2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship was the 118th staging of Ireland's premier hurling knock-out competition. Cork won the championship, beating Kilkenny 0–17 to 0–9 in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

Connacht Championship
Participating counties (1): Galway

Galway were unopposed in the Connacht championship and advanced to the All-Ireland qualifiers round 1.

Leinster Championship
Participating counties (10): Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow

Preliminary round: (2 matches): These are three matches between the first four teams drawn from the province of Leinster. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the first round.

First round: (2 matches): The winners of the preliminary round matches join the two Leinster teams to make up the first round pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals: (1 match): The winners of the two first round matches join two Leinster teams to make up the first round pairings. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals join two teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Munster Championship
Participating counties (6): Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford

Quarter-final (2 matches): These are two matches between the first four teams drawn from the province of Munster. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals join the other two teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final (1 match): The winner of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.

Ulster Championship
Participating counties (5): Antrim, Derry, Down, London, New York

Quarter-final (1 match): This is a single match between the first two teams drawn from the province of Ulster and overseas teams. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches): The winner of the lone quarter-final joins the other three Ulster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final (1 match): The winner of the two semi-finals contest this game. One team is eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

All-Ireland Championship
Qualifiers round 1 (4 matches): The Ulster runners-up, Galway and the six other teams who failed to reach a provincial final to make up the qualifiers round 1 pairings. Four teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the qualifiers round 2.

Qualifiers round 2 (3 matches): The winners of the qualifiers round 1 join the Leinster and Munster runners-up to make up the qualifier round 2 pairings. Three teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals (2 matches): The winners of the qualifiers round 2 join the Ulster champions to make up the quarter-final pairings. Teams who may have already met in the provincial championships are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals join the Leinster and Munster champions to make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who have met in the provincial finals are kept apart in separate semi-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final (1 match): The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game.

General information
Twenty two counties will compete in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship: one team in the Connacht Senior Hurling Championship, ten teams in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, six teams in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship and five teams in the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

Bracket
Note: * = Provincial Champions

Scoring

 * First goal of the championship: Damien Culleton for Laois against Carlow (Leinster preliminary round)
 * Last goal of the championship: Tom Kenny for Cork against Wexford (All-Ireland semi-final)
 * First hat-trick of the championship: Dan Shanahan for Waterford against Clare (Munster quarter-final)
 * Most goals in a match: 9
 * Clare 7-19 - 2-15 Laois (All-Ireland qualifier)
 * Most points in a match: 39
 * Cork 1-27 - 0-12 Wexford (All-Ireland semi-final)
 * Most goals by one team in a match: 7
 * Clare 7-19 - 2-15 Laois (All-Ireland qualifier)
 * Most points by one team in a match: 27
 * Cork 1-27 - 0-12 Wexford (All-Ireland semi-final)
 * Most goals scored by a losing team: 3
 * Tipperary 3-12 - 4-10 Waterford (Munster semi-final)
 * Most points scored by a losing team: 21
 * Cork 1-21 - 3-16 Waterford (Munster final)

Miscellaneous

 * The round one qualifier between Galway and Down was the first ever championship meeting between these two teams.
 * The round one qualifier between Clare and Laois was the first championship meeting between these two teams since the All-Ireland final of 1914. Clare were the winners on both occasions.
 * The All-Ireland final was, for the first time, contested by two teams, neither of which were their respective provincial champions. Cork were defeated in the Munster final while Kilkenny were defeated in the Leinster semi-final.
 * The All-Ireland final was decided for only the second time in history with both sides failing to score a goal, the first being in the 1999 final.