# 1972 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was the 85th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Kilkenny won the championship, beating Cork 3-24 to 5-11 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

## Calendar

| Round | Date |
| Leinster First Round | Saturday 14 May 1972 |
| Munster First Round | Sunday 22 May 1972 |
| Leinster Final | Sunday 9 July 1972 |
| Munster Final | Sunday 30 July 1972 |
| Leinster Final Replay | Sunday 30 July 1972 |
| All-Ireland Quarter-Final | Sunday 23 July 1972 |
| All-Ireland Semi-Finals | Sunday 6 August 1972 |
| All-Ireland Final | Sunday 3 September 1972 |

## Format
### Overview

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 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 that match ended in a draw a period of extra time was played, however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay had to take place.

### Participating counties

| Province | County | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Province | County | All-Ireland | Provincial |
| Leinster | Dublin | 1938 | 1961 |
| | Kildare | | |
| | Kilkenny | 1971 | 1969 |
| | Laois | 1915 | 1949 |
| | Offaly | | |
| | Westmeath | | |
| | Wexford | 1968 | 1970 |
| Munster | Clare | 1914 | 1932 |
| | Cork | 1970 | 1970 |
| | Limerick | 1940 | 1955 |
| | Tipperary | 1971 | 1971 |
| | Waterford | 1959 | 1963 |
| Connacht | Galway | 1923 | 1922 |
| Ulster | Antrim | | 1946 |
| Britain | London | 1901 | |

### 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 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 Antrim and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined London and the Munster and Leinster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. The provincial champions were drawn in opposite semi-finals.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.

## Championship statistics
### Scoring

* Widest winning margin: 27 points
** Kilkenny 5-28 : 3-7 Galway (All-Ireland semi-final)
* Most goals in a match: 12
** Kilkenny 6-13 : 6-13 Wexford (Leinster final)
* Most points in a match: 35
** Kilkenny 3-24 : 5-11 Cork (All-Ireland final)
** Kilkenny 5-28 : 3-7 Galway (All-Ireland semi-final)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 7
** Galway 7-16 : 4-7 Antrim (All-Ireland quarter-final)
** Cork 7-20 : 1-12 London (All-Ireland semi-final)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 5
** Cork 5-11 : 3-24 Kilkenny (All-Ireland final)
* Most points scored by a losing team: 14
** Wexford 1-14 : 3-16 Kilkenny (Leinster final)

## Top scorers
### Season

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 6-46 | 64 | 5 | 12.8 |
| 2 | Charlie McCarthy | Cork | 3-33 | 42 | 6 | 7.0 |
| 3 | Ray Cummins | Cork | 7-10 | 31 | 6 | 5.1 |
| 4 | Seánie O'Leary | Cork | 8-3 | 27 | 6 | 4.5 |
| 5 | Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 4-13 | 25 | 5 | 5.0 |
| 6 | Éamonn Flynn | Dublin | 2-11 | 17 | 2 | 8.50 |
| 6 | Dan Quigley | Wexford | 2-11 | 17 | 3 | 5.66 |
| 8 | Phil Dillon | Laois | 3-6 | 15 | 2 | 7.50 |
| 8 | Tony Doran | Wexford | 2-9 | 15 | 3 | 5.00 |
| 10 | Jimmy Hughes | Galway | 3-2 | 11 | 2 | 5.60 |
| 10 | Pádraic Fahy | Galway | 0-11 | 11 | 2 | 5.60 |

### Single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-17 | 17 | Galway |
| 2 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 2-9 | 15 | Cork |
| 2 | Charlie McCarthy | Cork | 2-9 | 15 | Clare |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 2-5 | 11 | Wexford |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 1-8 | 11 | Wexford |
| 4 | Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 2-5 | 11 | Galway |
| 7 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 1-7 | 10 | Laois |
| 7 | Tom Ryan | Galway | 3-1 | 10 | Antrim |
| 9 | Seánie O'Leary | Cork | 3-0 | 9 | London |
| 9 | Ray Cummins | Cork | 2-3 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 9 | Eddie Donnelly | Antrim | 2-3 | 9 | Galway |
| 9 | Phil Dillon | Laois | 2-3 | 9 | Kilkenny |

## Player facts
### Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1972 championship:
| Player | Team | Date | Opposition | Game |
| Frank Norberg | Cork | May 22 | Waterford | Munster semi-final |

### Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1972 championship:
| Player | Team | Date | Opposition | Game | Début |
| Frank Norberg | Cork | September 5 | Kilkenny | All-Ireland final | 1972 |

## Stadia

The following stadia were used during the championship:
| County | Stadium |
| Antrim | Ballycastle GAA Field |
| Clare | Cusack Park |
| Cork | Cork Athletic Grounds |
| Dublin | Croke Park |
| Kilkenny | Nowlan Park |
| Laois | O'Moore Park |
| Limerick | Gaelic Grounds |
| Tipperary | Semple Stadium |