Munster Hurling Championship to start a week earlier in 2019

The first round of games for the 2019 Munster Championship will begin on week ending May 12th (one week earlier than 2018) and will be run over 6 weeks, allowing a break weekend for all counties midway through the round-robin series. The final round of games will take place on week ending June 16th.

2018 saw the first year of the restructured Munster Championship that featured a round robin system replacing the knockout system. Cork and Clare contested the Munster final where the Rebels came out on top. However, Limerick, who finished third in Munster to secure a preliminary Quarter Final spot would run out eventual winners of the All-Ireland series.

The Leinster championship started a week prior to Munster this summer and will follow the same format next summer. The change will come into effect to insure no team will have to play Championship hurling four weeks in a row as Tipperary and Waterford did in 2018.

2019 will also see the restructuring of the Munster Football championship. 

Phase 1 will see a round-robin format involving Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford with each county getting 3 games. The top two teams will then play the Phase 1 Final. The winner of the Phase 1 Final will join Cork and Kerry in a Phase 2 round-robin format, with the top 2 teams qualifying for the Munster Final.

The purpose of the new format is to ensure that the developing counties of Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford get at least three games against teams of a similar standard. The Phase 1 Final winner will have played four games before progressing to meet Cork and Kerry.