The 2009 National Hurling League (known as the

Allianz Allianz SE ( , ) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational financial services company headquartered in Munich, Germany. Its core businesses are insurance and asset management. Allianz is the world's largest List of largest insurance ...

National Hurling League for sponsorship reasons) was the 78th season of the

National Hurling League The National Hurling League is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition featuring teams from Ireland and England. Founded in 1925 by the Gaelic Athletic Association, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation within the l ...

Structure

The National Hurling League saw a major restructuring of the usual four divisions with the teams divided more equitably into a five-tier structure. Division 1 was a single division and was confined to the top eight teams. The top two teams in the division qualified for the final. Division 2 operated in a similar manner. Division 3A was a newly created division and consisted of six teams. The top two teams in the division qualified for the final. Division 3B operated in a similar manner, however, that division consisted of seven teams. Division 4 was a single division consisting of six teams. The top two teams in the division qualified for the final.

Division 1

Tipperary came into the season as defending champions of the 2008 season. On 3 May 2009,

Kilkenny Kilkenny ( , meaning 'church of Cainnech of Aghaboe, Cainnech'). is a city in County Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region, Ireland, South-East Region and in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinst ...

won the title after a 4–17 to 2-26 extra-time win over Tipperary. It was their first league title since 2006 and their 14th National League title overall.

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

failed to win a single group stage game - finishing in the bottom position - and were relegated to Division 2 for the 2010 league. Dublin's

Alan McCrabbe Alan McCrabbe (born 29 April 1986 in Dublin) is an Irish sportsperson. He plays hurling with his local club Craobh Chiaráin and has been a member of the Dublin senior inter-county team since 2006. Playing career Club McCrabbe plays his c ...

was the Division 1 top scorer with 1-50.

Structure

A total of 8 teams contested the top division of the league, including all of the sides from the 2008 season that formerly took part in Divisions 1A and 1B. Due to the restructuring the 2008 Division 2 champions did not gain promotion to the top tier. Each team played all the others in its group once, earning 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw. The first-placed teams in Division 1 contested the final.

Table

Group stage

Knock-out stage

Final

Top scorers

;Overall ;Single game

Division 2

Table

Group stage

Knock-out stage

Final

Scoring statistics

;Top scorers overall ;Top scorers in a single game

Division 3A

Final

Kildare won promotion to Division Two for 2010 while Meath remained in Division Three for 2010

Division 3B

Final

London won promotion to Division Three A for 2010 while Roscommon remained in Division Three B for 2010

Division 4

Final

Sligo won promotion to Division Three B for 2010 while Monaghan remained in Division Four for 2010

Promotion and relegation

References

External links

* {{GAA 2009 National Hurling League seasons