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1956 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

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1956 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Championship details
Dates22 April – 23 September 1956
Teams13
All-Ireland champions
Winning teamWexford (3rd win)
CaptainJim English
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamCork
CaptainTony O'Shaughnessy
Provincial champions
MunsterCork
LeinsterWexford
UlsterNot Played
ConnachtNot Played
Championship statistics
No. matches played12
Goals total85 (7.08 per game)
Points total199 (16.58 per game)
Top ScorerNicky Rackard (12-15)
All-Star TeamSee here
1955
1957

The 1956 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 70th staging of the All-Ireland hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 22 April 1956 and ended on 23 September 1956.

Wexford were the defending champions, and retained their All-Ireland crown following a 2–14 to 2–8 defeat of Cork.[1]

Teams

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A total of thirteen teams contested the championship, a reduction of one on the previous championship. Wicklow withdrew and did not field a team in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.

Team summaries

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Team Colours Most recent success
All-Ireland Provincial League
Clare Saffron and blue 1914 1932 1945-46
Cork Red and white 1954 1954 1952-53
Dublin Blue and navy 1938 1952 1938-39
Galway Maroon and white 1923 1950-51
Kilkenny Black and amber 1947 1953 1932-33
Laois Blue and white 1915 1949
Limerick Green and white 1940 1940 1946-47
Meath Green and gold
Offaly Green, white and gold
Tipperary Blue and gold 1951 1951 1954-55
Waterford White and blue 1948 1948
Westmeath Maroon and white
Wexford Purple and gold 1955 1955 1955-56

Provincial championships

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First round

29 April 1956 First round Westmeath 9-06 - 6-01 Meath O'Connor Park
J Daly 3-2, D O'Callaghan 3-0, S Stokes 2-1, D O'Sullivan 1-0, J McGrath 0-2, J Carey 0-1. B Smith 2-0, M Kane 1-1, S O'Brien 1-0, W McGovern 1-0, M Cullen 1-0. Referee: P O'Connell (Offaly)

Quarter-finals

22 April 1956 Quarter-final Laois 5-09 - 4-05 Offaly O'Moore Park
P Spencer 1-4, T Maher 1-1, B O'Keeffe 1-0, P Lalor 1-0, M O'Sullivan 1-0, B Bohane 0-3, J Kelly 0-1. T Dooley 1-1, B McDermott 1-0, T Errity 1-0, A Pyke 1-0, J Brady 0-2, D Breen 0-1, S Grennan 0-1. Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)
20 May 1956 Quarter-final Kilkenny 6-11 - 3-09 Westmeath O'Connor Park
S Clohessey 0-9, W Dwyer 2-0, D Rockett 2-0, J Murphy 1-1, PJ Garvan 1-1. J McGrath 0-4, D O'Callaghan 1-0, J Daly 1-0, D O'Sullivan 1-0, S Stokes 0-3, J Carey 0-2. Attendance: 12,000
Referee: P O'Connell (Offaly)

Semi-finals

10 June 1956 Semi-final Wexford 8-09 - 2-02 Laois Nowlan Park
N Rackard 4-3, N Wheeler 2-0, T Dixon 1-2, T Flood 1-1, J Morrissey 0-2, O Gough 0-1. T Maher 1-2, M O'Sullivan 1-0. Attendance: 20,000
Referee: J Mulcahy (Kilkenny)
17 June 1956 Semi-final Kilkenny 3-08 - 1-08 Dublin Nowlan Park
S Clohessey 2-2, W Dwyer 1-1, R Carroll 0-4, PJ Garvan 0-1. W Cashin 1-3, N Allen 0-4, B Boothman 0-1. Attendance: 20,000
Referee: P O'Connell

Final

8 July 1956 Final Wexford 4-08 - 3-10 Kilkenny Croke Park
N Rackard 2-3, T Ryan 1-1, T Dixon 1-1, P Kehoe 0-3. W Dwyer 1-4, D Rockett 2-0, J Murphy 0-3, S Clohessey 0-1, B Walsh 0-1, M Brophy 0-1. Attendance: 52,077
Referee: M Spain (Offaly)

Quarter-final

10 June 1956 Quarter-final Cork 5-09 - 2-12 Waterford FitzGerald Park
M Ryan 2-2, C Ring 2-1, P Barry 1-0, M Finn 0-2, M Fouhy 0-1, T Kelly 0-1, WJ Daly 0-1, C O'Shea 0-1. D Whelan 2-0, M Flannelly 0-4, T Cheasty 0-3, J Kiely 0-2, S Power 0-1, F Walsh 0-1, P Grimes 0-1. Attendance: 18,500
Referee: G Fitzgerald (Limerick)

Semi-finals

17 June 1956 Semi-final Limerick 1-15 - 2-06 Clare Thurles Sportsfield
M Tynan 1-1, R Prendergast 0-4, D Kelly 0-4, V Cobbe 0-2, L Ryan 0-1, T Casey 0-1, G Fitzgerald 0-1, M McInerney 0-1. J Smyth 1-2, S Madigan 1-0, M Nugent 0-3, G Ryan 0-1. Attendance: 24,030
Referee: R Stakelum (Tipperary)
1 July 1956 Semi-final Cork 1-11 - 2-07 Tipperary Gaelic Grounds
C Ring 0-6, P Barry 1-0, T Kelly 0-1, J Rogers 0-1, C O'Shea 0-1, P Healy 0-1, M Fouhy 0-1, P Kenny 1-3, T Butler 1-1, P Stakelum 0-1, L Devaney 0-1, G Doyle T English 0-1. Attendance: 36,946
Referee: M Pollard (Waterford)

Final

22 July 1956 Final Cork 5-05 - 3-05 Limerick Thurles Sportsfield
T Kelly 2-2, C Ring 2-1, P Barry 1-0, C O'Shea 0-1, WJ Daly 0-1. V Cobbe 1-1, T McGarry 1-1, L Ryan 1-0, D Kelly 0-3. Attendance: 47,017
Referee: R Stakelum (Tipperary)

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

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All-Ireland semi-finals

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29 July 1956 Semi-final Wexford 5-13 - 1-8 Galway Croke Park
N Rackard (5-3), English (0-2), W Rackard (0-2), Flood (0-2), Hearne (0-1), Ryan (0-1), Dixon (0-1), Kehoe (0-1). Salmon (0-4), Fives (1-0), Conway (0-2), Cullinane (0-1), Molloy (0-1). Attendance: 36,465
Referee: R Stakelum

All-Ireland final

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23 September 1956 Final Wexford 2-14 - 2-8 Cork Croke Park
N Rackard (1-6), Kehoe (1-1), T. Flood (0-2), Codd (0-2), Dixon (0-2), W. Rackard (0-1). Ring (1-5), Barry (1-1), Regan (0-1) Goulding (0-1). Attendance: 83,096
Referee: T O'Sullivan (Limerick)

Championship statistics

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Top scorers

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Top scorers overall
Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average
1 Nicky Rackard Wexford 12-15 51 4 12.75
2 Christy Ring Cork 5-13 28 4 7.00
3 Seán Clohessy Kilkenny 2-12 18 3 6.00
4 Billy Dwyer Kilkenny 4-05 17 3 5.66
5 Jimmy Daly Westmeath 4-02 14 2 7.00
6 Paddy Barry Cork 4-01 13 4 3.25
7 Dinny O'Callaghan Westmeath 4-00 12 2 6.00
Tom Dixon Wexford 2-06 12 4 3.00
Top scorers in a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition
1 Nicky Rackard Wexford 5-03 18 Galway
2 Nicky Rackard Wexford 4-03 15 Laois
3 Jimmy Daly Westmeath 3-02 11 Meath
4 Dinny O'Callaghan Westmeath 3-00 9 Meath
Nicky Rackard Wexford 2-03 9 Kilkenny
Nicky Rackard Wexford 1-06 9 Kilkenny
Seán Clohessy Kilkenny 0-09 9 Westmeath
4 Seán Clohessy Kilkenny 2-02 8 Dublin
Mick Ryan Cork 2-02 8 Waterford
Terry Kelly Cork 2-02 8 Limerick
Christy Ring Cork 1-05 8 Wexford

Scoring

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  • Widest winning margin: 19 points
    • Wexford 8-9 - 2-2 Laois (Leinster semi-final, 10 June 1956)
  • Most goals in a match: 15
    • Westmeath 9-6 - 6-1 Meath (Leinster first round, 29 April 1956)
  • Most points in a match: 22
    • Wexford 2-14 - 2-8 Cork (All-Ireland final, 23 September 1956)
  • Most goals by one team in a match: 9
    • Westmeath 9-6 - 6-1 Meath (Leinster first round, 29 April 1956)
  • Most goals scored by a losing team: 6
    • Westmeath 9-6 - 6-1 Meath (Leinster first round, 29 April 1956)
  • Most points scored by a losing team: 12
    • Cork 5-9 - 2-12 Waterford (Munster quarter-final, 10 June 1956)

Miscellaneous

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  • Wexford won a third Leinster title in-a-row. It remains the only time in their history that they went undefeated in the provincial championship for three successive campaigns.
  • An outbreak of polio in Cork and the fear of a spread of the disease to Dublin due to an influx of Cork supporters lead to the postponement of the All-Ireland final until 23 September 1956.[2]
  • The attendance of 83,096 at the All-Ireland final remains an all-time record.
  • Wexford retained the All-Ireland title for the only time in their history. The 2–14 to 2–8 victory remained their only championship defeat of Cork until July 2016 when they did it again in the round 2 Qualifiers. (Cork–Wexford hurling rivalry)

Sources

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  • 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).
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References

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  1. ^ "All-Ireland win 1956". Ask About Ireland website. Retrieved 21 October 2013.
  2. ^ Reilly, Seán (28 May 2006). "Deadly polio nightmare of 50 years ago". Irish Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2013.