Munster Hurling League format to be determined

Cork will be defending the Co-op SuperStores Munster Hurling League title in 2026 - but the format of the competition is yet to be finalised.

The Rebels won the season-opener in Pat Ryan’s first year in charge, 2023, as they beat Tipperary in the final at Páirc Uí Rinn. 

Then, the 2024 edition was abandoned as the game between Cork and Limerick was postponed on three occasions and it was impossible to find a new date before the start of the Allianz Hurling League.

In 2025, no provincial pre-season competitions were held but they are set to return to the calendar for next year. With regard to the Munster hurling event, the mode must be fully determined.

Since 2019, a system featuring two groups of three counties - Kerry, who play in the Joe McDonagh Cup at championship level but not the Munster SHC, do take part - has been the favoured choice apart from 2021 (when it wasn’t played) and 2022, when Cork did not enter due to it clashing with a team holiday. On that occasion, the league became a cup, with a straight knockout format employed.

Currently, Munster chiefs are seeking to find a consensus among the counties involved, with some preferring the retention of the two groups and the top side in each progressing to the final, while others would be in favour of a simpler knockout style.

As well as the Munster league, Cork will also have the annual Canon O’Brien Cup game against UCC in January as new manager Ben O’Connor and his selectors run the rule over an extended panel of players before trimming the squad prior to the start of the national league.

Once again, that competition - won by Cork last year, a first triumph since 1998 - will feature a seven-team top division, including Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Offaly, Tipperary and Waterford.