2026 Joe McDonagh Cup

The 2026 Joe McDonagh Cup was the ninth staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2018.

The top two teams from the round robin stage - Laois and Carlow — played off in a final to decide the winner but unlike previous years, the two finalists did not advance to All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals, which were scrapped this year. The final was won by Laois, who will consequently play in Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 2027. The bottom team, London, are relegated to the Christy Ring Cup.

As part of the same changes which scrapped the preliminary quarter-finals, a semi-final between the second and third-placed teams will be introduced in 2027's edition of the competition.

Team Changes

To Championship Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

Antrim

Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup

London

From Championship Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

Kildare

Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup

Kerry

Format

Cup Format Initially each of the six teams played the other five teams in single round-robin matches. The top two teams after the round robin games competed in the Joe McDonagh Cup final.

Promotion With the relegation of Kerry in 2025 to the 2026 Christy Ring Cup, no Munster team is taking part in 2026 so the champions will be automatically promoted to next year's Leinster Championship.

Relegation The bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup — London — will be automatically relegated to next year's Christy Ring Cup, to be replaced by the Christy Ring Cup winner.

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:

Britain

London (19)

Connacht

None Participated Leinster (4)

Carlow (13) Laois (15) Westmeath (17)

Munster (1)

None Participated

Ulster (1)

Antrim (12) Down (14)

Teams

General Information Six counties will compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup: CountyLast Cup TitleLast Provincial TitleLast All-Ireland TitlePosition in 2025 ChampionshipAppearance Antrim20222017—6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship)5th Carlow2023——3rd7th Down—1997—5th6th Laois201919491915Runners-Up6th London——1901Champions (Christy Ring Cup)1st Westmeath2021——4th7th

Personnel and kits CountyManagerCaptain(s)Sponsor AntrimDavy FitzgeraldConal Cunning and Niall O'ConnorFibrus CarlowPat BennettChirs NolanMW Hire Group DownRonán SheehanEOS IT Solutions LaoisTommy FitzgeraldDavid DooleyLaois Hire LondonEoin O'NeillSeán GlynnClayton Hotels WestmeathKevin O'BrienRonan WallaceTEG

Group Stage

Table TeamQualification1 Carlow540117-967-94 +328Advanced to Final2 Laois540113-1256-104 +4283 Down53026-11710-103 +264 Antrim53026-12210-89 +2165 Westmeath51047-10212-120 -3326 London (R)50056-7110-123 -640Relegated to Christy Ring Cup

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Knockout Stage

Final

Stadia and Locations

CountyLocationProvinceStadium(s)Capacity AntrimBelfastUlsterCorrigan Park3,700 CarlowCarlowLeinsterDr Cullen Park21,000 DownRubaneUlsterMcKenna Park1,320 LaoisPortlaoiseLeinsterO'Moore Park22,000 LondonSouth RuislipBritainMcGovern Park3,000 WestmeathMullingarLeinsterTEG Cusack Park11,500

Statistics

Top scorers

Overall

RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalMatchesAverage1Marty KavanaghCarlow4-4557511.402Aaron DunphyLaois4-405268.663Stephen MaherLaois1-384158.204Pearse Óg McCrickardDown1-363957.80David WilliamsWestmeath0-393957.806Seánn ElliottAntrim0-343448.507James McNaughtonAntrim0-282855.608Cillian DunneLaois4-132564.16Ronan McGradyLondon0-252555.0010James DoyleCarlow4-112363.83

In a single game

RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalOpposition 1Marty KavanaghCarlow2-1117London 2Pearse Óg McCrickardDown0-1515Laois 3Aaron DunphyLaois3-0514Down4Marty KavanaghCarlow1-1013DownAaron DunphyLaois1-1013WestmeathStephen MaherLaois0-130-13AntrimAaron DunphyLaois0-1313LondonJames McNaughtonAntrim0-1313Carlow9Marty KavanaghCarlow1-0811WestmeathSeánn ElliottAntrim0-1111Down

Scoring events

Widest winning margin: 31 points Carlow 5–27 — 0–11 London (Round 4) Most goals in a match: 7 Westmeath 2–19 — 5–28 Laois (Round 3)

Most points in a match: 48 London 0–19 — 1–29 Laois (Round 5) Most goals by one team in a match: 5 Westmeath 2–19 — 5–28 Laois (Round 3) Carlow 5–27 — 0–11 London (Round 4) Most points by one team in a match: 29 Antrim 2–29 — 2–20 Westmeath (Round 3) London 0–19 — 1–29 Laois (Round 5) Highest aggregate score: 68 points Westmeath 2–19 — 5–28 Laois (Round 3) Lowest aggregate score: 40 points London 0–15 — 1–22 Westmeath (Round 1)

2026 Joe McDonagh Cup

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