1978 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship

The 1978 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship was the 15th staging of the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1964.

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship 1978

All Ireland Champions
Winners	Galway (2nd win)
Captain	Bernie Forde
All Ireland Runners-up
Runners-up	Tipperary
Captain	Pat Fitzelle
Provincial Champions
Munster	Tipperary
Leinster	Offaly
Ulster	Antrim
Connacht	Galway
← 1977 1979 →

Kilkenny entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the provincial series.

On 29 October 1978, Galway won the championship following a 3-15 to 2-08 defeat of Tipperary in a replay of the All-Ireland final. This was their second All-Ireland title in the under-21 grade and their first in six championship seasons.

Results

Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship

Final

Offaly v Laois

26 July 1978 Final	Offaly	2-14 - 2-07	Laois	Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
	M Cashin 1-1, B Keeshin 0-3, T Conneely 0-3, N Bergin 0-2, D Owens 0-2, A Fogarty 0-1, W Molloy 0-1, M Corrigan 0-1.		C Wall 2-2, C Dunphy 0-3, J Lalor 0-2.	Referee: P Johnston (Kilkenny)

Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship

First round

Waterford v Clare

19 April 1978 First round	Waterford	2-06 - 1-06	Clare	Seán Treacy Park, Tipperary
	P Fanning 1-2, P Kirwan 1-0, D Fitzpatrick 0-3, J O'Regan 0-1.		N Duggan 1-0, M Maher 0-3, L Quinlan 0-2, M Nugent 0-1.

Cork v Limerick

26 April 1978 First round	Cork	1-08 - 0-07	Limerick	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
	J O'Sullivan 1-1, P Horgan 0-3, P Crowley 0-2, D O'Herlihy 0-1, C Ryan 0-1.		G Collins 0-2, T Dunne 0-2, G Mulcahy 0-1, J Mann 0-1.	Referee: N Dalton (Waterford)

Semi-finals

Waterford v Tippearry

12 July 1978 Semi-final	Waterford	1-06 - 3-15	Tippearry	Walsh Park, Waterford
	D Fitzpatrick 0-4, J Cotter 1-0, K Brophy 0-1, C Curley 0-1.		S Bourke 1-9, T Grogan 1-2, E O'Shea 1-0, P Ryan 0-2, J Hannigan 0-2.	Referee: F Murphy (Cork)

Cork v Kerry

20 July 1978 Semi-final	Cork	5-18 - 1-02	Kerry	Fr. Con Buckley Park, Buttevant
	P Crowley 1-7, D Buckley 2-0, C Ryan 1-1, T Lyons 1-1, J Cremin 0-4, J Buckley 0-3, P Horgan 0-1, D Herlihy 0-1.		J O'Sullivan 1-0, S Flaherty 0-1, W Allen 0-1.

Finals

Tipperary v Cork

10 August 1978 Final	Tipperary	3-13 - 4-10	Cork	Semple Stadium, Thurles
	P Fitzelle 0-7, T Grogan 2-0, E O'Shea 1-2, S Burke 0-3, M Doyle 0-1.		T Cashman 2-0, D Buckley 1-3, J O'Sullivan 0-5, T Lyons 1-1, P Horgan 0-1.	Referee: N Dalton (Waterford)

Cork v Tipperary

20 August 1978 Final replay	Cork	2-09 - 3-08	Tipperary	Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork
	D Buckley 1-2, T Lyons 1-1, C Ryan 0-3, P Crowley 0-1, J Cremin 0-1, P Horgan 0-1.		S Burke 1-2, T Walsh 1-1, E O'Shea 1-0, P Fitzelle 0-3, J O'Dwyer 0-1, M Doyle 0-1.	Referee: N Dalton (Waterford)

All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship

Semi-finals

Antrim v Tipperary

10 September 1978 Semi-final	Antrim	1-08 - 3-09	Tipperary	Casement Park, Belfast
	S McNaughton 1-3, P McFall 0-3, D Donnelly 0-1, Sean McNaughton 0-1.		S Burke 3-1, T Walsh 0-3, T Ryan 0-1, P Ryan 0-1, G Stapleton 0-1, P Fitzelle 0-1, P Loughnane 0-1.	Referee: N O'Donoghue (Dublin)

Offaly v Galway

10 September 1978 Semi-final	Offaly	2-09 - 2-13	Galway	St. Brendan's Park, Birr
	P Kirwan 2-4, B Keeshan 0-2, M Cashin 0-1, D Owens 0-1, T Conneely 0-1.		B Forde 1-3, M Conneely 1-1, G Kennedy 0-4, P Ryan 0-2, J Goode 0-1, S Mahon 0-1, M Kilkenny 0-1.	Referee: G Ryan (Tipperary)

Finals

Galway v Tipperary

8 October 1978 Final	Galway	3-05 - 2-08	Tipperary	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
	M Conneely 2-2, J Ryan 1-2, M Kilkenny 0-1.		S Burke 2-2, P Ryan 0-1, J Grace 0-1, T Walsh 0-1, E O'Shea 0-1, T Grogan 0-1, K Fox 0-1.	Attendance: 18,000 Referee: N O'Donoghue (Tipperary)

Galway v Tipperary

29 October 1978 Final replay	Galway	3-15 - 2-08	Tipperary	Gaelic Grounds, Limerick
	G Kennedy 0-8, M Conneely 2-0, J Ryan 0-4, B Forde 1-0, P Ryan 0-2, M Kilkenny 0-1.		S Burke 1-4, T Ryan 1-0, E O'Shea 0-3, T Grogan 0-1.	Referee: N O'Donoghue (Tipperary)

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

• Offaly win the Leinster title for the first time in their history.
• The All-Ireland semi-final clash between Galway and Offaly is their very first meeting in the history of the championship.