1.
Croke Park
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Croke Park is a GAA stadium located in Dublin, Ireland. Named in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is often called Croker by some GAA fans and it serves both as the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Since 1884 the site has been used primarily by the GAA to host Gaelic games, most notably the annual All-Ireland finals in football and hurling. Both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 Special Olympics, during the construction of the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park hosted games played by the Ireland national rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland national football team. The area now known as Croke Park was owned in the 1880s by Maurice Butterly and known as the City and Suburban Racecourse, from 1890 it was also used by the Bohemian Football Club. In 1901 Jones Road hosted the IFA Cup football final when Cliftonville defeated Freebooters, recognising the potential of the Jones Road sports ground a journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the ground in 1908. In 1913 the GAA came into ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500. The ground was then renamed Croke Park in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, in 1913, Croke Park had only two stands on what is now known as the Hogan stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917, a hill was constructed on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch. This terrace was known as Hill 16 as it was built from the ruins of the 1916 Easter Rising, in the 1920s, the GAA set out to create a high capacity stadium at Croke Park. Following the Hogan Stand, the Cusack Stand, named after Michael Cusack from Clare, was built in 1927,1936 saw the first double-deck Cusack Stand open with 5,000 seats, and concrete terracing being constructed on Hill 16. In 1952 the Nally Stand was built in memorial of Pat Nally, seven years later, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the GAA, the first cantilevered New Hogan Stand was opened. The highest attendance recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was 90,556 for Offaly v Down in 1961. Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966, during the Irish War of Independence on 21 November 1920 Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Police, supported by the British Auxiliary Division entered the ground, the dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary player, Michael Hogan. Posthumously, the Hogan stand built in 1924 was named in his honour, in 1984 the organisation decided to investigate ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium. The design for an 80,000 capacity stadium was completed in 1991, Gaelic sports have special requirements as they take place on a large field. A specific requirement was to ensure the spectators were not too far from the field of play and this resulted in the three-tier design from which viewing games is possible, the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and an upper concourse
2.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle
3.
Hurling
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Hurling, is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic and Irish origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The game has prehistoric origins, and has played for 3,000 years. One of Irelands native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players, there is a similar game for women called camogie. It shares a common Gaelic root with the sport of shinty, the sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked, or slapped with a hand for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick, no protective padding is worn by players. A plastic protective helmet with a faceguard is mandatory for all age groups, including senior level, the game has been described as a bastion of humility, with player names absent from jerseys and a players number decided by his position on the field. Hurling is played throughout the world, and is popular among members of the Irish diaspora in North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, in many parts of Ireland, however, hurling is a fixture of life. It has featured regularly in art such as film, music. A team comprises 15 players, or hurlers, the hurley is generally 24 to 36 inches in length. The ball, known as a sliotar, has a cork centre, the goalkeepers hurley usually has a bas twice the size of other players hurleys to provide some advantage against the fast moving sliotar. A good strike with a hurley can propel the ball over 150 km/h in speed and 110 metres in distance, a ball hit over the bar is worth one point. A ball that is hit under the bar is called a goal and is three points. As of 2010, all players must wear a helmet, a hurling pitch is similar in some respects to a rugby pitch but larger. The grass pitch is rectangular, stretching 130–145 metres long and 80–90 m wide. There are H-shaped goalposts at each end, formed by two posts, which are usually 6–7 metres high, set 6.5 m apart, a net extending behind the goal is attached to the crossbar and lower goal posts. The same pitch is used for Gaelic football, the GAA, lines are marked at distances of 14 yards,21 yards and 65 yards from each end-line. Shorter pitches and smaller goals are used by youth teams, teams consist of fifteen players, a goalkeeper, three full backs, three half backs, two midfielders, three half forwards and three full forwards
4.
Ireland
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Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, Ireland is the second-largest island of the British Isles, the third-largest in Europe, and the twentieth-largest on Earth. Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, in 2011, the population of Ireland was about 6.4 million, ranking it the second-most populous island in Europe after Great Britain. Just under 4.6 million live in the Republic of Ireland, the islands geography comprises relatively low-lying mountains surrounding a central plain, with several navigable rivers extending inland. The island has lush vegetation, a product of its mild, thick woodlands covered the island until the Middle Ages. As of 2013, the amount of land that is wooded in Ireland is about 11% of the total, there are twenty-six extant mammal species native to Ireland. The Irish climate is moderate and classified as oceanic. As a result, winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, however, summers are cooler than those in Continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant, the earliest evidence of human presence in Ireland is dated at 10,500 BC. Gaelic Ireland had emerged by the 1st century CE, the island was Christianised from the 5th century onward. Following the Norman invasion in the 12th century, England claimed sovereignty over Ireland, however, English rule did not extend over the whole island until the 16th–17th century Tudor conquest, which led to colonisation by settlers from Britain. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, with the Acts of Union in 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s and this subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973 the Republic of Ireland joined the European Economic Community while the United Kingdom, Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, especially in the fields of literature. Alongside mainstream Western culture, an indigenous culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music. The culture of the island shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing. The name Ireland derives from Old Irish Eriu and this in turn derives from Proto-Celtic *Iveriu, which is also the source of Latin Hibernia. Iveriu derives from a root meaning fat, prosperous, during the last glacial period, and up until about 9000 years ago, most of Ireland was covered with ice, most of the time
5.
Referee (association football)
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In association football, the referee is the person responsible for enforcing the Laws of the Game during the course of a match. At higher levels of play the referee may also be assisted by an official who supervises the teams technical areas. Referees remuneration for their services varies between leagues, Referees are licensed and trained by the same national organisations that are members of FIFA. Each national organisation recommends its top officials to FIFA to have the honour of being included on the FIFA International Referees List. International games between national teams require FIFA officials, otherwise, the local national organisation determines the manner of training, ranking and advancement of officials from the youngest youth games through professional matches. The referees powers and duties are described by Law 5 of the Laws of the Game, as per Law 9 of the game, if during the game the ball hits the referee there is no stoppage in play. However the officials would be expected to position themselves such that this would be unlikely to occur. Modern day referees and their assistants wear a uniform consisting of a jersey, badge, shorts and socks, since then, most referees have worn either yellow or black, but the colours and styles adopted by individual associations vary greatly. For international contests under the supervision of FIFA, Adidas uniforms are worn because Adidas is the current sponsor, FIFA allows referees to wear five colours, black, red, yellow, green and blue. Along with the jersey, referees are required to wear shorts, black socks. The badge, which displays the referees license level and year of validity, is affixed to the left chest pocket. All referees carry a whistle, a watch, penalty cards, a wallet with pen and paper. Most are encouraged to have more than one of each on them in case they drop a whistle or a pen runs out, often, referees utilize two watches so that they can use one to calculate time lost for stoppages for the purposes of added time. In matches with goal-line technology, the referee will have on their person a device to receive the systems alerts, Referees use a whistle to help in match control. The whistle is sometimes needed to stop, start or restart play but should not be used for all stoppages, fIFAs Laws of the Game document gives guidance as to when the whistle should and should not be used. Overuse of the whistle is discouraged since, as stated in the Laws, the whistle is an important tool for the referee along with verbal, body and eye communication. Before the introduction of the whistle, referees indicated their decisions by waving a white handkerchief, the whistles that were first adopted by referees were made by Joseph Hudson at Mills Munitions in Birmingham, England. The Acme Whistle Company first began to mass-produce pea whistles in the 1870s for the Metropolitan Police Force, Referees in football are first described by Richard Mulcaster in 1581
6.
Tipperary GAA
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For a list of honours won by Tipperary in hurling, football, camogie and handall competitions see Tipperary GAA honours. For a history of GAA in Tipperary in see History of Tipperary inter county teams, County Tipperary holds an honoured place in the history of the GAA as the organisation was founded in Hayes Hotel, Thurles, on 1 November 1884. Tipperary are currently sponsored by Intersport/Elverys, a sponsorship that covers both the hurling and football codes and includes all grades from minor to senior inter-county teams, Tipperary GAA has jurisdiction over the area that is associated with the traditional county of County Tipperary. There are 9 officers on the Board including the Cathaoirleach, Sean Nugent, the original colours of Tipperary GAA were a white jersey with a green diagonal sash. This jersey design is associated with Tipperarys most historic match in either code, the current jersey is blue with a gold central band. This crest was used until the late 1990s when the current crest, four Tipperary men have served as President of the GAA. Maurice Davin is also the man to have served two terms as President while Seán Ryan represented Dublin from 1928 to 1932, though a native of Kilfeacle. Mr. Ryan a solicitor based in the capital, was the Associations legal advisor over a period and played a central role in the acquisition and vesting of many club. Maurice Davin 1884–1887 Maurice Davin 1888–1889 Seán Ryan 1928–1932 Séamus Gardiner 1943–1946 Séamus ORíain 1967–1970 In the All-Ireland series and this rivalry has lasted since Kilkennys coming to power in the early 20th century. Tipp are the team to have beaten Kilkenny in the All Ireland senior hurling championship more times than they have lost. Another rival of Tipperary is Cork in the Munster Championship and these teams have met 80 times in the championship, more than any other rivalry in hurling. They have also met them countless times in the National League, a Tipp and Cork Munster hurling final in Semple Stadium is often claimed by supporters of both counties to be the most traditional Munster final and the games between them are nearly always close. The draw and replay games of 1987 and 1991 and the 1949–1954 rivalry encapsulates this rivalry and this is one of the few rivalries in the provincial championships that is contested by two teams of similar stature whose honours and titles complement each other on a fairly equal basis. Kilkenny and Wexford in hurling have major difference in titles and in football, Dublin, the football teams of Galway and Mayo enjoy a similar rivalry and whose honours are divided in equal measure. Tipperarys team colors are blue and gold. Tipperary wear blue jerseys with a gold bar across the center along with white shorts. The Tippeary team crest features the Rock of Cashel prominently with two crossed hurleys and a Gaelic football below, in the year 1884 when Tipperary GAA was founded is in the center of the crest. The teams of the Tipperary County Board, together with Kilkenny GAA, the Boards teams have won 27 All-Ireland titles as of 2016 - the third most successful of all county boards
7.
1969 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
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The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin. The match was contested by 1966 winners Cork and 1967 winners Kilkenny, the All-Ireland final was the eleventh meeting of Cork and Kilkenny in a championship decider. Kilkenny held the balance of power in all meetings between the two, having recorded six All-Ireland victories to Corks five. Cork, however, also defeated Kilkenny in the 1903 All-Ireland home final before putting London to the sword in the proper final, both sides last met in the All-Ireland final of 1966 when Cork recorded their first championship victory over Kilkenny in twenty years. Kilkenny enjoyed a successful period in the mid-sixties, claiming championship titles in 1963 and 1967. Corks sole All-Ireland title of the came in 1966, a full twelve years after their previous All-Ireland triumph. Corks triumph in 1966 allowed them to claim their 20th All-Ireland title, limericks Seán OConnor was named as the referee for the 1969 All-Ireland final on 2 September 1969. His only experience in a national senior decider was the Oireachtas final between Kilkenny and Clare in 1967 and he entered the short-list for All-Ireland honours following his handling of the Munster final. OConnor was an inter-county hurler in his own right with Limerick in the late 1950s, oConnors umpires for the final were Jimmy Duggan, Jimmy Hatton, Jim Kirk and Noel Dalton. Hatton was a player with Wicklow in the 1950s and was a distinguished referee in his own right. The All-Ireland final marked a special anniversary for the Cork hurling team and it was the golden jubilee of the first appearance in an All-Ireland decider of Corks famed red and white colours of the county teams. Less than two minutes later Kilkenny responded when Eddie Keher split the posts from a free, what followed over the next fifteen minutes was a series of tit-for-tat scores between both teams. Pat Hegarty from play, Martin Coogan from a 70-yards free, Kilkenny responded immediately with a point from Tommy Murphy, however, this was cancelled out three minutes later when Eddie OBrien added to his tally with a point. Charlie McCarthy heaped more misery on Kilkenny when he tapped over two points to give Cork a considerable lead. Mick Lawler started the Kilkenny revival with a point before Martin Brennan exploited a mistake by Cork goalkeeper Paddy Barry and that goal put some respectability on the score line, however, Cork were still a goal to the good. Cork started the second-half where they left off when Charlie McCarthy converted a free after a minute, five minutes into the second period Joe Millea scored Kilkennys second goal and the comeback was on. Keher pointed a free five minutes later to level the sides for the first time, Charlie McCarthy quickly restored Corks lead when he pointed from a free also. The final quarter of the match was all Kilkenny, Martin Coogan pointed another 70-yards free to level the scores again before a spectacular Pat Kavanagh point gave Kilkenny the lead for the first time
8.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
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It is one of the most prestigious hurling tournaments in Ireland and the most prestigious inter-county hurling competition in the province of Leinster. The championship has been awarded every year since 1888, originally played on a straight knockout basis, in the current format the four weaker teams play in an initial qualifier group. The top two teams in the group and the seeded teams complete the championship on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated. The Leinster Championship is an part of the wider GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship. The winners of the Leinster final, like their counterparts in the Munster Championship, are rewarded by advancing directly to the stage of the All-Ireland series of games. The losers of the Leinster final enter the All-Ireland series at the quarter-final stage, nine teams currently participate in the Leinster Championship, including Galway from Connacht and Kerry from Munster. The most successful team in hurling, namely Kilkenny, play their provincial hurling in the Leinster Championship and they have won the provincial title on 71 occasions during their history while also claiming 36 All-Ireland titles, both of these are all-time records. The title has been won at least once by six counties, all, the Leinster Championship begins with an initial qualifier group and then becomes a straight knock-out competition. The draw is made in October of the previous year. The competition has become more competitive since the emergence of Dublin as a hurling power, each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a replay, drawn replays are now settled with extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a second replay takes place and so on until a winner is found. If the quarter-finals end in draws, extra time is played immediately as replays are only permitted for provincial semi-finals and finals, the format had remained virtually the same since the very first Leinster Championship in 1888. The biggest change to the format took place in 2009. Antrim GAA, being the only Tier 1 team in the Ulster Championship, antrim, however, will also still compete in the Ulster Championship which will be run as a separate tournament to the All-Ireland Hurling Championship. In 2014 the five counties in the Leinster championship played in a qualifier group before the main championship. This was reduced to four in 2015, nine counties currently participate in the Leinster Championship — Carlow, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford. Qualifier Group Stage The four weaker counties in the play a round robin group stage. Every team plays the three teams once
9.
Offaly GAA
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For more details of Offaly GAA see Offaly Senior Football Championship or Offaly Senior Hurling Championship. The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly inter-county teams. As a result, the county won six Leinster titles in the 1980s, the county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offalys most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the five minute final. Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time and they defeated Limerick by 3-16 to 2-13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one. The match was a repeat of the years final, however, not only that. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored one of the most famous goals in Gaelic football of all time. Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one point with a score of 1-15 to 0-17. Offaly won their first major titles in 2002 when they won the second division of the National Camogie League. Drumcullen reached the final of the All Ireland club junior championship in 2003, kinnity owon the Division 3 shield at Féile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997. Notable players include soaring star award winners Karen Brady, Elaine Dermody, Audrey Kennedy, Michaela Morkan, Fiona Stephens, miriam O’Callaghan served as president of the Camogie Association). Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion, ” five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015
10.
Wexford GAA
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The county board is also responsible for the Wexford inter-county teams. Wexford is one of the few counties to have won the All-Ireland Senior Championship in both football and hurling, Wexford have won five Football Championships, with the most recent in 1918. Hurling has been played in Wexford from medieval times, evidence of this can be found in the hurling ballads of the 15th and 16th centuries. Others have said that King George III shouted come on the yellow bellies at a match near London. Wexford had one of the greatest football teams in the history of the GAA in the 1910s, winning six Leinster, the team was trained by 1900 star James the Bull Roche, who had fought for the World Heavyweight boxing Championship. Ned Wheeler, Aidan Doyle and the OKennedy brothers, Gus, the latter was the team captain. The feat of six Leinster titles in a row was only equalled in 1931 when Kildare won the sixth in a sequence began in 1926. Wexfords last major success was winning the Leinster title in 1945. From then on, hurling took precedence in Wexford and as a consequence the Wexford footballers suffered, more recently, Wexford have had a strong team. The team reached the Division 1 League final of 2005 under the management of Pat Roe but were beaten by a strong Armagh team that day. In April 2008, in Jason Ryans first year as manager of the team and this proved to be the first success of what would be a historic year for Wexford football, as they reached their first Leinster final in over 50 years. Along the way they stunned Meath by coming from ten points down to win their quarter-final in Carlow and this was Wexfords 5th consecutive appearance in the provincial semi-final, but their first victory. In the final they were beaten by a strong Dublin team. However, Wexford recovered from their humiliation and came through the door, beating Down by seven points in a shock result to reach the last eight. From here, they produced one of the shocks of the championship and they were beaten by 6 points by Tyrone, having been within two points of the eventual champions in the closing stages. Wexford again reached the Leinster final in the 2011 Leinster Championship, Wexford had an easier run to the final than in 2008, facing Offaly, Westmeath and Carlow. In the final they faced Dublin again, but ran them much closer, Wexford entered Round 4 of the qualifiers where they faced Limerick, but they were beaten by a single point, on a score of 1–18 to 1–17. This is in evidence in several one-sided results over the years, the Antrim team were beaten by 12–17 to 2–3 in a 1954 All-Ireland semi-final
11.
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
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Where five Sundays occur in September, the final is held on the second Sunday in September. The Championship was initially a straight knockout competition open only to the champions of each of the four provinces of Ireland, during the 1990s the competition was expanded, firstly incorporating a back-door system and later a round-robin group phase involving more games. The Championship currently consists of several stages, in the present format, it begins in late May with provincial championships held in Leinster and Munster. Once a team is defeated in the stage they are granted one more chance to compete for the title. Thirteen teams currently participate in the Championship, the most dominant teams coming from the provinces of Leinster and Munster, Kilkenny, Cork and Tipperary are considered the big three of hurling. Between them, these teams have won 93 out of 129 championships completed during its history, the title has been won by 13 different teams,10 of which have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Kilkenny, who have won the competition 36 times, the current All-Ireland champions are Tipperary. At the third meeting of the new organisation in January 1885, in 1886 county boards were created to run the affairs of the various counties that participated in the competition. By 1887 the first All-Ireland Hurling Championship took place with five teams participating, for the first few years of the championship the various counties were represented by the team who won the county club championship. For instance, the 1887 championship saw Thurles representing Tipperary and Meelick representing Galway, dedicated inter-county teams were only introduced in 1895 when Cork put forward a mixture of all the best players from that countys best local clubs. Over the early years various changes were made in the rules of hurling, teams were reduced from 21 players to 17 and eventually to the current number of 15, and the rules regarding the value of a goal were also tweaked in the first few years of the competition. The provincial championships were introduced in 1888 in Munster, Leinster, Connacht, the winners of the provincial finals participated in the All-Ireland semi-finals. Over time the Leinster and Munster teams grew to become the superpowers of the game, as Gaelic football was the dominant sport in Ulster. After some time Galway became the only team in Connacht and was essentially given an automatic pass to the All-Ireland semi-final every year. This knock-out system persisted for over 100 years and was considered to be the fairest system as the All-Ireland champions would always be the only undefeated team of the year. In the mid-1990s the Gaelic Athletic Association looked at developing a new system whereby a defeat in the championship for teams would not mean an immediate exit from the Championship. In the 1997 championship the first major change in format arrived when the system was introduced. This new structure allowed the defeated Munster and Leinster finalists another chance to regain a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals, Tipperary and Kilkenny were the first two teams to benefit from the new system when they defeated Down and Galway respectively in the quarter-finals
