Hurling (Irish: Iománaíocht/Iomáint) is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic and Irish origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for over 3,000 years, and is considered to be the world's fastest field sport. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players, and much terminology. There is a similar game for women called camogie (camógaíocht). It shares a common Gaelic root with the sport of shinty (camanachd), which is played predominantly in Scotland.

The objective of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley (in Irish a camán, pronounced /ˈkæmən/ or /kəˈmɔːn/) to hit a small ball called a sliotar /ˈʃlɪtər/ between the opponents' goalposts either over the crossbar for one point, or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for one goal, which is equivalent to three points. The sliotar can be caught in the hand and carried for not more than four steps, struck in the air, or struck on the ground with the hurley. It can be kicked or slapped with an open hand (the hand pass) for short-range passing. A player who wants to carry the ball for more than four steps has to bounce or balance the sliotar on the end of the stick and the ball can only be handled twice while in his possession.

The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship of 1996 (known for sponsorship reasons as the Guinness Hurling Championship 1996) was the 110th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Wexford won the championship, beating Limerick 1–13 to 0–14 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

Teams

Personnel and kits

The championship

Format

Connacht Championship

Final: (1 match) This is a lone match between the two competing Connacht teams. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-final where the play the winners of the All-Ireland preliminary round.

Leinster Championship

Preliminary Round 1: (1 match) This is a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Leinster. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the preliminary round 2.

Preliminary Round 2: (1 match) The winner of the preliminary round 1 game joins another Leinster team to contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage, while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.