Lory Meagher Cup

The Lory Meagher Cup (Corn Labhraí Uí Mheachair; often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fifth-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 30–35 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champions of the Lory Meagher Cup are promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup. The competition is named in honour of former Kilkenny hurler Lory Meagher who many regard as one of the greatest hurlers of all time.

The Lory Meagher Cup, which was introduced for the 2009 season, provides a meaningful championship for fifth tier teams deemed "too weak" for the fourth tier Nicky Rackard Cup.

The title has been won by 9 different counties, 5 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Fermanagh and Louth, who have won the cup on 3 occasions. Fermanagh are the title holders, defeating Longford by 3-17 to 0-22 in the 2024 final.

Creation
Following the success of the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup for the lower tier hurling teams, it was decided in 2008 to investigate the possibility of introducing a fourth tier. The Hurling Development Committee (HDC) proposed the new four-tier structure in place of the existing three-tier model. It, and the second and third-tier competitions, were to consist of eight teams. The proposals were accepted at a special GAA Congress in October 2008. Another second tier competition, the Joe McDonagh Cup, was added in 2018, moving the Lory Meagher Cup down into tier 5.

Team changes
12 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the Lory Meagher Cup. Fermanagh and Leitrim have participated in the most editions. South Down, although not an official county entered a team the first 3 seasons of the Cup but withdrew after 2011. Monaghan became the most recent county to make their debut in the Cup in 2021.

Double elimination (2009–2011)
In 2009 a double elimination format was introduced, thus guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated from the competition.

Group stage (2013–present)
Since 2013, a group stage has been included in the cup. The teams within the group stage has varied between 3 and 6 teams throughout the years.

Lory Meagher Cup moments

 * Warwickshire 2-16 - 0-10 Longford (8 June 2013): Warwickshire became the first and only overseas team to win the Lory Meagher Cup.
 * Leitrim 2-23 - 2-22 Lancashire (22 June 2019): Leitrim won their first ever All-Ireland title, defeating Lancashire after extra time in Croke Park.

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 Lory Meagher Cup final. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth-placed teams are eliminated from the championship.

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 Lory Meagher has no direct entry route to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

Promotion
At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup for the following season.

Relegation
There is no relegation from the Lory Meagher Cup as it is the bottom of five tiers in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

2025 Cup
Seven counties will compete in the 2025 Lory Meagher Cup, with Monaghan relegated from the Nicky Rackard Cup and New York entering the competition:

Team records and statistics
Legend
 * – Champions
 * – Runners-up
 * – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Round 2
 * – Group Stage
 * CR – Christy Ring Cup
 * NR – Nicky Rackard Cup
 * — – Inactive

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

Seasons in Lory Meagher Cup
The number of years that each county has played in the Lory Meagher Cup between 2009 and 2025. A total of 13 counties have competed in at least one season of the Lory Meagher Cup. Leitrim have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2025 Lory Meagher Cup.

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

All-time table
Legend As of 12 June 2024 (After 2024 Lory Meagher Cup).

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


 * 2000s: 1 for Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (2009)
 * 2010s: 2 each for Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2010, 2014) and Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2013, 2017)
 * 2020s: 2 each for Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2020, 2022) and Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2021, 2024)

Match records

 * Most matches played
 * 51, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim


 * Most wins
 * 22, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh


 * Most losses
 * 30, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim


 * Most draws
 * 6, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh

Finishing positions

 * Most championships
 * 3, Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2016, 2020, 2022)
 * 3, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2015, 2021, 2024)


 * Most second-place finishes
 * 3, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2012, 2014, 2020)
 * 3, Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire (2018, 2019, 2023)
 * 3, Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2013, 2022, 2024)


 * Most third-place finishes
 * 4, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2018, 2020, 2023, 2024)
 * Most fourth-place finishes
 * 4, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2013, 2014, 2016, 2024)
 * Most fifth-place finishes
 * 3, Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire (2015, 2016, 2022)


 * Most sixth-place finishes
 * 1, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2022)
 * 1, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2017)
 * 1, Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2023)
 * 1, Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire (2024)
 * Most semi-final finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2010, 2012)
 * 2, Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2009, 2021)
 * 2, Colours_of_Down.svg South Down (2009, 2011)
 * 2, Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2011, 2012)
 * Most quarter-final finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2009, 2011)
 * Most round 2 or round 3 finishes
 * 1, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2009)
 * 1, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2011)
 * 1, Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2012)
 * 1, Colours_of_Down.svg South Down (2010)
 * 1, Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2009)

Unbeaten sides

 * 6 teams have won the Lory Meagher Cup unbeaten:
 * Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal had 4 wins in 2011
 * Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone had 3 wins in 2012
 * Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire had 3 wins and 1 draw in 2013
 * Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford had 3 wins and 1 draw in 2014
 * Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth had 5 wins in 2016
 * Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire had 6 wins in 2017
 * Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh had 4 wins and 2 draws in 2024

Beaten sides
The group stage of the cup has resulted in 9 'back-door' Lory Meagher Cup champions:


 * Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (2009) were beaten by Colours_of_Down.svg South Down in round 1.
 * Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2010) were beaten by Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal in round 1.
 * Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2015) were beaten by Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo in round 5.
 * Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2018) were beaten by Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan in round 3.
 * Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2019) were beaten by Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire in round 1.
 * Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2020) were beaten by Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh in round 1.
 * Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2021) were beaten by Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan in round 1.
 * Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2022) were beaten by Colours_of_Monaghan.svg Monaghan in round 2 and Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford in round 3.
 * Colours_of_Monaghan.svg Monaghan (2023) were beaten by Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan in round 2.

On 2 occasions a team was defeated twice but have remained in the championship:


 * Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2022) were beaten by Colours_of_Monaghan.svg Monaghan and Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford but still qualified for the final.
 * Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire (2023) were beaten by Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan and by Colours_of_Monaghan.svg Monaghan 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_Louth.svg Louth
 * Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire

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


 * Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire

Consecutive participations

 * 9, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2009–2017)
 * 9, Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2009–2017)

Leitrim and Warwickshire have the record number of consecutive participations in the Lory Meagher Cup, taking part in 9 seasons.

Winning other trophies
Although not an officially recognised achievement, no team have ever achieved the distinction of winning the Lory Meagher Cup and their respective Division in the National Hurling League.

Biggest wins

 * The most one sided finals:
 * 15 points – 2021: Fermanagh 3-26 - 1-17 Cavan
 * 13 points – 2022: Louth 3-27 - 3-14 Longford
 * 12 points – 2013: Warwickshire 2-16 - 0-10 Longford
 * 11 points – 2020: Louth 2-19 - 2-08 Fermanagh
 * 8 points – 2010: Longford 1-20 - 1-12 Donegal
 * The most one sided other matches:
 * 29 points – 2011: South Down 4-25 - 0-08 Leitrim

Scoring Events

 * Most goals in a match:
 * 11 – 2021: Longford 8-25 - 3-19 Louth
 * Most points in a match:
 * 46 – 2024: Lancashire 0-21 - 2-25 Cavan
 * 46 – 2024: Lancashire 2-24 - 6-22 Warwickshire
 * Most goals by one team in a match:
 * 8 – 2021: Longford 8-25 - 3-19 Louth
 * Most points by one team in a match:
 * 29 – 2023: Cavan 3-29 - 5-09 Lancashire
 * Highest aggregate score:
 * 77 – 2021: Longford 8-25 - 3-19 Louth
 * Lowest aggregate score:
 * 20 – 2023: Leitrim 0-08 - 0-12 Longford

Successful defending
Only three teams were able to defend their title the following year. None of these teams were able to do so. These are: Usually defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the Nicky Rackard Cup. These are:
 * Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford on 0 attempts out of 1 (2011)
 * Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire on 0 attempts out of 1 (2014)
 * Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth on 0 attempts out of 1 (2021)


 * 00 on 00 attempts out of 00 (0000)

Gaps

 * Longest gaps between successive cup titles:
 * 6 years: Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2015–2021)
 * Longest gaps between successive Lory Meagher Cup final appearances:
 * 8 years: Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2014–2022)
 * Longest gap between successive championship appearances
 * 7 years: Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2010–2017)
 * 7 years: Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2014–2021)

Active gaps

 * Longest active gaps between since last title:
 * 13 years: Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal (2011–)
 * 12 years: Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (2012–)
 * 10 years: Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2014–)
 * 7 years: Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2017–)
 * 6 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2018–)
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2019–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2022–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_ Monaghan.svg Monaghan (2023–)
 * Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance:
 * 13 years: Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal (2011–)
 * 12 years: Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (2012–)
 * 7 years: Colours_of_Warwickshire.svg Warwickshire (2017–)
 * 6 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2018–)
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2019–)
 * 3 years: Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2021–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2022–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Lancashire (2023–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_ Monaghan.svg Monaghan (2023–)
 * Longest active gap since last cup appearance
 * 13 years: Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal (2011–)
 * 13 years: Colours_of_Down.svg South Down (2011–)

Provinces

 * Only on 5 occasions has the Lory Meagher Cup final involved two teams from the same province:
 * Tyrone vs Donegal (2009)
 * Donegal vs Tyrone (2011)
 * Tyrone vs Fermanagh (2012)
 * Fermanagh vs Cavan (2021)
 * Louth vs Longford (2022)
 * The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Ulster, with four:
 * Colours_of_Donegal.svg Donegal
 * Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh
 * Colours_of_Monaghan.svg Monaghan
 * Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone
 * Province success rates
 * Flag_of_Ulster.svg Ulster 44% (4 out of 9 counties)
 * Flag_of_Connacht.svg Connacht 40% (2 out of 5 counties)
 * Flag_of_Britain.svg Britain 33% (1 out of 3 counties)
 * Flag_of_Leinster.svg Leinster 17% (2 out of 12 counties)
 * Flag_of_Munster.svg Munster 0% (0 out of 6 counties)

Longest undefeated run
The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 7 games held by Tyrone (2009–2011).

Miscellaneous

 * Best finish by a debuting team
 * Champions, Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (2009)
 * Best finish by a debuting team (after 2009)
 * Champions, Colours_of_Louth.svg Louth (2016)
 * Highest winning record
 * 83%, Colours_of_Tyrone.svg Tyrone (10 wins in 12 matches)
 * Lowest winning record
 * 26%, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (9 wins in 35 matches)
 * Most played match
 * Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh vs Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim