# 1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

"none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
The 1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 53rd staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 7 May 1939 and ended on 3 September 1939.
Dublin entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.
The All-Ireland final was played on 3 September 1939 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Kilkenny and Cork, in what was their first meeting in a final in nine years. Kilkenny won the match by 2–07 to 3–03 to claim their 12th championship title overall and a first title since 1935. The 1939 All-Ireland final remains one of the most iconic of all time. Played on the day that Britain declared war on Germany, the climax of the match took place during a terrific thunderstorm and earned the sobriquet of the "thunder and lightning final".
Kilkenny's Jim Langton was the championship's top scorer with 1-20.

## Teams

A total of thirteen teams contested the championship, including all of the teams from the 1938 championship. Wexford re-entered the championship after a one-year absence.

### Team summaries

| Team | Colours | Most recent success | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Team | Colours | All-Ireland | Provincial | League |
| Clare | Saffron and blue | 1914 | 1932 | |
| Cork | Red and white | 1931 | 1931 | 1929-30 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | 1938 | 1938 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1922 | 1930-31 |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1935 | 1937 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1915 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | 1936 | 1936 | 1937-38 |
| Meath | Green and gold | | | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | | | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1937 | 1937 | 1927-28 |
| Waterford | Blue and white | | 1938 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | | | |
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1910 | 1918 | |

## Results
### Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Second round
Wexford received a bye in this round.
Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final

### All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Semi-final
Final

## Championship statistics
### Scoring statistics
#### Top scorers overall

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 1-20 | 23 | 4 | 5.75 |
| 2 | Ted O'Sullivan | Cork | 7-01 | 22 | 3 | 7.33 |
| 3 | Paddy McMahon | Limerick | 6-00 | 18 | 3 | 6.00 |
| 4 | Willie Delaney | Laois | 5-01 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 5 | K. Whelan | Wexford | 5-00 | 15 | 2 | 7.50 |
| 6 | Paddy McSweeney | Dublin | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Mick Brophy | Dublin | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Paddy Norton | Laois | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 6 | Jack Lynch | Cork | 2-06 | 12 | 3 | 4.00 |
| 10 | Mick Falvey | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
| 10 | Bill Loughnane | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
| 10 | P. Farrell | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |

#### Top scorers in a single game

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Willie Delaney | Laois | 4-01 | 13 | Meath |
| 2 | Paddy Norton | Laois | 4-00 | 12 | Meath |
| 2 | K. Whelan | Wexford | 4-00 | 12 | Offaly |
| 4 | Mick Falvey | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | Westmeath |
| 4 | Bill Loughnane | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | Wexford |
| 6 | Paddy McSweeney | Dublin | 3-00 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 6 | Ted O'Sullivan | Cork | 3-00 | 9 | Waterford |
| 6 | Paddy McMahon | Limerick | 3-00 | 9 | Clare |
| 6 | Mick Brophy | Dublin | 3-00 | 9 | Wexford |
| 10 | Timmy Fitzpatrick | Laois | 2-02 | 8 | Meath |
| 10 | Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 0-08 | 8 | Galway |

### Miscellaneous

* Kilkenny's victory over Cork in the All-Ireland final was the fourth time that Kilkenny beat them by just a single point. Previous one-point wins came in 1904, 1907 and 1912. Among the attendance was the poet Louis MacNeice who was visiting Dublin.

## 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).