2004 National Hurling League

2004 National Hurling League

League details
Dates	14 February – 9 May 2004
Teams	32
League champions
Winners	Galway (8th win)
Captain	Ollie Canning
Manager	Conor Hayes
League runners-up
Runners-up	Waterford
Captain	Ken McGrath
Manager	Justin McCarthy
Other division winners
Division 2	Down
Division 3	Sligo
Division 3 Shield	Donegal
← 2003 2005 →

The 2004 National Hurling League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Allianz National Hurling League, was the 73rd edition of the National Hurling League (NHL), an annual hurling competition for the GAA county teams. Galway won the league, beating Waterford in the final.

Structure

Division 1

There are 12 teams in Division 1, divided into 1A and 1B. Each team plays all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.

• The top three in 1A and 1B advance to the Division 1 Final Group.
• The bottom three in 1A and 1B go into the Division 1 Relegation Group.

Each team in the Final Group plays the other three teams that it did not play in the first five games. The top two teams go into the NHL final – only points earned in these last three games count. Each team in the Relegation Group plays the other three teams that it did not play in the first five games. The bottom team is relegated – only points earned in these last three games count.

Division 2

There are 10 teams in Division 2, divided into 2A and 2B. Each team plays all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.

• The top three in 2A and 2B advance to the Division 2 Promotion Group.
• The bottom two in 2A and 2B go into the Division 2 Relegation Group.

Each team in the Promotion Group plays the other three teams that it did not play in the first four games. The top two teams go into the Division 2 final – only points earned in these last three games count. Final winners are promoted. Each team in the Relegation Group plays the other two teams that it did not play in the first four games. The bottom team is relegated – only points earned in these last two games count.

Division 3

There are 10 teams in Division 3, divided into 3A and 3B. Each team plays all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw.

• The top three in 3A and 3B advance to the Division 3 Promotion Group.
• The bottom two in 3A and 3B go into the Division 3 Shield Group.

Each team in the Promotion Group plays the other three teams that it did not play in the first four games. The top two teams go into the Division 3 final – only points earned in these last three games count. Final winners are promoted. Each team in the Shield Group plays the other two teams that it did not play in the first four games. The top two play the Division 3 Shield Final.

Overview

Division 1

Galway won their first league title in four seasons, as 'the Westerners' recorded two defeats throughout the entire league. Waterford, who were league runners-up, suffered three defeats in the group stages before falling to Galway in the final.

Down at the other end of the table, Dublin and Antrim went through the initial group stages without a single victory. However, a relegation group of six teams resulted in Offaly ending up at the bottom and facing relegation for the following season.

Results and tables

Division 1

Division 1A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Diff	Pts	Notes
1	Galway	5	4	0	1		8	Advance to Final Group
2	Clare	5	4	0	1		8	Advance to Final Group
3	Waterford	5	3	0	2		6	Advance to Final Group
4	Kilkenny	5	3	0	2		6	Advance to Relegation Group
5	Laois	5	1	0	4		2	Advance to Relegation Group
6	Dublin	5	0	0	5		0	Advance to Relegation Group

Division 1B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Diff	Pts	Notes
1	Cork	5	4	1	0	+17	9	Advance to Final Group
2	Tipperary	5	3	1	1	+50	8	Advance to Final Group
3	Limerick	5	3	0	2	+6	6	Advance to Final Group
4	Offaly	5	3	0	2	-1	6	Advance to Relegation Group
5	Wexford	5	1	0	4	-19	2	Advance to Relegation Group
6	Antrim	5	0	0	5	-53	0	Advance to Relegation Group

Division 1 Final Group

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Diff	Pts	Notes
1	Waterford	3	2	1	0	+5	5	Division 1 runners-up
2	Galway	3	2	0	1	+13	4	Division 1 champions
3	Clare	3	2	0	1	+11	4
4	Tipperary	3	1	1	1	-3	3
5	Limerick	3	1	0	2	-13	2
6	Cork	3	0	0	3	-13	0

Division 1 Relegation Group

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	Diff	Pts	Notes
1	Kilkenny	3	3	0	0	+43	6
2	Laois	3	2	1	0	+11	5
3	Dublin	3	1	1	1	+14	3
4	Wexford	3	1	1	1	-4	3
5	Antrim	3	0	1	2	-34	1
6	Offaly	3	0	0	3	-30	0	Relegated to Division 2

Group 1

Clare v Tipperary

11 April 2004 Round 1

Clare

1-20 - 1-15

Tipperary

Cusack Park, Ennis

Waterford v Limerick

11 April 2004 Round 1

Waterford

1-20 - 4-7

Limerick

Walsh Park, Waterford

Galway v Cork

11 April 2004 Round 1

Galway

3-13 - 1-15

Cork

Pearse Stadium, Galway

Limerick v Clare

18 April 2004 Round 2	Limerick	2-11 - 1-12	Clare	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
	N. Moran 1-3 (1-1 frees; 0-1 65); P. Tobin 1-0; E. O'Neill 0-3 (0-2 frees); M. McKenna, D. Ryan, J. O'Brien, S. O'Connor, J. Butler, 0-1 each.	Report	J. O'Connor 0-6 (all frees); A. Markham 1-1; S. McMahon 0-3 (0-2 frees, 0-1 65); B. O'Connor, G. Quinn, 0-1 each.	Referee: S. Hogan (Tipperary)

Tipperary v Galway

18 April 2004 Round 2	Tipperary	2-15 - 2-13	Galway	Semple Stadium, Thurles
	E. Kelly 0-8 (0-6 frees); P. O'Brien, J. Butler 1-0 each; J. Carroll, E. Enright, B. Dunne 0-2 each; P. Kelly 0-1.	Report	K. Broderick 2-1; E. Cloonan 0-6 (0-5 frees); A. Kerins, D. Forde 0-2 each; F. Healy, M. Kerins 0-1 each.	Referee: D. Kirwan (Cork)

Cork v Waterford

18 April 2004 Round 2	Cork	0-13 - 0-14	Waterford	Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork
	J. O'Callaghan 0-5 (0-4 from frees); J. Gardiner 0-4 (0-1 from free); T. McCarthy, N. McCarthy, B. Lombard and M. O'Connell 0-1 each.	Report	P. Flynn 0-5 (0-3 from frees); J. Mullane 0-3; D. Bennett 0-3 (0-2 from frees); D. Shanahan, E. Kelly and P. O'Brien 0-1 each.	Referee: A. Mac Suibhne (Dublin)

Cork v Clare

24 April 2004 Round 3	Cork	0-18 - 2-20	Clare	Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork
	B. O’Connor 0-6 (0-3 frees, 0-2 65s); N. McCarthy, P. Tierney, J. Anderson, J. Deane, K. Murphy (Sars) 0-2 each; T. McCarthy, G. Callanan 0-1 each.	Report	N. Gilligan 1-8 (0-6 frees); D. O’Connell 1-1; S. McMahon (0-2 frees, 0-1 65), T. Griffin 0-3 each; C. Lynch 0-2; J. O’Connor, F. Lohan, A. Markham 0-1 each.	Referee: E. Morris (Dublin)

Galway v Limerick

25 April 2004 Round 3	Galway	3-15 - 1-10	Limerick	Pearse Stadium, Galway
	E. Cloonan 1-8 (0-6 frees, 0-1 seventy); K. Broderick 1-2; D. Hayes 1-0; A. Kerins and A. Cullinane 0-2 each; T. Og Regan 0-1.	Report	N. Moran 1-2 frees; E. O'Neill 0-6 (0-4 frees); D. Sheehan 0-2.	Referee: A. Mac Suibhne (Dublin)

Tipperary v Waterford

25 April 2004 Round 3	Tipperary	3-16 - 1-22	Waterford	Semple Stadium, Thurles
	E. Kelly(1-7, 0-4 frees); J. Carroll(1-2); S., Butler(1-0); C. Morrissey(0-2); B. Dunne(0-2); P. Kelly(free), P. O’Brien, E. Enright(0-1) each.	Report	P.Flynn(1-11, frees); E. Kelly(0-3); J. Mullane(0-3); D. Bennett(0-3, 0-2 frees); S. Prendergast(0-1); D. Shanahan(0-1).	Referee: T. McIntyre (Antrim)

Knock-out stage

Final

Galway v Waterford

9 May 2004 Final	Galway	2-15 - 1-13	Waterford	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
	E Cloonan 2-4 (1-3 frees); A Cullinane, D Hayes, K Broderick, A Kerins and D Forde 0-2 each; D Hardiman 0-1.	Report	D Shanahan 1-3; P Flynn 0-5 (0-3 frees); E Kelly 0-2; D Bennett, J Mullane and S Prendergast 0-1 each.	Attendance: 16,750 Referee: T McIntyre (Antrim)

Division 2

Down v Westmeath

9 May 2004 Final

Down

5-15 – 3-7

Westmeath

Gaelic Grounds, Limerick

Division 3

Sligo v Tyrone

9 May 2004 Final

Sligo

3-12 – 1-8

Tyrone

Ballyshannon

Donegal v Cavan

9 May 2004 Shield Final	Donegal	4-14 – 2-6	Cavan	Brewster Park, Enniskillen
		Report

External links

• National Hurling League Division 1 results from 2004