Clubs 12 club teams annually contest the
Kilkenny Senior Hurling Championship.
Tullaroan and
Ballyhale Shamrocks are the competition's most successful clubs with 20 championship titles apiece, though
Shamrocks has a better record in both the
Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship and the
All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship. A secondary competition, the
Kilkenny Senior Hurling League, takes place annually between the same 12 teams. A second tier of 12 club teams compete annually in the
Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling Championship as well as in the
Kilkenny Intermediate Hurling League. A third tier of 12 club teams compete annually in the
Kilkenny Premier Junior Hurling Championship as well as in the Kilkenny Premier Junior Hurling League.
County team 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.{ Kilkenny defeated
Tipperary in the
1922 All-Ireland SHC final. It would be 45 years before Kilkenny would beat Tipperary in the championship again. Kilkenny met
Cork in the
1931 All-Ireland SHC final, which went to a replay noted for
Lory Meagher giving one of his most outstanding displays on the hurling field. A second replay was required. 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, with a Kilkenny victory sealing back-to-back All-Ireland SHC titles. Kilkenny defeated Limerick in the
1935 All-Ireland SHC final, before losing the
1936 and
1937 All-Ireland SHC finals, to Limerick and Tipperary respectively. 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 went on to lose the
1940 All-Ireland SHC final to Limerick. Kilkenny lost consecutive All-Ireland SHC finals in
1945 (to Tipperary) and
1946 (to Cork). A Cork–Kilkenny rematch took place in the
1947 All-Ireland SHC final, Kilkenny aiming 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. Kilkenny lost to Tipperary in the
1950 All-Ireland SHC final. Then, Kilkenny defeated
Waterford in the
1957 All-Ireland SHC final, in what was the first championship meeting between the teams. The
1958 All-Ireland SHC final against Waterford ended in a draw, with the replay seeing a young
Eddie Keher make his debut, though Waterford won the game. Waterford fought back from an 11-point deficit in the
1963 All-Ireland SHC final, but Kilkenny won by two points. Losses for Kilkenny in the All-Ireland SHC finals of
1964 (to Tipperary) and
1966 (to Cork) followed. The
1967 All-Ireland SHC final, a fourth decider of the decade, saw Kilkenny defeat an ageing Tipperary team. This was Kilkenny's first championship victory against Tipperary since 1923. Kilkenny defeated Cork in the
1969 All-Ireland SHC final, then 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 2–11; however, he ended on the losing side. Losses in the All-Ireland SHC finals of
1972 (to Cork) and
1973 (to Limerick) followed. A rematch with Limerick in the
1974 All-Ireland SHC final led to a Kilkenny 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. 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. Two goals in a 40-second spell by
Christy Heffernan gave Kilkenny a victory over Cork in the
1982 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. It was also against Cork that Kilkenny's next All-Ireland SHC title came in
1992. Kilkenny retained the
Liam MacCarthy Cup in
1993. in action during a
2015 National Hurling League game against
Galway at
Pearse Stadium Brian Cody became manager in 1998. Kilkenny lost an All-Ireland SHC final in
1999, then won another title in
2000, and another in
2002. In 2003, Kilkenny completed what they call 'the double-double', by winning back-to-back League, Leinster and All-Ireland SHC honours. Kilkenny defeated Cork – aiming to win three consecutive titles – in the
2006 All-Ireland SHC final. Kilkenny added two more All-Ireland SHC titles in
2007 (defeating Limerick) and
2008 (defeating Waterford), before completing a four-in-a-row by defeating Tipperary in the
2009 All-Ireland SHC final. Kilkenny became the first team since Cork in the 1940s to complete a four-in-a-row of All-Ireland SHC titles.
Lar Corbett scored a
hat-trick for Tipperary in the
2010 All-Ireland SHC final, ending Kilkenny's "drive for five" (consecutive All-Ireland SHC titles). Kilkenny added two more All-Ireland SHC titles in
2011 (defeating Tipperary) and
2012 (defeating Galway after a replay). Another victory in the
2014 All-Ireland SHC final meant 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. Kilkenny added another All-Ireland SHC title in
2015 (defeating Galway), but lost both the
2019 and
2022 All-Ireland SHC finals (to Tipperary and Limerick respectively). Cody resigned as manager, having been in the role for 24 years. ==Camogie==