The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was a

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 ...

match played at

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 ...

on 12 September 2004 to determine the winners of the

2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 118th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Cork won the championship, beating Kilkenny 0–17 to 0–9 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin. Participating counties ...

, the 118th season of the

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 ...

, a tournament organised by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

for the champions of the four

provinces of Ireland There have been four Provinces of Ireland: Connacht (Connaught), Leinster, Munster, and Ulster. The Irish language, Irish word for this territorial division, , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Kingdom_of_ ...

. The final was contested by

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 ...

of Leinster and

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

of Munster, with Cork winning by 0–17 to 0–9.

The game

The game got off to a flying start as Kilkenny missed three early opportunities, including

Eddie Brennan Edward Joseph Brennan (born 2 October 1978) is an Irish hurling manager and former player. His league and championship career with the Kilkenny senior team lasted twelve seasons from 2000 until 2011. Brennan was the manager of the Laois senior ...

putting a great goal chance wide within seconds of the throw in. Cork went ahead through a

Joe Deane Joseph Deane (born 15 November 1977) is an Irish retired hurler who played for East Cork club Killeagh. He played for the Cork senior hurling team for 13 years, during which time he usually lined out as a left corner-forward. Diminutive in size ...

free from 20 metres. Cork had a couple of refereeing decisions in their favour to go with that and give them the slight advantage through the first ten minutes.

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 ...

got Kilkenny back on track with a point from out on the left and Cha Fitzpatrick followed up soon after with another well taken score as Cork's short puck out strategy misfired. Joe Deane was again reliable from the placed ball at short range, pointing after a James Ryall foul. Deane was also dangerous in open play with the crossbar denying him a goal, while Ben O'Connor's smashed the follow up into the side netting. Kilkenny got the next score with

Martin Comerford Martin Timothy Comerford (born 9 November 1978) is an Irish hurler who played as a centre-forward for the Kilkenny senior team. Born in London, at an early age Comerford went to St. John's Boys' National School in Ballybough Street, Kilkenny. ...

putting Kilkenny back into the lead and went further ahead after Shefflin pointed a free. Cork's

Brian Murphy Brian Murphy may refer to: Sportspeople * Brian Murphy (Jamaican cricketer) (born 1973), Jamaican cricketer * Brian Murphy (Zimbabwean cricketer) (born 1976), Zimbabwean cricketer * Brian Murphy (baseball) (born 1980), American head baseball coach ...

received attention with double vision brought on by migraine, which forced him out of the game. Kilkenny got back on top after that stoppage with a Martin Comerford point. Another Deane free ended a nine-minute scoreless sequence for Cork. An exchange of wides followed as Kilkenny continued to foul at around fifty metres from their goal. Ben O'Connor got his first point as a result of one foul.

Brian Corcoran Brian Corcoran (born 23 March 1973) is an Irish former hurler and Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-back and as a full-forward for the Cork senior teams. Born in Glounthaune, County Cork, Corcoran first played competitive Gaelic games w ...

got Cork's first score from play to put them within a point. Shefflin pointed the next long free for Kilkenny, replacing

D. J. Carey Denis Joseph Carey (born 11 November 1970) is an Irish people, Irish former Hurling, hurler who played as a left wing-forward at senior level for the Kilkenny county hurling team, Kilkenny county team. Carey began his hurling career at club lev ...

who had been wayward.

Jerry O'Connor Jerry O'Connor (born 25 January 1979) is an Irish hurler who played as a midfielder for the Cork senior team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. O'Connor made his first appearance for the team during the 2000 c ...

replied for Cork. Cork had a great start after the interval and

Niall McCarthy Niall McCarthy (born 1 September 1981 in Carrigtwohill, County Cork) is an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Carrigtwohill and has been a member of the Cork senior inter-county team since 2002. Playing career Club Mc ...

refused what looked a good goal chance within seconds of the restart, taking a simple point instead. An exchange of points followed. Niall McCarthy's purple patch continued as he scored the point of the game from a puck out, fielding well before turning, running and striking to score. Kieran Murphy made up for a missed Ben O'Connor free by pointing a simple chance. Niall McCarthy put Cork two in front before Kieran Murphy won another free 45 metres out with Ben O'Connor taking the chance this time. Kilkenny's response was immediate. Shefflin showed terrific skill to get a shot on target on the volley from Carey's hand pass but his effort was saved by

Donal Óg Cusack Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

in the Cork goal and from his clearance James Ryall fouled Deane on the forty, yielding another free chance. Deane pointed the free to put Cork in a commanding position. Subsequent frees from Ben O'Connor and Deane as well as a

Tom Kenny Thomas James Kenny (born July 13, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for voicing the titular character in ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and associated media. Kenny has voiced many other characters, including Heffer Wolfe in ''R ...

point put Cork well clear. Cork conceded a '65 to Kilkenny which they defended successfully before Brian Corcoran putt the final nail in Kilkenny's coffin, grabbing a fine point from a tight angle just before the final whistle. Cork's All-Ireland victory was their first since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. The win gave them their 29th All-Ireland title over all and put them as outright leaders on the all-time roll of honour.

Match details

Statistics

MATCH RULES *70 minutes. *Replay if scores level. *Five substitutes allowed. {{All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, 2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Finals Cork county hurling team matches Kilkenny GAA matches