The 2017 All-Ireland Under-21 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 that was played at

Semple Stadium The Semple Stadium is the home of hurling and Gaelic football for Tipperary GAA and for the province of Munster. Located in Thurles, County Tipperary, it is the second largest GAA stadium in Ireland (after Croke Park), with a capacity of 45,690. ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

on 9 September 2017 to determine the winners of the 2017 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship, the 55th season of the

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bord Gáis Energy GAA Hurling Under-20 All-Ireland Championship) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (G ...

, 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 champion teams 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

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

of Munster, with Limerick winning on a scoreline of 0-17 to 0-11. The All-Ireland final between Kilkenny and Limerick was a unique occasion as it was the first ever championship meeting between the two teams. Kilkenny were appearing in their first final in five years, while Limerick were lining out in their second final in three seasons.

Summary

Limerick failed to settle early on and Shane Walsh wasted little time in pointing Kilkenny into an early lead. Limerick found the pace of the game and a string of points from

Aaron Gillane Aaron Gillane (born 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays as a right corner-forward for club side Patrickswell and at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team. Early career Ardscoil Rís Gillane first came to prominence in Ard ...

Barry Nash Barry Nash (born 31 December 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays as a left corner-back for the Limerick senior team. Playing career South Liberties Nash joined th South Liberties club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and u ...

Ronan Lynch Ronan Lynch (born 1996) is an Irish people, Irish hurling, hurler who plays as a left corner-forward for the Limerick GAA, Limerick senior team. Born in Limerick, Lynch first played competitive hurling during his schooling at Ardscoil Rís, Li ...

and

Peter Casey Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

gave the Munster champions a 0-7 to 0-1 lead after 16 minutes. The teams went point for point for a spell, however, Gillane and Ronan Lynch pointed to give Limerick an 0-11 to 0-4 half-time cushion. Kilkenny struggled to cut into that seven-point advantage after the interval.

Liam Blanchfield Liam Blanchfield (born 18 November 1996) is an Irish hurler who plays for Kilkenny Senior Championship club Bennettsbridge and at inter-county level with the Kilkenny senior hurling team. He usually lines out as a left wing-forward. Playing ...

finally hit point number five for Kilkenny in the 43rd minute, but the response was immediate from Limerick when Casey pointed from the left.

Alan Murphy Alan Murphy (18 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was a British rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988, he joined the jazz-funk band Level 42 as a full-time band member, and played wi ...

took over the Kilkenny free-taking duties and fired three points for his side as Kilkenny closed the deficit to 0-14 to 0-8 with 11 minutes remaining. John Donnelly reduced the deficit to five points before a couple of quick points from placed balls from Murphy put Limerick under pressure. Gillane settled Limerick with a great score from the left before substitute

Oisín O'Reilly Oisín O'Reilly (born 1997) is an Irish hurler who plays for Limerick Senior Championship club Kilmallock. He usually lines out as a full-forward. O'Reilly is a former member of the Limerick senior hurling team. Playing career Club O'Reilly ...

clinched victory with a battling score after he was twice hooked in the build up. Limerick's All-Ireland victory was their first since

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. The win gave them their sixth All-Ireland title over all and cemented their place in fifth position on the all-time roll of honour. Limerick also retained their 100% record of never losing a final.

Match

Details

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=August 2017 2017 in hurling All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship Finals Kilkenny GAA matches Limerick GAA matches All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling