The 2007 National Hurling League was the 76th season of the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

, the top leagues for inter-county

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 ...

teams, since its establishment in 1925. The fixtures were announced on 28 November 2006. The season began on 18 February 2007 and concluded on 29 April 2007.

Division 1A

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 ...

came into the season as defending champions of the 2006 season.

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 ...

entered Division 1 as the promoted team. On 29 April 2007,

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

won the title after a 0-20 to 0-18 win over Kilkenny. It was their first league title since 1963 and their second National League title overall. Antrim and Down were the first two teams to be relegated to Division 2 after finishing bottom of Divisions 1A and 1B respectively.

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

were the third team to be relegated after being beaten by

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 ...

in a play-off. Antrim and Offaly subsequently earned reprieves and retain their Division 1 status as the proposed restructuring of the 2008 league was scrapped. Waterford's Eoin Kelly was the Division 1 top scorer with 1-61. Limerick's Brian Murray and Kilkenny's P. J. Ryan were the top goalkeepers having kept 4 clean sheets.

Structure

A total of 12 teams contested the top division of the league, including 11 sides from the 2006 season and one promoted from the 2006 National League Division 2. On 30 April 2006, Dublin earned promotion from the 2006 National League Division 2 after a one-year absence from the top flight. They were crowned Division 2 champions after beating

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

. They replaced

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

who were relegated to Division 2 at the end of the previous season. The 12 teams in Division 1 were divided into two groups of six team - 1A and 1B. Each team played all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The first-placed teams in 1A and 1B advanced to the league semi-finals. The second and third-placed teams in 1A and 1B advanced to the league quarter-finals.

Division 1A table

Group stage

Division 1B

Division 1B table

Group stage

Division 1 Knockout

Relegation play-off Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final

Top scorers

;Overall ;Single game ;Clean sheets

Division 2

On 29 April 2007,

won the title after a 2-19 to 0-8 win over

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

. It was their first league title since 1965 and their third National League Division 2 title overall. Meath,

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

were relegated to Division 3 as the bottom placed teams of Divisions 2A and 2B. All of these teams subsequently earned reprieves and retained their Division 2 status as the proposed restructuring of the 2008 league was scrapped.

Structure

A total of 11 teams contested the second division of the league, including 9 sides from the 2006 season and one relegated from the 2006 National League Division 1 and one promoted from the 2006 National League Division 3. On 30 April 2006,

earned promotion from the 2006 National League Division 3. They were crowned Division 3 champions after beating

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

. They replaced

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

who were relegated to Division 3 at the end of the previous season. On the same day,

were relegated from the 2006 National League Division 1. They replaced

who were promoted to Division 1 at the end of the previous season. The 11 teams in Division 2 were divided into two groups - 2A which consisted of six teams and 2B which consisted of five teams. Each team played all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The first-placed teams in 2A and 2B advanced to the league semi-finals. The second and third-placed teams in 2A and 2B advanced to the league quarter-finals.

Division 2A

Group stage

Division 2B

Group stage

Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final

Division 3

On 29 April 2007,

won the title after a 1-13 to 0-15 win over

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Structure

A total of 10 teams contested the third division of the league, including 9 sides from the 2006 season and one relegated from the 2006 National League Division 2. On 30 April 2006,

earned promotion from the 2006 National League Division 3. They were crowned Division 3 champions after beating

. They replaced

who were relegated to Division 3 at the end of the previous season The 10 teams in Division 1 were divided into two groups of five teams - 3A and 3B. Each team played all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The first-placed teams in 3A and 3B advanced to the league semi-finals. The second and third-placed teams in 3A and 3B advanced to the league quarter-finals. The two bottom placed teams in each group contested the Division 3 Shield and advanced to the semi-finals. The winners of these two games contested the Shield final.

Division 3A

Group stage

Division 3B

Group stage

Knock-out stage

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final

Shield

Semi-finals Final

References

{{GAA 2007 National Hurling League seasons