# 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup

The 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup was the sixth staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2018.
Antrim, winner of the 2022 final, were promoted to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replaced by Laois who were relegated back to this competition. Kildare were promoted from the Christy Ring Cup.
The top 2 teams from the round robin stage played off in the final to decide the winner, with Carlow defeating Offaly. Both advanced to the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship knock-out stages. The bottom team was relegated to Christy Ring Cup.

## Team changes
### To Championship

Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
* Laois
Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
* Kildare

### From Championship

Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
* Antrim
Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
* Meath

## Format
### Cup format

Initially each of the six teams play the other five teams in single round-robin matches. The top two teams after the round robin games compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up also advance to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.

#### Promotion

If the Joe McDonagh champions are a non-Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Championship. If the champions are a Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Munster Championship. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions replace the bottom-placed team in the provincial championship containing six teams.

#### Relegation

The bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup are automatically relegated to the following year's Christy Ring Cup and are replaced by the Christy Ring Cup champions.

### Teams by province

The participating teams, listed by province, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the 2023 National Hurling League before the championship were:
Connacht (0)
* None participated
Leinster (4)
* Carlow (16)
* Kildare (14)
* Laois (13)
* Offaly (12)
Munster (1)
* Kerry (15)
Ulster (1)
* Down (17)

## Teams
### General Information

Six counties will compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup:
| County | Last Cup Title | Last Provincial Title | Last All-Ireland Title | Position in 2022 Championship | Appearance |
| Carlow | 2018 | — | — | 3rd | 5th |
| Down | — | 1997 | — | 5th | 3rd |
| Kerry | — | 1891 | 1891 | Runners-up | 6th |
| Kildare | — | — | — | Champions (Christy Ring Cup) | 2nd |
| Laois | 2019 | 1949 | 1915 | 6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) | 3rd |
| Offaly | — | 1995 | 1998 | 4th | 3rd |

### Personnel and kits

| County | Manager | Captain(s) | Sponsor |
| Carlow | Tom Mullally | Paul Doyle | SETU |
| Down | Ronan Sheehan | TBD | EOS IT Solutions |
| Kerry | Stephen Molumphy | Gavin Dooley | Kerry Group |
| Kildare | David Herity | James Burke | Brady Family Ham |
| Laois | Willie Maher | Enda Rowland | Laois Hire |
| Offaly | Johnny Kelly | Jason Sampson | Glenisk |

## Group Stage
### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Carlow | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 13-118 | 1-104 | +50 | 8 | Advance to Final and All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals |
| 2 | Offaly | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7-105 | 6-93 | +15 | 8 | Advance to Final and All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals |
| 3 | Laois | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14-114 | 4-87 | +57 | 7 | |
| 4 | Kerry | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2-101 | 6-96 | -7 | 5 | |
| 5 | Down | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3-88 | 18-112 | -59 | 2 | |
| 6 | Kildare | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 6-68 | 10-112 | -56 | 0 | Relegated to Christy Ring Cup |

### Round 5
## Final

Carlow are promoted to the 2024 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replacing Westmeath.

## Stadia and locations

| County | Location | Province | Stadium(s) | Capacity |
| Carlow | Carlow | Leinster | Netwatch Cullen Park | 21,000 |
| Down | Rubane | Ulster | McKenna Park | 5,000 |
| Kerry | Tralee | Munster | Austin Stack Park | 12,000 |
| Kildare | Newbridge | Leinster | Hawkfield Centre of Excellence | 1,300 |
| Laois | Portlaoise | Leinster | O'Moore Park | 22,000 |
| Offaly | Tullamore | Leinster | O'Connor Park | 18,000 |

## Statistics
### Top scorers
#### Overall

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Marty Kavanagh | Carlow | 3-71 | 80 | 6 | 13.33 |
| 2 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 4-53 | 65 | 5 | 13.00 |
| 3 | Stephen Maher | Laois | 2-50 | 56 | 5 | 11.20 |
| 4 | Pearse Óg McCrickard | Down | 0-44 | 44 | 5 | 8.80 |
| 5 | Shane Conway | Kerry | 0-38 | 38 | 5 | 7.60 |
| 6 | Chris Nolan | Carlow | 2-19 | 25 | 6 | 4.16 |
| 7 | Cillian Kiely | Offaly | 1-18 | 21 | 5 | 4.20 |
| 7 | David Qualter | Kildare | 0-21 | 21 | 5 | 4.20 |
| 9 | Stephen Bergin | Laois | 5-04 | 19 | 5 | 3.80 |
| 10 | Paddy Boland | Carlow | 4-06 | 18 | 5 | 3.60 |

#### In a single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 2-11 | 17 | Laois |
| 2 | Marty Kavanagh | Carlow | 1-13 | 16 | Laois |
| 3 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 1-12 | 15 | Down |
| 3 | Stephen Maher | Laois | 0-12 | 12 | Kerry |
| 3 | Pearse Óg McCrickard | Down | 0-15 | 15 | Kildare |
| 6 | Marty Kavanagh | Carlow | 1-11 | 14 | Down |
| 6 | Marty Kavanagh | Carlow | 0-14 | 14 | Offaly |
| 8 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 1-10 | 13 | Kildare |
| 8 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 0-13 | 13 | Kerry |
| 8 | Marty Kavanagh | Carlow | 0-13 | 13 | Kerry |

### Scoring events

Doesn't include extra time.
* Widest winning margin: 31 points
** Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down (Round 2)
* Most goals in a match: 7
** Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down (Round 2)
* Most points in a match: 51
** Down 0-28 - 6-23 Carlow (Round 4)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 7
** Laois 7-24 - 0-14 Down (Round 2)
* Most points by one team in a match: 29
** Carlow 1-29 - 0-14 Offaly (Round 5)
* Highest aggregate score: 69 points
** Down 0-28 - 6-23 Carlow (Round 4)
* Lowest aggregate score: 34 points
** Kildare 0-14 - 1-17 Kerry (Round 3)

## Miscellaneous

* Carlow won their 1st championship in 5 years, last winning the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup.
* First-time Joe McDonagh Cup meetings:
** Kildare v Offaly (Round 2)
** Laois v Down (Round 2)
** Kildare v Kerry (Round 3)
** Laois v Kildare (Round 4)
** Kildare v Down (Round 5)
* Laois broke the record for most goals scored in a Joe McDonagh Cup match after scoring 7 against Down in Round 2.
* Offaly qualify to the Joe McDonagh Cup final for the first time.