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The following structure was used for the 2005 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship:
Twelve counties participated in Tier 1 of the 2005 Championship, essentially the counties that participated in Division 1 of the National Hurling League. These teams were as follows:
- Leinster: Dublin, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Wexford
- Munster: Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford
- Ulster: Antrim
- Connacht: Galway
The Leinster, Munster and Ulster championships were played off as usual. The Leinster and Munster champions and runners-up advanced directly to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals. The three remaining teams in Leinster and Munster joined Galway and Antrim in the eight-county All-Ireland qualifier series. The eight qualifier teams were divided into two groups of four teams each:
- Group A: Each team will play the others in the group (3 games for each county)
- Group B: Each team will play the others in the group (3 games for each county)
The top two teams in Groups A & B joined the Leinster winners and runners-up and the Munster winners and runners-up in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals. The pairings for these four games were as follows:
- (1) Leinster champions V. second placed team in one Qualifier group
- (2) Munster champions V. second placed team in the other Qualifier group
- (3) Leinster runners-up V. first placed team in one Qualifier group
- (4) Munster runners-up V. first placed team in the other Qualifier group
At the All-Ireland Semi-Finals stage the Leinster and Munster provincial champions were drawn against the other two Quarter-Final winners.
Read more about this topic: All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2005