2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 118th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Cork won the championship, beating Kilkenny 0–17 to 0–9 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
Format
Connacht Championship
Participating counties : GalwayGalway were unopposed in the Connacht championship and advanced to the All-Ireland qualifiers round 1.
Leinster Championship
Participating counties : Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, WicklowPreliminary round: : These are three matches between the first four teams drawn from the province of Leinster. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the first round.
First round: : The winners of the preliminary round matches join the two Leinster teams to make up the first round pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals: : The winners of the two first round matches join two Leinster teams to make up the first round pairings. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals : The winners of the quarter-finals join two teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final: The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Munster Championship
Participating counties : Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, WaterfordQuarter-final : These are two matches between the first four teams drawn from the province of Munster. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals : The winners of the quarter-finals join the other two teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final : The winner of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Ulster Championship
Participating counties : Antrim, Derry, Down, London, New YorkQuarter-final : This is a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Ulster and overseas teams. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals : The winner of the lone quarter-final joins the other three Ulster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final : The winner of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
All-Ireland Championship
Qualifiers round 1 : The Ulster runners-up, Galway and the six other teams who failed to reach a provincial final to make up the qualifiers round 1 pairings. Four teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the qualifiers round 2.Qualifiers round 2 : The winners of the qualifiers round 1 join the Leinster and Munster runners-up to make up the qualifier round 2 pairings. Three teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.
Quarter-finals : The winners of the qualifiers round 2 join the Ulster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals : The winners of the quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who have met in the provincial finals are kept apart in separate semi-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.
Final : The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game.
Teams
General information
Twenty two counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, ten teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Matches
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Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Matches
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Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
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All-Ireland qualifiers
Round 1
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Round 2
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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Bracket
Teams in bold advanced to the next round. The provincial champions are marked by an asterisk.All-Ireland quarter-finals
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All-Ireland semi-finals
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Scoring
- First goal of the championship: Damien Culleton for Laois against Carlow
- Last goal of the championship: Tom Kenny for Cork against Wexford
- First hat-trick of the championship: Dan Shanahan for Waterford against Clare
- Most goals in a match: 9
- *Clare 7–19 – 2–15 Laois
- Most points in a match: 39
- *Cork 1–27 – 0–12 Wexford
- Most goals by one team in a match: 7
- *Clare 7–19 – 2–15 Laois
- Most points by one team in a match: 27
- *Cork 1–27 – 0–12 Wexford
- Most goals scored by a losing team: 3
- *Tipperary 3–12 – 4–10 Waterford
- Most points scored by a losing team: 21
- *Cork 1–21 – 3–16 Waterford
Miscellaneous
- The round one qualifier between Galway and Down was the first ever championship meeting between these two teams.
- The round one qualifier between Clare and Laois was the first championship meeting between these two teams since the All-Ireland final of 1914. Clare were the winners on both occasions.
- The All-Ireland final was, for the first time, contested by two teams, neither of which were their respective provincial champions. Cork were defeated in the Munster final while Kilkenny were defeated in the Leinster semi-final.
- The All-Ireland final was decided for only the second time in history with both sides failing to score a goal, the first being in the 1999 final.
Top scorers
Single game
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Eugene Cloonan | Galway | 4–7 | 19 | Down |
| 2 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 2–11 | 17 | Galway |
| 3 | Niall Gilligan | Clare | 2–10 | 16 | Laois |
| 4 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 2–8 | 14 | Dublin |
| 4 | Eoin Kelly | Tipperary | 2–8 | 14 | Waterford |
| 4 | Jonathan O'Neill | Wicklow | 1–11 | 14 | Westmeath |
| 7 | Tony Griffin | Clare | 4–1 | 13 | Laois |
| 7 | Niall Gilligan | Clare | 2–7 | 13 | Offaly |
| 7 | Paul Flynn | Waterford | 0–13 | 13 | Kilkenny |
| 10 | Brendan Murphy | Offaly | 2–5 | 11 | Dublin |
| 10 | James Young | Laois | 0–11 | 11 | Offaly |
| 12 | Dan Shanahan | Waterford | 3–1 | 10 | Clare |
| 12 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 2–4 | 10 | Waterford |
| 12 | Paul Flynn | Waterford | 1–7 | 10 | Cork |
| 12 | Andrew Mitchell | Westmeath | 1–7 | 10 | Wicklow |
| 12 | Niall Gilligan | Clare | 1–7 | 10 | Kilkenny |
| 12 | Ben O'Connor | Cork | 1–7 | 10 | Limerick |
| 18 | Paddy Richmond | Antrim | 2–3 | 9 | Down |
| 18 | James Young | Laois | 1–6 | 9 | Meath |
| 18 | Joe Deane | Cork | 0–9 | 9 | Waterford |
| 18 | Andrew Mitchell | Westmeath | 0–9 | 9 | Kildare |
| 18 | Paul Braniff | Down | 0–9 | 9 | New York |
| 18 | Eoin Kelly | Tipperary | 0–9 | 9 | Cork |
| 18 | Henry Shefflin | Kilkenny | 0–9 | 9 | Clare |