| Event | 2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 22 August 2021 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park,Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Cian Lynch[1][2] | ||||||
| Referee | Fergal Horgan (Tipperary) | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,000 | ||||||
| Weather | Dry with sunny spells 20 °C (68 °F)[3] | ||||||
←2020 2022 → | |||||||
The2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, the 134th event of its kind and the culmination of the2021 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, was played atCroke Park inDublin on 22 August 2021.[4][5]
Due toCOVID-19 restrictions, attendance was at 50% (40,000 people).[6]
The match was televised live onRTÉ2 as part ofThe Sunday Game, presented byJoanne Cantwell from the outside studio at Croke Park with analysis byAnthony Daly,Donal Óg Cusack andHenry Shefflin. Commentary on the game was provided byMarty Morrissey alongsideMichael Duignan. The match was also live onSky Sports, with analysis fromJamesie O'Connor andOllie Canning.
Limerick won the game by 3-32 to 1-22 to claim their third All-Ireland title in four years. This final marked the highest winning score ever achieved in an All-Ireland Senior Hurling final, surpassing Kilkenny's previous record set in the2008 final.[7][8][9] The match was also the highest scoring final in the 134 year history of the fixture.[10]
The two finalists share aMunster rivalry, with the sides having faced one another more than 100 times in theleague and championship since their inaugural match in November 1893. The game was the 66th championship meeting between the sides and was their first time meeting in an All-Ireland final.
Limerick made their 19th All-Ireland final appearance and their third in the last four championship seasons, having missed out in2019.[11] However, they were undefeated in those recent finals appearances, beatingGalway in2018 andWaterford in2020.[12] Limerick's seven previous All-Ireland titles were secured at various intervals between1897 and1973. They were seeking their 10th All-Ireland title overall and their first ever consecutive titles.
Cork made their 50th All-Ireland final appearance overall and their first since defeat byClare in2013. They last won the title against Galway in2005, meaning that the 16-year title drought equals their previous record of no titles between1903 and1919.[13][14] Cork currently lie second only to Kilkenny on theall-time roll of honour[broken anchor] and were seeking their 31st All-Ireland title, having won all their previous titles at various intervals between1890 and 2005. For the first time since1999, not one single member of the Cork team was a holder of an All-Ireland winners' medal.
This final was the fourth all-Munster final in the history of the championship, after1997 between Clare andTipperary, 2013 between Clare and Cork and 2020 between Limerick and Waterford. It was the eighth time when teams from the same province met.[15]
This final marked the third meeting between the teams in the All-Ireland Championship proper. The series currently stood at one apiece, with Cork winning the2006 All-Ireland quarter-final and Limerick winning the2018 All-Ireland semi-final. Both sides had already played each other in the 2021 championship, with Limerick beating Cork by 2-22 to 1-17 in the Munster semi-final.[16]
v
Cork| 3 July 2021Munster Semi-final | Limerick | 2–22(28)–(20) 1–17 | Cork | Thurles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00IST (UTC+1) | Venue:Semple Stadium | ||||
| Gls: K Hayes 1, D O'Donovan 1. Pts: A Gillane 6 (6f), D Byrnes 3 (1f), C Lynch 3, P Casey 3, S Flanagan 2, G Hegarty 2, W O’Donoghue 1, G Mulcahy 1, D Reidy 1. | Report | Gls: S Kingston 1. Pts: P Horgan 5 (5f), J O’Connor 3, D Fitzgibbon 3, S Barrett 2, T O'Mahony 1, S Harnedy 1, R O'Flynn 1, S Kingston 1. | Referee: P O'Dwyer (Carlow) TV:Sky Sports |
v
Tipperary| 18 July 2021Munster Final | Limerick | 2–29(35)–(30) 3–21 | Tipperary | Cork | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:15IST (UTC+1) | (HT: 0–12 – 2–16) | Venue:Páirc Uí Chaoimh | |||
| Gls: S Flanagan 1, K Hayes 1. Pts: A Gillane 6 (4f), T Morrissey 6 (1f), P Casey 5, D Byrnes 4 (2f, 1 65), S Flanagan 3, G Hegarty 3, C Lynch 1, D Reidy 1. | Report | Gls: J Morris 1, J O'Dwyer 1, M Kehoe 1. Pts: J Forde 11 (3f, 1 65), J Morris 2, J O’Dwyer 2, R Maher 1, D McCormack 1, S Callanan 1, S Kennedy 1, W Connors 1, M Breen 1. | Referee: P O'Dwyer (Carlow) Attendance: 7,000 TV:RTÉ 2 |
v
Waterford| 7 August 2021All-Ireland Semi-final | Limerick | 1–25(28)–(17) 0–17 | Waterford | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00IST (UTC+1) | (HT: 0-15 – 0-07) | Venue:Croke Park | |||
| Report | Referee: John Keenan (Wicklow) TV:RTÉ2 Sky Sports |
vCork| 3 July 2021Munster Semi-final | Limerick | 2–22(28)–(20) 1–17 | Cork | Thurles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00IST (UTC+1) | Venue:Semple Stadium | ||||
| Gls: K Hayes 1, D O'Donovan 1. Pts: A Gillane 6 (6f), D Byrnes 3 (1f), C Lynch 3, P Casey 3, S Flanagan 2, G Hegarty 2, W O’Donoghue 1, G Mulcahy 1, D Reidy 1. | Report | Gls: S Kingston 1. Pts: P Horgan 5 (5f), J O’Connor 3, D Fitzgibbon 3, S Barrett 2, T O'Mahony 1, S Harnedy 1, R O'Flynn 1, S Kingston 1. | Referee: P O'Dwyer (Carlow) TV:Sky Sports |
v
Clare| 24 July 2021Qualifier Round 2 | Cork | 3–19(28)–(26) 1–23 | Clare | Limerick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:30IST (UTC+1) | Venue:Gaelic Grounds | ||||
| Gls: S Barrett 1, S Kingston 1, J O'Connor 1. Pts: P Horgan 10 (4fs, 3 65s); D Fitzgibbon 2, S Harnedy 2; L Meade 1, R O’Flynn 1, S Barrett 1, S Kingston 1; A Connolly 1. | Report | Gls: T Kelly 1. Pts: T Kelly 11 (1-0 pen, 8fs); C Malone 3; A McCarthy 2; R Hayes 1, D Ryan 1, D McInerney 1, C Galvin 1, I Galvin 1, R Taylor 1, S Golden 1. | Referee: J Keenan (Wicklow) TV:Sky Sports |
vCork| 31 July 2021All-Ireland Quarter-final | Dublin | 0–24(24)–(32) 2–26 | Cork | Thurles | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00IST (UTC+1) | Venue:Semple Stadium | ||||
Pts: D Burke 13 (7f, 1 65), C O'Sullivan 3, C Burke 2, D Sutcliffe 2, L Rushe 1, R McBride 1, C Boland 1, J Malone 1. | Report | Gls: T O'Mahony 1, S Kingston 1. Pts: P Horgan 12 (8fs, 1 65), S Harnedy 4, J O'Connor 3, R O'Flynn 2, C Cahalane 1, S Barrett 1, N O'Leary 1, T O'Mahony 1, A Connolly 1. | Referee: J Owens (Wexford) TV:Sky Sports |
vCork| 8 August 2021All-Ireland Semi-final | Kilkenny | 1–32(35)–(40) 1–37 (a.e.t.) | Cork | Dublin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15:30IST (UTC+1) | Venue:Croke Park | ||||
| TV:RTÉ2 Sky Sports |
On 10 August 2021, the GAA namedTipperary'sFergal Horgan as the referee for the final.[17] Horgan has been an inter-county referee since joining theMunster panel of referees in 2011, before joining the national panel in 2012. He officiated three prior matches in the 2021 championship; the Leinster semi-final betweenKilkenny andWexford, the round 1 qualifier between Wexford andClare and the All-Ireland semi-final betweenCork and Kilkenny. Horgan also served as referee for the All-Ireland finals in2017 and2020.[18] His umpire team was John Ryan (Cashel King Cormacs), Alan Horgan, Mick Butler, and Sean Bradshaw (allKnockavilla-Donaskeigh Kickhams). Wexford'sJames Owens was named as the standby referee.[19] The other linesman were Seán Stack (Dublin) and the sideline official, Liam Gordon (Galway).[20]
A number of traditional All-Ireland final elements returned for the first time since the2019 All-Ireland final, however, a number of these were scaled back due toCOVID-19 protocols.PresidentMichael D. Higgins’ arrival was announced to the crowd but the custom of him meeting the players along with theGAA President did not take place. The pre-match parade featuring theArtane Band made a return.[21]
1996 All-Ireland Championship winnersWexford were not honoured in the traditional fashion as this year'ssilver jubilee team. Instead,captainMartin Storey represented the team when he brought out theLiam MacCarthy Cup to the plinth on the pitch before the game.[22]
Cian Lynch opened the scoring with a point for Limerick in the first minute.Gearóid Hegarty got the opening goal of the game after two minutes with a low shot after cutting in from the left to make it 1-1 to 0-1. Two minutes later Cork replied with a goal fromShane Kingston when he cut in from the left and shot high to the net. In the fifteenth minute,Aaron Gillane scored a second goal for Limerick with a low shot to the right corner of the net after a pass from Seamus Flanagan to make it 2-5 to 1-5.[23]Limerick were ahead by 2-8 to 1-6 at the first water break. In the thirty-fifth minute, Gearóid Hegarty got a third goal for Limerick and his second when he ran in on goal and shot low to the left corner of the net. Limerick were ahead by thirteen points at half-time on a 3-18 to 1-11 scoreline. They kept Cork at bay in the second half and scored another fourteen points to eleven for Cork to win the game 3-32 to 1-22 and retain the title.[24]
22 August 2021 15:30 All-Ireland Final |
| Limerick | 3-32(41)–(25) 1-22 | Cork |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 3-18(27) -(14) 1-11) | ||
| Gls: G Hegarty 2, A Gillane 1. Pts: A Gillane 6 (3f), C Lynch 6, P Casey 5, T Morrissey 3, G Hegarty 2, D Byrnes 2 (1f), D Hannon 2, B Nash 1, D O'Donovan 1, S Flanagan 1, G Mulcahy 1, D Reidy 1, P Ryan 1. | Gls: S Kingston 1. Pts: P Horgan 12 (10f), S Harnedy 4, N O'Leary 1, M Coleman 1 (f), L Meade 1, J O'Connor 1, S Barrett 1, A Cadogan 1. | |
          Limerick |    Cork
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