# 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 | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Team | Colours | 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
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Leinster final | Leinster final | Leinster final |
| | | | | | | Wexford | Wexford | 5-11 | | | |
| | | | | | | Kilkenny | Kilkenny | 0-7 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Wexford | Wexford | 8-5 |
| Meath | Meath | 1-10 | | | | | | | Dublin | Dublin | 1-4 |
| Laois | Laois | 1-9 | Meath (R) | Meath (R) | 2-8 3-6 | | | | | | |
| Offaly | Offaly | 6-8 | Offaly (R) | Offaly (R) | 3-5 3-4 | | | | | | |
| Westmeath | Westmeath | 1-3 | | | | Dublin | Dublin | 3-8 | | | |
| | | | | | | Meath | Meath | 2-4 | | | |

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final
| Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Munster final | Munster final | Munster final |
| | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 5-6 | | | |
| | | | Clare | Clare | 3-3 | | | |
| | | | | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-8 |
| | | | | | | Cork | Cork | 2-8 |
| | | | Cork | Cork | 7-8 | | | |
| Limerick | Limerick | 0-1 | Waterford | Waterford | 4-5 | | | |
| Waterford | Waterford | 4-3 | | | | | | |

## 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 |
| 10 | Willie John Daly | Cork | 2-04 | 10 | 4 | 2.50 |
| 10 | 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 |
| 5 | Tim Flood | Wexford | 2-03 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 6 | Ned Ryan | Tipperary | 2-02 | 8 | Clare |
| 6 | Tom Dooley | Offaly | 2-02 | 8 | Meath |
| 6 | Christy Ring | Cork | 1-05 | 8 | Tipperary |
| 7 | Mickey Furlong | Offaly | 2-01 | 7 | Westmeath |
| 7 | 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).