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Nicky Rackard Cup
The Nicky Rackard Cup (Irish: Corn Niocláis Mhic Riocaird;[1] often referred to as the Rackard Cup) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The cup forms the fourth-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 24–29 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champions of the Nicky Rackard Cup are promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, and the lowest finishing team is relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup. The winners of the championship receive the Nicky Rackard Cup, named after former Wexford hurler Nicky Rackard regarded as one of the greatest hurlers of all time. The Nicky Rackard Cup, which was introduced for the 2005 season, is a recent initiative in providing a meaningful championship for third tier teams deemed "too weak" for any higher grades. It effectively replaced the All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship (1912–2004). Originally introduced as a third-tier competition, it is currently the fourth tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Between 2005 and 2017 the Nicky Rackard Cup was the third tier hurling championship. With the introduction of the Joe McDonagh Cup, the Nicky Rackard Cup is the second highest tier of the championship system without entry to that year's All-Ireland finals series (the top two teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup usually gain entry to preliminary quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship). The title has been won by 10 different counties, 8 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Donegal, who have won the cup on 3 occasions. Wicklow are the title holders, defeating Donegal by 1-20 to 3-12 in the 2023 final. HistoryInauguration of the competitionIn 2003 the Hurling Development Committee (HDC) was charged with restructuring the entire hurling championship. The committee was composed of chairman Pat Dunny (Kildare), Liam Griffin (Wexford), P. J. O'Grady (Limerick), Ger Loughnane (Clare), Cyril Farrell (Galway), Jimmy O'Reilly (Down), Willie Ring (Cork), Pat Daly (GAA Games Development Officer) and Nicky English (Tipperary). Over the course of three months they held discussions with managers, players and officials, while also taking a submission from the Gaelic Players Association. The basic tenet of the proposals was to structure the hurling championship into three tiers in accordance with 2004 National Hurling League status. The top tier was confined to 12 teams, while the next twenty teams would contest the second and third tiers which were to be known respectively as the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup. There would also be promotion-relegation play-offs between the three championship tiers. The HDC also suggested that these games would be played as curtain raisers to All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals.[2] The proposal were accepted at the 2005 GAA Congress. The Christy Ring Cup and the Nicky Rackard Cup competitions were launched at Croke Park on 8 December 2004. Format2005-2006 The twelve participating teams were divided into three groups of four and played in a round-robin format. Each team was guaranteed at least three games each. The three group winners qualified for the knock-out semi-finals of the competition. The runners-up in groups 3B and 3C contested a play-off with the winner playing the runner up in group 3A in a lone quarter-final. The winner of that match joined the three group winners in the semi-finals. 2007-2008The twelve participating teams were divided into four groups of three and played in a round-robin format, thus limiting each team to just two games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals of the competition. 2009-2017In 2009 a double elimination format was introduced, thus guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated from the competition.
2018-presentBeginning in 2018, the Nicky Rackard Cup changed format, with initial ties played in group stages, which in 2018 consisted of one of four teams and one of three. Previously it was a double elimination tournament. The top two teams from both groups advance to the cup semi-finals. The bottom team from each group will progress to a relegation final. The winner of the Nicky Rackard Cup will be promoted to the Christy Ring Cup, For 2018 only, 2 teams will be relegated from the 2018 Christy Ring Cup to the 2019 Nicky Rackard Cup to bring the number of teams in the 2019 edition to an even 8, allowing for two groups of 4. The loser of the relegation final will be relegated to the Lory Meagher Cup, to be replaced by the winner of the previous years competition.[3] Teams2025 CupSix counties will compete in the 2025 Nicky Rackard Cup, with Sligo relegated from the Christy Ring Cup and Fermanagh promoted from the Lory Meagher Cup:
Venues Group stageFixtures in the five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least two home games. Some teams get three home games. FinalThe Nicky Rackard Cup final is played at Croke Park. 2023 Venues
List of finals
Roll of honourPerformances by county
Performances by province
Team records and statisticsLegend
For each year, the number of teams in each championship (in brackets) are shown.
Debut of teams
Seasons in Nicky Rackard CupThe number of years that each county has played in the Nicky Rackard Cup between 2005 and 2025. A total of 19 counties have competed in at least one season of the Nicky Rackard Cup. Monaghan have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2025 Nicky Rackard Cup.
List of Nicky Rackard Cup counties
All-time tableLegend
As of 12 June 2024 (After 2024 Nicky Rackard Cup).
By Semi-Final/Top 4 Appearances
By decadeThe most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Nicky Rackard Cup titles, is as follows:
Other recordsFinishing positions
Nicky Rackard Cup final pairings
Player recordsTop scorers per championship
Top scorer(s) in the final
See also
References Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nicky Rackard Cup.
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