All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1918

Infobox Hurling All-Ireland
year=1918


team=Limerick
titles=2nd
captain=Willie Hough
manager=
munster=Limerick
leinster=Wexford
ulster=
connacht=
poty=
matches=
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1918 was the 32nd edition of Ireland’s premier hurling knockout competition. The championship ran across two years from 1918 to 1919, culminating with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin on 26 January, 1919. The match was contested by Limerick, represented by Newcastle West, and Wexford, represented by a selection of their best players, with Limerick taking the title by 9-5 to 1-3. It was Limerick’s second All-Ireland title ever and their first since 1897.

Format

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was run on a provincial basis as usual. All games were played on a knockout basis whereby once a team lost they were eliminated from the championship. The format for the All-Ireland series of games ran as follows:
* The winners of the Leinster Championship advanced directly to the All-Ireland final.
* The winners of the Munster Championship advanced directly to the All-Ireland final.
* There were no representatives from the Ulster Championship of the Connacht Championship in the All-Ireland series due to the suspension of the competition.

All-Ireland final

Previous championship encounters

This particular fixture was largely infrequent in the history of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship due to the provincial system. Limerick had played Wexford on only one other occasion, the 1910 All-Ireland final, with Limerick winning by a single point.

Overview

Sunday 26 January, 1919 was the date of the 1918 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Limerick and Wexford. It was their first meeting in the championship since the All-Ireland final of 1910. Wexford were appearing in their fourth All-Ireland final and were looking for their second championship title. Limerick, however, were looking for their second All-Ireland title also having win their first in 1897.

Match report

The All-Ireland final had originally been scheduled to take place in the latter part of 1918, however, due to the great ‘flu epidemic Wexford were unable to field a team on that occasion. Limerick were offered a walkover, however, the declined being awarded the title without playing a game. The game was then postponed until January. Limerick went into that game as favourites having come through a tough campaign in Munster. Match referee Willie Walsh of Waterford threw in the sliothar at 3:10pm and the game was on. 12,000 spectators turned up at Croke Memorial Park, however, the game failed to live up to expectations. Limerick were superior in all sections of the field. The opening thirty minutes saw Willie Gleeson score a hat trick of goals while Bob McConkey sent two into the Wexford net. At the interval the Munster champions were well ahead by 5-4 to 0-2. The second-half saw the rout continue as Limerick ran out easy winners by 9-5 to 1-3. While the game was a disappointing one due to the one-sided nature of the play, the match was also spoiled due to bad light, particularly in the opening half.

tatistics

footballbox
date=1919-01-26
3:10pm UTC+1
team1=Limerick
score= 9-5 – 1-3
team2=Wexford
report=
goals1=
goals2=
stadium=Croke Memorial Park, Dublin
attendance=15,000
referee= Willie Walsh (Waterford)

References

* Corry, Eoghan, "The GAA Book of Lists" (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
* Donegan, Des, "The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games" (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).

ee also