# 1957 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1957 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 71st staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 14 April 1957 and ended on 1 September 1957.
Wexford were the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the provincial campaign. Kilkenny won the All-Ireland following a 4-10 to 3-12 defeat of Waterford.

## Rule changes

Prior to the start of the championship the Galway county board put down a motion at the Gaelic Athletic Association's (GAA) annual congress seeking immediate entry to the Leinster championship. Since 1922 Galway's hurlers had no competition in the Connacht championship and, as a result, they gained automatic entry to the All-Ireland semi-final every year. This format was seen as hindering the team's chances, however, by being included in the Leinster championship Galway could possibly have more competitive championship games every year. The motion at congress was eventually withdrawn and the existing format remained intact.

## Teams

A total of fourteen teams contested the championship, including all of the teams that participated in the 1956 championship. Kerry returned to the championship after a prolonged absence.

### Team summaries

| Team | Colours | Grounds | Most recent success | Most recent success | Most recent success |
| Team | Colours | Grounds | All-Ireland | Provincial | League |
| Clare | Saffron and blue | Cusack Park | 1914 | 1932 | 1945-46 |
| Cork | Red and white | Cork Athletic Grounds | 1954 | 1956 | 1952-53 |
| Dublin | Blue and navy | Parnell Park | 1938 | 1952 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | Pearse Stadium | 1923 | | 1950-51 |
| Kerry | Green and gold | Austin Stack Park | 1891 | 1891 | |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | Nowlan Park | 1947 | 1953 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | O'Moore Park | 1949 | 1949 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | Gaelic Grounds | 1940 | 1955 | 1946-47 |
| Meath | Green and yellow | Páirc Tailteann | | | |
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | St. Brendan's Park | | | |
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | Semple Stadium | 1951 | 1951 | 1956-57 |
| Waterford | White and blue | Walsh Park | 1948 | 1948 | |
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | Cusack Park | | | |
| Wexford | Purple and gold | Wexford Park | 1956 | 1956 | 1955-56 |

## Fixtures
### Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Second round
Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Hurling Championship

First round
Semi-final
Final

### All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Semi-final
Final

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

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Mick Kenny | Kilkenny | 3-19 | 28 | 4 | 7.00 |
| 2 | Phil Grimes | Waterford | 1-22 | 25 | 4 | 6.25 |
| 3 | Tommy Errity | Offaly | 4-07 | 19 | 3 | 6.33 |
| 4 | Seán Clohessy | Kilkenny | 4-04 | 16 | 4 | 4.00 |
| 5 | Billy Dwyer | Kilkenny | 4-03 | 15 | 4 | 3.75 |
| 6 | Liam Skelly | Tipperary | 4-02 | 14 | 2 | 7.00 |
| 7 | Terry Kelly | Cork | 3-04 | 13 | 3 | 4.33 |
| 8 | Paddy Barry | Cork | 4-00 | 12 | 3 | 4.00 |
| 8 | John Kiely | Waterford | 3-03 | 12 | 4 | 3.00 |
| 9 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-04 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |

#### Top scorers in a single game

| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Liam Skelly | Tipperary | 4-00 | 12 | Kerry |
| 1 | Tommy Errity | Offaly | 3-03 | 12 | Westmeath |
| 2 | Mick Kenny | Kilkenny | 2-05 | 11 | Waterford |
| 3 | Paddy Barry | Cork | 3-00 | 9 | Tipperary |
| 3 | Nicky Rackard | Wexford | 2-03 | 9 | Offaly |
| 3 | Phil Grimes | Waterford | 1-06 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| 3 | Phil Grimes | Waterford | 0-09 | 9 | Galway |
| 4 | Terry Kelly | Cork | 2-02 | 8 | Clare |
| 4 | Theo English | Tipperary | 2-02 | 8 | Kerry |
| 4 | Donal Whelan | Waterford | 2-02 | 8 | Kilkenny |

### Scoring

* Widest winning margin: 19 points
** Kilkenny 6-9 : 1-5 Wexford (Leinster final, 4 August 1957)
* Most goals in a match: 9
** Waterford 4-12 : 5-5 Limerick (Munster semi-final, 16 June 1957)
* Most points in a match: 22
** Kilkenny 4-10 : 3-12 Waterford (All-Ireland final, 1 September 1957)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 6
** Kilkenny 6-9 : 1-5 Wexford (Leinster final, 4 August 1957)
* Most goals scored by a losing team: 5
** Limerick 5-5 : 4-12 Waterford (Munster semi-final, 16 June 1957)
* Most points scored by a losing team: 12
** Waterford 3-12 : 4-10 Kilkenny (All-Ireland final, 1 September 1957)

### Miscellaneous

* The English actor John Gregson joined the Kilkenny team during the parade at the start of the All-Ireland final as part of his role as a hurler in the film Rooney.
* Kerry make their first appearance in the Munster Senior Championship since 1945.

## Sources

* Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).