The 1974 All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship was the first staging of the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's secondary inter-county hurling tournament. The championship began on 12 May 1974 and ended on 23 June 1974.
On 23 June 1974, Kildare won the championship following a 1âÂÂ26 to 3âÂÂ13 defeat of Antrim in the All-Ireland final. This was their fourth All-Ireland title in hurling, following on from earlier successes in the intermediate and junior grades. The prize for the winners was a place in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Kildare's Johnny Walsh was the championship's top scorer with 0-20.
Nine counties will compete in the championship:
First round: (4 matches) These are four matches between the eight native participating teams. Four teams are eliminated at this stage. Two winning teams automatically qualify for the semi-final stage. Two other winning teams play off in a lone quarter-final.
Quarter-final: (1 match) This is a single match between two first round winners. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-final.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The two winners of the first round join the winners of the lone quarter-final and British representatives Hertfordshire to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners are allowed to participate in a preliminary round for the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.