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. Each year, the champions of the Christy Ring Cup are promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup, and the lowest finishing team is relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup. Meath are the 2019 title-holders.
The Christy Ring Cup, which was introduced in 2005, replaced the All-Ireland B Hurling Championship. Between 2005 and 2017 the Christy Ring Cup was the second tier hurling championship. With the introduction of the Joe McDonagh cup, the Christy Ring Cup is the highest tier of the championship system without direct entry to that year's All-Ireland finals series.
At present, Down, Kildare and Wicklow hold the longest tenures in the Christy Ring Cup. They have appeared in every season of the cup.

History

In 2003 the Hurling Development Committee was charged with restructuring the entire hurling championship. The committee was composed of chairman Pat Dunny, Liam Griffin, P. J. O'Grady, Ger Loughnane, Cyril Farrell, Jimmy O'Reilly, Willie Ring, Pat Daly and Nicky English. Over the course of three months they held discussions with managers, players and officials, while also taking a submission from the Gaelic Players Association. The basic tenet of the proposals was to structure the hurling championship into three tiers in accordance with 2004 National Hurling League status. The top tier was confined to 12 teams, while the next ten teams would contest the second tier which was to be known as the Christy Ring Cup. There would also be promotion-relegation play-offs between the three championship tiers. The HDC also suggested that these games would be played as curtain raisers to All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals.
The proposal were accepted at the 2004 GAA Congress. The Christy Ring Cup and the Nicky Rackard Cup competitions were launched at Croke Park on 8 December 2004.

Format

2005-2007

The ten participating teams were divided into two groups of five and played in a round-robin format. Each team was guaranteed at least four games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out semi-finals of the competition.
The bottom two teams of both groups were involved in a four-way relegation play-off with the eventual loser being relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup. In 2006 the relegation play-off was limited to just the bottom teams in both groups, while in 2007 there was no relegation.

2008

The competition was expanded to include twelve teams. The participating teams were divided into four groups of three and played in a round-robin format, thus limiting each team to just two games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals of the competition.
The bottom team in each group went into the relegation play-offs. The eventual losers were relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup, however, the relegation play-offs in 2008 were rendered meaningless as all four bottom-placed teams were relegated.

2009-2017

In 2009 a double elimination format was introduced, thus guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated from the competition.
The eight teams play four Round 1 matches.
There are two Round 2A matches.
There are two Round 2B matches.
There are two quarter-final matches between the Round 2A losers and Round 2B winners.
There are two semi-final matches between the Round 2A winners and the quarter-final winners.
The winners of the final (with the exception of Down in 2013, are promoted to the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the following year.

From 2018

2018 saw the reintroduction of a group phase format to all tiers of the hurling Championship structure. The eight participating teams are divided into two groups of four and will play in a round-robin format. Each team will be guaranteed at least three games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up will qualify for the knock-out semi-finals of the championship.

Teams, 2020

Champions, Runners-Up and Relegated Teams By Year

SeasonChampionsScoreRunner-upScoreVenueWinning captainLosing captainRelegated team
2005Westmeath1-23Down2-18Croke ParkJohn ShawSimon WilsonDerry
2006Antrim5-13Carlow1-7Croke ParkKarl McKeeganRobbie FoleyRoscommon
2007Westmeath2-15Kildare0-13Croke ParkDarren McCormackColm BuggyN/A
2008Carlow3-22Westmeath4-16O'Connor ParkEdward CoadyBrendan MurtaghArmagh, London, Meath, Roscommon
2009Carlow1-15Down0-14Croke ParkMark BrennanGraham ClarkeN/A
2010Westmeath2-16Kerry1-18Croke ParkAndrew MitchellColin HarrisN/A
2011Kerry2-21Wicklow2-8Croke ParkMikey BoyleJonathan O'NeillArmagh
2012London4-18Wicklow1-17Croke ParkColm QuinnEnan GlynnN/A
2013Down3-16Kerry2-17Croke ParkPaul BraniffPaud CostelloN/A
2014Kildare4-18Kerry2-22Croke ParkNiall Ó MuineacháinJohn EganN/A
2015Kerry1-20Derry0-12Croke ParkJohn GriffinSeán MacCullaghMayo
2016
Meath2-17
4-21		Antrim1-20
5-17		Croke ParkJames ToherNeal McAuleyDerry
2017Carlow5-23Antrim4-15Croke ParkMarty KavanaghConor CarsonRoscommon
2018Kildare3-19London1-11Croke ParkBrian ByrneLiam GavaghanArmagh & Mayo
2019Meath4-19Down2-15Croke ParkSean GeraghtyDonegal

Winners Table

Top scorers

Top Scorers Overall

SeasonTop scorerTeamScoreTotal
2005Mattie Dowd Kildare2-3945
2006Paul Braniff Down6-2644
2007Shane Brick Kerry
2008Brendan Murtagh Westmeath2-3743
2009Shane Brick Kerry1-4245
2010Darragh O'Connell Kerry1-3841
2011Darragh O'Connell Kerry1-3336
2012Martin Finn London5-2944
2013Paul Braniff Down3-3443
2014Mikey Lee Wicklow4-3850
2015Shane Nolan Kerry2-3541
2016Ciarán Clarke Antrim3-4352
2017Denis Murphy Carlow0-4545

Top Scorers In The Final

SeasonTop scorerTeamScoreTotal
2005Andrew Mitchell Westmeath0-99
2006Johnny McIntosh Antrim2-410
2007Billy White Kildare0-77
2008Brendan Murtagh Westmeath2-1016
2009Simon Wilson Down0-77
2010Darragh O'Connell Kerry0-88
2011Darragh O'Connell Kerry1-912
2012Jonathan Maher London3-413
2013Shane Nolan Kerry1-912
2014Shane Nolan Kerry1-47
2014Gerry Keegan Kildare1-47
2015Shane Nolan Kerry1-811
2016James Toher Meath0-1212
2017Ciarán Clarke Antrim2-915
2018James Burke Kildare0-88