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Joe McDonagh Cup

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Joe McDonagh Cup
Current season or competition:
2024 Joe McDonagh Cup
IrishCorn Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonnacha
CodeHurling
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
RegionRepublic of Ireland Ireland (GAA)
TrophyJoe McDonagh Cup
No. of teams6
Title holders Offaly (1st title)
First winner Carlow
Most titles Antrim, Carlow (2 titles)
SponsorsBord Gáis Energy, Centra, Littlewoods Ireland
TV partner(s)RTÉ2
MottoBe there. All the way
Official websiteOfficial website

The Joe McDonagh Cup (Irish: Corn Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonnacha)[1] 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.[2][3][4]

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.

History

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Creation

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For the history of the second-tier competition that existed before 2018, see Christy Ring Cup.

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).[5]

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.[6]

Development

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

Team changes

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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.

Format history

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2021

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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

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  • 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.

Format

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Group stage

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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

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In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified):[7]

  • 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

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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[8] that this same-year link between the competitions may be severed in the future.

Promotion

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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,[9] 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

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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.[10]

Team Qualification
1st in Group Advance to Joe McDonagh Cup Final and All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals

Winner of Cup Final Promoted to Leinster or Munster Hurling Championship.

2nd in Group
3rd in Group
4th in Group
5th in Group
6th in Group Relegated to Christy Ring Cup

Teams

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2025 Cup

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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:

County Location Stadium Province Position in 2024 championship First year in Championship In Championship Since Championship Titles Last Championship Title
Carlow Carlow Dr Cullen Park Leinster 6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) 2018 2025 2 2023
Down Newry Páirc Esler Ulster 5th 2021 2021 0 —
Kerry Tralee Austin Stack Park Munster 3rd 2018 2018 0 —
Kildare Newbridge St Conleth's Park Leinster Champions (Christy Ring Cup) 2021 2025 0 —
Laois Portlaoise O'Moore Park Leinster Runners-up 2018 2023 1 2019
Westmeath Mullingar Cusack Park Leinster 4th 2018 2024 1 2021

Seasons in Joe McDonagh Cup

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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.

Years Counties
8 Kerry
6 Carlow, Westmeath
5 Down, Laois, Meath
4 Antrim, Offaly
3 Kildare

Debut of teams

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Year Debutants Total
2018 Antrim, Carlow, Kerry, Laois, Meath, Westmeath 6
2019 Offaly 1
2020 None 0
2021 Down, Kildare 2
2022–present None 0
Total 9

Participation by province

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Province No. County No. Years
Leinster 6 Carlow 6 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2025
Westmeath 6 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025
Meath 5 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024
Laois 5 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025
Offaly 4 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
Kildare 3 2021, 2023, 2025
Ulster 2 Down 5 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Antrim 4 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022
Munster 1 Kerry 8 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025

List of Joe McDonagh Cup Counties

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County Total years Total spells Longest spell Most recent

promotion

Most recent

relegation

Total years

absent

Seasons Joe McDonagh Cup

Best finish

Current Status (Level)

(2024)

Antrim 4 2 3 2022 Never relegated 3 2018-2020

2022

1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Carlow 5 2 4 2023 Never relegated 2 2018

2020-2023

1st Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 1
Down 4 1 4 Never promoted Never relegated 3 2021- 3rd Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Kerry 7 1 7 Never promoted Never relegated 0 2018- 2nd Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Kildare 2 2 1 Never promoted 2023 5 2021

2023

6th Christy Ring Cup 3
Laois 4 2 2 2019 Never relegated 3 2018-2019

2023-

1st Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Meath 5 3 3 Never promoted 2022 2 2018

2020-2022

2024-

5th Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Offaly 4 2 3 Never promoted 2019 3 2019

2021-

2nd Joe McDonagh Cup 2
Westmeath 5 2 4 2021 Never relegated 2 2018-2021

2024-

1st Joe McDonagh Cup 2

Qualification for subsequent competitions

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Further information: All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Qualification for the All-Ireland Championship

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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.

All-Ireland record of Joe McDonagh Cup teams

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Season County Round Opponent Score
2018 Carlow Preliminary QF Limerick 5-22 - 0-13
Westmeath Wexford 2-21 - 0-16
2019 Laois Preliminary QF Dublin 0-23 - 1-22
Quarter-Finals Tipperary 2-25 - 1-18
Westmeath Preliminary QF Cork 1-40 - 0-20
2020 No All-Ireland path for Joe McDonagh Cup finalists
2021 No All-Ireland path for Joe McDonagh Cup finalists
2022 Antrim Preliminary QF Cork 2-19 - 3-27
Kerry Wexford 0-18 - 3-30
2023 Carlow Preliminary QF Dublin 0-21 - 2-25
Offaly Tipperary 3-18 - 7-38
2024 Offaly Preliminary QF Cork
Laois Wexford

Venues

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See also: List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums
Croke Park in Dublin, hosted the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup final.

Group stage

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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

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

Managers

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Main article: Manager (Gaelic games)

Winning managers

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# Manager(s) Winning team(s) Titles(s) Winning years
1 Darren Gleeson Antrim 2 2020, 2022
2 Colm Bonnar Carlow 1 2018
Eddie Brennan Laois 1 2019
Shane O'Brien Westmeath 1 2021
Tom Mullally Carlow 1 2023
Johnny Kelly Offaly 1 2024

Trophy and medals

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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.[11]

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

List of finals

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Year Date Winners Runners-up Venue Winning captain(s) Winning margin Referee
County Score County Score
2024 8 June Offaly 2-23 (29) Laois 0-26 (26) Croke Park Jason Sampson 3 Colm McDonald (Antrim)
2023 27 May Carlow 2-29 (35) Offaly 1-31 (34) Croke Park Paul Doyle 1 Thomas Walsh (Waterford)
2022 4 June Antrim 5-22 (37) Kerry 4-24 (36) Croke Park Conor McCann 1 Sean Stack (Dublin)
2021 17 July Westmeath 2-28 (34) Kerry 1-24 (27) Croke Park Cormac Boyle 7 Sean Cleere (Kilkenny)
2020 13 December Antrim 0-22 (22) Kerry 1-17 (20) Croke Park Conor McCann 2 Liam Gordon (Galway)
2019 30 June Laois 3-26 (35) Westmeath 1-21 (24) Croke Park Patrick Purcell 11 Colum Cunning (Antrim)
2018 1 July Carlow 2-26 (32) Westmeath 1-24 (27) Croke Park Richard Coady and Diarmuid Byrne 5 Cathal McAllister (Cork)

Roll of honour

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Performance by county

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County Titles Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Antrim 2 0 2020, 2022 —
Carlow 2 0 2018, 2023 —
Westmeath 1 2 2021 2018, 2019
Laois 1 1 2019 2024
Offaly 1 1 2024 2023
Kerry 0 3 — 2020, 2021, 2022

Performance by province

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Province Titles Runners-up Total
Leinster 5 4 9
Ulster 2 0 2
Munster 0 3 3

Team records and statistics

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Main article: Joe McDonagh Cup records and statistics

Team results

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Legend

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

Team 2018 (6) 2019 (5) 2020 (5) 2021 (6) 2022 (6) 2023 (6) 2024 (6) 2025 (6) Years
Antrim 5th 3rd 1st L 1st L L L 4
Carlow 1st L 4th 4th 3rd 1st L 6
Down CR CR CR 3rd 5th 5th 5th 5
Kerry 3rd 4th 2nd 2nd 2nd 4th 3rd 8
Kildare CR CR CR 6th CR 6th CR 3
Laois 4th 1st L L L 3rd 2nd 5
Meath 6th CR 5th 5th 6th CR 6th CR 5
Offaly L 5th CR CR 4th 2nd 1st L 4
Westmeath 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st L L 4th 6

List of Joe McDonagh Cup counties

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The following teams have competed in the McDonagh Cup for at least one season.

County Appearances Debut Most recent Championship titles Last Championship title Best Joe McDonagh Cup result
Antrim 4 2018 2022 2 2022 1st
Carlow 6 2018 2025 2 2023 1st
Down 5 2021 2025 0 — 3rd
Kerry 8 2018 2025 0 — 2nd
Kildare 3 2021 2025 0 — 6th
Laois 5 2018 2025 1 2019 1st
Meath 5 2018 2024 0 — 5th
Offaly 4 2019 2024 1 2024 1st
Westmeath 6 2018 2025 1 2021 1st

All time table

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Legend

Colours
Currently competing in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Currently competing in the Joe McDonagh Cup
Currently competing in the Christy Ring Cup

As of 2024 Cup. Includes Relegation Playoffs.

# Team Part Pld W D L Points
1 Kerry 7 33 17 1 15 35
2 Carlow 5 23 14 3 6 31
3 Antrim 4 21 14 1 6 29
4 Laois 4 21 13 2 6 28
5 Westmeath 5 23 13 2 8 28
6 Offaly 4 21 12 0 9 24
7 Down 4 17 5 1 11 11
8 Meath 5 22 2 0 20 4
9 Kildare 2 9 0 0 9 0

By Semi-Final/Top 4 Appearances

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Team No. Years
Kerry 7 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Carlow 5 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
Westmeath 5 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024
Laois 4 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024
Antrim 3 2019, 2020, 2022
Offaly 3 2022, 2023, 2024
Down 1 2021

By decade

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

Match records

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  • Most matches played

Other records

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Finishing positions

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Unbeaten sides

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Beaten sides

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The group stage of the cup has resulted in 3 'back-door' Joe McDonagh Cup champions:

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

Final success rate

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

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

Consecutive participations

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Kerry have the record number of consecutive participations in the Joe McDonagh Cup, taking part in the all 8 seasons.

Winning other trophies

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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:

  • Carlow in 2018 (Division 2A).
  • Antrim in 2020 (Division 2A).

Biggest wins

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Scoring Events

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Successful defending

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

Gaps

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Active gaps

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Provinces

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Joe McDonagh Cup final pairings

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Pairing Meetings First meeting Last meeting
Antrim v Kerry 2 2020 2022
Carlow v Offaly 1 2023
Carlow v Westmeath 1 2018
Kerry v Westmeath 1 2021
Laois v Offaly 1 2024
Laois v Westmeath 1 2019

Longest undefeated run

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

Miscellaneous

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  • Best finish by a debuting team
  • Best finish by a debuting team (after 2018)
  • Highest winning record
    • 66.7%, Antrim (14 wins in 21 matches)
  • Lowest winning record
  • Most played match

Player records

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Top scorers

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All time

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As of 7 May 2023
# Name County Goals Points Total
1 Shane Conway Kerry 6 188 206
2 Marty Kavanagh Carlow 6 151 169
3 Jack Regan Meath 5 109 124
4 Neil McManus Antrim 6 105 123
5 Pádraig Boyle Kerry 5 107 122
6 Eoghan Cahill Offaly 4 108 120
7 Ciarán Clarke Antrim 11 61 94
8 Chris Nolan Carlow 5 75 90
9 Killian Doyle Westmeath 3 61 70
10 Stephen Maher Laois 1 63 66
11 Conal Cunning Antrim 2 56 62
Ross King Laois 2 56 62

By year

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Year Top scorer County Score Total
2018 Neil McManus Antrim 3-67 76
2019 Killian Doyle Westmeath 3-61 70
2020 Ciarán Clarke Antrim 4-47 59
2021 Jack Regan Meath 1-36 39
2022 Pádraig Boyle Kerry 3-64 73
2023 Martin Kavanagh Carlow 3-71 80

In a single game

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Year Top scorer County Score Total
2018 Neil McManus Antrim 0-17 17
2019 Killian Doyle Westmeath 0-17 17
2020 Martin Kavanagh Carlow 1-13 16
2021 Jack Regan Meath 0-17 17
2022 Pádraig Boyle Kerry 2-11 17
2023 Eoghan Cahill Offaly 2-11 17

In finals

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Year Top scorer County Score Total
2018 Denis Murphy Carlow 0-10 10
2019 Killian Doyle Westmeath 1-11 14
2020 Ciarán Clarke Antrim 0-11 11
2021 Niall Mitchell Westmeath 0-07 7
Pádraig Boyle Kerry 1-04
2022 Pádraig Boyle Kerry 2-11 17
2023 Martin Kavanagh Carlow 1-08 11

Captains

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Winning captain(s) County Title(s) Year(s)
Diarmuid Byrne and Richard Coady Carlow 1 2018
Patrick Purcell Laois 1 2019
Conor McCann Antrim 1 2020
Cormac Boyle Westmeath 1 2021
Conor McCann Antrim 1 2022
Paul Doyle Carlow 1 2023

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ár gCluichí, Ár Laochra #5 – Niall Ó Muineacháin". gaa.ie.
  2. ^ "Hurling changes will benefit Tier 2 counties, says Westmeath boss". RTÉ News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
  3. ^ Moran, Seán (30 September 2017). "GAA Congress approve round-robin provincial hurling championships". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  4. ^ "GAA 2018: How the new season will look". Irish Examiner. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  5. ^ "GAA votes to change senior hurling championship". Irish Examiner. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Historic day at Croke Park as Congress votes in hurling structure changes". RTE Sport. 30 September 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Official Guide - Part 1" (PDF). Gaelic Athletic Association. 23 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Joe McDonagh Cup link with All-Ireland series could be severed". The Independent. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Kerry gain Munster entry". RTÉ. 18 February 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  10. ^ "New hurling competition to be named after Galway All-Ireland winner and ex-GAA President". The 42. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  11. ^ "New hurling competition to be named after Galway All-Ireland winner and ex-GAA President". The 42. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
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