The 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup was the third staging of the

Joe McDonagh Cup The Joe McDonagh Cup is an annual Inter county, inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It forms the second tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and is the second highest level of inter- ...

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 ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. The competition was initially scheduled to begin on 10 May 2020 and end on 29 June 2020. Due to the

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games As with other sports, the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruption to Gaelic games, primarily in Ireland but also elsewhere in the world. Competitions were cancelled, postponed or restructured, while some teams were withdrawn or were unable to par ...

, the first-round games were delayed until 25 October 2020.

Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

, the 2019 champions, were promoted to the

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship The Leinster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurl ...

, while

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

were relegated 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 ...

. Meath and

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

entered the cup. On 13 December 2020, Antrim won the Joe McDonagh Cup after a 0–22 to 1–17 win over

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. It was their first ever title.

Team changes

To Championship

Relegated from the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

Promoted from the

* Meath

From Championship

Promoted to the

Relegated to the

Teams

Five teams compete in the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup.

General Information

Personnel and kits

Competition format

Joe McDonagh Cup Initially each of the five teams play the other four teams in a round of single round-robin matches. The top two teams qualify for the Joe McDonagh Cup final which is held at

. All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Normally the top two teams also enter the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship where they play the third-placed teams in the Leinster and Munster championships in the two All-Ireland preliminary quarter finals with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage. The senior hurling championship was shortened in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the cancellation of the participation of the two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists. Promotion to Leinster or Munster SHC The winner of the Joe McDonagh Cup can also be promoted to the following year's Leinster or Munster Senior Hurling championships, which form the first round of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. How this is achieved depends on the province to which the Cup champions belong. If the Joe McDonagh champions are a non-

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Championship and the bottom-placed team in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship are automatically relegated to the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup. If the champions are a Munster team (effectively,

), they must win a play-off with the bottom-placed team in the

Munster Championship The Munster GAA Hurling Senior Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurlin ...

to gain promotion at that teams expense to the following year's Munster Championship. Relegation The bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup are usually relegated to the following year's

, and replaced by the

2020 Christy Ring Cup The 2020 Christy Ring Cup was the 16th staging of the Christy Ring Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the third tier of hurling as of 2020. London were scheduled to compete in the ...

Champions. In 2021 the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship will be increased from five to six teams, meaning there will be no team relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2020. The 2020 Christy Ring Cup winners will be promoted to Maintain the Joe McDonagh Cup as a five team competition.

Group stage

Table

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Final

Stadia and locations

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall

In a single game

Miscellaneous

* Antrim and

both qualified to the

final for the first time. * Antrim won their 1st championship in 3 years since winning the

2017 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship The 2017 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship was the 69th staging of the Ulster hurling championship since its establishment by the Ulster Council in 1901. The tournament was moved to April, instead of the usual June/July dates, in order to accom ...

Awards

In February 2021, the GAA named the 2020 Joe McDonagh Team of the Year. Conor McCann of Antrim was named as the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup player of the year. * 1: Colours of Carlow