| 2005 Christy Ring Cup | |
| Dates: | 4 June 2005 - 14 August 2005 |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Champions: | Westmeath |
| Count: | 1st |
| Champions Captain: | John Shaw |
| Champions Manager: | Séamus Qualter |
| Runners-Up: | Down |
| Runners-Up Captain: | Simon Wilson |
| Runners-Up Manager: | John Crossey |
| Relegated: | Derry |
| Matches: | 26 |
| Goals: | 104 |
| Points: | 759 |
| Top Scorer: | Mattie Dowd (2-39) |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
| Next Tournament: | 2006 Christy Ring Cup |
The 2005 Christy Ring Cup is the inaugural edition of the Christy Ring Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association and is the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by ten GAA county teams ranked 13–22 in the 2005 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Competing teams, from Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster were divided into two groups of five, in which teams played each other only once, meaning two home games and two away games per team. The top two teams of each group qualified for the knock-out stages.
On 14 August 2005, Westmeath won the Christy Ring Cup following a 1-23 to 2-18 defeat of Down in the final.[1]
Kildare's Mattie Dowd was the Christy Ring Cup top scorer with 2-39.
Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Relegated from the Munster Senior Hurling Championship
Relegated from the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship (Continued to compete in Ulster)
Promoted from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship
| County | Last Provincial title | Last All-Ireland title | Position in 2004 Championship | Appearance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | — | — | Leinster preliminary round | 1st | |
| Derry | 2001 | — | Ulster semi-final | 1st | |
| Down | 1997 | — | Qualifiers round 1 | 1st | |
| Kerry | 1891 | 1891 | Munster quarter-final | 1st | |
| Kildare | — | — | Leinster first round | 1st | |
| Mayo | 1909 | — | All Ireland senior b Runners-up | 1st | |
| Meath | — | — | Leinster first round | 1st | |
| Roscommon | 1913 | — | — | 1st | |
| Westmeath | — | — | Leinster quarter-final | 1st | |
| Wicklow | — | — | Leinster preliminary round | 1st |
| County | Manager | Captain(s) | Sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlow | ||||
| Derry | ||||
| Down | ||||
| Kerry | ||||
| Kildare | ||||
| Mayo | ||||
| Meath | ||||
| Roscommon | ||||
| Westmeath | ||||
| Wicklow |
| width=20 | width=150 style="text-align:left;" | Team | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=40 | width=40 | width=20 | width=20 | Qualification | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Westmeath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10-64 | 8-49 | +21 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage | ||||||||||
| 2 | Down | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14-72 | 9-57 | +30 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Meath | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9-67 | 7-52 | +21 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Roscommon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4-46 | 13-83 | -64 | 2 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs | ||||||||||
| 5 | Derry | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7-49 | 7-57 | -8 | 1 |
| width=20 | width=150 style="text-align:left;" | Team | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=20 | width=40 | width=40 | width=20 | width=20 | Qualification | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlow | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5-50 | 5-53 | -3 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage | ||||||||||
| 2 | Kildare | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11-54 | 7-50 | +16 | 6 | |||||||||||
| 3 | Kerry | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12-59 | 8-46 | +25 | 5 | |||||||||||
| 4 | Wicklow | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8-55 | 10-49 | +0 | 3 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs | ||||||||||
| 5 | Mayo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7-41 | 13-61 | -38 | 0 |
See also: List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums.
| County | Location | Province | Stadium(s) | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral venue | Dublin | Leinster | Croke Park | 82,300 | |
| Carlow | Carlow | Leinster | Dr Cullen Park | 11,000 | |
| Derry | Derry | Ulster | Celtic Park | 22,000 | |
| Down | Newry | Ulster | Páirc Esler | 20,000 | |
| Kerry | Tralee | Munster | Austin Stack Park | 12,000 | |
| Kildare | Newbridge | Leinster | St Conleth's Park | 8,200 | |
| Mayo | Castlebar | Connacht | MacHale Park | 25,369 | |
| Meath | Navan | Leinster | Páirc Tailteann | 11,000 | |
| Roscommon | Roscommon | Connacht | Dr Hyde Park | 25,000 | |
| Westmeath | Mullingar | Leinster | Cusack Park | 11,000 | |
| Wicklow | Aughrim | Leinster | Aughrim County Ground | 7,000 |
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mattie Dowd | Kildare | 2-39 | 45 | 5 | 9.00 | |
| 2 | Martin Coulter | Down | 2-35 | 41 | 6 | 6.83 | |
| 3 | Pat Coady | Carlow | 0-37 | 37 | 5 | 7.40 |