The Lory Meagher Cup (; often referred to as the Meagher Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fifth-tier of hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by the six county teams ranked 31–36 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champions of the Lory Meagher Cup are promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup. The competition is named in honour of former Kilkenny hurler Lory Meagher who many regard as one of the greatest hurlers of all time.
The Lory Meagher Cup, which was introduced for the 2009 season, provides a championship for fifth tier teams deemed "too weak" for the fourth tier Nicky Rackard Cup.
The title has been won by 10 different counties, 5 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Fermanagh, Longford and Louth, who have won the cup on 3 occasions. Longford are the current Lory Meagher Cup champions. They beat Leitrim by 1-18 to 1-13 in the 2026 final.
History
Creation Following the success of the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup for the lower tier hurling teams, it was decided in 2008 to investigate the possibility of introducing a fourth tier. The Hurling Development Committee (HDC) proposed the new four-tier structure in place of the existing three-tier model. It, and the second and third-tier competitions, were to consist of eight teams. The proposals were accepted at a special GAA Congress in October 2008. Another second tier competition, the Joe McDonagh Cup, was added in 2018, moving the Lory Meagher Cup down into tier 5.
Development
Team changes 12 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the Lory Meagher Cup. Fermanagh and Leitrim have participated in the most editions. South Down, although not an official county entered a team the first three seasons of the Cup but withdrew after 2011. New York became the most recent county to make their debut in the Cup in 2025.
Format history
Double elimination (2009–2011) In 2009, a double elimination format was introduced, thus guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated from the competition.
Group stage (2013–present) Since 2013, a group stage has been included in the cup. The teams within the group stage has varied between 3 and 6 teams throughout the years.
Lory Meagher Cup moments
Warwickshire 2-16 - 0-10 Longford (8 June 2013): Warwickshire became the first overseas team to win the Lory Meagher Cup. This match also saw history made with the first ever use of “Hawkeye” in a hurling match, Warwickshire's Sean Hennessey having a 65 yard free denied by the technology.
Leitrim 2-23 - 2-22 Lancashire (22 June 2019): Leitrim won their first ever All-Ireland title, defeating Lancashire after extra time in Croke Park.
Format
Group stage Group stage: Six of the seven teams start at group stage (New York only enter from the semi-finals on, due to travel costs). During the course of a season (from May 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 first placed team in the group advance straight to the Lory Meagher Cup final while second place play New York (in Ireland) in the Lory Meagher Cup semi-final. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth-placed teams are eliminated from the championship.
Tie-breakers In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified):
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 Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions.
The Lory Meagher has no direct entry route to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Promotion At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the Nicky Rackard Cup for the following season.
Relegation There is no relegation from the Lory Meagher Cup as it is the bottom of five tiers in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Group stage qualifications TeamQualification1st in GroupAdvance to Lory Meagher Cup Final2nd in Group3rd in Group4th in Group5th in Group6th in Group
Teams 2026 Cup Six counties will compete in the 2026 Lory Meagher Cup, with no team relegated last year from the Nicky Rackard Cup: CountyLocationStadiumProvincePosition in 2024 ChampionshipFirst year in ChampionshipIn Championship sinceChampionship TitlesLast Championship Title CavanCavanBreffni ParkUlster3rd200920170— LancashireEast DidsburyOld BediansBritain6th201520220 — LeitrimCarrick-on-ShannonPáirc Seán Mac DiarmadaConnacht4th2009202212019 LongfordLongfordPearse ParkLeinsterRunners-up2009202122014 MonaghanClonesSt Tiernach's ParkUlster6th (Nicky Rackard Cup)200920252 2023 WarwickshireSolihullPáirc na hÉireannBritain5th2009202322017
List of finals
List of Lory Meagher Cup finals YearDateWinnersRunners-upVenueWinning captainWinning marginRefereeCountyScoreCountyScore202631 MayLongford1-18Leitrim1-13Croke Park, DublinReuben Murray5Conor Daly (Kildare)202531 MayNew York4-17 (29)Cavan2-17 (23)Croke Park, DublinJonathan Glynn6Kevin Parke (Antrim)20242 JuneFermanagh3-22 (31)Longford2-20 (26)Croke Park, DublinRyan Bogue5James Judge (Mayo)20233 JuneMonaghan3-22 (31)Lancashire3-20 (29)Croke Park, DublinNiall Garland & Kevin Crawley2Tarlach Conway (Derry)202221 MayLouth3-27 (36)Longford3-14 (23)Croke Park, DublinFeidhleim Joyce13Caymon Flynn (Westmeath)202131 JulyFermanagh3-26 (35)Cavan1-17 (20)Croke Park, DublinJohn Duffy15Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)2020 28 Nov Louth 2-19 (25) Fermanagh 2-08 (14) Croke Park, DublinLiam Molloy11Gearoid McGrath (Wexford)2019 22 June Leitrim 2-23 (29) AET Lancashire 2-22 (28) AET Croke Park, DublinDeclan Molloy 1Kevin Brady (Louth)2018 23 June Sligo 4-15 (27) Lancashire 2-20 (26) Croke Park, DublinKeith Raymond1Kevin McGenney (Roscommon)2017 10 June Warwickshire 0-17 (17) Leitrim 0-11 (11) Croke Park, DublinDonncha Kennedy6James Connors (Donegal)2016 4 June Louth 4-15 (27) Sligo 4-11 (23) Croke Park, DublinShane Callan4Mick Murtagh (Westmeath)2015 6 June Fermanagh 3-16 (25) Sligo 1-17 (20) Croke Park, DublinJohn Paul McGarry5Colum Cunning (Antrim)2014 7 June Longford 3-18 (27) Fermanagh 3-16 (25) Croke Park, DublinMartin Coyle2James Clarke (Cavan)2013 8 June Warwickshire 2-16 (22) Longford 0-10 (10) Croke Park, DublinConal Maskey12Liam McAuley (Antrim)2012 9 June Tyrone 2-24 (30) Fermanagh 3-20 (29) Croke Park, DublinDamian Maguire1Sean Cleere (Kilkenny)2011 4 June Donegal 2-12 (18) Tyrone 0-17 (17) Croke Park, DublinColm Breathnach1Fergus Smith (Meath)2010 3 July Longford 1-20 (23) Donegal 1-12 (15) Croke Park, DublinBrendan Stakem8Ray Matthews (Antrim)2009 11 July Tyrone 5-11 (26) Donegal 3-16 (25) Croke Park, DublinStephen Donnelly1Tony Carroll (Offaly)
Roll of honour
Performances by county CountyTitles(s)Runners-upYears wonYears runners-up Fermanagh332015, 2021, 20242012, 2014, 2020, Longford332010, 2014, 2026 2013, 2022, 2024 Louth302016, 2020, 2022— Tyrone212009, 20122011 Warwickshire202013, 2017 — Donegal1220112009, 2010 Sligo1220182015, 2016 Leitrim1220192017, 2026 Monaghan102023 — New York102025 — Cavan02 —2021, 2025 Lancashire03 —2018, 2019, 2023
Performances by province DivisionTitlesRunners-upTotal Ulster7 714 Leinster639 Connacht2 46 Britain2 35 United States1 01
Team records and statistics Legend – Champions – Runners-up – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Round 2 – Group Stage CR – Christy Ring Cup NR – Nicky Rackard Cup — – Inactive
For each championship, the number of teams (in brackets) are shown
Team2009 (8)2010 (7)2011 (7)2012 (5)2013 (4)2014 (4)2015 (5)2016 (5)2017 (6)2018 (4)2019 (4)2020 (3)2021 (5)2022 (6)2023 (6)2024 (6)2025 (7)2026 (6)Years Cavan R2 QF — — — — — — 5th 3rd 4th 3rd 2nd 6th3rd3rd 2nd5th11 Donegal 2nd 2nd 1stNRNRNRNRNRNRNRCRNRNRNRNRNRCRCR3 Fermanagh QF SF QF 2nd 3rd 2nd 1stNR 6th 4th 3rd 2nd 1stNRNR 1stNRNR13 Lancashire — — — — — — 5th 5th 4th 2nd 2nd — — 5th 2nd6th5th6th9 Leitrim QF SF R2 SF 4th 4th 3rd 4th 2ndNR 1stNRNR 3rd5th4th4th 2nd14 Longford SF 1st QF R3 2nd 1stNRNRNRNRNRNR SF 2nd4th 2nd3rd 1st11 LouthNRNRNRNRNRNRNR 1stNRNRNR 1st SF 1stNRNRNRNR4 MonaghanNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNR QF 4th 1stNRSF3rd4 New York———————————————— 1stNR1 SligoNRNRNRNRNRNR 2nd 2nd 3rd 1stNRCRCRCRCRCRNRNR4 South Down SF R2 SF — — — — — — — — — — — ————3 Tyrone 1stNR 2nd 1stNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRNRCRCRCRNR3 Warwickshire R2 QF SF SF 1st 3rd 4th 3rd 1stNRNR — —NR6th5th6th4th12 Debut of teams YearDebutantsTotal2009 Cavan, Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Longford, South Down, Tyrone, Warwickshire82010–2014None02015 Lancashire, Sligo22016 Louth12017–2020None02021 Monaghan12022–2024None02025 New York12026None02027 Armagh1Total14
Seasons in Lory Meagher Cup The number of years that each county has played in the Lory Meagher Cup between 2009 and 2026. A total of 13 counties have competed in at least one season of the Lory Meagher Cup. Leitrim have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2026 Lory Meagher Cup. YearsCounties15Leitrim13Fermanagh, Warwickshire12Cavan, Longford10Lancashire5Monaghan4Louth, Sligo3Donegal, South Down, Tyrone1New York
List of Lory Meagher Cup counties The following teams have competed in the Lory Meagher Cup for at least one season. CountyAppearancesDebutMost recentChampionship titlesLast Championship titleBest Lory Meagher Cup resultCavan12200920260 — 2ndDonegal320092011120111stFermanagh1320092024320241stLancashire10201520260 — 2ndLeitrim1520092026120191stLongford1220092026220141stLouth420162022320221stMonaghan5202120260 20231stNew York1202520251 20251stSligo420152018120181stSouth Down3200920110 — Semi-finalsTyrone320092012120121stWarwickshire1220092026220171st
All-time table Legend ColoursCurrently competing in the Christy Ring CupCurrently competing in the Nicky Rackard CupCurrently competing in the Lory Meagher Cup As of 20 May 2025 (After 2025 group stage). RankingTeam1 Longford4523616521.152 Fermanagh4722619501.063 Leitrim5622232460.824 Warwickshire4722124450.955 Cavan4113424300.736 Monaghan201136251.257 Louth171205241.418 Sligo191207241.269 Lancashire4211031220.5210 Tyrone121002201.6611 Donegal131003201.5312 South Down940580.8813 New York220042.00
By Semi-Final/Top 4 Appearances TeamNo.YearsLeitrim112010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024, 2026Fermanagh102010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024Longford102009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026Warwickshire82011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2026Cavan72018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025Sligo42015, 2016, 2017, 2018Louth42016, 2020, 2021, 2022Lancashire42017, 2018, 2019, 2023Monaghan42022, 2023, 2025, 2026 Donegal32009, 2010, 2011Tyrone32009, 2011, 2012South Down22009, 2011New York12025
By decade The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Lory Meagher Cup titles, is as follows:
2000s: 1 for Tyrone (2009) 2010s: 2 each for Longford (2010, 2014) and Warwickshire (2013, 2017) 2020s: 2 each for Louth (2020, 2022) and Fermanagh (2021, 2024)
Match records
Most matches played 56, Leitrim
Most wins 23, Longford
Most losses 32, Leitrim
Most draws 6, Fermanagh 6, Longford
Other records
Finishing positions
Most championships 3, Louth (2016, 2020, 2022) 3, Fermanagh (2015, 2021, 2024) 3, Longford (2010, 2014, 2026)
Most second-place finishes 3, Fermanagh (2012, 2014, 2020) 3, Lancashire (2018, 2019, 2023) 3, Longford (2013, 2022, 2024)
Most third-place finishes