All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship

Since 1962, the Munster Council had been organising a provincial championship for under-21 players in Gaelic football. This championship proved successful in bridging the gap between the minor and senior grades in a way in which the junior championship had failed to do. At the GAA's annual Congress in April 1963, the Kerry County Board introduced a successful motion in favour of extending the provincial championship to All-Ireland level. It was the fifth All-Ireland championship to be created after the corresponding championships in senior (1887), junior (1912), minor (1928) and intermediate (1961).

The inaugural All-Ireland Championship in 1964 used a provincial format. 16 teams contested the respective championships in Leinster and Munster, with Tiobraid Árann and Loch Garman emerging as the respective champions. Ros Comáin and Aontroim were the respective unopposed representatives from Connacht and Ulster.

Antrim and Wexford contested the very first championship match on Sunday 2 August 1964 at Casement Park, Belfast. The inaugural All-Ireland final took place on 4 October 1964, with Tiobraid Árann defeating Loch Garman to take the title.[1]

In 2008 a radical motion was brought before a special Congress in an effort to combat player burnout. It was proposed to merge the existing under-21 and minor championships to create a new All-Ireland Under-19 Hurling Championship.[2] This motion was defeated by 115 votes to 58.[3]

A similar motion was later introduced in an effort to lower the age and create a new All-Ireland Under-20 Championship, however, this motion was also defeated.[4]

Like the corresponding championships at senior and minor levels, Leinster and Munster teams grew to become the most dominant, as Gaelic football was the more dominant sport in Ulster and Connacht. After leaving the Munster Championship in 1970, Galway became the only credible team in Connacht and was essentially given an automatic pass to the All-Ireland semi-final every year.

After the introduction of the "back door" system in the senior and minor championships in 1997, the under-21 championship remained as the last true straight knock-out championship. This changed following a Central Council motion to alter the format of the championship was endorsed by a Special Congress on 30 September 2017. The proposal to allow Galway and Ulster teams as agreed by the Leinster and Ulster Councils into the Leinster Championship was backed by 72% of delegates. The original recommendation would have ended All-Ireland semi-finals as the Munster winners were set to face off against the Leinster victors from next year. However, Cork argued that they should be retained with the Munster champions taking on the runners-up in Leinster and vice versa. Their idea was endorsed by 78% of delegates.[5] The new format was used for the first time in 2018.

At the GAA Congress on 24 February 2018, the age limit of the championship was changed to twenty, following a successful motion by the Offaly County Board. In contrast to Gaelic football, under-20 hurlers were also eligible to play both under-20 and senior hurling for their county.[6] This provision was abolished at the 2020 GAA Congress. The "back door system" for the defeated provincial finalists was also permanently abolished, having been suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

There are four teams in the All-Ireland Championship. During the course of a championship season three games are played comprising two semi-finals and a final. The championship is played as a single-elimination tournament. Each game is played as a single leg.

Seventeen counties will compete in the 2023 All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship: twelve teams in the Leinster Under-20 Hurling Championship, and five teams in the Munster Under-20 Hurling Championship.

County	Stadium	Province	All-Irelands	Last All-Ireland
Antrim	Corrigan Park	Ulster	0	—
Carlow	Dr Cullen Park	Leinster	0	—
Clare	Cusack Park	Munster	4	2014
Cork	Páirc Uí Chaoimh	Munster	14	2023
Dublin	Parnell Park	Leinster	0	—
Galway	Pearse Stadium	Connacht	10	2011
Kerry	Austin Stack Park	Munster	0	—
Kildare	St Conleth's Park	Leinster	0	—
Kilkenny	Nowlan Park	Leinster	12	2022
Laois	O'Moore Park	Leinster	0	—
Limerick	Gaelic Grounds	Munster	6	2017
Meath	Páirc Tailteann	Leinster	0	—
Offaly	O'Connor Park	Leinster	0	—
Tipperary	Semple Stadium	Munster	11	2019
Waterford	Walsh Park	Munster	2	2016
Westmeath	Cusack Park	Leinster	0	—
Wexford	Chadwicks Wexford Park	Leinster	1	1965

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the GAA and for the teams involved. For the 2017 championship, the average attendances for the three games was 7,336 with a total aggregate attendance figure of 22,009.

The All-Ireland semi-finals have been played exclusively at Semple Stadium in Thurles since 2011. Both semi-finals are usually played on the same day as part of a double-header of games. Semple Stadium had been regularly used as a semi-final venue prior to this, however, a number of other stadiums around the country were also used. Páirc Esler in Newry and Páirc Tailteann in Navan were regularly used for semi-finals involving a Leinster-Ulster pairing. Parnell Park in Dublin was used on a number of occasions for Munster-Ulster clashes, while O'Connor Park in Tullamore was a regular venue for Connacht-Munster and Connacht-Leinster meetings.

Since 2010, Semple Stadium in Thurles has been the regular venue for the All-Ireland final. Prior to this, Semple Stadium had hosted the All-Ireland final on 12 previous occasions. Other stadiums which hosted the All-Ireland final include Walsh Park (8 times), Croke Park (7 times), Nowlan Park (5 times), Gaelic Grounds (5 times) and O'Connor Park (3 times).

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of All-Ireland Under-21 and Under-20 Hurling Championship titles, is as follows:

• 1960s: 3 for Cork (1966-68-69)
• 1970s: 4 for Cork (1970-71-73-76)
• 1980s: 4 for Tipperary (1980-81-85-89)
• 1990s: 3 each for Kilkenny (1990-94-99) and Galway (1991-93-96)
• 2000s: 4 for Kilkenny (2003-04-06-08)
• 2010s: 3 for Clare (2012-13-14) and Tipperary (2010-18-19)
• 2020s: 3 so far for Cork (2020-21-23)

Longest gaps between successive All-Ireland titles:

• 24 years: Waterford (1992-2016)
• 22 years: Cork (1998-2020)
• 15 years: Tipperary (1995-2010)
• 14 years: Kilkenny (2008-2022)
• 13 years: Limerick (1987-2000)
• 13 years: Limerick (2002-2015)
• 12 years: Tipperary (1967-1979)
• 9 years: Cork (1988-1997)
• 8 years: Tipperary (2010-2018)