The 1888 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the second staging of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1887. The championship began on 27 May 1888; however, no All-Ireland final took place and the championship remains unfinished due to the North American invasion tour of Irish athletes, an unsuccessful attempt to raise funds for a revival of the Tailteann Games.
Tipperary were the defending champions; however, they were defeated in the provincial series.
Teams.
A total of nine teams contested the championship, including four teams from the 1887 championship and five new entrants. Galway and Wexford did not field teams in the championship. Cork, Kildare, Laois, Limerick and Waterford all fielded teams in their respective provincial championships.
General information.
Nine counties competed in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: four teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
Format.
For the first time the championship was organised on a provincial basis. Two separate championships were played in Leinster and Munster with the winners meeting in the All-Ireland final.
Leinster Championship
"Semi-finals:" (2 matches) The four participating teams make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the Leinster final.
"Final:" (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners are declared Leinster champions and qualify for the All-Ireland final.
Munster Championship
"Quarter-final:" (1 match) This is a lone match between the first two team drawn from the province. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.
"Semi-finals:" (2 matches) The winners of the lone quarter-final join the three other teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the two winning teams advance to the Munster final.
"Final:" (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners are declared Munster champions and qualify for the All-Ireland final.
All-Ireland Championship
"Final:" (1 match) The two provincial representatives from Leinster and Munster contest this game with the winners being declared All-Ireland champions.
Provincial championships.
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
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Munster Senior Hurling Championship.
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All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Final.
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References.
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