The 2002 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the

Guinness Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...

Hurling Championship 2002) was the 116th staging of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

's premier

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

knock-out competition.

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

won the championship, beating Clare 2-20 to 0-19 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

The championship

Format

Leinster Championship

''First round:'' (3 matches) These are three games between six of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster. Three teams are eliminated at this stage while the three winning teams advance to the second round. ''Second round:'' (2 matches) The three winners of the first-round games join a fourth Leinster team to make up the second round pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the quarter-final. ''Quarter-final:'' (1 match) This is a lone match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. One team is eliminated from the provincial championship at this stage while the winning team advances to the semi-finals. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The winners of the lone quarter-final join the other three Leinster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated from the provincial championship at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the final. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest the Leinster final. The runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-final.

Munster Championship

''Quarter-final:'' (1 match) This is a lone match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster. One team is eliminated from the provincial championship at this stage while the winning team advances to the semi-finals. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The winners of the lone quarter-final join the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated from the provincial championship at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the final. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest the Munster final. The runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-final.

Ulster Championship

''Quarter-final:'' (1 match) This is a lone match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Ulster. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winning team advances to the semi-finals. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The winners of the lone quarter-final join the other three Ulster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the final. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest the Ulster final. The runners-up advance to the All-Ireland qualifiers while the winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Qualifiers

The qualifiers gives teams defeated in the provincial championships another chance at winning the All-Ireland. ''Round 1:'' (4 matches) This round involves eight teams:

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, who enter the championship at this stage, the Ulster runners-up and the defeated teams from the quarter-finals and semi-finals of the Leinster and Munster campaigns. An open draw is made to determine the pairings, however, repeat games cannot take place. Four teams are eliminated at this stage while the four winners advance to round 2. ''Round 2:'' (3 matches) This round involves six teams: the defeated Leinster and Munster finalists and the four winners from round 1. An open draw is made to determine the pairings, however, repeat games cannot take place. Three teams are eliminated at this stage while the three winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

All-Ireland Championship

''Quarter-final:'' (2 matches) These are two lone games involving the Ulster champions and the three winners from round 2 of the qualifiers. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the semi-finals. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster winners to make up the semi-final pairings. The provincial champions are drawn in opposite semi-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the final. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest the All-Ireland final.

All-Ireland final

The new Qualifier system threw up an interesting pairing in the All-Ireland final. It was the

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

champions

versus Clare, who were knocked out of the provincial championship in the very first round. Kilkenny had the upper hand for the whole game as D.J. Carey and

Henry Shefflin Henry Shefflin (born 11 January 1979) is an Irish hurling manager and former player who is the current manager of the Galway senior hurling team. In his playing career he was nicknamed "King Henry" because of his directive style, dominance, com ...

scored goals for Kilkenny. Clare narrowed Kilkenny's lead in the second half, however, they missed two goal chances. Kilkenny won the title for the 27th time.

Fixtures

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

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Munster Senior Hurling Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster GAA, Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the h ...

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Ulster Senior Hurling Championship The Ulster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Ulster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling co ...

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Qualifiers

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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

Note: * = Provincial Champion ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Top scorers

Season

Single game

{{All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...