2018 Joe McDonagh Cup

The 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup was the inaugural staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association.[1][2] The fixtures were announced on 13 April 2018. The competition began on 5 May 2018.

2018 Joe McDonagh Cup
Dates5 May 2018 - 1 July 2018
Teams6
Champions Carlow (1st title)
Richard Coady and Diarmuid Byrne (captain)
Colm Bonnar (manager)
Runners-up Westmeath
Tommy Doyle (captain)
Michael Ryan (manager)
Relegated Meath
Tournament statistics
Matches played17
Goals scored50 (2.94 per match)
Points scored661 (38.88 per match)
Top scorer(s) Neil McManus (3-67)
(Next) 2019 →

On 1 July 2018, Carlow won the title following a 2-26 to 1-24 defeat of Westmeath in the final. This was their second successive promotion within the various tiers of hurling, as they were also the 2017 Christy Ring Cup champions.

Meath were relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup after losing all of their group stage games.

Antrim's Neil McManus was the competition's top scorer with 3-67.

Teams

A total of six teams compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup, with representatives from Leinster (4), Munster (1) and Ulster (1). As 2018 was the inaugural year, four of the teams ( Kerry, Laois, Meath and Westmeath) previously played in the qualifier group of the 2017 Leinster Championship (tier 1) and two teams (Antrim and Carlow) were the finalists in the 2017 Christy Ring Cup (then tier 2, re-classified as tier 3 for 2018).

Team Colours Sponsor Captain Manager(s) Location Stadium Capacity
Antrim Creagh Concrete Neil McManus Dominic McKinley
Terence McNaughton		 Ballycastle Páirc Mac Uílín 4,900
Carlow IT Carlow Richard Coady Colm Bonnar Carlow Dr. Cullen Park 21,000
Kerry Kerry Group Pádraig Boyle Fintan O'Connor Tralee Austin Stack Park 12,000
Laois MW Hire Services Ross King Éamonn Kelly Portlaoise O'Moore Park 27,000
Meath Uniflu James Kelly Nick Fitzgerald Navan Páirc Tailteann 15,000
Westmeath Renault Tommy Doyle Michael Ryan Mullingar Cusack Park 11,000

Format

All six teams compete in an initial round-robin of five rounds where teams play each other once. The top two teams after the round robin stage 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 top two teams also compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. If the winner is a non-Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Championship. If the winner is a Munster team, in effect Kerry, they must win a play-off with the bottom-placed team in the Munster Championship to gain promotion to the following year's Munster Championship.

In order to reduce the number of teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup to five in 2019, the bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup are automatically relegated to the following year's Christy Ring Cup and will not be replaced. The team that finishes second last in the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup plays off against the 2018 Christy Ring Cup champions. The winner of that game plays in the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2019 and the losing team plays in the 2019 Christy Ring Cup.

Group Stage

Table
Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts
1 Carlow (Q) (P)5401122102208
2 Westmeath (Q)5401130115158
3 Kerry 53021059786
4 Laois 5203118123-54
5 Antrim (Playoff)5203130116144
6 Meath (R)500594146-520

Round 1
5 May 2018 Round 1 Meath 2-18 - 5-25 Antrim Páirc Tailteann, Navan
3:00 pm J Regan (0-12, 0-8 f, 0-2 '65'), G McGowan (1-2), A Douglas (1-1), C McCabe, P Conneely, S Quigley (0-1 each). Report N Elliott (3-2), C Johnston (2-4 ,1-0 penalty), N McManus (0-8, 0-6f), S McCrory (0-3), J Maskey and D McKinley (0-2 each), C Carson, M Armstrong, E Campbell and C McCann (0-1 each). Referee: C McAllister (Cork)
5 May 2018 Round 1 Laois 1-21 - 2-21 Westmeath O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
3:00 pm R King (0-10, 0-09 frees 0-01 ‘65), N Foyle (1-02), C Dwyer (0-04), B Conroy, A Corby, P Purcell, W Dunphy, S Maher (0-01 each). Report N O’Brien (0-07, 0-04 frees), R Greville (1-03), N Mitchell (1-00), C Boyle, J Boyle (0-03 each), E Price, C Doyle (0-02 each), D McNicholas (0-01, free). Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)
6 May 2018 Round 1 Carlow 0-21 - 0-18 Kerry Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
2:00 pm D Murphy 0-6 (5f), E Byrne 0-4, J Doyle 0-3, K McDonald 0-2, D English (f), C Nolan, P Coady, D Byrne, R Smithers, J Kavanagh 0-1 each. Kerry: Report P Boyle 0-7 (1f), S Conway 0-6 (f), J Goulding 0-4, C Harty 0-1. Referee: J Heffernan (Wexford)

Round 2
12 May 2018 Round 2 Antrim 2-16 - 0-19 Carlow Corrigan Park, Belfast
N McManus 1-8 (7f), N Elliott 1-2, C Johnston 0-2 (1f), J Maskey, E Campbell, M Armstrong, and E McCloskey 0-1 each. Report D Murphy 0-11 (8f), JM Nolan (1s/l), J Doyle, C Nolan and C Foley 0-2 each. Referee: J O'Brien (Laois)
13 May 2018 Round 2 Westmeath 4-24 - 2-17 Meath Cusack Park, Mullingar
A Devine 2-2 (0-2fs), A Clarke 0-7, E Price, N O'Brien (2fs) 0-5 each, R Greville 1-1, C Doyle 0-3, N Mitchell 1-0, D McNicholas 0-1. Report J Regan 1-2 (0-2fs), A Douglas 1-1, P Conneely (1f), J Kelly, D Kelly (2fs) 0-3 each, C McCabe, M O'Sullivan 0-2 each, S Quigley 0-1. Referee: C Cunning (Antrim)
13 May 2018 Round 2 Kerry 3-20 - 0-19 Laois Austin Stack Park, Tralee
S Conway 0-09 (0-07f), J Goulding 1-02 (0-1 s/l), S Nolan 1-02, B O’Leary 1-00, S Weir 0-02, B Murphy 0-01, B Barrett 0-01, D Griffin 0-01, B O'Mahony 0-01, M O'Connor 0-01. Report R King 0-08 (0-06f, 0-02 '65'), B Conroy 0-05, W Dunphy 0-01, S Maher 0-01, P Purcell 0-01, C Taylor 0-01, C Dwyer 0-01, PJ Scully 0-01. Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)

Round 3
19 May 2018 Round 3 Carlow 0-21 - 1-14 Meath Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow
D Murphy 0-8 (8fs), C Nolan 0-6 (1f), J Doyle 0-3, P Coady, E Byrne, R Kelly and D English (1f) 0-1 each. Report P Conneely 1-7 (6fs), G McGowan 0-3, A Gannon 0-2, A Douglas and S Brennan 0-1 each. Referee: J Keane (Galway)
19 May 2018 Round 3 Antrim 1-19 - 1-20 Laois Pearse Park, Dunloy
N McManus 0-11 (9 fs, 1 65), C Johnston 0-3, C Clarke 1-0, E McCloskey 0-1, N Elliott 0-1, J McNaughton 0-1, D McKinley 0-1, C McCann 0-1. Report R King 0-11 (10 frees), B Conroy 0-4, W Dunphy 1-1, P Purcell 0-2, C Dwyer 0-1, A Corby 0-1. Referee: J Heffernan (Wexford)
20 May 2018 Round 3 Kerry 0-15 - 2-12 Westmeath Austin Stack Park, Tralee
D Griffin, P Boyle and S Conway (2f) 0-3 each, B O'Mahony 0-2, J O'Connor, S Nolan, J Goulding and J Conway 0-1 each. Report A Devine 0-7 (6f), N O'Brien 1-2, D Clinton 1-0, J Boyle, C Boyle, and A Clarke 0-1 each. Kerry: Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Round 4
2 June 2018 Round 4 Meath 0-16 - 0-18 Kerry Páirc Tailteann, Navan
P Conneely (0-7 three frees), J Keena (0-2), K Keoghan (0-2), A Gannon (0-2), J Kelly (0-1), J Regan (0-1), S Brennan (0-1). Report S Conway (0-6 two frees, two '65s'), P Boyle (0-4), M Stackpoole (0-1 free), B Murphy (0-1), B Barrett (0-2), D Collins (0-1), B O'Leary (0-1), M Boyle (0-1), J Goulding (0-1). Referee: S Hynes (Galway)
2 June 2018 Round 4 Laois 2-15 - 2-25 Carlow O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
S Maher 0-8 (five frees, three 65s), R Mullaney 1-3, E Rowland 1-0 (1-0 pen), N Foyle, C Taylor, W Dunphy and M Kavanagh 0-1 each. Report JM Nolan 0-6 (one sideline), D Murphy (all frees) and C Nolan 0-5 each, D Byrne and E Byrne 1-1 each, P Coady 0-3, J Doyle 0-1 and K McDonald 0-1 each.
2 June 2018 Round 4 Westmeath 2-19 - 1-20 Antrim TEG Cusack Park, Mullingar
A Devine 0-7 (3fs, 365s), C Doyle and N O’Brien 1-2 each, N Mitchell 0-3, L Varley 0-2, P Greville, A Clarke, R Greville 0-1 each. Report N McManus 0-13 (7fs), K Molloy 1-0, C McCann 0-2, P Burke, J Dillon, N Elliott, E Campbell, and C Johnston 0-1 each. Referee: R McGann (Clare)

Round 5
9 June 2018 Round 5 Meath 0-14 - 3-23 Laois Páirc Tailteann, Navan
J Kelly 0-4, P Conneely 0-4 (2fs), J Regan 0-3 (1f), J Toher 0-1, C McCabe 0-1, S Morris 0-1. Report B Conroy 1-5, C Dwyer 1-3, R King 0-6 (3fs, 265s), P Purcell 1-2, W Dunphy 0-2, S Maher 0-2 (1f), N Foyle 0-1, R Mullaney 0-1, E Lyons 0-1. Referee: P Burke (Kilkenny)
9 June 2018 Round 5 Carlow 3-21 - 1-21 Westmeath Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow
D Murphy 0-10 (5f, 1 “65”), J Doyle 3-1 (1 “pen”), C Nolan 0-3, J Kavanagh and P Coady 0-2 each, E Byrne, JM Nolan and B Tracey (1f) 0-1 each. Report N O’Brien 0-6 (4f), A Clarke 0-4, S Clavin 0-3, N Mitchell 1-0, J Boyle, E Price and D Clinton 0-2 each, P Greville and J Gilligan 0-1 each. Referee: C Cunning (Antrim)
9 June 2018 Round 5 Antrim 1-20 - 2-21 Kerry Páirc Mhuire, Cushendall
N McManus 0-17 (10 fs, 1 65), C Clarke 1-0, C McCann 0-1, D McKinley 0-1, C Johnston 0-1. S Conway 0-12 (11 fs, 1 65), M Boyle 1-2, J Goulding 1-1, P Boyle 0-2, D Griffin 0-1, B O'Leary 0-1, B Barrett 0-1, T O'Connor 0-1. Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)

Final
Final
Westmeath 1-24 - 2-26 Carlow
A Devine 0-8f, E Price 0-6, A Clarke 0-3, N O’Brien 1-1, R Greville 0-2, D McNicholas 0-2 (1f), D Clinton 0-1, N Mitchell 0-1. Report D Murphy 0-10 (9f, 1’ 45), C Nolan 1-4, P Coady 0-4, J Doyle 1-1, JM Nolan 0-3, E Byrne 0-2, K McDonald 0-1, D Byrne 0-1.
Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Relegation/Promotion play-off

The bottom team after the round robin games, Meath, were relegated to the 2019 Christy Ring Cup.

The second-last team in the Joe McDonagh Cup (tier 2), Antrim, defeated Kildare, the winners of the 2018 Christy Ring Cup final (tier 3) and thereby retained their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Relegation/Promotion
Antrim 3-23 - 1-17 Kildare
N McManus 2-10 (6f, one ’65′); K Molloy 0-6; C McCann 1-1; N Elliott 0-2; R McCambridge, E O’Neill, E McCloskey and J Dillon 0-1 each. Report P Divilly 1-6 (2f); J Burke 0-6 (5f); B Deay 0-2; C Bonus, K Whelan and É O'Neill 0-1 each.
Referee: D Hughes (Carlow)

Statistics

Top scorers
Overall
Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average
1 Neil McManus Antrim 3-67 76 6 12.66
2 Denis Murphy Carlow 0-50 50 6 8.33
3 Shane Conway Kerry 0-36 36 5 7.20
4 Ross King Laois 0-35 35 4 8.75
5 Niall O'Brien Westmeath 3-23 32 6 5.33
6 Allan Devine Westmeath 2-24 30 5 6.00
7 Patrick Conneely Meath 1-22 25 5 5.00
8 Chris Nolan Carlow 1-21 24 6 4.00
9 James Doyle Carlow 4-11 23 6 3.83
10 Jack Regan Meath 1-18 21 5 4.20
In a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition
1 Neil McManus Antrim 0-17 17 Kerry
2 Neil McManus Antrim 0-13 13 Westmeath
3 Shane Conway Kerry 0-12 12 Antrim
Jack Regan Meath 0-12 12 Antrim
4 Nigel Elliott Antrim 3-02 11 Meath
Neil McManus Antrim 1-08 11 Carlow
Denis Murphy Carlow 0-11 11 Antrim
Neil McManus Antrim 0-11 11 Laois
Ross King Laois 0-11 11 Antrim
5 Conor Johnston Antrim 2-04 10 Meath
Patrick Conneely Meath 1-07 10 Carlow
Ross King Laois 0-10 10 Westmeath
Denis Murphy Carlow 0-10 10 Westmeath
Denis Murphy Carlow 0-10 10 Westmeath

Miscellaneous
  • Westmeath's round 1 victory over Laois was their first win against the O'Moore county in championship hurling since 1968.

References
  1. Moran, Seán (30 September 2017). "GAA Congress approve round-robin provincial hurling championships". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  2. "Hurling changes will benefit Tier 2 counties, says Westmeath boss". RTÉ News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.
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