The Walsh Cup (Irish: Corn Bhreatnach)[1] is an annual hurling competition staged in Ireland by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) since 1954.

The money generated by these competitions helps address hardship suffered by players and ordinary members of the GAA in Leinster.

[4][5] In 1954, the Leinster Council established a new inter-county football and hurling tournament in an effort to raise funds to supplement the medical bills of players who were in financial difficulty.

The first team to lift the Walsh Cup was the newly crowned All-Ireland champions, Wexford, after they beat Kilkenny in the final by 2-10 to 1-8.

[6] The Walsh Cup was dominated by Kilkenny, Wexford and Dublin during the fifties and sixties, but was not contested for much of the seventies.

The Leinster Council decided to alternate it with the Walsh Cup between the stronger and developing counties for the Players' Injury Fund.

In their absence, Offaly went on to win the Walsh Cup for the first time, beating Dublin in the final by a scoreline of 7-7 to 1-7.

[4][5] Their dominance ended in 2003 when Dublin, who had not won the Walsh Cup since 1966, defeated National League and All-Ireland champions, Kilkenny, in a dramatic final by a scoreline of 2-11 to 2-10 in front of a home crowd at Parnell Park.

[9] Antrim followed suit of Down when they joined the competition in 2005 and made history three years later by becoming the first team from Ulster to win the tournament.

In December 2011, the Leinster Council announced a three-year sponsorship deal with Bord na Móna, providing the competition with a title sponsor for the first time in its history.

Only the top county teams from the provinces of Leinster, Ulster and Connacht are eligible to compete in the Walsh Cup.

The groups are drawn in November or December of the previous year and seeding is based on the results of the most recent All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

The Walsh Cup runs from January to February, with most games played on Saturday or Sunday afternoons and the others on weekday evenings.

[12] Because the early stages of the Walsh Cup do not attract large crowds, matches are often held in smaller stadia within each county.

The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech in Irish and then English.

This fund is used to alleviate hardship among players, mentors and families who are in financial difficulty and is administered through the twelve counties of Leinster.

A total of 9 different teams have won the tournament since it began, 7 of which were from Leinster, one from Connacht (Galway) and one from Ulster (Antrim).

Of the remaining 6 Leinster teams, Carlow, Meath and Wicklow are yet to win the competition, while Kildare, Longford and Louth are yet to even contest a final.