster first round
Mick Cashman	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final
Johnny Clifford	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final
Éamonn Goulding	Cork	June 27	Waterford	Munster semi-final

Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1954 championship:

Player	Team	Last Game	Date	Opposition	Début
Tom O'Sullivan	Cork	Munster final	July 18	Tipperary	1953

Sources

• Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
• Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
• Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
• Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster HUrling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).