GAA Betting: What Are The All-Ireland Hurling 2024 Championship Odds?
Daire Walsh
With two rounds of the Leinster and Munster championships now played, betting sites are once again taking a look at which county is the most likely to come away with an All-Ireland senior hurling title in 2024.
While it is a number of weeks until the provincial finals in the east and the south are due to take place – the Leinster decider will be held on June 8 followed by the Munster equivalent a day later – the action thus far has given us some indication of where each county is currently at in their individual pursuits for glory.
In addition to being All-Ireland senior champions for the past four years, Limerick also went into 2024 as Munster title holders for five seasons running.
The Treaty County did lose out to Clare in the round robin phase of last year’s provincial championship, before ultimately getting their revenge on the Banner in a subsequent Munster showpiece meeting at the Gaelic Grounds.
There was great anticipation in advance of the latest clash between the two sides at Cusack Park in Ennis, particularly in light of Clare’s National Hurling League Division One final win over Kilkenny.
Brian Lohan’s men looked set to build on that success when they led by nine points midway through the second half of the game, but Limerick simply refused to give in.
Goals from Diarmaid Byrnes, Aaron Gillane and Donnacha O Dalaigh helped John Kiely’s charges to flip the game on its head and they eventually came away with a 3-15 to 1-18 victory.
This reinforced the fact that Limerick are once again the team to beat in 2024 and a comfortable 2-27 to 0-18 triumph over Tipperary last weekend further cemented this status.
Five In-A-Row Chasing Limerick Remain All-Ireland Favourites
It might seem like an obvious thing to say that the Treaty are the most likely team to come away with the Liam McCarthy Cup at the end of the summer, but all the evidence is pointing towards Limerick claiming an historic fifth All-Ireland senior hurling title on the bounce.
Most betting apps are currently offering the astonishingly short odds of 4/6 on Kiely’s troops once again climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand in Croke Park this year.
Because of this, perhaps a more interesting question to pose is: who are the most likely to knock Limerick off their perch?
Clare A Team To Watch Out For
Across the past two years of championship hurling, Clare have been the one team to consistently push their Munster rivals right to the wire.
Aside from last year’s round robin victory and the recent three-point defeat, the Banner have drawn with Limerick, lost to them after extra-time in the 2022 Munster final and fallen short to them by the bare minimum at the same stage 12 months later.
With the likes of Tony Kelly (who is still working his way back to fitness), Shane O’Donnell, Mark Rodgers, David Fitzgerald and Aidan McCarthy in their ranks, Clare are seen as genuine contenders for a first All-Ireland crown since 2013.
While the majority of bookmakers are rating their chances at 11/2, some firms have them at 6/1.
There are some questions about Clare from a psychological perspective, however, as the last two years has seen them losing to Kilkenny in All-Ireland semi-finals – denying the Banner a shot at a reunion with Limerick in the All-Ireland series in the process.
Kilkenny And Galway Also In Contention
This of course says an awful lot about Kilkenny’s enduring qualities – even if it is now nine years since they last got their hands on the Liam McCarthy Cup.
Yet The Cats have reached four All-Ireland SHC showpieces in the years that have followed and it is anticipated Derek Lyng’s side will be operating at the business end of the championship in 2024.
Despite the absence of key players such as Eoin Murphy, Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen, it took a stoppage-time point from Conor Whelan to prevent them coming away from Salthill with a winagainst Galway last Sunday. Henry Shefflin’s Tribesmen did get out of jail in the end, but the performances of Whelan, Gavin Lee and Cathal Mannion did offer encouragement for the hosts.
Although there are still three games each left for the pair, Galway and Kilkenny are expected to make the Leinster final for a third year running.
Given they have made the last two All-Ireland deciders – under Lyng and his legendary predecessor Brian Cody – Kilkenny are slightly ahead of Galway in the betting for the All-Ireland title and are breathing down the neck of Clare.
New betting sites are offering 6/1 on The Cats securing their 37th All-Ireland title on July 21.
Though there is pressure on Shefflin to deliver a Leinster title for Galway in what is his third season at the helm of the Tribesmen, there is unlikely to be the same demand amongst the county’s supporters when it comes to the All-Ireland championship. That said, the men from the west are rated at enticing odds that range from 7/1 to 9/1 for the latter.
Because the above-mentioned quartet of Limerick, Clare, Kilkenny and Galway have made the last-four of the Liam McCarthy Cup in the past two years, it makes sense that they are out in front as the main challengers for 2024.
Waterford A Potential Outside Bet; Cork And Tipperary Struggling For Form
Of those remaining in the championship, Waterford appear to have shaken off an underwhelming National Hurling League campaign to make themselves a potential outside bet for summer glory.
There was a massive pressure on their manager Davy Fitzgerald to deliver the goods in their Munster opener against Cork last Sunday week and his side came up trumps for him by registering a 2-25 to 1-25 home win.
Following a rest period last weekend, Waterford will be hoping to bolster their Munster prospects when they welcome Tipperary to Walsh Park this Saturday. As far as the All-Ireland series is concerned, the biggest odds you can get on the Deise is 20/1 with BoyleSports.
The aforementioned Tipperary are under the cosh for their clash with Waterford as a result of their heavy reversal to Limerick.
The last team outside of the latter to win an All-Ireland title – at the expense of Kilkenny in 2019 – Liam Cahill’s men are viewed as unlikely Liam McCarthy winners at odds that vary from 16/1 to 20/1.
Yet due to the fact that they have already lost out to both Waterford and Clare in this year’s Munster championship, there are even longer odds on Cork winning an All-Ireland crown in the coming months.
Bookies offer 66/1 on the Leesiders, so it looks like their barren spell in the competition will stretch into 20 years at least.
Whilst one of them are likely to take third spot in the Leinster championship – which will offer them a place in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final – Wexford and Dublin are viewed as rank outsiders for the Liam McCarthy.
This comes as little surprise for the former in the wake of their defeat to Antrim last weekend, but the latter join them in being a 250/1 prospect at best with notable GAA betting sites.