Lory Meagher Cup

The Lory Meagher Cup (Irish: Corn Labhraí Uí Mheachair;[1] often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is the fifth-highest inter-county senior championship in hurling. Each year, the champion team in the Lory Meagher Cup is promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup.

Lory Meagher Cup
Founded2009–present
Country Ireland
Other club(s) from England
Number of teams6
Level on pyramid5
Promotion toNicky Rackard Cup
Current champions Monaghan (1st title)
(2023)
Most championships Louth (3 titles)
WebsiteOfficial GAA site
Current: 2023 Lory Meagher Cup

The Lory Meagher Cup, which was introduced for the 2009 season, provides a meaningful championship for fifth tier teams deemed "too weak" for the fourth tier Nicky Rackard Cup.

The winners of the championship receive the Lory Meagher Cup, named after former Kilkenny hurler Lory Meagher who many regard as one of the greatest hurlers of all time.

The title has been won by 9 different counties, 5 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Louth, who have won the cup on 3 occasions. Monaghan are the title holders, defeating Lancashire by 3-22 to 3-20 in the 2023 final.

History

Following the success of the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup for the lower tier hurling teams, it was decided in 2008 to investigate the possibility of introducing a fourth tier. The Hurling Development Committee (HDC) proposed the new four-tier structure in place of the existing three-tier model. It, and the second and third-tier competitions, were to consist of eight teams.[2] The proposals were accepted at a special GAA Congress in October 2008.[3] Another second tier competition, the Joe McDonagh Cup, was added in 2018, moving the Lory Meagher Cup down into tier 5.[4]

Format

Group Stage

The 6 teams will play each other once in the group stage. The top 2 teams in the group will advance to the final.

Final and Promotion

The winner of the final will be promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup.

Teams

2024 Cup

Six counties will compete in the 2024 Lory Meagher Cup, with Fermanagh relegated from the Nicky Rackard Cup:

County Location Stadium Province Position in 2023 Championship First year in Championship In Championship since Championship Titles Last Championship Title
Cavan Cavan Breffni Park Ulster 3rd 2009 2017 0 —
Fermanagh Enniskillen Brewster Park Ulster 6th (Nicky Rackard Cup) 2009 2024 2 2021
Lancashire East Didsbury Old Bedians Britain Runners-up 2015 2022 0 —
Leitrim Carrick-on-Shannon Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada Connacht 5th 2009 2022 1 2019
Longford Longford Pearse Park Leinster 4th 2009 2021 2 2014
Warwickshire Solihull Páirc na hÉireann Britain 6th 2009 2023 2 2017

List of Finals
Year Date Winners Runners-up Venue Winning captain Winning margin Referee
County Score County Score
2023 3 June Monaghan 3-22 (31) Lancashire 3-20 (29) Croke Park, Dublin 2 Tarlach Conway (Derry)
2022 21 May Louth 3-27 (36) Longford 3-14 (23) Croke Park, Dublin 13 Caymon Flynn (Westmeath)
2021 31 July Fermanagh 3-26 (35) Cavan 1-17 (20) Croke Park, Dublin 15 Michael Kennedy
2020 28 Nov Louth 2-19 (25) Fermanagh 2-08 (14) Croke Park, Dublin 11
2019 22 June Leitrim[5] 2-23 (29) AET Lancashire 2-22 (28) AET Croke Park, Dublin 1
2018 23 June Sligo 4-15 (27) Lancashire 2-20 (26) Croke Park, Dublin 1
2017 10 June Warwickshire[6] 0-17 (17) Leitrim 0-11 (11) Croke Park, Dublin 6
2016 4 June Louth[7] 4-15 (27) Sligo 4-11 (23) Croke Park, Dublin 4
2015 6 June Fermanagh[8] 3-16 (25) Sligo 1-17 (20) Croke Park, Dublin 5
2014 7 June Longford[9] 3-18 (27) Fermanagh 3-16 (25) Croke Park, Dublin 2
2013 8 June Warwickshire[10] 2-16 (22) Longford 0-10 (10) Croke Park, Dublin 12
2012 9 June Tyrone[11] 2-24 (30) Fermanagh 3-20 (29) Croke Park, Dublin 1
2011 4 June Donegal 2-12 (18) Tyrone 0-17 (17) Croke Park, Dublin 1
2010 3 July Longford 1-20 (23) Donegal 1-12 (15) Croke Park, Dublin 8
2009 11 July Tyrone 5-11 (26) Donegal 3-16 (25) Croke Park, Dublin 1

Roll of Honour

Performances by county
County Titles(s) Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
Louth 3 0 2016, 2020, 2022 —
Fermanagh 2 3 2015, 2021 2012, 2014, 2020,
Longford 2 2 2010, 2014 2013, 2022
Tyrone 2 1 2009, 2012 2011
Warwickshire 2 0 2013, 2017 —
Donegal 1 2 2011 2009, 2010
Sligo 1 2 2018 2015, 2016
Leitrim 1 1 2019 2017
Monaghan 1 0 2023 —
Lancashire 0 3 — 2018, 2019, 2023
Cavan 0 1 — 2021

Performances by province
Province Title(s) Runners-up Total
Ulster 7 7 14
Leinster 5 2 7
Connacht 2 3 5
Britain 2 3 5

Team records and statistics

Legend

  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • SF/QF/R2 – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Round 2
  • 3rd/4th/5th/6th – Group Stage
  • CR – Christy Ring Cup
  • NR – Nicky Rackard Cup
  • — – Inactive

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

Team 2009 (8) 2010 (7) 2011 (7) 2012 (5) 2013 (4) 2014 (4) 2015 (5) 2016 (5) 2017 (6) 2018 (4) 2019 (4) 2020 (3) 2021 (5) 2022 (6) 2023 (6) 2024 (6) Years
Cavan R2 QF — — — — — — 5th 3rd 4th 3rd 2nd 6th 10
Donegal 2nd 2nd 1st NR NR NR NR NR NR NR CR NR NR NR NR TBD 3
Fermanagh QF SF QF 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st NR 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 1st NR NR 13
Lancashire — — — — — — 5th 5th 4th 2nd 2nd — — 5th TBD 7
Leitrim QF SF R2 SF 4th 4th 3rd 4th 2nd NR 1st NR NR 3rd 13
Longford SF 1st QF R3 2nd 1st NR NR NR NR NR NR SF 2nd 10
Louth NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 1st NR NR NR 1st SF 1st NR NR 4
Monaghan NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR QF 4th TBD 3
Sligo NR NR NR NR NR NR 2nd 2nd 3rd 1st NR CR CR CR CR CR 4
South Down SF R2 SF — — — — — — — — — — — — — 3
Tyrone 1st NR 2nd 1st NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR CR CR 3
Warwickshire R2 QF SF SF 1st 3rd 4th 3rd 1st NR NR — — NR 11

Debut of teams
Year Debutants Total
2009 Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Longford, South Down, Tyrone, Warwickshire 8
2010-14 None 0
2015 Lancashire, Sligo 2
2016 Louth 1
2017-20 None 0
2021 Monaghan 1
2022- None 0
Total 12

Seasons in Lory Meagher Cup

The number of years that each county has played in the Lory Meagher Cup between 2009 and 2024. A total of 12 counties have competed in at least one season of the Lory Meagher Cup. Fermanagh and Leitrim have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2024 Lory Meagher Cup.

Years Counties
13 Fermanagh, Leitrim
11 Warwickshire
10 Cavan, Longford
8 Lancashire
4 Louth, Sligo
3 Donegal, Monaghan, South Down, Tyrone

List of Lory Meagher Cup counties

The following teams have competed in the Lory Meagher Cup for at least one season.

County Total years First year in Championship Most recent year in Championship Championship titles Last Championship title Most recent championship finish Best Lory Meagher Cup finish Current Championship Lvl
Cavan 10 2009 2024 0 — 3rd 2nd Lory Meagher Cup 5
Donegal 3 2009 2011 1 2011 Runners-up (Nicky Rackard Cup) 1st Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Fermanagh 13 2009 2024 2 2021 6th (Nicky Rackard Cup) 1st Lory Meagher Cup 5
Lancashire 8 2015 2024 0 — Runners-up 2nd Lory Meagher Cup 5
Leitrim 13 2009 2024 1 2019 5th 1st Lory Meagher Cup 5
Longford 10 2009 2024 2 2014 4th 1st Lory Meagher Cup 5
Louth 4 2016 2022 3 2022 5th (Nicky Rackard Cup) 1st Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Monaghan 3 2021 2023 0 2023 Champions 1st Nicky Rackard Cup 4
Sligo 4 2015 2018 1 2018 3rd (Christy Ring Cup) 1st Christy Ring Cup 3
South Down 3 2009 2011 0 — — Semi-finals — —
Tyrone 3 2009 2012 1 2012 5th (Christy Ring Cup) 1st Christy Ring Cup 3
Warwickshire 11 2009 2024 2 2017 6th 1st Lory Meagher Cup 5

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Lory Meagher Cup titles, is as follows:

  • 2000s: 1 for Tyrone (2009)
  • 2010s: 2 each for Longford (2010, 2014), and Warwickshire (2013, 2017)
  • 2020s: 2 for Louth (2020, 2022)

Finishing positions

Unbeaten sides
  • 6 teams have won the Lory Meagher Cup unbeaten:

Beaten sides

The group stage of the cup has resulted in 9 'back-door' Lory Meagher Cup champions:

On 0000 occasions a team was defeated twice but have remained in the championship:

  • Louth (2022) were beaten by Monaghan and Longford but still qualified for the final.
  • 000 (000) were beaten by 000 and 000 but still qualified for the final.

Final success rate

Only two counties have appeared in the final more than once, being victorious on all occasions:

On the opposite end of the scale, only one county has appeared in the final more than once, losing on each occasion:

Consecutive participations

Leitrim and Warwickshire have the record number of consecutive participations in the Lory Meagher Cup, taking part in 9 seasons.

Winning other trophies

Although not an officially recognised achievement, no team have ever achieved the distinction of winning the Lory Meagher Cup and their respective Division in the National Hurling League.

Biggest wins

Scoring Events (2009–2011)
  • Most goals in a match:
    • 8 – 2009: Tyrone 3-09 - 5-06 South Down
    • 8 – 2009: Donegal 3-16 - 5-11 Tyrone
  • Most points in a match:
    • 37 – 2009: Longford 5-15 - 2-22 Donegal
  • Most goals by one team in a match:
    • 5 – 2009: Tyrone 3-09 - 5-06 South Down
    • 5 – 2009: Longford 5-15 - 2-22 Donegal
    • 5 – 2009: Donegal 3-16 - 5-11 Tyrone
    • 5 – 2010: Longford 5-13 - 1-13 South Down
  • Most points by one team in a match:
  • Highest aggregate score:
    • 58 – 2009: Longford 5-15 - 2-22 Donegal
  • Lowest aggregate score:
    • 29 – 2009: Fermanagh 0-14 - 1-12 Leitrim
    • 29 – 2010: Fermanagh 0-19 - 1-07 Cavan

Successful defending

Only three teams were able to defend their title the following year. None of these teams were able to do so. These are:

Usually defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the Nicky Rackard Cup. These are:

  • 00 on 00 attempts out of 00 (0000)

Gaps

Active gaps
  • Longest active gaps between since last title:
  • Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance:
  • Longest active gap since last cup appearance

Provinces

Longest undefeated run

The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 000 games held by 00 (0000–0000).

Miscellaneous
  • Best finish by a debuting team
  • Best finish by a debuting team (after 2009)
  • Highest winning record
    • 0%, 00 (00 wins in 00 matches)
  • Lowest winning record
    • 0%, 00 (00 wins in 00 matches)
  • Most played match
    • 0, 00 vs 00 (0000)

Player records

In a season
Year Player County Score Total
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023

In final
Year Player County Score Total
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021 Tom Keenan Fermanagh 3-02 11
2022 D. Geoghegan Louth 0-09 9
2023 Niall Arthur Monaghan 0-10 10

See also

References
  1. "CLG ULADH – AN CHOMHDHÁIL BHLIANTÚÍL 2015" (PDF). 22 January 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  2. "New hurling format proposed". Irish Times. 2 September 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  3. "Galway and Antrim voted into Leinster". Irish Times. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  4. Moran, Seán (5 May 2018). "New hurling championship structure may pose awkward questions". The Irish Times.
  5. Walsh, Daire (22 June 2019). "Extra-time glory for Leitrim in Lory Meagher decider" – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. "Watson the star as Warwickshire win Lory Meagher". 10 June 2017 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. Mooney, Francis (4 June 2016). "Late goal blitz secures Lory Meagher Cup for Louth" – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  8. "Fermanagh hold fast despite flurry of red cards". Irish Times. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  9. "Longford bounce back to regain title". Irish Examiner. 9 June 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  10. "Warwickshire land Lory Meagher spoils". RTÉ Sport. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  11. "Lory Meagher final: Tyrone win thriller in extra time". Hogan Stand. 9 June 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2012.
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