Joe McDonagh Cup

The Joe McDonagh Cup (Corn Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonnacha) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by the six county teams ranked 12–17 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champions of the Joe McDonagh Cup are promoted to their provincial championship, and the lowest finishing team is relegated to the Christy Ring Cup. The cup is named in honour of Joe McDonagh, the former president of the GAA who died in 2016. The last of the five tiers to be established, the competition was contested for the first time in 2018.

The title has been won by five different counties, two of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Antrim and Carlow, who have won the championship on two occasions. Offaly are the title holders, defeating Laois by 2-23 to 0-26 in the 2024 final.

Creation
At the GAA's Special Congress on 30 September 2017, a new provincial hurling championship system featuring five-team round-robin groups in both Leinster and Munster was accepted. This restructure necessitated the removal of four counties from the Leinster Championship. These four teams joined the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists - Antrim and Carlow - in creating the new Tier 2 Championship. The proposal was carried by a narrow margin with 62% voting in favour (a majority of at least 60% was required).

An amendment to the motion from Laois, Offaly and Meath was carried by 87%. This would see the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists participating in preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals against the third-placed team in both Leinster and Munster with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.

Development
The competition has reduced and increased its participants between 5 and 6 teams throughout its history.

Team changes
9 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the McDonagh Cup. Kerry have been ever-presents, never being promoted or relegated, while Offaly hold the dubious distinction of being the only team to fall from the tier-one Leinster championship into the Joe McDonagh and immediately into the hurling's third-tier, the Christy Ring Cup, in successive seasons — in 2018 and 2019.

2021
In 2021, teams were divided into 2 groups to lessen the fixtures due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

Joe McDonagh Cup moments

 * Carlow 2-26 - 1-24 Westmeath (1 July 2018): Carlow won the inaugural Joe McDonagh Cup, defeating Westmeath in Croke Park.
 * Kerry 1-18 - 1-16 Offaly (15 June 2019): Kerry relegated Offaly in round 5 of the group stage. This was Offaly's second relegation in a row, previously being relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.
 * Down 3-16 - 6-22 Antrim (24 April 2022): This was the first championship meeting between the counties since the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was suspended. The 2015 Ulster final was their last meeting, Antrim also being victorious on that day.
 * Offaly 2-23 - 0-26 Laois (8 June 2024): Offaly won their first ever Joe McDonagh Cup in what was a historical week for the county as they also won the 2024 All-Ireland Under-20 Hurling Championship against Tipperary with many dual players.

Group stage
Group stage: There are six teams in the Cup. During the course of a season (from May to June) each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system) for a total of five games. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. The top two teams in the group contest the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The third, fourth and fifth-placed team are eliminated from the championship and the 6th-placed team is relegated to the Christy Ring Cup.

Tie-breakers
In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified):


 * Where two teams only are involved – the outcome of the meeting of the two teams
 * Score difference – subtracting the total "Scores Against" from the total "Scores For"
 * Highest Total "Score For"
 * Highest Total "Goals For"
 * A Play-Off

Knockout stage
Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

The Joe McDonagh Cup is unique among the four lower-tier hurling competitions in that it also currently provides a direct entry route for the top two teams to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; the two top-placed teams, in addition to contesting the Joe McDonagh Cup final, are rewarded with immediate entry into the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. There are reports that this same-year link between the competitions may be severed in the future.

Promotion
At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the provincial championship for the following season. Which provincial championship depends on the provincial allegiance of the winner:
 * if the winners are from Connacht, Leinster or Ulster, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, with their place in the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup taken by the bottom-placed team in that year's Leinster Championship.
 * From 2023 onwards, if the winners are from Munster, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Munster Senior Hurling Championship, with their place in the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup taken by the bottom-placed team in the provincial championship that contains six teams. The previous format only allowed Kerry access to the Munster Championship via a playoff if they won the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Relegation
The bottom team in the Joe McDonagh group stage is relegated to the third-tier Christy Ring Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Christy Ring Cup for that year. Since 2018 there has been no promotion/relegation playoff between tiers two and three.

2025 Cup
Six counties will compete in the 2025 Joe McDonagh Cup, with Carlow relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and Kildare promoted from the Christy Ring Cup:

Seasons in Joe McDonagh Cup
The number of years that each county has played in the Joe McDonagh Cup between 2018 and 2025. A total of 9 counties have competed in at least one season of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Kerry have participated in all 8 seasons. The counties in bold participate in the 2025 Joe McDonagh Cup.

Qualification for the All-Ireland Championship
The Joe McDonagh Cup winners and runners-up qualify for the subsequent All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. The teams plays the third-placed teams in the Leinster and Munster championships.

Group stage
Fixtures in the five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least two home games. During the inaugural staging of the competition some teams had three home games.

Final
The Joe McDonagh Cup final is played at Croke Park as the curtain-raiser to the Leinster final on the first Sunday in July.

Trophy and medals
At the end of the cup final, the winning team are presented with a trophy. The Joe McDonagh Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. The presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Ard Chomairle section of the Hogan Stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The cup is named after Joe McDonagh. He was an All-Ireland medal winner with Galway in 1980 before later serving as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association. McDonagh, who died in May 2016, was one of the most respected figures within the GAA.

The winning team is presented with a set of gold medals.

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.

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

All time table
Legend ''As of 2024 Cup. Includes Relegation Playoffs.''

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
 * 33, Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Kerry


 * Most wins
 * 17, Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Kerry


 * Most losses
 * 20, 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
 * 2, Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Kerry (2018, 2024)


 * 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
 * 3, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2022, 2023, 2024)


 * Most sixth-place finishes
 * 3, Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Meath (2018, 2022, 2024)

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 3 '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.
 * Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly (2024) were beaten by Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois in round 1.

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

 * 8, Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Kerry (2018–2025)

Kerry have the record number of consecutive participations in the Joe McDonagh Cup, taking part in the all 8 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 – 2022: Meath 3-13 - 7-29 Antrim
 * 7 – 2023: Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down
 * 7 – 2024: Meath 1-16 - 7-29 Laois
 * Most points by one team in a match:
 * 31 points – 2024: Meath 3-16 - 5-31 Offaly
 * 31 points – 2024: Laois 4-31 - 0-17 Down
 * 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 2 (2019, 2024)

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)
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2019–2024)
 * 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)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly (2023–2024)
 * 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:
 * 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–)
 * Longest active gap since last cup appearance
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022–)

Provinces

 * Only on 4 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)
 * Laois vs Offaly (2024)
 * The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster, with four:
 * Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow
 * Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois
 * Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath
 * Province success rates
 * Flag_of_Leinster.svg Leinster 33% (4 out of 12 counties)
 * Flag_of_Ulster.svg Ulster 11% (1 out of 9 counties)
 * Flag_of_Britain.svg Britain 0% (0 out of 3 counties)
 * Flag_of_Connacht.svg Connacht 0% (0 out of 5 counties)
 * Flag_of_Munster.svg 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 9 matches)
 * Most played match
 * 6, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim v Colours of Kerry GAA.svg Kerry (2018, 2019, 2020 (2x), 2022 (2x))