And then there were two. 12 counties started out on the GAA All-Ireland hurling championship title trail last May and now it's down to two following Tipperary's 24- point win over Limerick in the second semi-final last Sunday. Tipperary lined up a final clash with Kilkenny on Sunday, September 6 in what promises to be an outstanding contest. It will be the first time in 18 years that Kilkenny and Tipperary met in the final. Tipperary won the 1991 final by 1-16 to 0-15. The counties clashed twice in All-Ireland semi-finals in 2002 and 2003 with Kilkenny winning both (2002: Kilkenny 1-20 Tipperary 1-16; 2003: Kilkenny 3-18 Tipperary 0-15). Tipperary have had the better of the rivalry in All-Ireland finals. They won six of the last seven final clashes, extending back to 1922 with Kilkenny's only win in that period coming in 1967 when they won by four points. Tipperary's win over Limerick earned them a place in the final for the first time since 2001 while Kilkenny will be appearing in the final for the 8th time this decade as they bid to become the first county to win the four-in-a-row since Cork in 1941-42-43-44. Kilkenny and Tipperary have clashed twice already this year in the National League. Tipperary won a Division One tie by 5-17 to 1-12 in March but it was very different in the League final in early May when extra-time was needed before Kilkenny edged home by 2-26 to 4-17 after a great battle. Previous Kilkenny All-Ireland final clashes 1991: Tipperary 1-16 Kilkenny 0-15 1971: Tipperary 5-17 Kilkenny 5-14 1967: Kilkenny 3-8 Tipperary 2-7 1964: Tipperary 5-13 Kilkenny 2-8 1950: Tipperary 1-9 Kilkenny 1-8 1945: Tipperary 5-6 Kilkenny 3-6 1937: Tipperary 3-11 Kilkenny 0-3 1922: Kilkenny 4-2 Tipperary 2-6 1916: Tipperary 5-4 Kilkenny 3-2 1913: Kilkenny 2-4 Tipperary 1-2 1911: Kilkenny 3-3 Tipperary 2-1* 1909: Kilkenny 4-6 Tipperary 0-12 1898: Tipperary 7-13 Kilkenny 3-10 1895: Tipperary 6-8 Kilkenny 1-0 *Munster champions, Limerick refused to play Kilkenny in the final due to a dispute over the venue. Kilkenny were awarded the title. Tipperary were nominated to replace Limerick and lost to Kilkenny in a substitute final. 2009 GAA SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS Leinster May 30: First round: Wexford 2-17 Offaly 0-16, Wexford Park. May 31: First Round: Galway 5-29 Laois 0-17, Portlaoise. June 7: First Round: Dublin 2-16 Antrim 0-12, Croke Park. June 20: Semi-final: Kilkenny 2-20 Galway 3-13, Tullamore. June 21: Dublin 0-18 Wexford 1-13, Nowlan Park. July 5: Final: Kilkenny 2-18 Dublin 0-18, Croke Park. Munster May 31: First round: Tipperary 1-19 Cork 0-19, Thurles. June 14: Semi-final: Limerick 1-8 Waterford 0-11, Semple Stadium. June 20: Semi-final replay: Waterford 0-25 Limerick 0-17, Semple Stadium. June 21: Semi-final: Tipperary 3-18 Clare 1-22, Limerick. July 12: Final: Tipperary 4-14 Waterford 2-16, Thurles. Ulster May 9: First round: Fermanagh 0-13 Cavan 1-9, Enniskillen; Armagh 1-22 Monaghan 1-8, Armagh; Donegal 1-21 Tyrone 0-6, Letterkenny. May 17: Second Round: Armagh 3-24 Donegal 2-12. May 23: London 1-23 Fermanagh 0-7, Ruislip. May 31: Quarter-finals: Derry 4-10 London 3-12; Down 5-21 Armagh 0-13. (Both in Casement Park). June 14: Semi-final: Down 2-17 Derry 1-15, Casement Park. June 28: Final: Antrim 3-20 Down 4-15, Casement Park. All-Ireland Qualifiers July 4: Phase One: Cork 3-19 Offaly 1-12, Tullamore; Laois 0-18 Antrim 1-12, Portlaoise. July 11: Galway 2-18 Clare 1-11, Ennis; Limerick 1-13 Wexford 0-14, Wexford Park. July 18: Phase Three: Galway 1-19 Cork 0-15, Thurles; Limerick 0-20 Laois 1-14, Thurles. All-Ireland Quarter-finals July 26: Limerick 2-18 Dublin 1-17, Thurles; Waterford 1-16 Galway 0-18, Thurles. All-Ireland semi-finals August 9: Kilkenny 2-23 Waterford 3-15, Croke Park. Next Sunday: Tipperary 6-19 Limerick 2-7, Croke Park. Final September 6: Kilkenny v Tipperary, Croke Park. Tweet

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