The 2026 Christy Ring Cup will be the twenty-second edition of the Christy Ring Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005 and is the third-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It will be contested by six GAA county teams ranked 18–23 in the 2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The competition runs from 12 April to 30/31 May 2026.
London, winner of the 2025 final, were promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup, replaced by Kerry who were relegated to this competition. Roscommon were promoted from the Nicky Rackard Cup, replacing Tyrone.
The top 2 teams from the round robin stage will play off in the final to decide the winner.
The bottom team will be relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup.
Team changes
To Championship Relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup
Kerry
Promoted from the Nicky Rackard Cup
Roscommon
From Championship Promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup
London
Relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup
Tyrone
Format
Cup format Initially each of the six teams will play the other five teams in single round-robin matches. The top two teams after the round robin games will compete in the Christy Ring Cup Final.
Promotion The winner of the Christy Ring Cup will be automatically promoted to the following year's Joe McDonagh Cup and replaced by the bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Relegation The bottom-placed team in the Christy Ring Cup will be automatically relegated to the following year's Nicky Rackard Cup and replaced by the Nicky Rackard Cup champions. However, if New York are the Nicky Rackard Cup champions, no team will be relegated from the Christy Ring Cup.
Teams by province The participating teams, listed by province, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the 2026 National Hurling League before the championship were:
Connacht (1)
Roscommon (24)
Leinster (2)
Meath (18) Wicklow (22)
Munster (1)
Kerry (16)
Ulster (2)
Derry (20) Donegal (23)
Teams
General information County teamLast Cup titleLast Provincial titleLast All-Ireland titlePosition in 2024 ChampionshipAppearance Derry—2001—2nd20th Donegal—1932—4th3rd Kerry2015189118916th (Joe McDonagh Cup)12th Meath2023——5th16th Roscommon—1913—Champions (Nicky Rackard Cup)10th Wicklow———3rd21st
Personnel and kits CountyManagerCaptain(s)Sponsor DerryJohnny McGarveyCormac O'DohertyErrigal Group DonegalMickey McCannConor GartlandCircet KerryJohn GriffinJames O'ConnorKerry Group MeathJohnny GrevilleBrian StaggBective Stud RoscommonBrian HanleyConor MulryBallymore WicklowJonathan O'NeillPádraig DoranEchelon
Group Stage
Table TeamQualification1 Kerry540120-1015-84 +628Advanced to Final2 Derry53119-897-72 +2373 Meath53117-9710-79 +974 Wicklow52037-6613-91 -4345 Donegal51135-8811-79 -936 Roscommon50146-658-101 -421Not relegated to Nicky Rackard Cup
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Knockout Stage
Final
Stadia and Locations
CountyLocationProvinceStadiumCapacityNeutralDublinLeinsterCroke Park82,300 DerryDerryUlsterCeltic Park22,000 DonegalLetterkennyUlsterO'Donnell Park8,200 KerryTraleeMunsterAustin Stack Park12,000 MeathTrimLeinsterSt. Loman's Park RoscommonRoscommonConnachtDr Hyde Park25,000 WicklowAughrimLeinsterEchelon Park Aughrim7,000
Miscellaneous
Derry qualified for their fourth successive Christy Ring Cup final
Statistics
Top scorers Overall
RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalMatchesAverage12345678910 In a single game RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalOpposition12345678910
Scoring events Widest winning margin: 32 points Kerry 8–25 — 0–17 Wicklow (Round 4) Most goals in a match: 8 Kerry 8–25 — 0–17 Wicklow (Round 4) Most points in a match: 43 Wicklow 1–19 — 2–24 Meath (Round 3) Kerry 3–19 — 3–24 Derry (Final) Most goals by one team in a match: 8 Kerry 8–25 — 0–17 Wicklow (Round 4) Most points by one team in a match: 28 Roscommon 2–12 — 0–28 Meath (Round 2) Highest aggregate score: 66 points Kerry 8–25 — 0–17 Wicklow (Round 4) Lowest aggregate score: 29 points Donegal 1–17 — 1–06 Wicklow (Round 1) Hat-trick Heros: Pádraig Boyle (Kerry) 3–02 v Donegal (Round 2) Pádraig Boyle (Kerry) 3–09 v Roscommon (Round 3) Michael Slattery (Kerry) 3–02 v Wicklow (Round 4) Kevin Goulding (Kerry) 3–00 v Wicklow (Round 4)
See also 2026 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Munster Senior Hurling Championship 2026 Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2) 2026 Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 4) 2026 Lory Meagher Cup (Tier 5)
Notes
References