Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship
Annual hurling competition / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the St Canice's Credit Union Senior Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Kilkenny SHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association and contested by the top-ranking senior clubs in the county of Kilkenny in Ireland. It is the most prestigious competition in Kilkenny hurling.
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship | |
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Current season or competition: 2023 Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship | |
Irish | Craobh Iomána Sinsearach Chill Chainnigh |
Code | Hurling |
Founded | 1887; 137 years ago (1887) |
Region | Kilkenny (GAA) |
Trophy | Tom Walsh Cup |
No. of teams | 12 |
Title holders | O'Loughlin Gaels (5th title) |
Most titles | Tullaroan & Ballyhale Shamrocks (20 titles) |
Sponsors | St Canice's Credit Union |
TV partner(s) | TG4, RTÉ |
Official website | Official website |
Introduced in 1887 as the Kilkenny Hurling Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to senior-ranking club teams. The championship has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, including the use of a round robin, before reverting to a straight knockout format.
In its current format, the Kilkenny Senior Championship begins in September with a first round series of games comprising eight teams, while the four remaining teams receive byes to the quarter-final stage. A team's finishing position in the Kilkenny Senior Hurling League determines at what stage they enter the championship. Four rounds of games are played, culminating with the final match at Nowlan Park in October. The winner of the Kilkenny Senior Championship, as well as being presented with the Tom Walsh Cup, qualifies for the subsequent Leinster Club Championship.
The competition has been won by 26 teams, 18 of which have won it more than once. Tullaroan and Ballyhale Shamrocks are the most successful teams in the tournament's history, having won it 20 times each. O'Loughlin Gaels are the reigning (2023) champions, having beaten Ballyhale Shamrocks by 0-20 to 0-19 in the 2023 final.