2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final
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| Event | 2009 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship | ||||||
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| Date | 6 September 2009 | ||||||
| Venue | Croke Park, Dublin | ||||||
| Man of the Match | P.J. Ryan | ||||||
| Referee | Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork) | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,106 | ||||||
| Weather | Light Rain 16 °C (61 °F) |
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The 2009 All-Ireland Hurling Final was a hurling match played on 6 September 2009 in Croke Park, Dublin, between Kilkenny and Tipperary. It was the first time the two teams had met in the All-Ireland final since 1991. Kilkenny's win was their fourth in a row, an accomplishment last matched by Cork between 1941 and 1944.
Kilkenny's victory gave them a record seventh title of the decade and a record 18th consecutive Championship win. Following the match, Kilkenny manager Brian Cody announced details of the release of his autobiography, Cody. Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin was named as the sport's Opel GPA Player of the Month for August after the win; Shefflin contributed 1–14 of Kilkenny's score in the final. Shefflin was named on The Etihad 125 Dream Team before the final. He also claimed his ninth All Star Award.
Prior to the game, Kilkenny were hailed as already being "the greatest side ever to play the game" by Eamonn Sweeney in the Sunday Independent as the Cork side who had already achieved four consecutive titles over sixty years previously did so against the backdrop of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak which led to fewer games being played. Rock singer Shane MacGowan attended the final to support his team Tipperary.
Kilkenny went into the 2009 hurling final as defending champions, having won it in three consecutive years from 2006–2008. They were aiming for their fourth consecutive All-Ireland Senior Hurling title, a feat only previously achieved in hurling by Cork from 1941–1944.
On 1 September 2009, the GAA confirmed that the final was an 82,000 sell-out. GAA Ticketing Manager Ronan Murphy said "Sunday's All-Ireland final is a sell-out. In fact both Tipperary and Kilkenny had been back to us looking for more tickets. There is an ancient rivalry between Tipperary and Kilkenny and the fact that Kilkenny are going for the four in a row also adds to the interest ... Throughout the country the demand for tickets was very strong".
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