| Championship details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 14 May - 3 September |
| Teams | 15 |
| All-Ireland champions | |
| Winning team | Kilkenny (18th win) |
| Captain | Noel Skehan |
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Cork |
| Captain | Frank Norberg |
| Provincial champions | |
| Munster | Cork |
| Leinster | Kilkenny |
| Ulster | Not Played |
| Connacht | Not Played |
| Championship statistics | |
| No. matches played | 16 |
| Goals total | 111 (6.93 per game) |
| Points total | 368 (23 per game) |
| Player of the Year | Eddie Keher |
| All-Star Team | See here |
|
← 1971
1973 →
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The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was the 85th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Kilkenny won the championship, beating Cork 3-24 to 5-11 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.
The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1972 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces - there were no seeds.
Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If that match ended in a draw a period of extra time was played, however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay had to take place.
Munster Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Munster.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined the other three Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
Leinster Championship
First Round: (1 match) This was a single match between two of the 'weaker' teams drawn from the province of Leinster.
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the first round game joined three other Leinster teams to make up the quarter-final pairings.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winners of the two quarter-finals joined Kilkenny and Wexford, who received a bye to this stage, to make up the semi-final pairings.
Final: (1 match) The winner of the two semi-finals contested this game.
All-Ireland Championship
Quarter-final: (1 match) This was a single match between Antrim and Galway, two teams who faced no competition in their respective provinces.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The winner of the lone quarter-final joined London and the Munster and Leinster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. The provincial champions were drawn in opposite semi-finals.