Creation

The Leinster Championship began in 1964 in response to a Congress motion put forward by the Kerry County Board for the introduction of a new championship grade. It was the fifth championship to be created after the senior, junior, minor and intermediate grades.

Beginnings

The inaugural Leinster Championship featured Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Louth, Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford. Louth and Westmeath contested the very first match on Sunday 29 March 1964. Wexford won the inaugural championship.

Team dominance

Since the beginning the championship has been dominated by Kilkenny and Wexford. They won all bar one of the available championship titles between 1964 and 1977 and have won a combined total of 42 championship titles. Kilkenny also have the distinction of being the only team to win four championships in-a-row, achieving this feat on two separate occasions.

Dublin were the only team beside Kilkenny and Wexford to win the championship, with their lone title being claimed in 1967. Offaly and Laois added their names to the roll of honour in 1978 and 1983 respectively, however, the rest of the century belonged to Kilkenny and Wexford once again.

Proposed changes

In 2008 a motion was brought before a special Congress in an effort to combat player burnout. It was proposed to merge the existing under-21 and minor championships to create a new Leinster Under-19 Hurling Championship based on the provincial system.^[1] This motion was defeated by 115 votes to 58.^[2]

A similar motion was later introduced in an effort to lower the age and create a new Leinster Under-20 Championship based on the provincial system, however, this motion was also defeated.^[3]

Age change

At the GAA Congress on 24 February 2018, the age limit of the championship was changed to twenty, following a successful motion by the Offaly County Board. In contrast to Gaelic football, under-20 hurlers are eligible to play both under-20 and senior hurling for their county.^[4]

Championship

The Leinster Championship is a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, however, if the sides still remain level a replay is required.

There are nine teams in the Leinster Championship. The finalists from the previous year receive a bye to separate semi-finals. The four "weakest" teams contest two play-off rounds with the winner joining the other three teams in the championship proper at the quarter-final stage.

Qualification for the All-Ireland Championship

As of the 2018 championship qualification for the All-Ireland Championship has changed due to the introduction of a "back door" for defeated finalists. Both the champions and runners-up qualify for the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Non-Leinster teams

On 30 September 2017, 72% of delegates at GAA Special Congress voted in favour of allowing Galway into the Leinster Championship along with any Ulster teams – as of agreed by the Ulster and Leinster Councils.^[5]

History

Leinster Championship matches have always been played on a home and away basis whereby every second meeting between teams is played at the home venue of one of them. All of the current teams have home and away agreements, however, Antrim and Galway are not permitted to use their home grounds because they are outside the province of Leinster.

Attendances

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the Leinster Council and for the teams involved.

Final

The venue for the final also comes under the terms of the individual home and away agreements between the teams involved, however, on some occasions a neutral venue was used. The attendance at the 2024 final between Offaly and Dublin at Laois Hire O'Moore Park, Port Laoise was 15,215.

Summaries

Final

Teams

Top scorers