The Joe McDonagh Cup is an annual

inter-county Inter-county, or inter county is Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) terminology which refers to competitions or matches between counties, as used in Gaelic games (differently from legal counties). The term can also be used to describe the players o ...

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

competition organised 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 ...

(GAA). It forms the second tier of 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 ...

and is the second highest level of inter-county championship hurling competition in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The last of the five tiers to be established, the competition was contested for the first time in

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 ...

Creation and history

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 Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

and

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 ...

was accepted. This restructure necessitated the removal of four counties from the Leinster Championship. These four teams joined the

2017 Christy Ring Cup The 2017 Christy Ring Cup was the 13th staging of the Christy Ring Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. The competition began on 22 April 2017 and ended on 10 June 2017. Meath were the 2 ...

finalists - Antrim 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 ...

- 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 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 ...

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 ...

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.

Format

The McDonagh Cup employs a round-robin system, contested within a single group of 6 county teams. At the completion of the round-robin, the top two teams proceed to contest the Joe McDonagh Cup final. Aside from the trophy itself, the reward for victory in the competition depends on the provincial allegiance of the winner; if the winner is a

team, it will enter a promotion/relegation playoff with the bottom team in that year's

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

, with the winner entering the following years Munster Championship, and the loser returning to the following year's edition of the Joe McDonagh Cup. If the winner is not a Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's

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 ...

, with their place in the following year's Joe Mcdonagh Cup taken by the bottom-placed team in that year's Leinster Championship. The Joe McDonagh Cup is unique among the four lower-tier hurling competitions in that it also provides a direct entry route for the top two teams to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The top two-placed teams after the group stage, in addition to contesting the Cup final and a possible Munster Championship promotion playoff for the winner, are both rewarded with entry into the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. The bottom two teams in the group stage contests a relegation playoff with the loser relegated to the third-tier

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 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.

Teams

2023 Cup

Six counties will compete in the

2023 Joe McDonagh Cup The 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup is due to be the sixth staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup, 2018. Antrim county hurling team, Antrim, winner of the 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup ...

, with

relegated from the

and

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

promoted from the

Seasons in Joe McDonagh Cup

The number of years that each county has played in the Joe McDonagh Cup between

and

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

. A total of 9 counties have competed in at least one season of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Kerry have participated in all 6 seasons. The counties in bold participate in the

Debut of teams

List of Joe McDonagh Cup Counties

Comprehensive team results by tournament

9 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the McDonagh Cup.

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 ...

have been ever-presents in the first five editions. Down and

have qualified for the 2021 edition so teams participated in the Joe McDonagh Cup will increase to 9.

hold the dubious distinction of being the only team to be relegated to hurling's third-tier, having previously been relegated from the tier-one Leinster championship, in successive seasons. ; ; Legend * – Champions * – Runners-up * – Group Stage * – Relegated * L –

* CR –

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

Venues

Croke Park from the Hill - 2004 All-Ireland Football Championship Final

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 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 ...

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 Joseph McDonagh (November 1953 – 20 May 2016) was an Irish hurler and, later, Gaelic games administrator, who served as the president of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1997 until 2000. He played hurling with his club Ballinderree ...

. He was an

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

medal winner with

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

in 1980 before later serving as

President of the Gaelic Athletic Association The president of the Gaelic Athletic Association ( ga, Uachtarán Cumann Lúthchleas Gael) is the head of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The president holds office for three years. The role of president has existed since the foundation of ...

. 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.

List of Finals

Team records and statistics

Performance by county

Performance by province

All time table

Legend ''As of 4 June 2022. Includes Relegation Playoffs.''

Player records

Top scorers

All time

By year

In a single game

In finals

Captains

All-Ireland Record

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

References

{{Joe McDonagh Cup 2018 establishments in Ireland All-Ireland inter-county hurling championships Hurling cup competitions Recurring sporting events established in 2018