# 1949 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1949 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 63rd staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 15 May 1949 and ended on 4 September 1949.
Waterford were the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the provincial championship. Tipperary won the title following a 3-11 to 0-3 defeat of Laois.

## Teams
### 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 | 1946 | 1947 | 1947-48 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | 1938 | 1948 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1922 | 1930-31 |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1947 | 1947 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1915 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | 1940 | 1940 | 1946-47 |
| Meath | Green and gold | | | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | | | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1945 | 1945 | 1948-49 |
| Waterford | Blue and white | 1948 | 1948 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | | | |
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1910 | 1918 | |

## Provincial championships
### Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-finals
Final

## Championship statistics
### Top scorers
#### Overall

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 7-40 | 61 | 6 | 10.16 |
| 2 | Paddy Lalor | Laois | 6-04 | 22 | 5 | 4.40 |
| 3 | Harry Gray | Laois | 4-06 | 18 | 5 | 3.60 |
| 4 | Sonny Maher | Tipperary | 4-04 | 16 | 6 | 2.66 |
| 5 | Mick Ryan | Tipperary | 2-09 | 15 | 6 | 2.50 |
| 6 | Shem Downey | Kilkenny | 3-04 | 13 | 3 | 4.33 |
| 7 | Jim Walton | Kilkenny | 3-03 | 12 | 3 | 4.00 |
| 7 | Jim Loughran | Meath | 2-06 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 7 | Jack Lynch | Cork | 1-09 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| 7 | Tommy Ryan | Tipperary | 0-12 | 12 | 6 | 2.00 |

#### In a single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 3-05 | 14 | Antrim |
| 2 | Sonny Maher | Tipperary | 3-03 | 12 | Antrim |
| 3 | Paddy Lalor | Laois | 3-02 | 11 | Offaly |
| 3 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 0-11 | 11 | Limerick |
| 4 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 2-04 | 10 | Laois |
| 4 | Jim Loughran | Meath | 2-04 | 10 | Westmeath |
| 4 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 1-07 | 10 | Cork |
| 5 | Jack Lynch | Cork | 1-06 | 9 | Tipperary |
| 5 | Jimmy Kennedy | Tipperary | 1-06 | 9 | Cork |
| 6 | Harry Gray | Laois | 2-02 | 8 | Galway |

### Scoring

* Widest winning margin: 29 points
** Tipperary 6-18 - 1-4 Antrim (All-Ireland semi-final, 31 July 1949)
* Most goals in a match: 11
** Offaly 4-2 - 7-5 Laois (Leinster quarter-final , 15 May 1949)
* Most points in a match: 26
** Tipperary 1-16 - 2-10 Limerick (Munster final, 17 July 1949)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 7
** Laois 7-5 - 4-2 Offaly (Leinster quarter-final , 15 May 1949)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 4
** Offaly 4-2 - 7-5 Laois (Leinster quarter-final , 15 May 1949)
* Most points scored by a losing team: 10
** Limerick 2-10 - 1-16 Tipperary (Munster final, 17 July 1949)

### Miscellaneous

* Laois win the Leinster championship for the first time since 1915.
* The All-Ireland final meeting of Laois and Tipperary is their first ever championship meeting.

## 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).