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
Geography of the Gaelic Games hurling territory with very little football activity. Most of County Wexford is in the hurling region along with Counties Carlow, Laois and Offaly. The rest of the Leinster Counties are considered footballing counties. Connacht is almost entirely Gaelic football territory with only Galway competing in the Liam MacCarthy Cup. In County Galway the hurling-football divide draws a line from Galway City to Ballinasloe. The divide in Galway probably stands out more than the other counties. The hurling territory in Galway stands out so strongly from the rest of the province which results in the Galway team playing in the Leinster