2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Province | Munster |
| Year | 2026 |
| Trophy | The Mick Mackey Cup[1] |
| Date | 19 April - 7 June 2026 |
| Teams | 5 |
| Defending champions |  Cork |
| Winners | |
| Champions |  Limerick (26th win) |
| Manager | John Kiely |
| Captain | Cian Lynch |
| Qualify for | Munster SHC Final All-Ireland SHC |
| Runners-up | |
| Runners-up | Cork |
| Manager | Ben O’Connor |
| Captain | Mark Coleman |
| Other | |
| Website | https://munster.gaa.ie/ |
The 2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship is the 139th edition of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Munster Council in 1888 and is the highest-tier of Hurling for senior county teams in Munster. It is contested by five Munster GAA county teams ranked 1–5 in the 2025 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
The competition began on 19 April with the final on 7 June.
Format
Group stage (10 matches)
Each team plays each other once. The 1st and 2nd placed teams advanc to the Munster SHC final and the 3rd placed team advances to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Final (1 match)
The top 2 teams in the group stage contested this game. The Munster champions advanced to the All-Ireland SHC semi-finals and the Munster runners-up advanced to the All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals.
Teams
General Information
Five counties contested the 2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship:
| County | Last Championship Title | Last All-Ireland Title | Position in 2025 Championship |
|---|---|---|---|
 Clare |
1998 | 2024 | 4th |
| Cork |
2025 | 2005 | Champions |
| Limerick |
2024 | 2023 | Runners-up |
 Tipperary |
2016 | 2025 | 3rd |
 Waterford |
2010 | 1959 | 5th |
Personnel and Kits
| County | Manager | Captain(s) | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clare |
Brian Lohan | Conor Cleary | Pat O'Donnell |
 Cork |
Ben O'Connor | Darragh Fitzgibbon | Sports Direct |
| Limerick |
John Kiely | Cian Lynch | JP McManus |
| Tipperary |
Liam Cahill | Ronan Maher | Clover |
| Waterford |
Peter Queally | Conor Prunty | Suir Engineering |
Group Stage
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cork |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4-107 | 3-84 | +26 | 8 | Advance to Munster Final |
| 2 | Limerick |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10-109 | 5-85 | +39 | 6 | |
| 3 | Clare |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5-90 | 7-98 | -14 | 4 | Advance to All-Ireland Quarter-Finals |
| 4 | Waterford |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 9-90 | 6-118 | –19 | 1 | |
| 5 | Tipperary |
4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2-94 | 9-105 | –32 | 1 |
Fixtures
Round 1
| 19 April 2026 Round 1 | Clare | 2-33 (39) - (33) 4-21 | Waterford | Ennis |
| 14:00 | Stadium: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg Attendance: 18,338[2] |
| 19 April 2026 Round 1 |  Tipperary | 1-22 (25) - (29) 0-29 | Cork | Thurles |
| 16:00 | Stadium: FBD Semple Stadium Attendance: 44,348[3] |
Round 2
| 26 April 2026 Round 2 | Cork | 2-22 (28) - (26) 1-23 | Limerick | Cork |
| 14:00 | Stadium: SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh |
| 26 April 2026 Round 2 | Waterford | 3-24 (33) - (33) 1-30 | Tipperary | Waterford |
| 16:00 | Stadium: Azzuri Walsh Park |
Round 3
| 3 May 2026 Round 3 | Clare | 1-18 (21) - (36) 2-30 | Limerick | Ennis |
| 16:00 | Stadium: Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg |
Round 4
| 16 May 2026 Round 4 | Tipperary | 0-17 (17) – (28) 1-25 | Clare | Thurles |
| 19:00 | Report | Stadium: FBD Semple Stadium |
| 17 May 2026 Round 4 | Limerick | 2-29 (35) – (26) 2-20 | Waterford | Limerick |
| 15:00 | Stadium: TUS Gaelic Grounds |
Round 5
| 24 May 2026 Round 5 | Cork | 1-30 (33) - (17) 1-14 | Clare | Cork |
| 16:00 | Stadium: SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh |
| 24 May 2026 Round 5 | Limerick | 5-27 (42) - (25) 0-25 | Tipperary | Limerick |
| 16:00 | Stadium: TUS Gaelic Grounds |
Munster Final
Stadia and Locations
| County | Location | Province | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clare |
Ennis | Munster | Cusack Park | 21,000 |
| Cork |
Cork | Munster | Páirc Uí Chaoimh | 45,000 |
| Limerick |
Limerick | Munster | Gaelic Grounds | 44,023 |
| Tipperary |
Thurles | Munster | Semple Stadium | 45,690 |
| Waterford |
Waterford | Munster | Walsh Park | 12,100 |
Attendance
| Attendances | |
|---|---|
| Matches | |
| Total attendance | |
| Average attendance | |
| Highest attendance | |
Championship Statistics
Top Scorers
Top Scorer Overall
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aidan O'Connor | Limerick | 3-39 | 48 | 5 | 12 |
| 2 | Alan Connolly | Cork | 1-42 | 45 | 5 | 11.25 |
| 3 | Stephen Bennett | Waterford | 4-24 | 36 | 4 | 9 |
| 4 | Tony Kelly | Clare | 1-19 | 22 | 4 | 5.5 |
| 5 | Mark Rodgers | Clare | 0-21 | 21 | 4 | 5.25 |
| 6 | Diarmuid Byrnes | Limerick | 3-11 | 20 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | Darragh McCarthy | Tipperary | 0-19 | 19 | 4 | 4.75 |
| 8 | Brian Hayes | Cork | 2-13 | 19 | 5 | 4.75 |
| 9 | William Buckley | Cork | 0-17 | 17 | 5 | 4.25 |
| 10 | Dessie Hutchinson | Waterford | 0-16 | 16 | 4 | 4 |
In A Single Game
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 | |||||
| 6 | |||||
| 7 | |||||
| 8 | |||||
| 9 | |||||
| 10 |
Scoring Events
- Widest winning margin: 17 points
- Most goals in a match: 6
- Most points in a match: 54
- Most goals by one team in a match: 5
- Most points by one team in a match: 33
- Highest aggregate score: 72 points
- Lowest aggregate score: 45 points
- Hat-trick Heros:
- Stephen Bennett (Waterford) 3-12 v Clare (Round 1)
See also
References
- ↑ "MUNSTER GAA PRESS RELEASE – MICK MACKEY CUP LAUNCHED". Limerick GAA. 26 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
- ↑ "2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship – Clare 2-33 Waterford 4-21". Munster GAA. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
- ↑ "2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship – Cork 0-29 Tipperary 1-22". Munster GAA. Retrieved 20 April 2026.