The 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup is the fifth staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2018. The fixtures were published in December 2021.
Westmeath, winner of the 2021 final, were promoted to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replaced by Antrim who were relegated back to this competition. Offaly were promoted from the Christy Ring Cup.
The top 2 teams from the round robin stage will play off in the final to decide the winner. Both will advance to the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship knock-out stages. The bottom team will be relegated to Christy Ring Cup.
Team changes
To Championship Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Antrim
Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
Offaly
From Championship Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Westmeath
Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
Kildare
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 2022 National Hurling League before the championship were:
Leinster (3)
Carlow (16) Meath (19) Offaly (13)
Munster (1)
Kerry (15)
Ulster (2)
Antrim (11) Down (14)
Teams
General Information Six counties will compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup: CountyLast Cup titleLast Provincial TitleLast All-Ireland TitlePosition in 2021 ChampionshipAppearance Antrim20202017 —6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship)4th Carlow2018 — —Group Stage4th Down —1997 —Group Stage2nd Kerry —18911891Runners-up5th Meath — — —Group Stage4th Offaly —19951998Champions (Christy Ring Cup)2nd
Personnel and kits
Team Manager Captain(s) Sponsor AntrimDarren Gleeson—fona CAB CarlowTom Mullally—IT Carlow DownRonan Sheehan—EOS IT SolutionsKerryFintan O’Connor—Kerry GroupMeathNick Weir—Glenveagh Properties OffalyMichael Fennelly—Glenisk
Group stage TeamQualification1 Antrim540120-1169-104 +458Advance to Final and All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals2 Kerry530211-1217-91 +4263 Carlow53027-1146-96 +2164 Offaly53029-1127-109 +965 Down52039-10011-110 -1646 Meath50055-8121-134 -1010Relegation to Christy Ring Cup
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Final
Antrim qualify for the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and are promoted to the 2023 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replacing Laois.
Stadia and locations
CountyLocationProvinceStadiumCapacity AntrimBelfastUlsterCorrigan Park3,700 CarlowCarlowLeinsterDr Cullen Park21,000 DownNewryUlsterPáirc Esler20,000 KerryTraleeMunsterAustin Stack Park12,000 MeathNavanLeinsterPáirc Tailteann11,000 OffalyTullamoreLeinsterO'Connor Park18,000
Statistics
Top scorers
Top scorer overall
Rank Player Club Tally Total Matches Average1Pádraig BoyleKerry3-6473612.162Eoghan CahillOffaly0-6262512.403Conal CunningAntrim2-5561512.204Martin KavanaghCarlow2-4955511.005Jack ReganMeath3-4251510.206Paul SheehanDown0-353557.007Shane ConwayKerry3-243365.508Chris NolanCarlow2-162254.409Daithí SandsDown4-082054.00Ciarán ClarkeAntrim4-082045.00
In a single game
Rank Player Club Tally Total Opposition1Pádraig BoyleKerry2-1117Antrim2Martin KavanaghCarlow1-1316DownEoghan CahillOffaly0-1616Down4Conal CunningAntrim1-1215KerryPádraig BoyleKerry0-1515AntrimPádraig BoyleKerry0-1515Offaly7Pádraig BoyleKerry1-1114CarlowConal CunningAntrim1-1114CarlowEoghan CahillOffaly0-1414AntrimPaul SheehanDown0-1414KerryJack ReganMeath0-1414Offaly
Scoring events
Widest winning margin: 30 points Kerry 6-25 - 0-13 Meath (round 3) Most goals in a match: 10 Meath 3-13 - 7-29 Antrim (round 4) Most points in a match: 51 Kerry 2-28 - 4-23 Offaly (round 4) Most goals by one team in a match: 7 Meath 3-13 - 7-29 Antrim (round 4) Most points by one team in a match: 30 Meath 0-17 - 4-30 Carlow (round 1) Highest aggregate score: 73 points Antrim 5-22 - 4-24 Kerry (final) Lowest aggregate score: 39 points Offaly 0-17 - 0-22 Carlow (round 5)
Miscellaneous
Antrim won their 1st championship in 2 years since winning the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup. Antrim become the first team to win the Joe McDonagh Cup twice. Kerry become the first team to contest 3 Joe McDonagh Cup finals in a row and also lose 3 finals in a row. Meath become the first team to be relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup twice. Meath holds the record for most goals conceded (21) and most points conceded (197) in a single Joe McDonagh Cup campaign. First-time Joe McDonagh Cup meetings: Offaly v Meath (Round 2) Down v Antrim (Round 2) Down v Offaly (Round 3) Carlow v Down (Round 4) Offaly v Carlow (Round 5)
References