Kilkenny is the most successful
county team at senior level in the history of the game of hurling. Kilkenny has won the
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) 36 times and has won the provincial
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (SHC) on 75 occasions, as of 2023.
1887–1922: Early years 1922–1947: Beginning of the modern era Kilkenny won a sixteenth Leinster SHC title in 1922 before meeting
Tipperary in the
1922 All-Ireland SHC final. Tipperary had a three-point lead with three minutes remaining, but Kilkenny scored two goals to secure victory. It would be 45 years before Kilkenny would beat Tipperary in the championship again. Further Leinster titles soon followed. Kilkenny faced
Cork in the
1926 All-Ireland SHC final at a snow-covered
Croke Park, with Cork winning. The 1930s was one of Kilkenny's most successful decades, book-ended by . The 1930s saw Kilkenny compete with
Limerick to become "team of the decade". Kilkenny won the Leinster SHC title, before meeting Cork in the
1931 All-Ireland SHC final. At half-time Cork led. However, Kilkenny fought back to secure a draw. The replay saw
Lory Meagher give one of his most outstanding displays on the hurling field. Once again Cork led at half-time. However, Kilkenny fought back to force a second draw. Meagher did not play in the third game and Cork won by seven points. Kilkenny qualified for the
1932 All-Ireland SHC final. The opponent was
Clare, surprise winner of the
Munster Senior Hurling Championship (SHC). Kilkenny won by a goal to claim a first All-Ireland SHC title in a decade. The following year Kilkenny were in a
third successive title decider, this time against Limerick. Once again, the game was a close affair; however, Kilkenny won to seal back-to-back All-Ireland SHC titles. Kilkenny regained the Leinster SHC title before lining out in the
1935 All-Ireland SHC final, Limerick again the opponent. Kilkenny won a close game by a single point. Kilkenny and Limerick had another match in the
1936 All-Ireland SHC final. Limerick trounced Kilkenny by 5–6 to 1–5. The following year Kilkenny qualified for the
1937 All-Ireland SHC final, a third consecutive decider. The opponent, Tipperary, won by seventeen points. Two years later, Kilkenny qualified for the
1939 All-Ireland SHC final. On the day that the
Second World War broke out, Kilkenny played Cork at Croke Park. Both sides were level throughout much of the game, the climax of which was played in a fierce thunderstorm. In the dying seconds,
Terry Leahy scored the winning point for Kilkenny. Leahy's team next qualified for the
1940 All-Ireland SHC final, Kilkenny's fifth decider in six years. On this occasion an ageing Limerick team faced an ageing Kilkenny team, but Limerick won. Forced to withdraw from the championship in the early 1940s because of an outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease in the county, Kilkenny regained the Leinster SHC title in 1943, but lost the
1943 All-Ireland SHC semi-final to
Antrim, in . Two years later, Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the
1945 All-Ireland SHC final. The Munster men led by a large margin at half-time; Kilkenny fought back, but it was not enough to deny Tipp. Kilkenny qualified for
1946 All-Ireland SHC final, with Cork the opponent. Both sides traded the lead several times during the first half; however, in the second half Cork scored five goals to deny Kilkenny for a second consecutive decider. A Cork–Kilkenny rematch took place in the
1947 All-Ireland SHC final, a game many describe as . Cork aimed to win a sixth All-Ireland SHC title in seven years, while Kilkenny wanted to avoid becoming the first team to lose three consecutive All-Ireland SHC finals. While Kilkenny led for much of the game, Cork scored two late goals that nearly won the match. Terry Leahy again scored the winning point for Kilkenny, to give the county its thirteenth All-Ireland SHC title.
1947–1969: Lean years The 1947 All-Ireland SHC title ushered in a lean period for Kilkenny hurling that lasted for over a decade. Kilkenny did not win another Leinster SHC title until 1950, losing to Tipperary in the
1950 All-Ireland SHC final, as the Munster men completed the second leg of a famous three-in-a-row. Three years later, Kilkenny won the 1953 Leinster SHC title. However,
Galway won the
1953 All-Ireland SHC semi-final. Four years later, Kilkenny won the 1957 Leinster SHC title. The
subsequent All-Ireland SHC final was the first championship meeting between Kilkenny and
Waterford. The men from the
Déise led with fifteen minutes left in the match. However, Kilkenny fought back to win by 4–10 to 3–12. Kilkenny retained the Leinster Cup in 1958, but – in a change to the format of the championship – lost to Tipperary in the
1958 All-Ireland SHC semi-final. A third consecutive Leinster SHC title followed in 1959. However, the
1958 All-Ireland SHC final against Waterford ended in a draw. The replay saw a young
Eddie Keher make his debut, though Waterford won the game. Victory in the
1961–62 National Hurling League gave Kilkenny the impetus to win another Leinster SHC title in 1963. Waterford fought back from an 11-point deficit in the
1963 All-Ireland SHC final, but Kilkenny won by two points. Victory in the 1964 Leinster SHC final allowed Kilkenny a straight passage to the
1964 All-Ireland SHC final, with the team to retain the title. However, Tipperary hammered Kilkenny off the field with a fourteen-point victory. Two years later, Kilkenny won the
1965–66 National Hurling League. This was followed by another Leinster SHC title and an appearance in the
1966 All-Ireland SHC final. Kilkenny, favourite again, faced a youthful Cork side, and lost. Kilkenny won the 1967 Leinster SHC title before lining out in the
1967 All-Ireland SHC final, a fourth decider of the decade. An ageing Tipperary team provided the opposition; however, Kilkenny scored goals at vital times and won the game. This was Kilkenny's first championship victory against Tipperary since 1923.
1969–1979: Team of Keher, Larkin, Skehan... The Kilkenny hurling teams from 1969 until 1975 featured such players as
Eddie Keher,
Dick O'Hara,
Ollie Walsh,
Noel Skehan,
Frank Cummins,
Fan Larkin and
Pat Henderson. Kilkenny wrested the Leinster SHC title back from
Wexford in 1969 and qualified for the
All-Ireland SHC decider against Cork. After 1966's unexpected defeat the Leinster men sought revenge, with the game ending in Kilkenny's favour by a scoreline of 2–15 to 2–9. Wexford recaptured the Leinster SHC title in 1970. However, Kilkenny bounced back, with a team that won five consecutive Leinster SHC titles between 1971 and 1975. The team also made five consecutive All-Ireland SHC final appearances during those years, a record which stood until 2011. Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the
1971 All-Ireland SHC final, the first decider broadcast in colour by
RTÉ. Eddie Keher scored a record 2 goals and 11 points; however, he ended on the losing side, Tipperary winning by a scoreline of 5–17 to 5–14. The
1972 All-Ireland SHC final was the only 80-minute decider between Kilkenny and Cork. Cork – having been in firm control of the second half and eight points ahead – lost the game by seven points, a fifteen-point turnaround. Kilkenny qualified for the
1973 All-Ireland SHC final, meeting Limerick at that stage for the first time since 1940. Injury, illness and emigration saw a depleted Kilkenny team lose its status as the All-Ireland SHC title holder. A rematch in the
1974 All-Ireland SHC final led to a Kilkenny win. Limerick acquired an early lead, but Kilkenny's goal power secured a 12-point win. In the
1975 All-Ireland SHC final, Kilkenny met a Galway side that had defeated Cork in the All-Ireland SHC semi-final. Galway led at half-time; the Kilkenny men fought back and secured another 12-point victory. By the time Kilkenny won its next Leinster SHC title in 1978, the great team of the early 1970s was breaking up. An ageing Kilkenny side was unable to compete in the
1978 All-Ireland SHC final with a Cork team that won its third consecutive title. 1979 saw an injection of new blood into the team, and Kilkenny won a seventh Leinster SHC title of the decade. Kilkenny then met – and defeated – Galway in the
1979 All-Ireland SHC final, .
1979–1998: The 'double-double' The early 1980s saw
Offaly emerge as a new force in Leinster. Kilkenny fought back by winning the
1981–82 National Hurling League and 1982 Leinster SHC titles.
Christy Heffernan's two goals in a 40-second spell gave Kilkenny a victory over Cork in the
subsequent All-Ireland SHC final. In 1983, Kilkenny completed what they call 'the double-double', winning back-to-back League, Leinster and All-Ireland SHC honours. Kilkenny once again defeated Cork in the
1983 All-Ireland SHC final. But expectations of winning three consecutive titles were dashed in the 1984 Leinster SHC. Two years later, Kilkenny won the
1985–86 National Hurling League, before reclaiming the 1986 Leinster SHC title from Offaly, although the team lost to Galway in the
1986 All-Ireland SHC semi-final. 1987 saw Kilkenny retain the Leinster SHC title, before lining out in
that year's All-Ireland SHC decider, where Galway won a low-scoring encounter. The next three years saw Kilkenny once again cast out into the hurling wilderness. Former goalkeeper
Ollie Walsh took over as manager at the turn of the decade. The
1989–90 National Hurling League title was followed by the 1990 Leinster SHC title and an appearance in the
1991 All-Ireland SHC final, Tipperary defeating Kilkenny, twenty years on from their previous meeting, to win the title. Kilkenny retained the Leinster SHC title in 1992, before lining out against Cork in the
1992 All-Ireland SHC final. Though playing into a strong wind in the first half, the team emerged as winner by a scoreline of 3–10 to 1–12. A third consecutive Leinster SHC title followed in 1993, before
a third consecutive All-Ireland final appearance. On that occasion Kilkenny retained the
Liam MacCarthy Cup by a margin of five points. Offaly and Wexford dominated the Leinster SHC for the next four years, though Kilkenny won the
1994–95 National Hurling League title.
Nickey Brennan managed the Kilkenny senior hurlers for two seasons in the mid-1990s. His successor
Kevin Fennelly led his team to a Leinster SHC title in 1998, at the expense of Offaly. But Offaly then defeated Kilkenny in the
1998 All-Ireland SHC final.
1998–2022: Cody era Fennelly, in turn, was succeeded by
Brian Cody, one of the most successful managers of the modern era, much of his success due to skill, organisation, work-rate and a never say die attitude.
1999–2003: Another 'double-double' In 1999, Cody guided Kilkenny to a second consecutive Leinster SHC title and a
second consecutive All-Ireland SHC final appearance. The opponent was Cork; in atrocious weather conditions, Kilkenny lost. In 2000, Kilkenny eased to another Leinster SHC title and a
third successive All-Ireland SHC final. Becoming the first side to lose three successive All-Ireland SHC deciders was again a possibility. Kilkenny ultimately trounced Offaly to take the title. Kilkenny added another Leinster SHC title in 2001, before winning the
2002 National Hurling League title. As Kilkenny began to assert their dominance on the hurling world the team later captured another set of Leinster and All-Ireland SHC titles. In 2003, Kilkenny completed what they call 'the double-double', by winning back-to-back League, Leinster and All-Ireland SHC honours.
2004–2005: Attempt at three successive All-Ireland SHC titles In 2004, Kilkenny aimed to win an elusive third consecutive All-Ireland SHC title. That plan came unstuck in the Leinster SHC when Wexford brought Kilkenny's provincial championship run of success to an end. Kilkenny still advanced to the
2004 All-Ireland SHC final, though Cork won. Cody's team won the
2005 National Hurling League and Leinster SHC titles. However, Galway ended Kilkenny's season with victory in the
2005 All-Ireland SHC semi-final.
2006–2011: "Drive for five" Kilkenny won the
2006 National Hurling League and Leinster SHC titles, retaining both from the previous year. The team then advanced to the
2006 All-Ireland SHC final. Cork – aiming to win three consecutive titles – provided the opposition; Kilkenny won. In 2007, Kilkenny won an unprecedented ninth Leinster SHC title from ten campaigns. The team qualified for the
2007 All-Ireland SHC final, defeating Limerick to win a thirtieth championship title. In 2008, Kilkenny won the Leinster SHC title before defeating Waterford in the
2008 All-Ireland SHC final. Later in the year Kilkenny won the
All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship. The senior and under-21 titles, combined with the
All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship title and the
All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championship title (which is broadly a competition for the second string county teams) marked a quadruple. This achievement was unique and was a high point in the dominance of hurling by Kilkenny teams. In 2009, Kilkenny saw off an emerging
Dublin side in the Leinster SHC final thanks to two goals from
Martin Comerford. Kilkenny advanced to the
2009 All-Ireland SHC final against Tipperary, a game towards the end of which a controversial penalty was awarded, but Kilkenny won by five points to secure a four-in-a-row. Tipperary mounted a formidable challenge in this final, a contrast to the mis-matches of the previous two years when only token resistance was presented by Limerick and Waterford. Kilkenny became the first team since Cork in the 1940s to complete a four-in-a-row of All-Ireland SHC titles. The "drive for five" (consecutive All-Ireland SHC titles) got underway in 2010. In 2010, Kilkenny defeated Galway to claim a . Kilkenny advanced to the
2010 All-Ireland SHC final – a rematch with the opponent from the previous year, Tipperary.
Lar Corbett bypassed Kilkenny's full-back line with a
hat-trick of goals to prevent a fifth consecutive title and a unique piece of hurling championship history. This was Kilkenny's third defeat in an All-Ireland SHC final under Cody's management and Kilkenny's 12th loss in total to Tipperary in the decider. Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the
2011 All-Ireland SHC final, the third consecutive year this pairing occurred. Kilkenny defeated Tipperary by a scoreline of 2–17 to 1–16.
2012–2022: Cody's last decade in action during a
2015 National Hurling League game against
Galway at
Pearse Stadium Galway defeated Kilkenny in the
2012 Leinster SHC final. Kilkenny then defeated Limerick, followed by Tipperary by double scores of 4–24 to 1–15. Kilkenny then met Galway in the
2012 All-Ireland SHC final, and – when
Joe Canning scored the last point of the game – he forced a replay (the first since
1959). Kilkenny won the replay by a scoreline of 3–22 to 3–11, a ninth All-Ireland SHC title in 13 seasons. Kilkenny defeated Tipperary in the
2013 National Hurling League final to secure a 17th title. Kilkenny lost to eventual title winner Dublin in the 2013 Leinster SHC semi-final. The second round of the All-Ireland SHC qualifiers saw Kilkenny paired with Tipperary. This was the first time since the
1937 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship final for the teams to play a championshio game outside Croke Park. The hot summer weather contributed to the atmosphere at
Nowlan Park, as Kilkenny emerged as the winner. Kilkenny then scraped a victory after extra time against Waterford, before losing to Cork in an All-Ireland SHC quarter-final at
Semple Stadium. This was the first time Kilkenny did not play in an All-Ireland SHC semi-final since
1996. Kilkenny won the
2014 Walsh Cup, the
2014 National Hurling League title, the 2014 Leinster SHC title and a 35th All-Ireland SHC title, with victory in the
2014 All-Ireland SHC final. Brian Cody became the first manager in GAA history to win 10 Senior All-Ireland titles, while
Henry Shefflin became the first player in GAA history to win 10 Senior All-Ireland titles.
Richie Hogan received the
GPA Hurler of the Year award. Kilkenny won the 2015 Leinster SHC and All-Ireland SHC titles, defeating Galway in the
2015 All-Ireland SHC final. It was Kilkenny's 36th All-Ireland SHC title, as well as an 11th under manager Brian Cody. This was despite a number of high-profile retirements at the end of the previous season. Kilkenny lost to Tipperary by a scoreline of 2–29 to 2–20 in the
2016 All-Ireland SHC final. During Cody's time in charge, Kilkenny had never conceded a score as high as Tipperary's 2–29 (35 points). Kilkenny won the
2017 Walsh Cup, then
Davy Fitzgerald's Wexford ended Kilkenny's participation in the
2017 National Hurling League at the quarter-final stage. The 2017 Leinster SHC semi-final was Wexford's first championship victory over Kilkenny since 2004. Kilkenny then played Waterford in the second round of the
2017 All-Ireland SHC qualifiers, and – after a period of extra time – Waterford won the game. It was Waterford's first championship defeat of Kilkenny since the
1959 All-Ireland SHC final replay. Kilkenny played Wexford in the
2018 Walsh Cup final, a game which ended in a first ever free scoring competition, which Wexford narrowly won. Kilkenny defeated Tipperary by a scoreline of 2–23 to 2–17 in a
2018 National Hurling League final contest. Then came the newly formed round robin
2018 Leinster SHC, with Kilkenny qualifying for a
Leinster SHC final meeting with Galway. Galway defeated Kilkenny after a replay at Semple Stadium in
Thurles. The following week Kilkenny met the soon to be All-Ireland SHC title winner Limerick.
Eoin Murphy in goal kept Kilkenny in the game with his blocking skills. A Richie Hogan goal late in the second half looked to have turned the game in Kilkenny's favour, but it was Limerick's young team who finished the game with a victory by a scoreline of 0–27 to 1-22. Kilkenny did not advance to the knockout stages of the
2019 National Hurling League. The team finished top of the
2019 Leinster SHC round robin, and with that came a
2019 Leinster SHC final appearance against Wexford. Kilkenny lost by a scoreline of 1–23 to 0–23. Kilkenny then defeated Cork and All-Ireland SHC title holder Limerick in the quarter- and semi-final respectively. There followed the
2019 All-Ireland SHC final against Tipperary, whose returning 2010 management team (led by
Liam Sheedy) hammered Kilkenny by a scoreline of 3–25 to 0-20. Kilkenny qualified for the
2022 All-Ireland SHC final but lost, giving Limerick three consecutive All-Ireland SHC titles. On the afternoon of 23 July 2022, Cody's resignation as manager was announced. He had been in the role for 24 years.
2022–: After Cody The Kilkenny County Board ratified
Derek Lyng as Kilkenny senior hurling team manager on the night of 4 August 2022. The Kilkenny team bus driver was involved in an altercation with a
traffic warden before a
2025 National Hurling League game away to Wexford. Though it was reported at the time that the driver had been issued with a
parking ticket during the incident on Abbey Street in
Wexford, the deputy chief executive of
Wexford County Council clarified more than a month afterwards – amid strong criticism of the traffic warden – that no ticket had been given. ==Rivalries==