All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 1887

The 1887 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the first-ever nationally organised hurling competition held in Ireland. The championship was organised on a county basis, with champion clubs representing each county. In 1887 the Gaelic Athletic Association consisted of only 12 counties willing to participate in Gaelic games, with only 5 of those entering the inaugural hurling championship. The All-Ireland Hurling Final took place on 1 April, 1888 at Birr in County Offaly and was won by Thurles of Tipperary with a victory over Meelick of Galway.

Representative clubs

From 1887 until 1891 the club champions represented the whole county. In the very first All-Ireland championship the participating counties were represented by the following clubs:

Format

The format of the very first hurling championship was unique in that it was the only "open draw" All-Ireland championship ever-played. The five participating teams were paired off against each other regardless of their provincial locations. Three teams - Galway, Kilkenny and Wexford - advanced directly to the semi-final stages of the competition, while Clare and Tipperary met in a "quarter-final." Disputes in Cork and Limerick as to what club should represent the respective counties led to neither county participating. From 1888 onwards the championship would be organised on a provincial basis.

Scoring was also different in the first championship. One goal was worth more than any amount of points, while "forfeit points" (5 forfeit points = 1 point) were awarded in place of 65's. Scores here are given in the form goals-points-forfeit points, e.g. 2-4-1. Similarly, the playing pitch was significantly larger than the modern day pitch, particularly in width, and teams had twenty-one players. The scoring area was exactly similar to the scoring area used in the International rules football games.

All-Ireland Hurling Final

The inaugural All-Ireland senior hurling final was played on Easter Sunday, 1 April, 1888 in Birr, County Offaly. At the time media interest in Gaelic games was minimal, and so it was only in later years that the occasion came to be regarded as an historic event. In spite of a lack of information regarding the game, it has been recorded that on the day ground and weather conditions were ideal for hurling.

Despite the basic nature of the playing area and of the facilities of the time, Tipperary and Galway, represented by Thurles and Meelick selections respectively, were accorded a great reception. Both teams togged out in nearby Cunningham’s hotel, with Meelick wearing green jerseys and white stripes, and Thurles wearing green jerseys with stars artistically worked in the centre. Both teams were lead through the streets of Birr by a band to the field of play, where 5,000 people witnessed the very first All-Ireland hurling final. The contest began at 3pm when the referee, Pat White, threw in the sliothar.

The game has been described as Tipperary’s toughest test in the hurling championship, with both sides vigorously contesting the game from start to finish. Early in the game one of the Thurles players received facial injuries when he fell on his hurley and had to retire from the game. In a sporting gesture of unrivalled magnitude Meelick withdrew one of their own players to level the teams. Thurles scored a point after 11 minutes and lead by that score at half-time. With no number of points equaling a goal in those days the destination of the very first All-Ireland hurling title was wide open. At a crucial stage in the second-half, Jim Stapleton lead a charge down the field. The Thurles captain spotted an opening and passed the ball to Tom Healy. Healy made no mistake in sending a low, hard drive to the back of the Galway net.

The game ended shortly afterwards with Tipperary winning on a score line of 1 goal, 1 point and 1 forfeit point to Galway’s no score.

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

footballbox
date = July 9
Quarter-Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = won : lost
team2 = Clare
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Nenagh
County Tipperary----footballbox
date = July 2
Semi-Final
team1 = Galway
score = 2-8-3 : 1-0-0
team2 = Wexford
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Elm Park
Dublin----footballbox
date = October 27
Semi-Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = 4-7-1 : 0-0-0
team2 = Kilkenny
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Urlingford
County Kilkenny----footballbox
date = April 1, 1888
Final
team1 = Tipperary
score = 1-1-1 : 0-0-0
team2 = Galway
goals1 =
goals2 =
stadium = Birr
County Offaly
Attendance: 5,000----

Winning team

* Martin McNamara, Matty Maher, Tom Maher, Tom Burke, Jer Dwyer, Ned Murphy, Ned Bowe, Ger Ryan, Tom Healy, Pat Leahy, Tim Dwyer, Ned Lambe, John Leamy, Jack Mockler, Jim Stapleton (Capt.), Andy Maher, Tom Stapleton, Dan Ryan, Jack Dunne, Mick Carroll, Tom Carroll.

ee also