All-Ireland Colleges Interprovincial Hurling Championship

Inter-colleges hurling competitions had been played since 1918, with the Leinster Championship and Dr Harty Cup both being formed that year. 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. 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. 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. ==Roll of honour==

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) ==References==