TheAll-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was the 85th staging ofIreland's premierhurlingknock-out competition.Kilkenny won the championship, beatingCork 3–24 to 5–11 in thefinal atCroke Park,Dublin.

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was aknockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces – there were noseeds.

Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If that match ended in a draw a period ofextra time was played, however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay had to take place.

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 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 Antrim and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.

Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined London and the Munster and Leinster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. The provincial champions were drawn in opposite semi-finals.

Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.

• Widest winning margin:27 points
  • Kilkenny 5–28 : 3–7Galway (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals in a match:12
  • Kilkenny 6–13 : 6–13Wexford (Leinster final)
• Most points in a match:35
  • Kilkenny 3–24 : 5–11Cork (All-Ireland final)
  • Kilkenny 5–28 : 3–7Galway (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals by one team in a match:7
  • Galway 7–16 : 4–7Antrim (All-Ireland quarter-final)
  • Cork 7–20 : 1–12London (All-Ireland semi-final)
• Most goals scored by a losing team:5
  • Cork 5–11 : 3–24Kilkenny (All-Ireland final)
• Most points scored by a losing team:14
  • Wexford 1–14 : 3–16Kilkenny (Leinster final)

The following players made their début in the 1972 championship:

The following players played their last game in the 1972 championship:

The following stadia were used during the championship:

• Corry, Eoghan,The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
• Donegan, Des,The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
• Nolan, Pat,Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).

• 1972 in hurling
• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships

• Articles with short description
• Short description with empty Wikidata description
• Use dmy dates from April 2022