2018 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship


The 2018 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship was the 55th and last staging of the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1964. The championship began on 7 May 2018 and ended on 26 August 2018.
Limerick were the defending champions, however, they were defeated by Tipperary in the Munster semi-final.
On 26 August 2018, Tipperary won the championship following a 3-13 to 1-16 defeat of Cork in the All-Ireland final. This was their 10th All-Ireland title overall and their first in eight championship seasons. They were the first team ever to win the All-Ireland title after being defeated in the Munster Championship.

Format change

Central Council motions to alter the format of the championship were endorsed by the Gaelic Athletic Association's Special Congress on 30 September 2017. The proposal to allow Galway and Ulster teams as agreed by the Leinster and Ulster Councils into the Leinster Championship was backed by 72% of delegates. The original recommendation would have ended All-Ireland semi-finals as the Munster winners were set to face off against the Leinster winners from 2018 onwards. Cork argued that the All-Ireland semi-finals should be retained with the Munster champions taking on the runners-up in Leinster and vice versa. Their idea was endorsed by 78% of delegates.
This was the final year of the under-21 championship as the GAA Congress voted on 24 February 2018 to change to an under-20 championship in 2019.

Team summaries

[Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship]

Playoff Round 1
Playoff Round 2
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final

[Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship]

Quarter-final
Semi-finals
Final

[All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship]

All-Ireland Semi-Finals

All-Ireland Final

Championship statistics

Top scorers

;Top scorers overall
RankPlayerClubTallyTotalMatchesAverage
1Evan NilandGalway2-283448.50
2Séamus CaseyWexford1-2730310.00
3Declan DaltonCork0-282847.00
4Chris NolanCarlow1-2225212.50
5Jake MorrisTipperary2-172345.75
6Colin CurrieDublin2-162245.50
7Cianan FahyGalway1-111443.50
8Donal BurkeDublin2-061226.00
8Conor CahalaneCork1-091243.00
8Jack O'ConnorCork1-091243.00
8Ger BrowneTipperary1-091243.00

;Top scorers in a single game
RankPlayerClubTallyTotalOpposition
1Chris NolanCarlow1-1114Antrim
1Séamus CaseyWexford1-1114Galway
2Colin CurrieDublin2-0713Wexford
3Seán CurrieDublin3-0211Laois
3Chris NolanCarlow0-1111Dublin
4Killian DoyleWestmeath1-0710Dublin
4Evan NilandGalway1-0710Wexford
4James McNaughtonAntrim0-1010Carlow
4Séamus CaseyWexford0-1010Dublin
5Donal BurkeDublin2-039Westmeath
5Evan NilandGalway1-069Kilkenny
5Jake MorrisTipperary1-069Galway
5Evan NilandGalway0-099Offaly

Miscellaneous

2018 Bord Gáis Energy Team of the Year was announced on 17 October.