Leinster Senior Hurling Championship | |
---|---|
Current season or competition:![]() | |
![]() | |
Irish | Craobh Iomána Laighin |
Code | Hurling |
Founded | 1888 |
Region | Leinster (GAA) |
Trophy | Bob O'Keeffe Cup |
No. of teams | 6 |
Title holders | ![]() |
Most titles | ![]() |
Sponsors | Littlewoods Ireland, Etihad Airways, Centra |
TV partner(s) | RTÉ, Sky Sports |
Motto | Nothing beats being there |
Official website | Official website |
The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition in the province of Leinster, and has been contested every year since the 1888 championship.
The final, usually held on the first Sunday in July, serves as the culmination of a series of games played during May and June, and the results determine which team receives the Bob O'Keeffe Cup. The championship was previously played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship; however, as of 2018, the championship involved a round-robin system.
The Leinster Championship is an integral part of the wider GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship. The winners of the Leinster final, like their counterparts in the Munster Championship, are rewarded by advancing directly to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland series of games. The losers of the Leinster final enter the All-Ireland series at the quarter-final stage, while the third-placed team advances to the preliminary quarter-finals. Each year, the lowest finishing team is relegated to the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Six teams currently participate in the Leinster Championship. Fifteen teams have competed since the inception of the Leinster Championship in 1888.
The title has been won by 6 different counties, all of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Kilkenny, who have won the championship on 75 occasions. Kilkenny are the title holders, defeating Galway by 4-21 to 2-26 in the 2023 final.