| Championship details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 19 May - 9 September 2012 |
| Teams | 14 |
| All-Ireland champions | |
| Provincial champions | |
| Munster | Not Played |
| Leinster | Not Played |
| Ulster | Not Played |
| Connacht | Not Played |
| Championship statistics | |
| No. matches played | 2 |
| Goals total | 0 |
| Points total | 59 (29.5 per game) |
| All-Star Team | See here |
← 2011 2013 → | |
The 2012 GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship will the 125th staging of the All-Ireland championship since its establishment in 1887. The draw for the 2012 fixtures took place on 6 October 2011. The championship will began on 19 May 2012 and will end on 9 September 2012. Kilkenny will be the defending champions.[1]
A total of fourteen teams will contest the championship, including all of the teams from the 2011 championship. There will be no new team entering the championship.
Laois and Westmeath were the first teams to exit the 2011 championship, however, there was no relegation play-off. Both teams will contest the 2012 championship.
Kerry, the winners of the 2011 Christy Ring Cup, declined their automatic right to promotion to the championship.[2] They will instead contest the Christy Ring Cup once again.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Stadium capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | Belfast | Casement Park | 32,600 |
| Carlow | Carlow | Dr. Cullen Park | 21,000 |
| Clare | Ennis | Cusack Park | 28,000 |
| Cork | Cork | Páirc Uí Chaoimh | 43,500 |
| Dublin | Dublin | Parnell Park | 13,500 |
| Galway | Galway | Pearse Stadium | 34,000 |
| Kilkenny | Kilkenny | Nowlan Park | 24,000 |
| Laois | Portlaoise | O'Moore Park | 27,000 |
| Limerick | Limerick | Gaelic Grounds | 49,500 |
| Offaly | Tullamore | O'Connor Park | 20,000 |
| Tipperary | Thurles | Semple Stadium | 53,500 |
| Waterford | Waterford | Walsh Park | 17,000 |
| Westmeath | Mullingar | Cusack Park | 15,000 |
| Wexford | Wexford | Wexford Park | 25,000 |
| Team | Colours | Sponsor | Captain(s) | Vice-captain(s) | Manager | Most recent success | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Ireland | Provincial | League | ||||||
| Antrim | Saffron and white | Creagh Concrete | Damien Quinn[3] | Michael Herron | Jerry Wallis | |||
| Carlow | Red, green and yellow | Dan Morrissey Ltd. | Shane Kavanagh Edward Coady |
Kevin Ryan | ||||
| Clare | Saffron and blue | Pat O'Donnell | Pat Donnellan[4] | Nicky O'Connell Fergal Lynch |
Davy Fitzgerald | 1997 | 1998 | 1978 |
| Cork | Red and white | O2 | Donal Óg Cusack[5] | Patrick Horgan | Jimmy Barry-Murphy | 2005 | 2006 | 1998 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | Vodafone | John McCaffrey[6] | Anthony Daly | 1938 | 1961 | 2011 | |
| Galway | Maroon and white | Supermacs | Fergal Moore[7] | Anthony Cunningham | 1988 | 2010 | ||
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | Glanbia | Eoin Larkin[8] | Brian Cody | 2011 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Laois | Blue and white | MW Hire Services | Willie Hyland | Teddy McCarthy | 1915 | 1949 | ||
| Limerick | Green and white | Sporting Limerick | David Breen | John Allen | 1973 | 1996 | 1997 | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | Carroll Cuisine | David Kenny[9] | Ollie Baker | 1998 | 1995 | 1991 | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | Škoda Auto | Paul Curran[10] | Pádraic Maher | Declan Ryan | 2010 | 2011 | 2008 |
| Waterford | White and blue | 3 | Michael Walsh[11] | Michael Ryan | 1959 | 2010 | 2007 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | Mullingar Hotel | Paddy Dowdall | Philip Gilsenan | Brian Hanley | |||
| Wexford | Purple and yellow | Sports Savers | Keith Rossiter | Liam Dunne | 1996 | 2004 | 1973 | |
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 2012 will be run on a provincial basis as usual. It will be a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there will be no seeds.
Each match will be played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there will be a replay. If that match ends in a draw a period of extra time will be played, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time another replay will take place.
Leinster Championship
Preliminary Round: (2 matches) These will be two matches between four of the 'weaker' teams from the province. The two winning teams will advance to the quarter-finals while the two losing teams will enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Quarter-finals: (3 matches) The winners of the two preliminary round games will join the other four Leinster teams to make up three quarter-final pairings. The three winning teams will advance to the semi-finals while the three losing teams will enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The three winners of the quarter-finals will join Kilkenny (who, as reigning provincial champions, will receive a bye to this stage) to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams will advance to the final while the two losing teams will enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals will contest this game. The winning team will advance to the All-Ireland semi-final while the losing team will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final.
Munster Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This will be a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. The losing team will enter the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners will advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final will join the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams will advance to the final while the two losing teams will enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals will contest this game. The winning team will advance to the All-Ireland semi-final while the losing team will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final.
All-Ireland Qualifiers
Preliminary round: (2 matches) These will be two matches between the first four teams drawn from the six teams who lose their provincial preliminary round games and provincial quarter-final games. The two winning teams will advance to phase 1 of the All-Ireland qualifiers while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
Phase 1: (2 matches) The two winners of the preliminary qualifiers will join the two remaining provincial first round and provincial quarter-final losers to make up the phase 1 pairings. The two winning teams will advance to phase 3 while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
Phase 2: (2 matches) These will be two matches between the four teams who lose their provincial semi-final games. The two winning teams will advance to phase 3 of the All-Ireland qualifiers while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
Phase 3: (2 matches) These will be two matches between the two phase 1 winners and the two phase 2 winners. The two winning teams will advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
All-Ireland Championship
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) These will bet two lone matches between the defeated provincial finalists and the two winning teams from phase 3 of the qualifiers. The two winning teams will advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The two quarter-final winning teams will join the two provincial winning teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams will advance to the All-Ireland final while the two losing teams will be eliminated from the championship.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals will contest this game. The winning team will be declared All-Ireland champions.
| Westmeath | 0-14 - 0-12 | Antrim |
|---|---|---|
| N O'Brien 0-8 (6f), B Murtagh (1f), F Boyle 0-2 each, A Clarke, J Shaw 0-1 each. | Report | L Watson 0-4, S McNaughton (1f), N McManus (2f) 0-3 each, B McAuley, C McCann 0-1 each. |
| Carlow | 0-13 - 0-20 | Laois |
|---|---|---|
| M Kavanagh 0-7 (fs), A Gaule, S Kavanagh (f, '65') 0-2 each, J Kavanagh, D Roberts 0-1 each. | Report | W Hyland 0-13 (6f), S Maher 0-3, E Reilly 0-2 (f), B Dunne, J Walsh 0-1 each. |
| Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Leinster final | ||||||||||||||||
| Offaly | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Wexford | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Westmeath | 0-14 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Antrim | 0-12 | Galway | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||
| Westmeath | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Laois | 0-20 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Carlow | 0-13 | Dublin | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||
| Laois | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Kilkenny | 0-00 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Semi-final winner | 0-00 - 0-00 | Semi-final winner |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter-final | Semi-finals | Munster final | ||||||||||||
| Clare | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
| Waterford | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
| Semi-final winner | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
| Semi-final winner | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
| Cork | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
| Limerick | 0-00 | Quarter-final winner | 0-00 | |||||||||||
| Tipperary | 0-00 | |||||||||||||
The following teams will be in the draw for the preliminary round and Phase 1:
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| v | ||
|---|---|---|
| Leinster semi-finalist | v | Munster semi-finalist |
|---|---|---|
| Leinster semi-finalist | v | Munster semi-finalist |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 winner | v | Phase 2 winner |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 winner | v | Phase 2 winner |
|---|---|---|
| Leinster finalists | v | Phase 3 winners |
|---|---|---|
| Munster finalists | v | Phase 3 winners |
|---|---|---|
|
Main article: 2012 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final |
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Hyland | Laois | 0-13 | 13 | Carlow |
| 2 | Niall O'Brien | Westmeath | 0-8 | 8 | Antrim |
The following players made their début in the 2012 championship:
| Player | Team | Date | Opposition | Game |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Gettens | Antrim | May 19 | Westmeath | Leinster preliminary round |
| John Kerr | Antrim | May 19 | Westmeath | Leinster preliminary round |
| Francis Boyle | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |
| Aonghus Clarke | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |
| Paul Fennell | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |
| Robbie Greville | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |
| Shane McGovern | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |
| Niall O'Brien | Westmeath | May 19 | Antrim | Leinster preliminary round |