Leinster Under-21 Hurling Championship Once a team is defeated they are eliminated from the championship. The Leinster Championship has wider implications for the All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship. The winners of the Munster final automatically qualify for the semi-final stages of the All-Ireland series of games. Unlike the final runners-up in the minor and senior championships, there is no 'back-door system' at under-21 level. Eight of the twelve counties of Leinster – Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Wexford – participate in the championship. At the end of the Leinster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The cup, named the
Brendan Murphy (Carlow footballer) at Breffni Park. Carlow were beaten 0-12 to 2-13 by their Division 1 opponents. In the Carlow club championship, Rathvilly were beaten 2-13 to 0-12 in the county final by a Palatine team that was winning back-to-back Senior Championships for the first time in nearly a century. Rathvilly had topped their group by beating Old Leighlin, drawing with Eire Og, and beating Kildavin/Clonegal. They beat Old Leighlin again in the semi-final by 0-15 to 1-10. The 2017 league season was something of a mixed bag for Carlow. They opened with an exciting draw in Mullingar against Westmeath, with Shane O'Neill