[2] On 11 September 2005, Cork won the championship after a 1–21 to 1–16 defeat of Galway in the All-Ireland final at Croke Park.

On 17 April 2004, the Hurling Development Committee's proposal to restructure the entire championship system was endorsed by Congress.

In the top grade 12 teams would compete for the Liam MacCarthy Cup, with the first round losers and beaten semi-finalists from Leinster and Munster joining Antrim and Galway in a league section split into two groups.

The group winners would re-enter the championship at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, meeting the losing provincial finalists.

The new format provided two additional quarter-finals, a minimum of three games for each team and four for the vast majority.