1996 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 1996 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 110th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county hurling tournament. The draw for the various provincial championships took place on 22 October 1995. The championship ran from 5 May to 1 September 1996.
Clare were the defending champions, however, they were beaten by Limerick in the [|Munster semi-finals].
The All-Ireland final was played on 1 September 1996 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Wexford and Limerick, in what was their third meeting in the final overall, a first meeting in the final in 78 years and a first championship meeting in 41 years. Wexford won the match by 1–13 to 0–14 to claim their sixth All-Ireland title overall and a first title in 26 years.
Limerick's Gary Kirby was the championship's [|top scorer] with 1–35. Wexford's Larry O'Gorman was named Hurler of the Year.

Team changes

Entered Championship

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First goal of the championship: Robert Galvin for Westmeath against Carlow
Last goal of the championship: Tom Dempsey for Wexford against Limerick
First hat-trick of the championship: Kevin Broderick for Galway against New York
Widest winning margin: 26 points
*Galway 4–22 : 0–8 New York
Most goals in a match: 6
*Offaly 4–17 : 2–10 Laois
*Kerry 2–11 : 4–19 Tipperary
Most points in a match: 38
*Wexford 2–23 : 2–15 Offaly

Cork's 3–18 to 1–8 defeat by Limerick in the Munster quarter-final was the team's biggest defeat since 1936. It was also Cork's first championship defeat at home since 1923.

The following players made their début in the 1996 championship:

The following players played their last game in the 1996 championship: