1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
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| Event | 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 4 September 1966 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park, Dublin | ||||||
| Referee | Jimmy Hatton (Wicklow) | ||||||
| Attendance | 68,249 | ||||||
The 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was the 79th All-Ireland Final and the culmination of the 1966 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, an inter-county hurling tournament for the top teams in Ireland. The match was held at Croke Park, Dublin, on 4 September 1966, between Cork and Kilkenny. The Leinster champions lost to their Munster opponents on a score line of 3-9 to 1-10.
Sunday September 4 was the date of the 1966 All-Ireland senior hurling final between Cork and Kilkenny. It was Cork's first appearance in a final in ten years while Kilkenny were lining out in their first championship decider since 1964. Furthermore, it was the first championship meeting of these two great rivals in nineteen years.
In the build-up to the game there was speculation in the Cork camp that 45-year-old Christy Ring, the man regarded by players and commentators alike as the greatest player of all-time would come out of retirement to play on the Cork team. During his playing days he had won a record eight All-Ireland medals, however, this record was equaled by Tipperary’s John Doyle in 1965. While many saw it as an impossibility that Ring would play or even by named as a substitute, many more were determined that he should line out in an effort to capture a ninth winners’ medal. In the end Ring didn't play, and one of the youngest Cork teams of all-time turned out and they were firm underdogs compared to a vastly experienced Kilkenny side. The majority of the Cork team had never played in Croke Park before, while their captain, Gerald McCarthy, was still an under-21 player. For Kilkenny, Croke Park was a virtual home from home.
The weather on the day featured heavy showers before the match resulting in a greasy surface. Coupled with this was the fact that there was also a strong breeze blowing up the field towards Hill 16.
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