Oireachtas Cup
# Oireachtas Cup

The Oireachtas Cup was an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association between 1939 and 1999 for the top inter-county teams in Ireland.

The series of games were usually played in the autumn months after the completion of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The prize for the winning team was the Oireachtas Cup and a special set of gold medals for the winning team. The tournament was initially a one-off challenge game between two top teams, however, as more teams entered a straight knock-out tournament developed.

The Oireachtas Cup was a post-championship hurling competition, with large crowds at Croke Park on the day of the final. Over time, however, it fell out of favour with both players and supporters and was eventually scrapped.

The title was won at least once by eleven different counties, eight of which have won the title more than once. The all-time joint record-holders are Galway and Tipperary, who won the competition eleven times.

## General statistics

### Performance by county

| # | Team | Wins | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Galway | 11 | 10 | 1950, 1952, 1958, 1976, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997 | 1944, 1945, 1947, 1959, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1998, 1999 |
| 1 | Tipperary | 11 | 2 | 1945, 1949, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1990 | 1962, 1989 |
| 2 | Kilkenny | 10 | 8 | 1940, 1947, 1957, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1984, 1996, 1999 | 1939, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1965, 1973, 1983 |
| 3 | Wexford | 9 | 14 | 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1994 | 1950, 1952, 1954, 1958, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1981, 1988, 1991, 1995 |
| 4 | Cork | 5 | 9 | 1973, 1974, 1975, 1985, 1998 | 1940, 1960, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1976, 1984, 1994, 1997 |
| 5 | Clare | 4 | 3 | 1954, 1982, 1983, 1996 | 1953, 1967, 1993 |
| 6 | Dublin | 2 | | 1944, 1948 | |
| 6 | Limerick | 2 | 1 | 1939, 1971 | 1982 |
| 7 | Antrim | 1 | | 1946 | |
| 7 | Waterford | 1 | 4 | 1962 | 1948, 1957, 1974, 1992 |
| 7 | Offaly | 1 | 2 | 1995 | 1979, 1980 |
| 8 | Laois | | 2 | | 1946, 1949 |

## List of Oireachtas Finals

* All-Ireland champions
* All-Ireland runners-up

| Year | Winners | Winners | Runners-up | Runners-up | Venue |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Year | County | Score | County | Score | Venue |
| 1939 | Limerick | 4-04 | Kilkenny | 2-05 | Croke Park |
| 1940 | Kilkenny | 7-11 | Cork | 1-06 | Croke Park |
| 1941-43 | Run as a Gaelic football tournament | Run as a Gaelic football tournament | Run as a Gaelic football tournament | Run as a Gaelic football tournament | Run as a Gaelic football tournament |
| 1944 | Dublin | 6-06 | Galway | 3-06 | Croke Park |
| 1945 | Tipperary | 4-06 | Galway | 4-3 | Croke Park |
| 1946 (football) | Antrim | 2-07 | Laois | 0-10 | Croke Park |
| 1947 | Kilkenny | 2-12 | Galway | 2-06 | Croke Park |
| 1948 | Dublin | 3-06 | Waterford | 2-06 | Croke Park |
| 1949 | Tipperary | 2-08 | Laois | 1-06 | Croke Park |
| 1950 | Galway | 2-09 | Wexford | 2-06 | Croke Park |
| 1951 | Wexford | 4-07 | Kilkenny | 3-07 | Croke Park |
| 1952 | Galway | 3-07 | Wexford | 1-10 | Croke Park |
| 1953 | Wexford | 5-11 | Clare | 4-05 | Croke Park |
| 1954 (R) | Clare | 2-08 3-06 | Wexford | 2-08 0-12 | Croke Park |
| 1955 | Wexford | 3-11 | Kilkenny | 3-04 | Croke Park |
| 1956 | Wexford | 0-16 | Kilkenny | 1-09 | Croke Park |
| 1957 | Kilkenny | 4-10 | Waterford | 3-05 | Croke Park |
| 1958 | Galway | 5-16 | Wexford | 2-04 | Thurles Sportsfield |
| 1959 | Kilkenny | 6-06 | Galway | 5-08 | Croke Park |
| 1960 | Tipperary | 4-11 | Cork | 2-10 | Croke Park |
| 1961 (R) | Tipperary | 3-06 2-13 | Wexford | 2-09 3-04 | Croke Park |
| 1962 | Waterford | 4-12 | Tipperary | 3-09 | Croke Park |
| 1963 | Tipperary | 4-15 | Wexford | 3-12 | Croke Park |
| 1964 | Tipperary | 5-07 | Kilkenny | 4-08 | Croke Park |
| 1965 | Tipperary | 2-12 | Kilkenny | 2-07 | Croke Park |
| 1966 | Kilkenny | 4-07 | Wexford | 1-07 | Croke Park |
| 1967 | Kilkenny | 4-04 | Clare | 1-08 | Croke Park |
| 1968 | Tipperary | 1-09 | Cork | 1-06 | Thurles Sportsfield |
| 1969 | Kilkenny | 4-14 | Cork | 3-10 | Croke Park |
| 1970 | Tipperary | 1-12 | Cork | 0-08 | Thurles Sportsfield |
| 1971 | Limerick | 4-12 | Wexford | 3-08 | Croke Park |
| 1972 (R) | Tipperary | 2-13 2-13 | Wexford | 2-13 1-08 | Croke Park Nowlan Park |
| 1973 | Cork | 1-08 | Kilkenny | 1-06 | Cork Athletic Grounds |
| 1974 | Cork | 3-15 | Waterford | 1-05 | The Mardyke |
| 1975 | Cork | 3-13 | Wexford | 2-07 | Croke Park |
| 1976 | Galway | 1-15 | Cork | 2-09 | Croke Park |
| 1977 | No final took place | No final took place | No final took place | No final took place | No final took place |
| 1978 | Wexford | 0-18 | Galway | 1-10 | Wexford Park |
| 1979 | Wexford | 3-17 | Offaly | 5-08 | Croke Park |
| 1980 | Wexford | 1-19 | Offaly | 3-05 | St. Brendan's Park |
| 1981 | Galway | 1-15 | Wexford | 1-07 | Páirc Uí Chaoimh |
| 1982 | Clare | 3-09 | Limerick | 2-09 | Cusack Park |
| 1983 | Clare | 1-12 | Kilkenny | 1-11 | Cusack Park |
| 1984 | Kilkenny | 1-11 | Cork | 1-07 | Páirc Uí Chaoimh |
| 1985 | Cork | 2-11 | Galway | 1-10 | Páirc Uí Chaoimh |
| 1986 | Wexford | 3-17 | Galway | 1-22 | Kenny Park |
| 1987 | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament | No tournament |
| 1988 | Galway | 4-15 | Wexford | 3-11 | Bellefield GAA Complex |
| 1989 | Galway | 1-19 | Tipperary | 0-08 | Cusack Park |
| 1990 | Tipperary | 1-15 | Galway | 0-07 | Cusack Park |
| 1991 | Galway | 2-12 | Wexford | 3-05 | Duggan Park |
| 1992 | Galway | 1-13 | Waterford | 0-10 | Páirc an Aghasaigh |
| 1993 | Galway | 2-19 | Clare | 3-09 | Kenny Park |
| 1994 | Wexford | 2-07 | Cork | 1-08 | Fraher Field |
| 1995 | Offaly | 2-13 | Wexford | 0-09 | Wexford Park |
| 1996 | Clare | 0-11 | Kilkenny | 1-04 | Cusack Park |
| 1997 | Galway | 0-14 | Cork | 0-08 | Duggan Park |
| 1998 | Cork | 0-15 | Galway | 0-10 | Páirc Uí Rinn |
| 1999 | Kilkenny | 4-06 | Galway | 0-12 | MacDonagh Park |
