The 1939 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 53rd staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 7 May 1939 and ended on 3 September 1939.
Dublin entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.
The All-Ireland final was played on 3 September 1939 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Kilkenny and Cork, in what was their first meeting in a final in nine years. Kilkenny won the match by 2–07 to 3–03 to claim their 12th championship title overall and a first title since 1935. The 1939 All-Ireland final remains one of the most iconic of all time.[1] Played on the day that Britain declared war on Germany, the climax of the match took place during a terrific thunderstorm and earned the sobriquet of the "thunder and lightning final".[2][3]
Kilkenny's Jim Langton was the championship's top scorer with 1-20.
Teams
A total of thirteen teams contested the championship, including all of the teams from the 1938 championship. Wexford re-entered the championship after a one-year absence.
Team summaries
| Team | Colours | Most recent success | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Ireland | Provincial | League | ||
| Clare | Saffron and blue | 1914 | 1932 | |
| Cork | Red and white | 1931 | 1931 | 1929-30 |
| Dublin | Navy and blue | 1938 | 1938 | 1938-39 |
| Galway | Maroon and white | 1923 | 1922 | 1930-31 |
| Kilkenny | Black and amber | 1935 | 1937 | 1932-33 |
| Laois | Blue and white | 1915 | 1915 | |
| Limerick | Green and white | 1936 | 1936 | 1937-38 |
| Meath | Green and gold | |||
| Offaly | Green, white and gold | |||
| Tipperary | Blue and gold | 1937 | 1937 | 1927-28 |
| Waterford | Blue and white | 1938 | ||
| Westmeath | Maroon and white | |||
| Wexford | Purple and gold | 1910 | 1918 | |
Results
First round
| 7 May 1939 First round | Meath | 6-04 - 1-03 | Westmeath | Páirc Tailteann, Navan |
| M Falvey 3-1, P Farrell 2-0, M Leonard 1-1, T Donnelly 0-2. | T McGrath 1-2, J Skehal 0-1. |
| 7 May 1939 First round | Wexford | 4-07 - 1-04 | Offaly | Nowlan Park, Kilkenny |
| K Whelan 4-0, J Foley 0-4, T Butler 0-3. | M Dooley 1-0, P Egan 0-2, P Geoghegan 0-1, J Carroll 0-1. |
Second round
| 18 June 1939 Second round | Laois | 12-07 - 4-02 | Meath | O'Connor Park, Tullamore |
| W Delaney 4-1, P Norton 4-0, T Fitzpatrick 2-2, Nolan 1-0, P Ruschitzko 1-0, P Farrell 0-2, F Jones 0-1, Dunphy 0-1. | Moran 1-1, Farrell 1-1, McInerney 1-0, Farnan 1-0. |
Wexford received a bye in this round.
Semi-finals
| 18 June 1939 Semi-final | Wexford | 2-03 - 10-07 | Dublin | Wexford Park, Wexford |
| K Whelan 1-0, J Foley 1-0, A Kealy 0-1, P Boggan 0-1, D Cloney 0-1. | B Loughnane 3-1, M Brophy 3-0, C Downes 1-3, M McDonald 1-2, P Doody 1-0, P McSweeney 1-0, J Byrne 0-1. |
| 2 July 1939 Semi-final | Kilkenny | 6-09 - 1-05 | Laois | Nowlan Park, Kilkenny |
| J Kelly 2-0, J Langton 1-3, T Leahy 1-2, S O'Brien 1-0, J Walsh 1-0, P Phelan 0-3, J Mulcahy 0-1. | W Delaney 1-0, D Walsh 0-2, P Farrell 0-1, T Fitzpatrick 0-1, A Bergin 0-1. |
Final
| 16 July 1939 Final | Kilkenny | 2-12 - 4-03 | Dublin | O'Moore Park, Portlaoise |
| J Langton 0-6, J Mulcahy 1-1, P Phelan 1-2, T Leahy 0-1, J Walsh 0-1, B Hinks 0-1, | P McSweeney 3-0, M Brophy 1-0, J McDonald 0-2, H Gray 0-1. |
First round
| 21 May 1939 First round | Tipperary | 2-00 - 3-03 | Limerick | Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles |
| D Murphy 2-0, | P MacMahon 2-0, M Hickey 1-0, M Mackey 0-2, T Ryan 0-1. |
Semi-finals
| 25 June 1939 Semi-final | Cork | 7-04 - 4-03 | Waterford | FitzGerald Park, Killarney |
| T O'Sullivan 3-0, M Brennan 2-0, B Ryng 1-0, D Moylan 1-0, Lynch 0-2, B Dineen 0-1, W Campbell 0-1. | J Keane 1-0, L Byrne 1-0, D Goode 1-0, N Hardy 1-0, Moynihan 0-2, A Fleming 0-1. |
| 9 July 1939 Semi-final | Limerick | 5-05 - 1-01 | Clare | Gaelic Grounds, Limerick |
| P McMahon 3-0, M McCarthy 2-1, M Mackey 0-3, J Mackey 0-1. | Flynn 1-0, Murphy 0-1. |
Final
| 30 July 1939 Final | Cork | 4-03 - 3-04 | Limerick | Thurles Sportsfield, Thurles |
| T O'Sullivan 2-0, J Lynch 1-2, B Dineen 1-0, W Campbell 0-1. | J McCarthy 2-0, P McMahon 1-0, M Mackey 0-3, M Ryan 0-1. |
Semi-final
| 6 August 1939 Semi-final | Kilkenny | 1-16 - 3-01 | Galway | St. Cronan's Park, Roscrea |
| J Langton 0-8, S O'Brien 1-0, J Walsh 0-2, J Mulcahy 0-2, T Leahy 0-1, P Phelan 0-1, T Leahy 0-1, B Brannigan 0-1. | S Corcoran 1-1, MJ Flaherty 1-0, P O'Connor 1-0, | Referee: M Hennessy (Clare) |
Final
| 3 September 1939 Final | Kilkenny | 2-07 - 3-03 | Cork | Croke Park |
| J Phelan 2-0, J Langton 0-3, T Leahy 0-2, J O'Brien 0-1, J Kelly 0-1. | T O'Sullivan 2-1, J Lynch 1-2. | Attendance: 39,302 Referee: J Flaherty (Offaly) |
Championship statistics
Scoring statistics
- Top scorers overall
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 1-20 | 23 | 4 | 5.75 |
| 2 | Ted O'Sullivan | Cork | 7-01 | 22 | 3 | 7.33 |
| 3 | Paddy McMahon | Limerick | 6-00 | 18 | 3 | 6.00 |
| 4 | Willie Delaney | Laois | 5-01 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 |
| 5 | K. Whelan | Wexford | 5-00 | 15 | 2 | 7.50 |
| 6 | Paddy McSweeney | Dublin | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 |
| Mick Brophy | Dublin | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Paddy Norton | Laois | 4-00 | 12 | 2 | 6.00 | |
| Jack Lynch | Cork | 2-06 | 12 | 3 | 4.00 | |
| 10 | Mick Falvey | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
| Bill Loughnane | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 | |
| P. Farrell | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | 2 | 5.00 |
- Top scorers in a single game
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Willie Delaney | Laois | 4-01 | 13 | Meath |
| 2 | Paddy Norton | Laois | 4-00 | 12 | Meath |
| K. Whelan | Wexford | 4-00 | 12 | Offaly | |
| 4 | Mick Falvey | Meath | 3-01 | 10 | Westmeath |
| Bill Loughnane | Dublin | 3-01 | 10 | Wexford | |
| 6 | Paddy McSweeney | Dublin | 3-00 | 9 | Kilkenny |
| Ted O'Sullivan | Cork | 3-00 | 9 | Waterford | |
| Paddy McMahon | Limerick | 3-00 | 9 | Clare | |
| Mick Brophy | Dublin | 3-00 | 9 | Wexford | |
| 10 | Timmy Fitzpatrick | Laois | 2-02 | 8 | Meath |
| Jim Langton | Kilkenny | 0-08 | 8 | Galway |
Miscellaneous
- Kilkenny's victory over Cork in the All-Ireland final was the fourth time that Kilkenny beat them by just a single point. Previous one-point wins came in 1904, 1907 and 1912. Among the attendance was the poet Louis MacNeice who was visiting Dublin.
Sources
- Corry, Eoghan, The GAA Book of Lists (Hodder Headline Ireland, 2005).
- Donegan, Des, The Complete Handbook of Gaelic Games (DBA Publications Limited, 2005).
- Horgan, Tim, Christy Ring: Hurling's Greatest (The Collins Press, 2007).
- Nolan, Pat, Flashbacks: A Half Century of Cork Hurling (The Collins Press, 2000).
- Sweeney, Éamonn, Munster Hurling Legends (The O'Brien Press, 2002).
References
- ^ McEvoy, Enda (3 September 2014). "75 years ago thunder rolled at Croke Park on eve of world war". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Roche, Barry (24 March 2017). "Epic 'Thunder and Lightning Final' recalled at auction in Cork". Irish Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
- ^ Fahey, Denis (2 September 2014). "Thunder, lightning, hurling, war and an Emergency". Irish Times. Retrieved 26 August 2021.