# 1973 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1973 was the 87th series of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Limerick won the championship, beating Kilkenny 1-21 to 1-14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

## Format
### Overview

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1973 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 both sides were still level at the end of that game another replay had to take place.

### 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 two 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 London and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.
Semi-final: (1 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairing.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the lone semi-final contested this game with the Leinster champions receiving a bye into the final.

## Top scorers
### Overall

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 2-25 | 31 | 4 | 7.75 |
| 2 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 3-19 | 28 | 3 | 9.33 |
| 3 | Barney Moylan | Offaly | 3-18 | 27 | 4 | 6.75 |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-21 | 21 | 2 | 10.50 |
| 5 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 2-12 | 18 | 2 | 9.00 |
| 6 | George Lanham | Laois | 2-10 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 6 | Pat Quigley | Dublin | 0-16 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 8 | Éamonn Cregan | Limerick | 4-3 | 15 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 9 | Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 3-5 | 14 | 3 | 4.66 |
| 10 | Mick Brennan | Kilkenny | 2-7 | 13 | 3 | 4.33 |

### Single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 2-10 | 16 | Limerick |
| 2 | Tom Byrne | Wexford | 2-6 | 12 | Kilkenny |
| 2 | George Lanham | Laois | 2-6 | 12 | Offaly |
| 4 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-11 | 11 | Wexford |
| 5 | Barney Moylan | Offaly | 2-4 | 10 | Laois |
| 5 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 1-7 | 10 | London |
| 5 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 0-10 | 10 | Kilkenny |
| 5 | Eddie Keher | Kilkenny | 0-10 | 10 | Dublin |
| 5 | Pat Quigley | Dublin | 0-10 | 10 | Westmeath |
| 10 | Johnny Walsh | Kildare | 2-2 | 8 | Offaly |
| 10 | Pat Delaney | Kilkenny | 2-2 | 8 | Offaly |
| 10 | Richie Bennis | Limerick | 1-5 | 8 | Tipperary |
| 10 | Francis Loughnane | Tipperary | 0-8 | 8 | Waterford |
| 10 | Gerald McCarthy | Cork | 0-8 | 8 | Tipperary |

## Championship statistics
### Miscellaneous

* Limerick win the Munster title for the first time since 1955.
* Kilkenny win the Leinster title for the third consecutive year. It is their seventh provincial three-in-a-row.
* London's win over Galway in the All-Ireland quarter-final is their first championship victory since defeating Cork in the 1901 All-Ireland final.
* In the All-Ireland semi-final between Limerick and London, a unique situation arose when brothers Ned and Gerry Rea marked one another. Ned was full-forward on the Limerick team while Gerry was at full-back for London.
* Limerick win the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1940. It was their first time playing Kilkenny in the championship since then.

## Player facts
### Debutantes

The following players made their début in the 1973 championship:
| Player | Team | Date | Opposition | Game |
| Jimmy Crampton | Tipperary | May 20 | Waterford | Munster quarter-final |
| Mick Culligan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Seán Hehir | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Séamus Horgan | Limerick | June 24 | Clare | Munster semi-final |
| Ger Loughnane | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Michael O'Connor | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Noel Ryan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Tim Ryan | Clare | June 24 | Limerick | Munster semi-final |
| Joe McKenna | Limerick | June 24 | Clare | Munster semi-final |
| John Buckley | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Noel Dunne | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Pat Moylan | Cork | July 1 | Tipperary | Munster semi-final |
| Tom Ryan | Limerick | July 29 | Tipperary | Munster final |
| Brian Cody | Kilkenny | September 2 | Limerick | All-Ireland final |

### Retirees

The following players played their last game in the 1973 championship:
| Player | Team | Last Game | Date | Opposition | Début |
| Jimmy Doyle | Tipperary | Munster quarter-final | May 20 | Waterford | 1957 |
| Mick Culligan | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Mick Kilmartin | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1971 |
| Michael O'Connor | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Tim Ryan | Clare | Munster semi-final | June 24 | Limerick | 1973 |
| Jimmy Crampton | Tipperary | July 29 | Munster final | Waterford | 1973 |
| Len Gaynor | Tipperary | July 29 | Munster final | Waterford | 1973 |
| Christy Jacob | Wexford | Leinster final | August 5 | Kilkenny | 1966 |
| Éamonn Morrissey | Kilkenny | Leinster final | August 5 | Wexford | 1972 |
| Martin Coogan | Kilkenny | All-Ireland final | September 2 | Limerick | 1961 |
| John Kinsella | Kilkenny | All-Ireland final | September 2 | Limerick | 1967 |

## Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
* Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).