The 2018 Christy Ring Cup was the 14th staging of the

Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup () is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Eac ...

hurling championship since its establishment by the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

in 2005. It is the third tier of senior inter-county hurling. The competition began on 12 May 2018 and ended on 23 June 2018.

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

were the 2017 champions, beating Antrim in the final. Both teams were included in the counties competing in the newly created Joe McDonagh Cup.

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...

lost their play-off match against Mayo in 2017 – normally Roscommon would have been relegated but they remained in the 2018 Christy Ring Cup as a result of the restructuring of the hurling championship tiers. Kildare were the 2018 Chrisy Ring champions, defeating London by 3–19 to 1–11 in the final. Kildare lost the relegation/promotion game against Antrim and remained in the Christy Ring Cup for 2019.

Team changes

To Championship

Relegated from the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

* None Promoted from the

Nicky Rackard Cup The Nicky Rackard Cup (; often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is the fourth tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champion team in the Nicky Rackard Cup is promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishi ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , " Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

From Championship

Promoted to the

Joe McDonagh Cup The Joe McDonagh Cup is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It forms the second tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and is the second highest level of inter-county champio ...

* Antrim *

Relegated to the

* None

Format

Beginning in 2018, the Christy Ring Cup changed to an initial stage of two groups of four teams. Previously it was a double elimination tournament. The top two teams from both groups advance to the semi-finals. In 2018, teams at the bottom of each group will automatically be relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup for 2019. In subsequent years, the bottom teams will meet in a relegation playoff to decide the one team relegated to the following year's Nicky Rackard Cup. The Christy Ring champions contest a promotion/relegation playoff with the second bottom team in the Joe McDonagh Cup with the winner earning the right to compete in the 2019 Joe McDonagh Cup. Following the creation of the Joe McDonagh Cup in 2018, the Christy Ring Cup was reclassified as tier 3 (it was previously tier 2).

Teams

General Information

Personnel and kits

Group stage

Group 1

Group 1 Table

Group 1 Rounds 1 to 3

=Group 1 Round 1

=Group 1 Round 2

=Group 1 Round 3

Group 2

Group 2 Table

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Down Down most often refers to: * Down, the relative direction opposed to up * Down (gridiron football), in American/Canadian football, a period when one play takes place * Down feather, a soft bird feather used in bedding and clothing * Downland, a ty ...

all finished on 4 points and were ranked on score difference.

Group 2 Rounds 1 to 3

=Group 2 Round 1

=Group 2 Round 2

=Group 2 Round 3

Knockout stage

Bracket

Semi-finals

The Group 1 winners play the Group 2 runners-up and the Group 2 winners play the Group 1 runners-up.

Final

Relegation/promotion playoff

Antrim retain their place in the

for

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, while

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cent ...

remain in the

for

Stadia and locations

Stadiums and locations

Championship statistics

Top scorers

Overall

Updated to 2 June 2018

In a single game

Miscellaneous

won their 1st championship in 4 years, winning the 2014 Christy Ring Cup.

References

{{GAA 2018 , state=expanded

Christy Ring Cup