Liam MacCarthy Cup
The Liam MacCarthy Cup, also called Corn Liam Mhic Cárthaigh, is the trophy given every year to the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) does the award.
The cup is named after Liam MacCarthy, who was born in 1853 in London to Irish parents. He helped start a GAA county board in London in the 1890s. In 1922, a trophy in his honor was given to the GAA to replace the old Great Southern Cup.
The cup’s design comes from a medieval Irish drinking vessel called a mether. It was first presented in 1923 to the Limerick team for the 1921 final, which was played in 1923 because of political issues at the time.
The original Liam MacCarthy Cup was retired in 1992. A new, identical replica was made by silversmith James M. Kelly and has been awarded since then. The silver for the new cup was donated by Johnson Matthey Ireland. The original cup is on permanent display at the GAA Museum at Croke Park in Dublin.
The All-Ireland Final is organized by the GAA. It used to be played in September at Croke Park, but since 2018 the schedule has moved to July or August.
The Liam MacCarthy Cup is the trophy for Tier 1 of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Twelve teams compete: five from Leinster, five from Munster, and two teams from the Joe McDonagh Cup can move up if they win promotion.
Winners keep the trophy for one year, until the next All-Ireland final. The captain of the winning team also receives a small replica of the cup.
As of 2025, the trophy is with Tipperary captain Ronan Maher after the 2025 final.
In the history of the cup, Cork has been very successful with the old trophy, Kilkenny has won the new cup several times (including four in a row from 2006–2009, later matched by Limerick from 2020–2023), and other teams have had periods of success as well.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 13:43 (CET).