2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
Encyclopedia
The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final took place in Croke Park
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

, Dublin on Sunday, 4 September 2011. The final was contested by Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

 and defending champions, Tipperary
Tipperary GAA
The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or C is one of over 30 regional executive boards throughout the world. These executive boards are known as County Boards even though some no longer correspond to the area under the jurisdiction of the counties from which their names...

.
Kilkenny were playing in their sixth final in a row, while the pairing of Kilkenny and Tipperary was the first ever time that the same two teams have played in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the top hurling teams in Ireland....

 Final for three years in a row.
Kilkenny won their fifth title in six years after a four point win against Tipperary.
The final which was shown live in Ireland on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

 attracted the second highest ever viewership for an All Ireland Hurling Final, peaking at 1.1 million viewers in the final minutes. An average audience of 971,000 viewers tuned in to the game overall.

Background

Kilkenny were Leinster champions, having beaten Wexford
Wexford GAA
The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wexford. The county board is also responsible for the Wexford inter-county teams.-History:Hurling has been played in...

 by 1–26 to 1–15 and Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...

 by 4–17 to 1–15 in the final to earn that title. They then beat Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

 in the semi-final on 7 August by 2–19 to 1–16 to reach the final.
Tipperary opened their campaign as defending champion's against Cork in the first round on 29 May and won by a scoreline of 3–22 to 0–23.
They then defeated Clare
Clare GAA
The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. The county board is also responsible for the Clare inter-county teams....

 by 4–19 o 1–19 to set up a Munster Final
2011 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final
The 2011 Munster Senior Hurling Championship Final was a hurling match to be played on 10 July 2011 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork, between Tipperary and Waterford. The match pitted the 2010 All-Ireland Hurling Champions against the 2010 Munster Hurling Champions...

 meeting with Waterford
Waterford GAA
The Waterford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Waterford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for all levels of Gaelic games in County Waterford. The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county...

. Tipperary defeated Waterford by by 7–19 to 0–19 to win their third Munster title in four years. Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...

 were then defeated by 1–19 to 0–18 to set up a third All Ireland final in a row against Kilkenny
Kilkenny GAA
The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic Games in County Kilkenny. The county board has its head office and main grounds at Nowlan Park and is also responsible for Kilkenny inter-county teams...

.

Match tickets for the final in all of the three Stands increased from €70 to €80 and all Terrace tickets increased by €5 to €40 from the 2010 final prices.

The pre-match betting made Tipperary slight favourites, with Bookmaker
Bookmaker
A bookmaker, or bookie, is an organization or a person that takes bets on sporting and other events at agreed upon odds.- Range of events :...

 Paddy Power
Paddy Power
Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting...

giving odds of 8/11 on a Tipperary win, Kilkenny were 6/4 to win with a draw at 11/1.

Prior to the senior final, Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

 claimed the 2011 Minor Hurling Championship
All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship 2011
The 2011 ESB GAA Hurling All-Ireland Minor Championship was the 81st edition of the All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship since its inception in 1928. Games were played between 9 April and 4 September 2011.-Overview:...

 after a 1-21 to 1-12 win against Dublin
Dublin GAA
Dublin County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association , or Dublin GAA, is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Dublin. The county board is also responsible for the Dublin inter-county teams...

.

Team News

Tipperary manager Declan Ryan named an unchanged team from the team that defeated Dublin in the semi-final for the final. In a positional change, Seamus Callinan
Séamus Callinan
Séamus Callanan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Drom-Inch and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2008.-Career:...

 started at left half forward with Noel McGrath at centre half forward.

Kilkenny's Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.Fennelly made his first appearance for the team during the 2011 championship and quickly became a regular member of the starting fifteen...

 was a major doubt for the final after picking up a hamstring injury in a club match.. However, he recovered sufficiently to be named in the starting team. The Kilkenny team had one change from the team that had beaten Waterford in the semi-final. Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Graigue-Ballycallan and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2000.-Biography:...

 was included, replacing TJ Reid at right half forward.

Referee

Offaly
Offaly GAA
The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Offaly...

-based referee Brian Gavin was named as the referee for the 2011 All-Ireland final on 16 August.
The Clara native took charge of his first final after previously taken charge of the All-Ireland championship final at minor level in 2004 and at under-21 level in 2006. Barry Kelly of Westmeath
Westmeath GAA
The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath...

 was the standby referee, the other linesman was John Sexton of Cork and the sideline official was Galway's
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

 Alan Kelly.

First half

Kilkenny started strongly, scoring the first 5 points on the match, with a free from Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999...

, and points from Eoin Larkin
Eoin Larkin
Eoin Larkin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club James Stephens and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2005...

, Richie Hogan
Richie Hogan
Richard "Richie" Hogan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Danesfort and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2008....

, Richie Power
Richie Power (1985)
Richard "Richie" Power is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Carrickshock and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2005.-Club:...

 and Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999...

, all from play. It wasn't until the 16th minute that Tipperary scored their first point, by Noel McGrath. Two minutes later, Eoin Kelly
Eoin Kelly (Tipperary hurler)
Eoin Kelly is an Irish hurler who plays as a forward for inter-county side Tipperary. He is the current captain and is his county's top championship scorer of all-time....

 scored a free to make the score 0–5 to 0–2. In the 19th minute, a melee broke out, leading to the referee, Brian Gavin sustaining a cut on the nose, which had connected with Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh (hurler)
Tommy Walsh is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. He joined the team during the 2002 championship and became a regular member of the starting fifteen the following year....

's hurl. There was a significant delay while the referee was treated. Eoin Kelly then got a point from another free and a minute later, Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Graigue-Ballycallan and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2000.-Biography:...

 scored a point. In the 29th minute, Tipperary made their first substitution, bring on Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Borris-Ileigh and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2009.-Career:...

 in place of John O'Keeffe
John O'Keeffe (hurler)
John O'Keeffe was an Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Carrigtwohill and was a member of the Cork senior inter-county team in the 1910s and 1920s. O'Keeffe's father, Paddy, also played with Cork...

 in an effort to strengthen their defence. Two minutes later, Patrick Maher
Patrick Maher (hurler)
Patrick Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Lorrha and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:Maher won Munster and All-Ireland Minor Hurling medals in 2007, scoring 3–2 from play in the 2007 Minor Championship....

 won a free, which was pointed by Eoin Kelly. Shefflin then scored a free from close to the sideline. In the 35th minute, Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly is an American musician known for his work as a singer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, notably in The Millennium and Crabby Appleton....

 broke through the defence to fire the ball low and past Brendan Cummins
Brendan Cummins (Tipperary hurler)
Brendan Cummins is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with Ballybacon-Grange and Gaelic football with Ardfinnan. A former dual player at the highest level, Cummins has been a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team since 1995...

 in the Tipperary goal to score the first goal of the game. Due to the referee's injury earlier in the half, there were to be 5 minutes of additional time to be played. The teams swapped points courtesy of Gearoid Ryan
Gearóid Ryan
Gearóid Ryan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Templederry Kenyons and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2009.-Club:...

 and Michael Rice. Tipperary then won a free as Patrick Maher
Patrick Maher (hurler)
Patrick Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Lorrha and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:Maher won Munster and All-Ireland Minor Hurling medals in 2007, scoring 3–2 from play in the 2007 Minor Championship....

 was fouled by Noel Hickey
Noel Hickey
Noel Hickey is an Irish hurler who played currently plays as a full-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Hickey made his first appearance for the team during the 2000 championship and immediately became the first-choice full-back...

 in front of goal, and Eoin Kelly scored to leave the half time score as Kilkenny 1-08 – 0-06 Tipperary.

Second half

Tipperary made two changes at half time, bring on Pa Bourke
Pa Bourke
Patrick Bourke is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Early life:...

 and Benny Dunne
Benny Dunne
Benny Dunne is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Toomevara and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 2002 until his retirement in 2011.-Club:...

, and taking off Shane McGrath
Shane McGrath (hurler)
Shane McGrath is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballinahinch and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Early life:...

 and Seamus Callinan
Séamus Callinan
Séamus Callanan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Drom-Inch and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2008.-Career:...

. Two minutes in, the ball fell to Pa Bourke in front of goal, who shot wide. Benny Dunne and Henry Shefflin then exchanged points. In the 41st minute, Patrick Maher appeared through on goal, when JJ Delaney got in a flick to put the ball out over the endline for a 65. Eoin Kelly put this over the bar for his 5th point of the game. Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.Fennelly made his first appearance for the team during the 2011 championship and quickly became a regular member of the starting fifteen...

 and Richie Power then pointed for Kilkenny to give them a 6 point lead. Conor O'Mahony and Eoin Kelly then scored for Tipperary. In the 49th minute, Eddie Brennan burst through on goal and laid the ball off to Richie Hogan, who put the ball past Cummins for the second time. The score was now 2–12 to 0–10. Shefflin and Noel McGrath then exchanged points, before Lar Corbett
Lar Corbett
Lar Corbett is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2001.-Club:...

 fed the ball to Pa Bourke, who put it past David Herity
David Herity
David Herity is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a goalkeeper for the Kilkenny senior team.A former dual player who began his inter-county career as a member of the Kilkenny senior football team, Herity joined the county senior hurling team for the 2009 championship, but only became...

, for Tipperary's first goal. In the 59th minute, Colin Fennelly scored from a sideline cut, and Kilkenny made their first substitution, taking Eddie Brennan off and replacing him with TJ Reid. Noel McGrath then pointed from 50 metres and Eoin Kelly added another free, leaving the score 2–14 – 1–14 with six minutes left. Shefflin and Kelly swapped frees, maintaining the gap at three points with two minutes left. TJ Reid then scored going into injury time, and Gearoid Ryan brought the gap back to three a minute later. Eoin Larkin scored the final point of the game a minute later to ensure that Kilkenny won the game 2–17 to 1–16.

Match details

e style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> KILKENNY:
1 David Herity
David Herity
David Herity is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a goalkeeper for the Kilkenny senior team.A former dual player who began his inter-county career as a member of the Kilkenny senior football team, Herity joined the county senior hurling team for the 2009 championship, but only became...

 
2 Jackie Tyrrell
Jackie Tyrrell
Jackie Tyrrell is an Irish hurler who played as a left corner-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Tyrrell made his first appearance for the team during the 2005 championship and immediately became the first-choice left corner-back...

 
3 Noel Hickey
Noel Hickey
Noel Hickey is an Irish hurler who played currently plays as a full-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Hickey made his first appearance for the team during the 2000 championship and immediately became the first-choice full-back...

 
4 Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy (hurler)
Paul Murphy is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right corner-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Murphy made his first appearance for the team during the 2011 championship and became a regular member of the starting fifteen that season...

 
5 Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh (hurler)
Tommy Walsh is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a right wing-back for the Kilkenny senior team. He joined the team during the 2002 championship and became a regular member of the starting fifteen the following year....

 
6 Brian Hogan
Brian Hogan
Brian Hogan is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a centre-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Hogan made his first appearance for the team during the 2004 championship and has become a regular player over the last few seasons. During that time he has won four All-Ireland winner's medals, four...

 (captain)
7 JJ Delaney 
8 Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly is an American musician known for his work as a singer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, notably in The Millennium and Crabby Appleton....

 
9 Michael Rice 
10 Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan
Eddie Brennan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Graigue-Ballycallan and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2000.-Biography:...

 
11 Richie Power
Richie Power (1985)
Richard "Richie" Power is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Carrickshock and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2005.-Club:...

 
12 Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin
Henry Shefflin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 1999...

 
13 Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly
Colin Fennelly is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.Fennelly made his first appearance for the team during the 2011 championship and quickly became a regular member of the starting fifteen...

 
14 Eoin Larkin
Eoin Larkin
Eoin Larkin is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club James Stephens and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2005...

 
15 Richie Hogan
Richie Hogan
Richard "Richie" Hogan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Danesfort and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2008....

 
Substitutes:
TJ Reid 
John Mulhall
John Mulhall
John Mulhall is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a corner-forward for the Kilkenny senior team.Mulhall made his first appearance for the team during the 2010 championship and has become a regular impact sub over the last few seasons...

Manager:
Brian Cody
Brian Cody
Brian Cody is an Irish hurling manager and former player, currently managing the Kilkenny senior inter-county team, where he has been in charge since 1998...

style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align=center> TIPPERARY: 1 Brendan Cummins
Brendan Cummins (Tipperary hurler)
Brendan Cummins is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with Ballybacon-Grange and Gaelic football with Ardfinnan. A former dual player at the highest level, Cummins has been a member of the Tipperary senior hurling team since 1995...

  2 Paddy Stapleton
Paddy Stapleton
Paddy Stapleton is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Borris-Ileigh and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2008.-Club:...

  3 Paul Curran
Paul Curran (hurler)
Paul Curran is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Mullinahone and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2002.-Early life:...

  4 Michael Cahill
Michael Cahill
Michael Cahill is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county hurling team since 2010.-Career:...

  5 John O'Keeffe
John O'Keeffe (Tipperary hurler)
John O'Keeffe is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Clonoulty-Rossmore and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:...

  6 Conor O'Mahony  7 Padraic Maher
Pádraic Maher
Pádraic Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2009.-Club:...

  8 Gearóid Ryan
Gearóid Ryan
Gearóid Ryan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Templederry Kenyons and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2009.-Club:...

  9 Shane McGrath
Shane McGrath (hurler)
Shane McGrath is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballinahinch and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Early life:...

  10 Seamus Callinan
Séamus Callinan
Séamus Callanan is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Drom-Inch and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2008.-Career:...

  11 Noel McGrath  12 Patrick Maher
Patrick Maher (hurler)
Patrick Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Lorrha and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:Maher won Munster and All-Ireland Minor Hurling medals in 2007, scoring 3–2 from play in the 2007 Minor Championship....

  13 Eoin Kelly
Eoin Kelly (Tipperary hurler)
Eoin Kelly is an Irish hurler who plays as a forward for inter-county side Tipperary. He is the current captain and is his county's top championship scorer of all-time....

 (captain) 14 John O'Brien
John O'Brien (hurler)
John O'Brien is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Toomevara and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team. He plays as a forward on both teams.-Club career:...

15 Lar Corbett
Lar Corbett
Lar Corbett is an Irish sportsman. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2001.-Club:...

  Substitutes: Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher
Brendan Maher is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Borris-Ileigh and has been a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team since 2009.-Career:...

  Benny Dunne
Benny Dunne
Benny Dunne is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Toomevara and was a member of the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 2002 until his retirement in 2011.-Club:...

Pa Bourke
Pa Bourke
Patrick Bourke is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Thurles Sarsfields and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Early life:...

David Young
David Young (hurler)
David Young is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Toomevara and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:...

  John O'Neill
John O'Neill (Tipperary hurler)
John O'Neill is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Clonoulty-Rossmore and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team.-Career:...

  Manager: Declan Ryan

Man of the Match:

JJ Delaney

Linesmen:

Barry Kelly (Westmeath
Westmeath GAA
The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath...

)

John Sexton (Cork)

Sideline Official

Alan Kelly (Galway
Galway GAA
The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Galway GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway. The county boards are also responsible for the Galway inter-county teams.Unlike all other counties in Ireland,...

)

Umpires








Trophy presentation

The trophy was presented from the Hogan stand
Croke Park
Croke Park in Dublin is the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association , Ireland's biggest sporting organisation...

 to Kilkenny captain Brian Hogan
Brian Hogan
Brian Hogan is an Irish hurler who currently plays as a centre-back for the Kilkenny senior team.Hogan made his first appearance for the team during the 2004 championship and has become a regular player over the last few seasons. During that time he has won four All-Ireland winner's medals, four...

 by GAA president Christy Cooney
Christy Cooney
Christy Cooney is the current President of the Gaelic Athletic Association...

. After the presentation the Kilkenny team and management went on a lap of honour around the Croke Park pitch.

Man of the Match

Kilkenny's JJ Delaney was chosen as the man-of-the-match for the final. A panel consisting of Anthony Daly
Anthony Daly
Anthony Daly was a native of Rahruddy, a townland west of Loughrea, County Galway, Ireland, and a leader of the local Whiteboy movement...

, Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan
Michael Duignan is a retired Irish hurling manager and former dual player. He played hurling and Gaelic football with his local club St. Rynagh's and with the Offaly senior inter-county teams from the 1980s until the early 2000s. Duignan served as manager of the Meath senior hurling team from...

 and John Henderson
John Henderson
-Politics:*Sir John Henderson, 5th Baronet British Member of Parliament for Seaford 1785–86*John Henderson , British Liberal MP for Durham 1864–74...

 on the Sunday Game
The Sunday Game
The Sunday Game is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first...

 on the night of the final chose Delaney from a shortlist that also included Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh is an English celebrity builder. His parents were Irish, his father from Kilkenny and his mother from Sligo. He attended Parmiter's School, then in Bethnal Green....

 and Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly is an American musician known for his work as a singer and songwriter in the 1960s and 1970s, notably in The Millennium and Crabby Appleton....

. He was presented with his award by the GAA president Christy Cooney
Christy Cooney
Christy Cooney is the current President of the Gaelic Athletic Association...

 at the team's victory banquet at the Citywest Hotel
Citywest Hotel
The Citywest Hotel, part of the Mansfield Group, is a 774 bedroomed hotel, conference and leisure centre located in Citywest, Dublin, Ireland. It is the largest hotel in Europe.-External links:*...

 in Dublin which was shown live as part of the Sunday Game
The Sunday Game
The Sunday Game is Raidió Teilifís Éireann's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ Two every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ Two’s longest-running shows, having been on air since 1979, one year after the channel first...

 programme on RTE Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...

.

Reaction

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody
Brian Cody
Brian Cody is an Irish hurling manager and former player, currently managing the Kilkenny senior inter-county team, where he has been in charge since 1998...

 described the win as "massively sweet". Speaking to RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...

 he said that "for the last few years we have been coming in as champions and favourites to win the match, this year was very different, Tipperary were great champions, they set very high standards and they were hot favourites to win today, in those situations it becomes sweet to win because we had to play at a serious level to win it from minute one."
Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh
Tommy Walsh is an English celebrity builder. His parents were Irish, his father from Kilkenny and his mother from Sligo. He attended Parmiter's School, then in Bethnal Green....

 said that his sixth All-Ireland win was the sweetest of all. Speaking to the Irish Examiner
Irish Examiner
The Irish Examiner, formerly The Cork Examiner and then The Examiner, is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country...

 he said "It stands as the sweetest because we lost last year, after last year and losing the five-in-a-row it was heartbreaking all last winter and it probably showed out there today how much it affected us".
Tipperary manager Declan Ryan
Declan Ryan
Declan Ryan is an Irish hurling manager and former player. He is the current manager of the Tipperary senior hurling team....

 paid tribut to Kilkenny saying "we were lucky to go in only five points down at half-time, Hats off to Kilkenny, they showed they were real champions to come back and play like that today".
Former Tipperary manager Nicky English
Nicky English
Nicholas J. English , better known as Nicky English, is a retired Irish hurling manager and former player. He played hurling with his local club Lattin-Cullen and with the Tipperary senior inter-county team from 1982 until 1996...

 writing in the Irish Times said that "Kilkenny were by far the best team, with team being the operative word, and fully deserved their success, they were the masters in all areas and, from the word go, set out to dominate the physical exchanges just as much as they did in their pomp and in their glory years".
Tipperary coach Tommy Dunne
Tommy Dunne
Tomás Dunne is an Irish hurling coach and former player. He is the current coach of the Tipperary senior hurling team....

 speaking the day after the match had praise for Kilkenny saying "They have won eight in 12 years so the statistics speak for themselves, they are a fabulous team and they will rightly go down as one of the greatest teams of all time, if not the greatest, and they showed why they are that again on Sunday".
Martin Breheny writing in the Irish Independent
Irish Independent
The Irish Independent is Ireland's largest-selling daily newspaper that is published in both compact and broadsheet formats. It is the flagship publication of Independent News & Media.-History:...

 said that "Brian Cody’s Cats with this victory are poised to surpass Mick O'Dwyer
Mick O'Dwyer
Mick O'Dwyer , is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He played Gaelic football with his local club Waterville and was a member of the Kerry senior team from 1956 until 1974...

's Kerry
Kerry GAA
The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry...

 football team of the 1970's and 80's as the greatest GAA team in history".

Civic reception

The victorious Kilkenny team arrived back at McDonagh Station in Kilkenny City the day after the final for an open top bus parade to the civic reception at Market Yard.
An estimated 30,000 supporters welcomed the team home to Kilkenny for the celebrations.

Awards

Kilkenny had fourteen players nominated for the 2011 GAA-GPA Hurling All-Stars, with David Herity, Paul Murphy and Colin Fennelly being nominated for their first awards, Tipperary received ten nominations.
This was the first year of the awards being jointly run by the GAA and Gaelic Players Association
In October 2011, Henry Shefflin established a new record when he was awarded his 10th All-Star award and was one of eight Kilkenny players named on the 2011 GAA GPA All Star hurling team. Tipperary received four awards.
Kilkenny's Michael Fennelly
Michael Fennelly (hurler)
Michael Fennelly is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Ballyhale Shamrocks and has been a member of the Kilkenny senior inter-county team since 2006...

 along with winning an All Star award was also named as the GAA GPA Hurler of the year.

External Links

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