9 & 6: Limerick have now won nine All-Ireland titles in six calendar months having previously enjoyed glory in January (1918), March (1921), August (2018), September (1934, ’36, 1940, 1973), and November (1897).
3 & 13: The 2020 All-Ireland hurling final was just the third with a December setting but was the 13th SHC game played in the final month of the year.
4 & 28: Joe Canning’s four fantastic points from sideline balls in the All-Ireland semi-final against Limerick was a championship record and brought the Galway sharpshooter’s tally from ‘cuts’ to a stunning 28.
15 & 8: Austin Gleeson’s point from a lineball in the All-Ireland final wrote the Waterford marksman’s name in the record books as the 15th man to successfully ‘cut’ a ball over the bar in the final, while that stroke also brought the Mount Sion clubman’s sideline tally to eight, joining Clare’s Mick Moroney in joint-second behind Joe Canning.
13: The margin that now separates Henry Shefflin and Joe Canning at the time of the SHC scoring charts, the Kilkenny ace in 71 games accumulating 27-484 (565), the Galway raider after 60 outings currently on 27-471 (552).
6: The number of points (goals and points combined) now required by Cork’s Patrick Horgan to become just the third hurler — after Shefflin and Canning — to surpass the 500-point barrier. The Glen Rovers clubman currently stands on 22-428 (494) from 60 appearances.
132: Both Joe Canning and Patrick Horgan brought their points tally from play (white flags) to 132 during the 2020 championship, one shy of the record which is jointly held by Kilkenny duo Henry Shefflin and Eddie Keher — both ‘in the clubhouse’ on 133.
449 from 63: TJ Reid, with his early supersub days long behind him, is steadily climbing into the higher echelons of Kilkenny’s appearance and scoring charts, the Ballyhale Shamrock clubman’s bringing his appearances total to 63 this year, third in the all-time list behind Henry Shefflin (71) and JJ Delaney (65) while during the course of the 2020 campaign TJ leap-frogged the legendary Eddie Keher to take second spot behind Shefflin in the black and amber scoring stakes, Reid now having racked up an astounding 25-374 (449)
36: He may not have replicated his goal-a-game 2019 campaign when netting in eight consecutive games but Tipperary’s Seamus Callanan’s green flag against Galway brought his goal tally to 36 in 58 outings, all from play.
46 & 20 & 3-34: Graeme Mulcahy, Limerick’s longest-serving player — he made his debut in 2009 — brought his SHC appearances to 46 in the All-Ireland final when he was replaced for the 20th time. Mind you it was often a case of making way after ‘job done’ as the Kilmallock clubman’s tally for the games he was taken off is a healthy 3-34. In total, 33-year-old Mulcahy has racked up 10-77 (107). He is now third in Limerick’s all-time appearances chart, two behind Mark Foley’s 48 and one ahead of long-time leader Timmy Ryan (1931-1946)
7, 4: Gearoid Hegarty’s 0-7 from play, though not an All-Ireland white flag record — that’s held by Seamie Callanan’s nine for Tipp in 2016 — was some performance of accurate shooting from the St Patrick’s clubman, who obviously is equally adept at finding greens as he is goalposts: his golf handicap just 4!
17 x 2: On the same championship weekend Dublin’s Donal Burke and Clare’s Tony Kelly scored 17 times, Burke accumulating 1-16 (0-11f, 0-2 65) in Croke Park v Laois on the Saturday night, Kelly shot 0-17 (0-9f) in Thurles v Limerick the following afternoon.
19: 19 years separate Conal Keaney’s first SHC appearance for Dublin — May 2001 v Laois — and last, November 2020 v Cork
2 & 30 x 20: Limerick’s posting of 30 points (white flags) was just the second such avalanche in All-Ireland final history, equalling Kilkenny’s tally, also v Waterford in 2008. Coincidentally, on both occasions, 24 of the 30 came from play. The 30-point barrier has now been broken 20 times in the SHC with Kilkenny (4) and Cork (4) leading the way. Limerick, Clare and Galway (3 each), Tipperary, Waterford, and Dublin (1 each) have also enjoyed the treble-10.
23 & 17 & 1: Patrick Curran has made 23 championship appearances for Waterford, 17 as a sub, including all five games this year which leap-frogged the Dungravan clubman ahead of Tallow’s Paul O’Brien (15) on the Déise ’super-sub’ chart. O’Brien never started a SHC game for Waterford, while of Curran’s six starts he was replaced in five leaving the 2016 Munster final v Tipperary as his only full game to date.
0 & 7: The fact that Wexford failed to raise a green flag in either of their 2020 SHC games meant it was the first time since 1998 and just the seventh time in all that the county did not score a goal in the championship. What separates the previous six — 1998, 1919, 1913, 1902, 1898, 1887 — from 2020 is that they were all one-match campaigns.
78 & 18: The Joe McDonagh Cup final was the 78th time Antrim’s flagship hurlers experienced championship action in Croke Park (including six as Jones Road) while their victory over Kerry was the 18th enjoyed by the Northern county on the field of dreams. 37 of their appearances were in the All-Ireland SHC, 13 in the All-Ireland ‘B’ SHC, 14 Junior, 9 Intermediate, 4 Christy Ring and 1 Joe McDonagh.
44 & 15: Mikey Boyle made his 44th championship appearance for Kerry’s flagship hurlers in the Joe McDonagh final, scoring his 15th goal for the Kingdom. The Ballyduff clubman, who made his debut in 2006, is now just two behind Todd Nolan of Crotta O’Neills, who between 1966 and 1986 played 46 championship games for Kerry.
3: The first penalty shootout in championship history took place in the Christy Ring Cup semi-final in Newry when a draw after extra-time saw Down and Offaly into the sudden-death situation, the Northerners winning 3-2 with their goalkeeper Stephen Keith parrying away three shots before the Ballycran clubman, affectionately known as the ‘Viper’, netted the winning penalty.
40:Â James Owens took charge of his 40th SHC game during the 2020 campaign, just the third referee to reach the 40 milestone, the Wexford man now third in the all-time list, inching ahead of Brian Gavin (39), behind Barry Kelly (52) and Dickie Murphy (48).
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