The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2008 was the 122nd since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The first matches of the season were played on 25 May 2008, and the championship ended on 7 September 2008. Kilkenny went into the 2008 championship as defending champions, having won their thirtieth All-Ireland title the previous year.
The championship culminated with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin. The match was contested by Kilkenny and Waterford. It was their first meeting in the final since 1963. Kilkenny won the game by 3âÂÂ30 to 1âÂÂ13. It was their third All-Ireland title in succession and a record thirty-first for the county. Kilkenny overtook Cork with the most All Ireland Titles. A position which they have not lost since.
The format of the 2008 championship was slightly different from previous formats:
12 counties participated in Tier 1 of the 2008 Championship. These teams were as follows:
Provincial Championships
The Leinster and Munster championships were played as usual. The Leinster and Munster champions advanced directly to the All-Ireland semi-finals. The Ulster champions advanced to the qualifiers. The Connacht championship was not played. Galway entered the qualifiers as Connacht representatives.
All-Ireland Qualifiers
Phase 1: (1 match) This was a single match between Antrim and Galway.
Phase 2: (2 matches) The winner of the phase 1 game played the team eliminated in the first round of the Leinster Championship. The loser of the phase 1 game played the team eliminated in the first round of the Munster Championship.
Phase 3: (2 matches) This phase consisted of two knock-out games between the beaten provincial semi-finalists in Leinster and Munster. Teams from the same province could not meet in these games.
Phase 4: (2 matches) The winners from phase 2 played the winners from phase 3 in a knock-out format.
All-Ireland Series
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The defeated Munster and Leinster finalists played the winners of the qualifier phase 4 games.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The Munster and Leinster champions played the winners of the quarter-finals.
Promotion/relegation
The losing teams from the qualifier phase 2 games played off. The loser of this game played a promotion/relegation play-off against the winners of the Christy Ring Cup.
Thirteen counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and one team in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.
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2008 marked the first time in decades that all nine Ulster counties (plus London) competed in the Ulster championship.
Due to the historical strength of Antrim and the relative strength of Down, and more recently Derry and Armagh, a system of seeding was used to prevent one-sided matches. The success of the format was indicated by two 'underdog' victories, for Monaghan over Donegal, and London over Armagh, and a number of close matches. However, Antrim retained the trophy beating Down in the final.
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Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The provincial champions are marked by an asterisk.
The following players made their début in the 2008 championship:
The following players played their last game in the 2008 championship:
The Vodafone Hurler of the Year award for 2008 was won by Eoin Larkin of Kilkenny.
The shortlist for the Vodafone Hurler of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:
The Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year award for 2008 was won by Joe Canning of Galway.
The shortlist for the Vodafone Young Hurler of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:
The Opel GPA Hurler of the Year award for 2008 was won by Eoin Larkin of Kilkenny.
The shortlist for the Opel GPA Hurler of the Year award, in alphabetical order, was as follows:
The following managerial changes took place during and immediately after the championship.
The following stadia were used during the championship: