| 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup | |
| Dates: | 16 April – 4/5 June 2022 |
| Teams: | 6 |
| Champions: | Antrim |
| Count: | 2 |
| Champions Captain: | Conor McCann |
| Champions Manager: | Darren Gleeson |
| Runners-Up: | Kerry |
| Runners-Up Captain: | Paudie O'Connor |
| Runners-Up Manager: | Stephen Molumphy |
| Matches: | 12 |
| Promoted: | Antrim |
| Relegated: | Meath |
| Previous Year: | 2021 |
| Previous Tournament: | 2021 Joe McDonagh Cup |
| Next Year: | 2023 |
| Next Tournament: | 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup |
The 2022 Joe McDonagh Cup is the fifth staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2018.[1] The fixtures were published in December 2021.[2] [3]
Westmeath, winner of the 2021 final, were promoted to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replaced by Antrim who were relegated back to this competition.[4] Offaly were promoted from the Christy Ring Cup.[5]
The top 2 teams from the round robin stage will play off in the final to decide the winner. Both will advance to the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship knock-out stages. The bottom team will be relegated to Christy Ring Cup.[6]
Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
Promoted from the Christy Ring Cup
Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
Relegated to the Christy Ring Cup
Initially each of the six teams play the other five teams in single round-robin matches. The top two teams after the round robin games compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions and runners-up also advance to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage.
If the Joe McDonagh champions are a non-Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Leinster Championship. If the champions are a Munster team, they are automatically promoted to the following year's Munster Championship. The Joe McDonagh Cup champions replace the bottom-placed team in the provincial championship containing six teams.
The bottom-placed team in the Joe McDonagh Cup are automatically relegated to the following year's Christy Ring Cup and are replaced by the Christy Ring Cup champions.
The participating teams, listed by province, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the 2022 National Hurling League before the championship were:
Leinster (3)
Munster (1)
Ulster (2)
Six counties will compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup:
| County | Last Cup title | Last Provincial Title | Last All-Ireland Title | Position in 2021 Championship | Appearance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | 2020 | 2017 | — | 6th (Leinster Senior Hurling Championship) | 4th | |
| Carlow | 2018 | — | — | Group Stage | 4th | |
| Down | — | 1997 | — | Group Stage | 2nd | |
| Kerry | — | 1891 | 1891 | Runners-up | 5th | |
| Meath | — | — | — | Group Stage | 4th | |
| Offaly | — | 1995 | 1998 | Champions (Christy Ring Cup) | 2nd |
| Team | Manager | Captain(s) | Sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | Darren Gleeson | — | fona CAB | |
| Carlow | Tom Mullally | — | IT Carlow | |
| Down | Ronan Sheehan | — | EOS IT Solutions | |
| Kerry | Fintan O’Connor | — | Kerry Group | |
| Meath | Nick Weir | — | Glenveagh Properties | |
| Offaly | Michael Fennelly | — | Glenisk |
| Team | Qualification | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antrim | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20-116 | 9-104 | +45 | 8 | Advance to Final and All-Ireland Preliminary Quarter-Finals | |
| 2 | Kerry | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11-121 | 7-91 | +42 | 6 | ||
| 3 | Carlow | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7-114 | 6-96 | +21 | 6 | ||
| 4 | Offaly | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9-112 | 7-109 | +9 | 6 | ||
| 5 | Down | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9-100 | 11-110 | -16 | 4 | ||
| 6 | Meath | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5-81 | 21-134 | -101 | 0 | Relegation to Christy Ring Cup |
Antrim qualify for the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship and are promoted to the 2023 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, replacing Laois.
See also: List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums.
| County | Location | Province | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | Belfast | Ulster | Corrigan Park | 3,700 | |
| Carlow | Carlow | Leinster | Dr Cullen Park | 21,000 | |
| Down | Newry | Ulster | Páirc Esler | 20,000 | |
| Kerry | Tralee | Munster | Austin Stack Park | 12,000 | |
| Meath | Navan | Leinster | Páirc Tailteann | 11,000 | |
| Offaly | Tullamore | Leinster | O'Connor Park | 18,000 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pádraig Boyle | Kerry | 3-64 | 73 | 6 | 12.16 |
| 2 | Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 0-62 | 62 | 5 | 12.40 |
| 3 | Conal Cunning | Antrim | 2-55 | 61 | 5 | 12.20 |
| 4 | Martin Kavanagh | Carlow | 2-49 | 55 | 5 | 11.00 |
| 5 | Jack Regan | Meath | 3-42 | 51 | 5 | 10.20 |
| 6 | Paul Sheehan | Down | 0-35 | 35 | 5 | 7.00 |
| 7 | Shane Conway | Kerry | 3-24 | 33 | 6 | 5.50 |
| 8 | Chris Nolan | Carlow | 2-16 | 22 | 5 | 4.40 |
| 9 | Daithí Sands | Down | 4-08 | 20 | 5 | 4.00 |
| Ciarán Clarke | Antrim | 4-08 | 20 | 4 | 5.00 |
| Rank | Player | Club | Tally | Total | Opposition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pádraig Boyle | Kerry | 2-11 | 17 | Antrim |
| 2 | Martin Kavanagh | Carlow | 1-13 | 16 | Down |
| Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 0-16 | 16 | Down | |
| 4 | Conal Cunning | Antrim | 1-12 | 15 | Kerry |
| Pádraig Boyle | Kerry | 0-15 | 15 | Antrim | |
| Pádraig Boyle | Kerry | 0-15 | 15 | Offaly | |
| 7 | Pádraig Boyle | Kerry | 1-11 | 14 | Carlow |
| Conal Cunning | Antrim | 1-11 | 14 | Carlow | |
| Eoghan Cahill | Offaly | 0-14 | 14 | Antrim | |
| Paul Sheehan | Down | 0-14 | 14 | Kerry | |
| Jack Regan | Meath | 0-14 | 14 | Offaly |