The 2019 Christy Ring Cup was the 15th staging of the Christy Ring Cup hurling championship since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005. It is the third tier[1] of senior inter-county hurling.
The competition began on 11 May 2019 and ended on 22 June 2019.
Kildare were the 2018 Christy 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 in 2019.
In 2018 the Christy Ring Cup changed to an initial stage of two groups of four teams, having previously been held as a double elimination tournament. The 2019 competition retains this structure.
The top two teams in the two groups advance to the semi-finals with the winners meeting in the final.
Relegation and promotion
The 2019 Christy Ring champions contest will be automatically promoted to the 2020 Joe McDonagh Cup. This is a change to the 2018 format, where the champions had to contest a promotion/relegation playoff against the second-from-bottom team in the Joe McDonagh Cup. (This was because the 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup was contested by six teams, instead of the intended five, and while one McDonagh team had to be relegated for 2019, allowances also had to be made for a Christy Ring Cup team to be promoted on merit.)
The bottom teams meet in a relegation playoff with the losers relegated to the following year's Nicky Rackard Cup.
The bottom teams in the two groups meet in a relegation playoff. The losers are relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup and are replaced by the Nicky Rackard Champions.
