The 2008 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship final was a

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

match that was played at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) 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 headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 14 September 2008 to determine the winners of the 2008 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship, the 45th season of the

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

, a tournament organised by the

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

for the champion teams of the four

provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland: Connacht, 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 Meath, Meath has be ...

. The final was contested by

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

of Leinster and Tipperary of Munster, with Kilkenny winning by 2-13 to 0-15. The All-Ireland final between Kilkenny and Tipperary was their ninth meeting in an All-Ireland final. Kilkenny were hoping to claim their 11th championship. Tipperary were hoping to win their ninth All-Ireland title. Kilkenny moved ahead just 20 seconds after the throw-in when corner-forward Matthew Ruth pointed. Tipp responded well over the next five minutes as Shane Bourke, Pa Bourke and Kevin Lanigan all scored. The sides were level for the fourth time when Tipperary's Sáamus Callanan shrugged off three defenders to point before Ruth replied at the other end. Off a particularly skill-laden move, T. J Reid raced in from the right and hand-passed to the unmarked Ruth who blasted to the net from just outside the square. Ruth was denied a second moments later. Pa Bourke kept Tipp in the hunt at 1-5 to 0-5, however, Matthew Ruth rattled the net for a second time. Eight points down, Tipp had a timely rally just before the break when Brendan Maher and Gearóid Ryan rattled off points. The tit-for-tat nature of the game continued in the second half as Hogan and Bourke entered into a free-taking duel. The latter hit two more points to reduce the arrears to 2-8 to 0-12. John Mulhall, who had been quiet, exploded into life over the next few minutes and Kilkenny needed him to do so as Tipp were beginning to get on top. Tipp created a goal-scoring opportunity in the 48th minute, but Callanan's ground shot was disappointingly struck straight at the 'keeper. Pa Bourke went for a goal from a close-in free, however, his shot, aimed to the left side of the goal, was deflected over by McGrath for the concession of a point. Patrick Maher was later involved in what might have been a match-defining incident, just a couple of minutes later. Scrambling his way forward at the left edge of the Kilkenny square, he tried to find space to get a strike through on goal but Neil Prendergast came in with a strong challenge and Kilkenny won a free. Pa Bourke's 58th-minute free proved to be Tipp's final point, before Kilkenny added three to seal the win. Kilkenny's All-Ireland victory was their fourth in six years. The victory put them in joint first position with

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

on the all-time roll of honour.

Match

Details

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 2008 in hurling All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship finals GAA finals at Croke Park Kilkenny GAA matches Tipperary GAA matches 2000s in Dublin (city) September 2008 sports events in Europe September 2008 in Ireland