Hurling census 2022: which counties have the most hurlers?

Analysis: what the number and spread of players and clubs tells us about the geography of hurling

In recent years, the population argument has been a theme of the debate, and in some cases critique, of Dublin's dominance of the All Ireland senior football championship between 2015 and 2020. This has even extended to dedicated websites complete with 'split the dubs’ merchandise.

But population considerations have rarely if ever been applied to hurling, at least in relation to all 32 counties at the same time. In a 1993 article titled 'The geography of hurling', Kevin Whelan considered a fundamental question: ‘why is hurling currently popular in a compact region centered on east Munster and south Leinster, and in isolated pockets of the Glens of Antrim and in the Ards Peninsula of County Down?’

Undoubtedly, there are a complex mix of historical political, social, and cultural factors that may explain why a certain sport is popular in a certain place at a certain time. Whle those areas remain hotbeds of the game’s popularity (although not exclusively), the answer to that question is no more obvious now than in 1993.

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From RTÉ GAA podcast in June 2020, Derry's Chrissy McKaigue and Neil McManus of Antrim join RTÉ Sport's Mikey Stafford and Rory O'Neill to discuss the idea of creating a combined Ulster hurling team to compete in the Liam MacCarthy

An interesting geographical assertion did make an appearance on The Sunday Game in 2010. Analysing his side's victory over Dublin at Croke