Draft:Joe McDonagh Cup records and statistics

This article contains records and statistics related to the Joe McDonagh Cup, which has run since 2018.

Total Senior B grade championship titles
Includes All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship and Joe McDonagh Cup.

Team results
Legend


 * – Champions
 * – Runners-up
 * – Group Stage
 * – Relegated
 * L – Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
 * CR – Christy Ring Cup

For year, the number of teams (in brackets) are shown.

Least successful counties
Out of the 9 counties who have participated, five counties have never been represented in a Joe McDonagh Cup Final. These are Down, Kildare and Meath. Two of these counties have never competed in a semi-final: Kildare and Meath.

Kildare are the only team yet to win a Joe McDonagh Cup match.

Some of the Joe McDonagh Cup counties are more prominent in the sport of gaelic football. Joe McDonagh Cup participants such as Down, Kerry, Kildare and Meath have been historically are more competitive in football.

Levels
In the last few years, counties can be divided into two levels or tiers, based on results: Tier 1 counties are consistent participants in the latter stage of the cup. Tier 2 counties are usually in the bottom half of the Joe McDonagh Cup table.

Tier 1 counties (6): Antrim, Carlow, Kerry, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath

Tier 2 counties (3): Down, Kildare, Meath

Seasons in Joe McDonagh Cup
The number of years that each county has played in the Joe McDonagh Cup between 2018 and 2024. A total of 9 counties have competed in at least one season of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Kerry have participated in all 7 seasons. The counties in bold participate in the 2024 Joe McDonagh Cup.

List of Joe McDonagh Cup counties
The following teams have competed in the McDonagh Cup for at least one season.

All-time table

 * Includes Relegation Playoffs.

Legend As of 2023 Cup (After final).

By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Joe McDonagh Cup titles, is as follows:


 * 2010s: 1 each for Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018) and Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2019)
 * 2020s: 2 for Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2020, 2022)

Match records

 * Most matches played
 * 28, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry


 * Most wins
 * 14, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim
 * 14, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow
 * 14, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry


 * Most losses
 * 15 Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath


 * Most draws
 * 3, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow

Finishing positions

 * Most championships
 * 2, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2020, 2022)
 * 2, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018, 2023)


 * Most second-place finishes
 * 3, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2020, 2021, 2022)


 * Most third-place finishes
 * 1, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2018)
 * 1, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2019)
 * 1, Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2020)
 * 1, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2021)
 * 1, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2022)
 * 1, Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2023)


 * Most fourth-place finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2020, 2021)
 * 2, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2019, 2023)


 * Most fifth-place finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Meath (2020, 2021)
 * 2, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2022, 2023)


 * Most sixth-place finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Meath (2018, 2022)
 * 2, Colours_of_Kildare.svg Kildare (2021, 2023)

Unbeaten sides

 * Four teams have won the Joe McDonagh Cup unbeaten:
 * Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois had 4 wins and 1 draw in 2019.
 * Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim had 4 wins and 1 draw in 2020.
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath had 3 wins in 2021.
 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow had 4 wins and 2 draws in 2023.

Beaten sides
The group stage of the cup has resulted in 2 'back-door' Joe McDonagh Cup champions:


 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018) were beaten by Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim in round 2.
 * Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022) were beaten by Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry in round 5.

On one occasion a team was defeated twice but have remained in the championship:


 * Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2022) were beaten by Colours_of_Down.svg Down and Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly but still qualified for the final.

Final success rate
Only two counties have appeared in the final more than once, being victorious on all occasions:


 * Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2020, 2022)
 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018, 2023)

On the opposite end of the scale, only one county has appeared in the final more than once, losing on each occasion:


 * Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2020, 2021, 2022)

Consecutive participations

 * 7, Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2018–2024)

Kerry have the record number of consecutive participations in the Joe McDonagh Cup, taking part in the all 7 seasons.

Winning other trophies
Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the Joe McDonagh Cup and their respective Division in the National Hurling League:


 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow in 2018 (Division 2A).
 * Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim in 2020 (Division 2A).

Biggest wins

 * The most one sided finals:
 * 11 points – 2019: Laois 3-26 - 1-21 Westmeath
 * The most one sided group matches:
 * 31 points – 2023: Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down

Scoring Events

 * Most goals in a match:
 * 10 – 2022: Meath 3-13 - 7-29 Antrim
 * Most points in a match:
 * 51 points – 2022: Kerry 2-28 - 4-23 Offaly
 * 51 points – 2023: Down 0-28 - 6-23 Carlow
 * Most goals by one team in a match:
 * 7 points – 2022: Meath 3-13 - 7-29 Antrim
 * 7 points – 2023: Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down
 * Most points by one team in a match:
 * 30 points – 2022: Meath 0-17 - 4-30 Carlow
 * Highest aggregate score:
 * 73 points – 2022: Antrim 5-22 - 4-24 Kerry
 * Lowest aggregate score:
 * 33 points – 2018: Kerry 0-15 - 2-12 Westmeath

Successful defending
Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. These are:


 * Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois on 1 attempts out of 1 (2020)
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath on 1 attempts out of 1 (2022)
 * Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim on 1 attempts out of 2 (2021, 2023)
 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow on 0 attempts out of 1 (2019)

Gaps

 * Longest gaps between successive cup titles:
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018–2023)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2020–2022)
 * Longest gaps between successive Joe McDonagh Cup final appearances:
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018–2023)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2019–2021)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2020–2022)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2020–2021)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2021–2022)
 * Longest gap between successive championship appearances
 * 4 years: Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2019–2023)

Active gaps

 * Longest active gaps between since last title:
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2019–)
 * 3 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2021–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2023–)
 * Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance:
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2019–)
 * 3 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2021–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Kerry.svg Kerry (2022–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2023–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly (2023–)
 * Longest active gap since last cup appearance
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022–)

Provinces

 * Only on 3 occasions has the Joe McDonagh Cup final involved two teams from the same province:
 * Carlow vs Westmeath (2018)
 * Laois vs Westmeath (2019)
 * Carlow vs Offaly (2023)
 * The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster, with three:
 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow
 * Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath
 * Province success rates
 * Leinster 25% (3 out of 12 counties)
 * Ulster 11% (1 out of 9 counties)
 * Connacht 0% (0 out of 5 counties)
 * Munster 0% (0 out of 6 counties)

Longest undefeated run
The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 9 games held by Antrim (2020-2022).

Miscellaneous

 * Best finish by a debuting team
 * Champions, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2018)
 * Best finish by a debuting team (after 2018)
 * 3rd, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2021)
 * Highest winning record
 * 66.7%, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (14 wins in 21 matches)
 * Lowest winning record
 * 0%, Colours_of_Kildare.svg Kildare (0 wins in 7 matches)
 * Most played match
 * 6, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim v Colours_of_Kerry_GAA.svg Kerry (2018, 2019, 2020 (2x), 2022 (2x))