2008–09 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship
The 2008–09 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship was the 39th since the establishment of the competition by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1970–71. The first matches of the season were played on 12 October 2008 and the championship ended on 17 March 2009. Portumna went into the 2008 championship as defending champions, having won their second All-Ireland title the previous year.
The championship culminated with the All-Ireland final, held at Croke Park, Dublin. The match was contested by Portumna and De La Salle. It was their first meeting in the final. Portumna won the game by 2–24 to 1–8. It was their second All-Ireland title in succession and an unprecedented third in four years.
Format
The 2008–09 club championship was played on a straight knock-out basis. Each of the sixteen participating counties enter their respective club champions. The format of the competition was as follows:Sixteen county club champions participated in the 2008–09 championship. These counties were as follows:
- Leinster: Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford.
- Munster: Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford.
- Connacht: Galway.
- Ulster: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down.
The Leinster, Munster and Ulster championships were played as usual on a straight knock-out basis. The three respective champions from these provinces advanced directly to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
All-Ireland Series
Semi-finals: The Munster champions played the Ulster champions while the Leinster champions played the champions of Galway. The Galway club champions enter the competition at this stage due to the absence of a provincial club championship in Connacht.
Fixtures
[Ulster Senior Club Hurling Championship]
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[Leinster Senior Club Hurling Championship]
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[Munster Senior Club Hurling Championship]
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[All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship]
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Match Rules
- 60 minutes
- Replay if scores level
- Maximum of 5 substitutions
Championship statistics
Scoring
- Widest winning margin: 26 points
- *Portumna 2–24 : 1–8 De La Salle
- Most goals in a match: 6
- *Portumna 5–11 : 1–16 Ballyhale Shamrocks
- Most points in a match: 40
- *De La Salle 1–21 : 1–19 Ruairí Óg, Cushendall
- Most goals by one team in a match: 5
- *Portumna 5–11 : 1–16 Ballyhale Shamrocks
- Most points by one team in a match: 26
- *Ballyhale Shamrocks 0–26 : 0–9 Raharney
- *Sarsfield's 0–26 : 0–10 Clonlara
Referees
The following referees were used during the championship:| Name | County | Games |
| James McGrath | Westmeath | 1 |
| Diarmuid Kirwan | Cork | 1 |
| Declan O'Driscoll | Limerick | 1 |
| Johnny Ryan | Tipperary | 3 |
| F. Smith | Meath | 1 |
| Éamonn Moris | Dublin | 2 |
| Dommo Connolly | Kilkenny | 1 |
| Dickie Murphy | Wexford | 1 |
| Barry Kelly | Westmeath | 1 |
| Martin Mulholland | Derry | 1 |
| Declan Magee | Down | 1 |
| John Devlin | Tyrone | 1 |
Stadia
The following stadia were used during the championship:| County | Stadium | Capacity |
| Dublin | Croke Park | 82,300 |
| Tipperary | Semple Stadium | 55,000 |
| Limerick | Gaelic Grounds | 50,000 |
| Cork | Páirc Uí Chaoimh | 43,500 |
| Antrim | Casement Park | 32,600 |
| Kilkenny | Nowlan Park | 30,000 |
| Offaly | O'Connor Park | 20,000 |
| Westmeath | Cusack Park | 15,000 |
| Dublin | Parnell Park | 13,500 |