Inauguration of the competition edit

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 twenty teams would contest the second and third tiers which were to be known respectively as the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard 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 2005 GAA Congress. The Christy Ring Cup and the Nicky Rackard Cup competitions were launched at Croke Park on 8 December 2004.

Development edit

The competition has reduced and increased its participants between 5 and 12 teams throughout its history.

Team changes edit

19 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the Rackard Cup. Monaghan have participated in the most editions of the Cup.

Format history edit

2005-2006 edit

The twelve participating teams were divided into three groups of four and played in a round-robin format. Each team was guaranteed at least three games each. The three group winners qualified for the knock-out semi-finals of the competition. The runners-up in groups 3B and 3C contested a play-off with the winner playing the runner up in group 3A in a lone quarter-final. The winner of that match joined the three group winners in the semi-finals.

2007-2008 edit

The twelve 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.

2009-2017 edit

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.
  • The winners in Round 1 advance to Round 2A.
  • The losers in Round 1 go into Round 2B.
• There are two Round 2A matches.
  • The winners in Round 2A advance to the semi-finals.
  • The losers in Round 2A go into the quarter-finals.
• There are two Round 2B matches.
  • The winners in Round 2B advance to the quarter-finals.
  • The losers in Round 2B go into the relegation playoff.
    • The losers of the relegation playoff are relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup for the following year.
• There are two quarter-final matches between the Round 2A losers and Round 2B winners.
  • The winners of the quarter-finals advance to the semi-finals.
  • The losers of the quarter-finals are eliminated.
• There are two semi-final matches between the Round 2A winners and the quarter-final winners.
  • The winners of the semi-finals advance to the final.
  • The losers of the semi-finals are eliminated.
• The winners of the final win the Nicky Rackard Cup and are promoted to the Christy Ring Cup for the following year.

2018-2019 edit

Beginning in 2018, the Nicky Rackard Cup changed format, with initial ties played in group stages, which in 2018 consisted of one of four teams and one of three. Previously it was a double elimination tournament. The top two teams from both groups advance to the cup semi-finals. The bottom team from each group will progress to a relegation final.

The winner of the Nicky Rackard Cup will be promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, For 2018 only, 2 teams will be relegated from the 2018 Christy Ring Cup to the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup to bring the number of teams in the 2019 edition to an even 8, allowing for two groups of 4.

The loser of the relegation final will be relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup, to be replaced by the winner of the previous years competition.^[3]

Nicky Rackard Cup moments edit

• Wicklow 1-20 - 3-12 Donegal (3 June 2023): Wicklow become the first new Nicky Rackard Cup winner since Mayo in 2016 by defeating Donegal. It was also Wicklows debut season in the cup.

Group stage edit

Group stage: There are six teams in the Cup. During the course of a season (from April 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 Nicky Rackard Cup final. The third, fourth and fifth-placed team are eliminated from the championship and the 6th-placed team is relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup.

Tie-breakers edit

In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified):^[4]

• Where two teams only are involved – the outcome of the meeting of the two teams
• Score difference – subtracting the total "Scores Against" from the total "Scores For"
• Highest Total "Score For"
• Highest Total "Goals For"
• A Play-Off

Knockout stage edit

Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.

The Nicky Rackard McDonagh Cup is unique among the four lower-tier hurling competitions in that it also currently provides a direct entry route for the top two teams to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; the two top-placed teams, in addition to contesting the Joe McDonagh Cup final, are rewarded with immediate entry into the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. There are reports^[5] that this same-year link between the competitions may be severed in the future.

Promotion edit

At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup for the following season with their place in the following year's Nicky Rackard Cup taken by the bottom-placed team in that year's Christy Ring Cup.

Relegation edit

The bottom team in the Nicky Rackard group stage is relegated to the fifth-tier Lory Meagher Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Lory Meagher Cup for that year.

2024 Cup edit

Six counties will compete in the 2024 Nicky Rackard Cup, with Mayo relegated from the Christy Ring Cup and Monaghan promoted from the Lory Meagher Cup:

Group stage edit

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. Some teams get three home games.

Final edit

The Nicky Rackard Cup final is played at Croke Park.

2024 Venues edit

This is a list of all the current county grounds and their location.

Performances by county edit

^[10]

Performances by province edit

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• SF/QF – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals
• 3rd/4th/5th/GS – Group Stage
• 6th – Relegated
• AI – All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
• JM – Joe McDonagh Cup
• CR – Christy Ring Cup
• LM – Lory Meagher Cup

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

Debut of teams edit

Seasons in Nicky Rackard Cup edit

The number of years that each county has played in the Nicky Rackard Cup between 2005 and 2024. A total of 19 counties have competed in at least one season of the Nicky Rackard Cup. Monaghan have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2024 Nicky Rackard Cup.

List of Nicky Rackard Cup counties edit

By decade edit

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

• 2000s: 1 each for   London (2005),   Derry (2006),   Roscommon (2007),   Sligo (2008) and   Meath (2009)
• 2010s: 2 each for   Armagh (2010, 2012) and   Donegal (2013, 2018)
• 2020s: 1 each for   Donegal (2020),   Mayo (2021),   Tyrone (2022) and   Wicklow (2023)

Player of the year edit

Top scorers per championship edit

Top scorer(s) in the final edit

• Nicky Rackard Cup records and statistics
• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship (Tier 1)
• Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2)
• Christy Ring Cup (Tier 3)
• Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 5)