All-Ireland Colleges Interprovincial Hurling Championship

The All-Ireland Colleges Interprovincial Championship, was an annual inter-provincial hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. It was the highest inter-provincial colleges hurling competition in Ireland, and was contested every year from 1927 to 1956.

All-Ireland Colleges Interprovincial Hurling Championship
Irish	Craobh Iomána Coláistí na hÉireann
Code	Hurling
Founded	1927
Abolished	1956
Region	Ireland (GAA)
No. of teams	3
Last Title holders	Munster (24th title)
First winner	Munster
Most titles	Munster (24 titles)

The All-Ireland final, usually held in March or April, served as the culmination of a knockout series of games featuring Connacht, Leinster and Munster. At its peak, it was one of the most prestigious colleges competitions in Gaelic games, with players regarding it as a great honour to be included on their provincial team.

The title was won at least once by all three provinces, with only Leinster and Munster winning the competition more than one. The all-time record-holders are Munster, who appeared in every final and won the competition 24 times.

History

Inter-colleges hurling competitions had been played since 1918, with the Leinster Championship and Dr Harty Cup both being formed that year.^[1][2] Both these competitions ended with the respective provincial finals and there was no All-Ireland series. In 1927, the Railway Cup inter-provincial competition for senior inter-county players was inaugurated after the Great Southern Railways sponsored a trophy.^[3][4] A similar competition was also arranged at colleges level that year. Following the completion of the respective Leinster and Munster competitions, a series of trials were held to pick a "best of" team from both provinces. The very first match took place at Croke Park on 7 May 1927, with Munster beating Leinster by 4–03 to 0–03 to claim the inaugural title.^[5] Connacht made their first appearance in the competition in a semi-final on 25 March 1934 when they incurred a 6–07 to 2–00 defeat by Munster.^[6]

Roll of honour

#	Team	Wins	Years won	Losses	Years lost
1	Munster	24	1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956	6	1934, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1950, 1954
2	Leinster	5	1934, 1938, 1940, 1950, 1954	22	1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956
3	Connacht	1	1941	2	1942, 1951

List of finals

Year	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Score	Venue
1927	Munster	4-03	Leinster	0-03	Croke Park	[7]
1928	Munster	7-01	Leinster	5-03	The Mardyke	[8]
1929	Munster	8-06	Leinster	5-00	Nowlan Park	[9]
1930	Munster	2-03	Leinster	1-04	Waterford Sportsfield	[10]
1931	Munster	6-01	Leinster	4-02	Nowlan Park	[11]
1932	Munster	4-02	Leinster	4-00	Nowlan Park	[12]
1933	Munster	4-04	Leinster	3-01	Nowlan Park	[13]
1934	Leinster	5-06	Munster	3-01	Nowlan Park	[14]
1935	Munster	5-07	Leinster	4-04	The Mardyke	[15]
1936	Munster	4-03	Leinster	3-05	Nowlan Park	[16]
1937	Munster	2-05	Leinster	3-00	The Mardyke	[17]
1938	Leinster	3-07	Munster	2-05	Nowlan Park	[18]
1939	Munster	5-06	Leinster	2-04	The Mardyke	[19]
1940	Leinster	6-11	Munster	4-04	Nowlan Park	[20]
1941	Connacht	2-03	Munster	0-01	Croke Park	[21]
1942	Munster	7-05	Connacht	0-02	The Mardyke	[22]
1943	Munster	9-08	Leinster	3-05	The Mardyke	[23]
1944	Munster	7-01	Leinster	3-03	Nowlan Park	[24]
1945	Munster	4-03	Leinster	0-04	Nowlan Park	[25]
1946	Munster	7-04	Leinster	3-09	Croke Park	[26]
1947	Munster	2-05	Leinster	2-03	Croke Park	[27]
1948	Munster	2-08	Leinster	3-04	Thurles Sportsfield	[28]
1949	Munster	4-01	Leinster	3-02	Nowlan Park	[29]
1950	Leinster	6-04	Munster	4-06	Thurles Sportsfield	[30]
1951	Munster	3-05	Connacht	0-03	Galway Sportsfield	[31]
1952	Munster	0-13	Leinster	2-05	Nowlan Park	[32]
1953	Munster	4-05	Leinster	1-08	Waterford Sportsfield	[33]
1954	Leinster	1-08	Munster	1-05	Croke Park	[34]
1955	Munster	12-03	Leinster	2-06	Thurles Sportsfield	[35]
1956	Munster	7-11	Leinster	0-02	Croke Park	[36]

Records and statistics

Final

• Most wins: 24:
  • Munster (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956)
• Most consecutive wins: 8:
  • Munster 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949)
• Most second-place finishes: 22:
  • Leinster (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956)
• Most consecutive second-place finishes: 7:
  • Leinster (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933)
  • Leinster (1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949)
• Most appearances: 30:
  • Munster (1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956)

Teams

Gaps

Longest gaps between successive championship titles:

• 10 years: Leinster (1940-1950)
• 4 years: Leinster (1934-1938)
• 4 years: Leinster (1950-1954)