Team results Legend • – Champions • – Runners-up • – Group Stage • – Relegated • L –
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship • CR –
Christy Ring Cup For year, the number of teams (in brackets) are shown.
List of Joe McDonagh Cup counties The following teams have competed in the McDonagh Cup for at least one season.
All time table Legend As of 2025 Cup. Includes Relegation Playoffs. By Semi-Final/Top 4 Appearances By decade The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Joe McDonagh Cup titles, is as follows: •
2010s: 1 each for
Carlow (
2018) and
Laois (
2019) •
2020s: 2 for
Antrim (
2020,
2022)
Match records • Most matches played • 38,
Kerry • Most wins • 18,
Kerry • Most losses • 20,
Meath • Most draws • 4,
Carlow Other records Finishing positions • Most championships • 2,
Antrim (
2020,
2022) • 2,
Carlow (
2018,
2023) • Most second-place finishes • 3,
Kerry (
2020,
2021,
2022) • Most third-place finishes • 2,
Kerry (
2018,
2024) • 2,
Carlow (2022, 2025) • Most fourth-place finishes • 2,
Carlow (
2020,
2021) • 2,
Kerry (
2019,
2023) • 2,
Westmeath (2024, 2025) • Most fifth-place finishes • 4,
Down (
2022,
2023,
2024, 2025) • Most sixth-place finishes • 3,
Meath (
2018,
2022,
2024)
Unbeaten sides • Four teams have won the Joe McDonagh Cup unbeaten: •
Laois had 4 wins and 1 draw in
2019. •
Antrim had 4 wins and 1 draw in
2020. •
Westmeath had 3 wins in
2021. •
Carlow had 4 wins and 2 draws in
2023.
Beaten sides The group stage of the cup has resulted in 3 'back-door' Joe McDonagh Cup champions: •
Carlow (
2018) were beaten by
Antrim in round 2. •
Antrim (
2022) were beaten by
Kerry in round 5. •
Offaly (
2024) were beaten by
Laois in round 1. • Kildare (2025) were beaten by Kerry in round 1. On one occasion a team was defeated twice but have remained in the championship: •
Kerry (
2022) were beaten by
Down and
Offaly but still qualified for the final.
Final success rate Only two counties have appeared in the final more than once, being victorious on all occasions: •
Antrim (
2020,
2022) •
Carlow (
2018,
2023) On the opposite end of the scale, only one county has appeared in the final more than once, losing on each occasion: •
Kerry (
2020,
2021,
2022)
Consecutive participations • 8,
Kerry (
2018–
2025) Kerry have the record number of consecutive participations in the Joe McDonagh Cup, taking part in the first 8 seasons.
Winning other trophies Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the Joe McDonagh Cup and their respective Division in the
National Hurling League: •
Carlow in 2018 (Division 2A). •
Antrim in 2020 (Division 2A).
Biggest wins • The most one sided finals: •
11 points –
2019:
Laois 3-26 - 1-21
Westmeath • The most one sided group matches: •
39 points –
2025:
Down 1-12 - 6-36
Laois Scoring Events • Most goals in a match: •
11 –
2025:
Westmeath 4-22 - 7-23
Carlow • Most points in a match: •
51 points –
2022:
Kerry 2-28 - 4-23
Offaly •
51 points –
2023:
Down 0-28 - 6-23
Carlow • Most goals by one team in a match: •
7 –
2022:
Meath 3-13 - 7-29
Antrim •
7 –
2023:
Laois 7-24 - 0-14
Down •
7 –
2024:
Meath 1-16 - 7-29
Laois •
7 –
2025:
Westmeath 4-22 - 7-23
Carlow • Most points by one team in a match: •
36 points –
2025:
Down 1-12 - 6-36
Laois • Highest aggregate score: •
78 points –
2025:
Down 1-12 - 6-36
Laois • Lowest aggregate score: •
33 points –
2018:
Kerry 0-15 - 2-12
Westmeath Successful defending Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the
Leinster Senior Hurling Championship. These are: •
Laois on 1 attempts out of 1 (
2020) • Offaly on 1 attempts out of 1 (2025) •
Westmeath on 1 attempts out of 1 (
2022) •
Antrim on 1 attempts out of 2 (
2021,
2023) •
Carlow on 0 attempts out of 2 (
2019,
2024)
Gaps • Longest gaps between successive cup titles: •
5 years:
Carlow (
2018–
2023) •
2 years:
Antrim (
2020–
2022) • Longest gaps between successive Joe McDonagh Cup final appearances: •
5 years:
Carlow (
2018–
2023) •
5 years:
Laois (
2019–
2024) •
2 years:
Westmeath (
2019–
2021) •
2 years:
Antrim (
2020–
2022) •
1 year:
Kerry (
2020–
2021) •
1 year:
Kerry (
2021–
2022) •
1 year:
Offaly (
2023–
2024) • Longest gap between successive championship appearances •
4 years:
Laois (
2019–
2023) • 4 years: Antrim (2022–2026)
Active gaps • Longest active gaps between since last title: •
7 years:
Laois (
2019–) •
5 years:
Westmeath (
2021–) •
4 years:
Antrim (
2022–) •
3 years:
Carlow (
2023–) •
2 years:
Offaly (
2024–) • Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance: •
5 years:
Westmeath (
2021–) •
4 years:
Antrim (
2022–) •
4 years:
Kerry (
2022–) •
3 years:
Carlow (
2023–) •
2 years:
Offaly (
2024–) • Longest active gap since last cup appearance •
2 years: Meath (2024–) • 2 years: Offaly (2024–)
Provinces • Only on 5 occasions has the Joe McDonagh Cup final involved two teams from the same province: •
Carlow vs
Westmeath (
2018) •
Laois vs
Westmeath (
2019) •
Carlow vs
Offaly (
2023) •
Laois vs
Offaly (
2024) •
Kildare vs
Laois (
2025) • The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster, with five: •
Carlow •
Kildare •
Laois •
Offaly •
Westmeath • Province success rates •
Leinster 42% (5 out of 12 counties) •
Ulster 11% (1 out of 9 counties) •
Britain 0% (0 out of 3 counties) •
Connacht 0% (0 out of 5 counties) •
Munster 0% (0 out of 6 counties)
Joe McDonagh Cup final pairings Longest undefeated run The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 9 games held by
Antrim (
2020–
2022).
Miscellaneous • Best finish by a debuting team • Champions,
Carlow (
2018) • Best finish by a debuting team (after 2018) • 3rd,
Down (
2021) • Highest winning record • 66.7%,
Antrim (14 wins in 21 matches) • Lowest winning record • 10%, Meath (2 wins in 20 matches) • Most played match • 6,
Antrim v
Kerry (
2018,
2019,
2020 (2x),
2022 (2x)) • 6, Kerry v Westmeath (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024, 2025) • Carlow v Westmeath (2018 (2x), 2020, 2021, 2025, 2026) • Laois and Westmeath (2018, 2019 (2x), 2024, 2025, 2026) ==Player records==