Tipperary-Cork to commence 2026 Munster SHC round-robin

For the second season in a row, the 2026 Munster senior hurling championship is set to start with a repeat of the All-Ireland SHC final at the home of the Liam MacCarthy Cup holders.

All-Ireland champions Tipperary are due to host Munster winners Cork in FBD Semple Stadium next year just as Clare and Cork clashed in Ennis last April, nine months following their Croke Park meeting.

The sequencing of games has been locked in since 2022 to avoid any county playing three games in as many weekends.

Tipperary and Waterford’s home and away games were bunched this year, and in 2026, Clare’s first two matches will be in Páirc Chiosóg Zimmer-Biomet and Limerick’s last couple of round-robin fixtures take place in TUS Gaelic Grounds.

The second round of next season’s championship sees a re-run of June’s Munster final with Cork entertaining Limerick in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

As Cork did this year, Tipperary will have a three-week break between the second game against Waterford and facing Limerick in TUS Gaelic Grounds in the penultimate round of the provincial championship.

With August All-Ireland finals in 2026 being ruled out by GAA president Jarlath Burns, the dates for next year’s provincial hurling championships are expected to be broadly similar to 2025.

The 2026 Munster final will take place on a Sunday.

Meanwhile, a motion to sever the link between the Joe McDonagh Cup and Liam MacCarthy Cup in the same season is expected to be re-tabled by Central Council at October’s Special Congress.

At another Special Congress in late September 2023, a motion was initially put forward by the Central Competitions Control Committee to do away with the link, which pits the McDonagh Cup finalists against the third-placed teams in Leinster and Munster in preliminary quarter-finals a week after the second-tier final.

However, it received just shy of 50% support and required 60% backing.

In the six years of the preliminary quarter-finals, McDonagh Cup sides have lost 11 out of 12 times with an average losing margin of 17.9 points.

If the change is acceptable to delegates, the McDonagh Cup final could be staged as late as All-Ireland semi-finals weekends, similar to the conclusion of the Tailteann Cup in football.

Provisional 2026 Munster SHC fixtures

Round 1: Tipperary v Cork; Clare v Waterford.

Round 2: Cork v Limerick; Waterford v Tipperary.

Round 3 (separate weekends): Clare v Limerick (first); Waterford v Cork (second).

Round 4: Limerick v Waterford; Tipperary v Clare.

Round 5: Cork v Clare; Limerick v Tipperary.

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