1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 53rd staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 7 May 1939 and ended on 3 September 1939.

1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Championship details
Dates7 May – 3 September 1939
Teams13
All-Ireland champions
Winning teamKilkenny (12th win)
CaptainJimmy Walsh
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamCork
CaptainJack Lynch
Provincial champions
MunsterCork
LeinsterKilkenny
UlsterNot Played
ConnachtNot Played
Championship statistics
No. matches played12
Goals total91 (7.58 per game)
Points total116 (9.66 per game)
Top ScorerJim Langton (1-20)
All-Star TeamSee here
1938
1940

Dublin entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.

The All-Ireland final was played on 3 September 1939 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Kilkenny and Cork, in what was their first meeting in a final in nine years. Kilkenny won the match by 2–07 to 3–03 to claim their 12th championship title overall and a first title since 1935. The 1939 All-Ireland final remains one of the most iconic of all time.[1] Played on the day that Britain declared war on Germany, the climax of the match took place during a terrific thunderstorm and earned the sobriquet of the "thunder and lightning final".[2][3]

Kilkenny's Jim Langton was the championship's top scorer with 1-20.

Teams

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A total of thirteen teams contested the championship, including all of the teams from the 1938 championship. Wexford re-entered the championship after a one-year absence.

Team summaries

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Team Colours Most recent success
All-Ireland Provincial League
Clare Saffron and blue 1914 1932
Cork Red and white 1931 1931 1929-30
Dublin Navy and blue 1938 1938 1938-39
Galway Maroon and white 1923 1922 1930-31
Kilkenny Black and amber 1935 1937 1932-33
Laois Blue and white 1915 1915
Limerick Green and white 1936 1936 1937-38
Meath Green and gold
Offaly Green, white and gold
Tipperary Blue and gold 1937 1937 1927-28
Waterford Blue and white 1938
Westmeath Maroon and white
Wexford Purple and gold 1910 1918

Results

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First round

7 May 1939 First round Meath 6-04 - 1-03 Westmeath Páirc Tailteann, Navan
M Falvey 3-1, P Farrell 2-0, M Leonard 1-1, T Donnelly 0-2. T McGrath 1-2, J Skehal 0-1.
7 May 1939 First round Wexford 4-07 - 1-04 Offaly Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
K Whelan 4-0, J Foley 0-4, T Butler 0-3. M Dooley 1-0, P Egan 0-2, P Geoghegan 0-1, J Carroll 0-1.

Second round

18 June 1939 Second round Laois 12-07 - 4-02 Meath O'Connor Park, Tullamore
W Delaney 4-1, P Norton 4-0, T Fitzpatrick 2-2, Nolan 1-0, P Ruschitzko 1-0, P Farrell 0-2, F Jones 0-1, Dunphy 0-1. Moran 1-1, Farrell 1-1, McInerney 1-0, Farnan 1-0.

Wexford received a bye in this round.

Semi-finals

18 June 1939 Semi-final Wexford 2-03 - 10-07 Dublin Wexford Park, Wexford
K Whelan 1-0, J Foley 1-0, A Kealy 0-1, P Boggan 0-1, D Cloney 0-1. B Loughnane 3-1, M Brophy 3-0, C Downes 1-3, M McDonald 1-2, P Doody 1-0, P McSweeney 1-0, J Byrne 0-1.
2 July 1939 Semi-final Kilkenny 6-09 - 1-05 Laois Nowlan Park, Kilkenny
J Kelly 2-0, J Langton 1-3, T Leahy 1-2, S O'Brien 1-0, J Walsh 1-0, P Phelan 0-3, J Mulcahy 0-1. W Delaney 1-0, D Walsh 0-2, P Farrell 0-1, T Fitzpatrick 0-1, A Bergin 0-1.

Final

16 July 1939 Final Kilkenny 2-12 - 4-03 Dublin O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
J Langton 0-6, J Mulcahy 1-1, P Phelan 1-2, T Leahy 0-1, J Walsh 0-1, B Hinks 0-1, P McSweeney 3-0, M Brophy 1-0, J McDonald 0-2, H Gray 0-1.

First round

21 May 1939 First round Tipperary 2-00 - 3-03 Limerick Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles
D Murphy 2-0, P MacMahon 2-0, M Hickey 1-0, M Mackey 0-2, T Ryan 0-1.

Semi-finals

25 June 1939 Semi-final Cork 7-04 - 4-03 Waterford FitzGerald Park, Killarney
T O'Sullivan 3-0, M Brennan 2-0, B Ryng 1-0, D Moylan 1-0, Lynch 0-2, B Dineen 0-1, W Campbell 0-1. J Keane 1-0, L Byrne 1-0, D Goode 1-0, N Hardy 1-0, Moynihan 0-2, A Fleming 0-1.
9 July 1939 Semi-final Limerick 5-05 - 1-01 Clare Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
P McMahon 3-0, M McCarthy 2-1, M Mackey 0-3, J Mackey 0-1. Flynn 1-0, Murphy 0-1.

Final

30 July 1939 Final Cork 4-03 - 3-04 Limerick Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles
T O'Sullivan 2-0, J Lynch 1-2, B Dineen 1-0, W Campbell 0-1. J McCarthy 2-0, P McMahon 1-0, M Mackey 0-3, M Ryan 0-1.

Semi-final

6 August 1939 Semi-final Kilkenny 1-16 - 3-01 Galway St. Cronan's Park, Roscrea
J Langton 0-8, S O'Brien 1-0, J Walsh 0-2, J Mulcahy 0-2, T Leahy 0-1, P Phelan 0-1, T Leahy 0-1, B Brannigan 0-1. S Corcoran 1-1, MJ Flaherty 1-0, P O'Connor 1-0, Referee: M Hennessy (Clare)

Final

3 September 1939 Final Kilkenny 2-07 - 3-03 Cork Croke Park
J Phelan 2-0, J Langton 0-3, T Leahy 0-2, J O'Brien 0-1, J Kelly 0-1. T O'Sullivan 2-1, J Lynch 1-2. Attendance: 39,302
Referee: J Flaherty (Offaly)

Championship statistics

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Scoring statistics

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Top scorers overall
Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average
1 Jim Langton Kilkenny 1-20 23 4 5.75
2 Ted O'Sullivan Cork 7-01 22 3 7.33
3 Paddy McMahon Limerick 6-00 18 3 6.00
4 Willie Delaney Laois 5-01 16 2 8.00
5 K. Whelan Wexford 5-00 15 2 7.50
6 Paddy McSweeney Dublin 4-00 12 2 6.00
Mick Brophy Dublin 4-00 12 2 6.00
Paddy Norton Laois 4-00 12 2 6.00
Jack Lynch Cork 2-06 12 3 4.00
10 Mick Falvey Meath 3-01 10 2 5.00
Bill Loughnane Dublin 3-01 10 2 5.00
P. Farrell Meath 3-01 10 2 5.00
Top scorers in a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition
1 Willie Delaney Laois 4-01 13 Meath
2 Paddy Norton Laois 4-00 12 Meath
K. Whelan Wexford 4-00 12 Offaly
4 Mick Falvey Meath 3-01 10 Westmeath
Bill Loughnane Dublin 3-01 10 Wexford
6 Paddy McSweeney Dublin 3-00 9 Kilkenny
Ted O'Sullivan Cork 3-00 9 Waterford
Paddy McMahon Limerick 3-00 9 Clare
Mick Brophy Dublin 3-00 9 Wexford
10 Timmy Fitzpatrick Laois 2-02 8 Meath
Jim Langton Kilkenny 0-08 8 Galway

Miscellaneous

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  • Kilkenny's victory over Cork in the All-Ireland final was the fourth time that Kilkenny beat them by just a single point. Previous one-point wins came in 1904, 1907 and 1912. Among the attendance was the poet Louis MacNeice who was visiting Dublin.

Sources

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  • Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
  • Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
  • Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
  • Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
  • Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).

References

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  1. ^ McEvoy, Enda (3 September 2014). "75 years ago thunder rolled at Croke Park on eve of world war". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  2. ^ Roche, Barry (24 March 2017). "Epic 'Thunder and Lightning Final' recalled at auction in Cork". Irish Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  3. ^ Fahey, Denis (2 September 2014). "Thunder, lightning, hurling, war and an Emergency". Irish Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.