The Christy Ring Cup (Irish: Corn Chriostóir Uí Rinn)[1] is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the third-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by the six county teams ranked 18–23 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. 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. The competition is named in honour of Christy Ring, a legendary player from Cork.
The Christy Ring Cup, which was introduced in 2005, replaced the All-Ireland B Hurling Championship (1974-2004). Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. 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 entry to that year's All-Ireland finals series (the top two teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup usually gain entry to preliminary quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship).
At present (2021), Wicklow holds the longest tenure in the Christy Ring Cup. They have appeared in every season of the cup. Down and Kildare had appeared in every season until 2021, when they participated in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
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 Kildare, who have won the cup on 5 occasions. Kildare are the title-holders, defeating Derry by 4-21 to 1-22 in the 2024 final.
In 2003 the Hurling Development Committee (HDC) was charged with restructuring the entire hurling championship. The committee was composed of chairman Pat Dunny (Kildare), Liam Griffin (Wexford), P. J. O'Grady (Limerick), Ger Loughnane (Clare), Cyril Farrell (Galway), Jimmy O'Reilly (Down), Willie Ring (Cork), Pat Daly (GAA Games Development Officer) and Nicky English (Tipperary). 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.[2]
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 significantly affected the GAA season, with the Christy Ring Cup reverting for one season only to the partial double elimination format that existed until 2017.
In 2017, the majority delegates voted to restructure the championship once again. The new format led to the introduction of the round robin within the championship and the creation of the Joe McDonagh Cup, making the Christy Ring Cup the third tier in the championship.
Group stage: There are six teams in the Cup. During the course of a season (from May to June) each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system) for a total of five games. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. The top two teams in the group contest the Christy Ring Cup final. The third, fourth and fifth-placed teams are eliminated from the championship and the 6th-placed team is relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup.
In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified):[3]
Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.
The Christy Ring Cup is the highest tier in hurling competitions that does not provide a direct entry route to that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. To do so, the counties have to get promoted to at least the McDonagh Cup (tier 2).
At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup for the following season.
The bottom team in the Christy Ring group stage is relegated to the fourth-tier Nicky Rackard Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Nicky Rackard Cup for that year.
Six counties will compete in the 2025 Christy Ring Cup, with Meath relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup and Donegal promoted from the Nicky Rackard Cup:
Fixtures in the five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least two home games. During the inaugural staging of the competition some teams had three home games.
The Christy Ring Cup final is played at Croke Park.
At the end of the cup final, the winning team are presented with a trophy. The Christy Ring Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. The presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Ard Chomairle section of the Hogan Stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match.
The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.
The cup is named after Christy Ring. He was an eight time All-Ireland medal winner with Cork whose inter county career spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. Ring, who died in 1979, is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game, with many former players, commentators and fans rating him as the number one player of all time.
The winning team is presented with a set of gold medals.
Legend
For each year, the number of counties (in brackets) are shown.
The number of years that each county has played in the Christy Ring Cup between 2005 and 2025. A total of 17 counties have competed in at least one season of the Christy Ring Cup. Wicklow have participated in the most seasons. The counties in bold participate in the 2025 Christy Ring Cup.
Legend
As of 1 July 2023 (After 2023 Christy Ring Cup).