 Introduced in 1887 as the Clare Hurling Championship, it was initially a straight knockout tournament open only to senior-ranking club teams.The championship has gone through a number of changes throughout the years, including the use of a round robin, before reverting to a straight knockout format.In its current format, the Clare Senior Championship begins once the Clare senior hurling team has been eliminated from the All-Ireland Championship, with 16 teams competing in the double-elimination tournament.