The 2014 Nicky Rackard Cup is the tenth staging of the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishin ...

hurling championship since its establishment by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

in 2005. The cup competition began on 26 April 2014 and will end on 14 June 2014.

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

were the defending champions, however, they were defeated in the semi-final stages. Tyrone won the title after defeating

Fingal Fingal ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is one of three successor counties to County Dublin, which was disestablished for administrative purposes in 1994. ...

by 1-17 to 1-16 in the final.

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

defeated

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

in the relegation/promotion playoff to earn promotion to the 2015 Nicky Rackard Cup with Sligo dropping down to the Lory Meagher Cup.

Structure

Seven teams compete. Two play in the preliminary round, and five go straight into Round 1. *The preliminary round winners advance to Round 1. The preliminary round losers go into Qualifier Round 1. *The Round 1 winners advance to the semi-finals. The Round 1 losers go into Qualifier Round 1. *There are four teams in Qualifier Round 1. The two winners advance to Qualifier Round 2. The Qualifier Round 1 losers go into a relegation playoff. *The winners of Qualifier Round 2 advance to the semi-finals. *There are four semi-finalists — the three Round 1 winners and the Qualifier Round 2 winner. *The semi-final winners advance to the final. *The final winners receive the

and are promoted to the

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...

for 2015. *The Qualifier Round 1 losers play a relegation playoff. The losing team play a promotion/relegation playoff against the bottom-ranked team from the 2014 Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 4).

Fixtures/results

Preliminary round

Round 1

Qualifier round 1

Qualifier round 2

Relegation play-off

Semi-finals

Final

Promotion play-off

Championship statistics

Scoring

*Widest winning margin: ** *Most goals in a match: ** *Most points in a match: ** *Most goals by one team in a match: ** * Highest aggregate score: ** *Lowest aggregate score: ** *Most goals scored by a losing team: **