Lory Meagher Cup

The Lory Meagher Cup (; 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.

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. The proposals were accepted at a special GAA Congress in October 2008. Another second tier competition, the Joe McDonagh Cup, was added in 2018, moving the Lory Meagher Cup down into tier 5.

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:

List of Finals

Roll of Honour

Performances by county

Performances by province

Team records and statistics
Legend
  – Champions
  – Runners-up
  – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Round 2
  – Group Stage
 CR – Christy Ring Cup
 NR – Nicky Rackard Cup
 —  – Inactive

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

Debut of teams

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.

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

Other records

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 

 Most championships
 3,  Louth (2016, 2020, 2022)

 Most second-place finishes
 3,  Fermanagh (2012, 2014, 2020)
 3,  Lancashire (2018, 2019, 2023)

 Most third-place finishes
 3,  Cavan (2018, 2020, 2023)
 Most fourth-place finishes
 3,  Leitrim (2013, 2014, 2016)
Most fifth-place finishes
 3,  Lancashire (2015, 2016, 2022)

 Most sixth-place finishes
 1,  Cavan (2022)
 1,  Fermanagh (2017)
 1,  Warwickshire (2023)
 Most semi-final finishes
 2,  Leitrim (2010, 2012)
 2,  Longford (2009, 2021)
 2,  South Down (2009, 2011)
 2,  Warwickshire (2011, 2012)
 Most quarter-final finishes
 2,  Fermanagh (2009, 2011)
 Most round 2 or round 3 finishes
 1,  Cavan (2009)
 1,  Leitrim (2011)
 1,  Longford (2012)
 1,  South Down (2010)
 1,  Warwickshire (2009)

Unbeaten sides 

 6 teams have won the Lory Meagher Cup unbeaten: 
  Donegal had 4 wins in 2011
  Tyrone had 3 wins in 2012
  Warwickshire had 3 wins and 1 draw in 2013
  Longford had 3 wins and 1 draw in 2014
  Louth had 5 wins in 2016
  Warwickshire had 6 wins in 2017

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

  Tyrone (2009) were beaten by  South Down in round 1.
  Longford (2010) were beaten by  Donegal in round 1.
  Fermanagh (2015) were beaten by  Sligo in round 5.
  Sligo (2018) were beaten by  Cavan in round 3.
  Leitrim (2019) were beaten by  Lancashire in round 1.
  Louth (2020) were beaten by  Fermanagh in round 1.
  Fermanagh (2021) were beaten by  Cavan in round 1.
  Louth (2022) were beaten by  Monaghan in round 2 and  Longford in round 3.
  Monaghan (2023) were beaten by  Cavan in round 2.

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:

  Louth
  Warwickshire

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

  Lancashire

Consecutive participations 

 9, Leitrim (2009–2017)
 9, Warwickshire (2009–2017)

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 

 The most one sided finals:
 15 points – 2021: Fermanagh 3-26 - 1-17 Cavan
 13 points – 2022: Louth 3-27 - 3-14 Longford
 12 points – 2013: Warwickshire 2-16 - 0-10 Longford
 11 points – 2020: Louth 2-19 - 2-08 Fermanagh
 8 points – 2010: Longford 1-20 - 1-12 Donegal
 The most one sided other matches:
 29 points – 2011: South Down 4-25 - 0-08 Leitrim

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:
 25 – 2011: South Down 4-25 - 0-08 Leitrim
 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:
  Longford on 0 attempts out of 1 (2011)
  Warwickshire on 0 attempts out of 1 (2014)
  Louth on 0 attempts out of 1 (2021)
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 

 Longest gaps between successive cup titles:
 6 years:  Fermanagh (2015–2021)
 Longest gaps between successive Lory Meagher Cup final appearances:
 8 years:  Longford (2014–2022)
 Longest gap between successive championship appearances
 7 years,  Cavan (2010–2017)
 7 years,  Longford (2014–2021)

Active gaps 

 Longest active gaps between since last title:
 12 years:  Donegal (2011–)
 11 years:  Tyrone (2012–)
 6 years:  Warwickshire (2017–)
 5 years:  Sligo (2018–)
 4 years:  Leitrim (2019–)
 2 years:  Cavan (2021–)
 2 years:  Fermanagh (2021–)
 1 year:  Longford (2022–)
 1 year:  Louth (2022–)
 Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance:
 12 years:  Donegal (2011–)
 11 years:  Tyrone (2012–)
 9 years:  Longford (2014–)
 6 years:  Warwickshire (2017–)
 5 years:  Sligo (2018–)
 4 years:  Leitrim (2019–)
 2 years:  Fermanagh (2021–)
 1 year:  Louth (2022–)
 Longest active gap since last cup appearance
 12 years:  Donegal (2011–)
 11 years:  South Down (2011–)

Provinces 

 Only on 5 occasions has the Lory Meagher Cup final involved two teams from the same province:
 Tyrone vs Donegal (2009)
 Donegal vs Tyrone (2011)
 Tyrone vs Fermanagh (2012)
 Fermanagh vs Cavan (2021)
 Louth vs Longford (2022)
 The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Ulster, with three:
  Donegal
  Fermanagh
  Tyrone
Province success rates
 Ulster 44% (4 out of 9 counties)
 Connacht 40% (2 out of 5 counties)
 Britain 33% (1 out of 3 counties)
 Leinster 17% (2 out of 12 counties)
 Munster 0% (0 out of 6 counties)

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
 Champions,  Tyrone (2009)
 Best finish by a debuting team (after 2009)
 Champions,  Louth (2016)
 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

Top scorers

In a season

In final

See also

Lory Meagher Cup records and statistics
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (Tier 1)
Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2)
Christy Ring Cup (Tier 3)
Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 4)

References

 
All-Ireland inter-county hurling championships
Hurling cup competitions