Wikipedia

2005 Nicky Rackard Cup

The 2005 Nicky Rackard Cup began on Saturday, 18 June 2005. 2005 was the first time the Nicky Rackard Cup was introduced into the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. It was devised by the Hurling Development Committee to encourage some of the so-called "weaker" hurling counties and to give them the chance of playing more games. It is in effect a "Division 3" for hurling teams in Ireland. The final was played on Sunday, 21 August when London[1] beat Louth[2] in the final at Croke Park, Dublin.

2005 Nicky Rackard Cup
Teams12
ChampionsLondon (1st title)
Runners-upLouth
Tournament statistics
Matches played23
(Next) 2006 →

Format edit

Twelve teams participated in the "Nicky Rackard Cup 2005". The teams were divided into three groups of four based on geographical criteria. These groups were:

Team changes edit

To Championship edit

Transferred from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship and the All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship

  • Armagh
  • Cavan
  • Donegal
  • Fermanagh (Ulster JHC)
  • Leitrim
  • London (Ulster SHC)
  • Longford (Leinster JHC)
  • Louth (Leinster JHC)
  • Monaghan
  • Sligo (Connacht JHC)
  • Tyrone
  • Warwickshire[3]

Teams edit

General Information edit

County Last Provincial Title Last All-Ireland Title Position in 2004 Championship Appearance
  Armagh — — 1st
  Cavan — — 1st
  Donegal 1932 — 1st
  Fermanagh — — Runners-up (Ulster Junior Hurling Championship) 1st
  Leitrim — — 1st
  London — 1901 Quarter-finals (Ulster Senior Hurling Championship) 1st
  Longford — — Runners-up (Leinster Junior Hurling Championship) 1st
  Louth — — Semi-finals (Leinster Junior Hurling Championship) 1st
  Monaghan 1915 — 1st
  Sligo — — Runners-up (Connacht Junior Hurling Championship) 1st
  Tyrone — — 1st
  Warwickshire — — 1st

Group stage edit

Group A edit

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1   Donegal 3 3 0 0 14-43 5-25 45 6 Advance to Semi-Finals
2   Tyrone 3 2 0 1 8-44 10-30 8 4 Advance to Quarter-Finals
3   Sligo 3 1 0 2 10-27 10-44 -17 2
4   Fermanagh 3 0 0 3 5-30 12-45 -36 0


Date Team 1 Score Score Team 2 Venue
Round 1
June 18 Tyrone 3-17 3-7 Fermanagh Carrickmore
June 18 Sligo 3-6 5-13 Donegal Markievicz Park
Round 2
June 25 Donegal 3-12 1-11 Tyrone O' Donnell Park
June 25 Fermanagh 1-15 3-10 Sligo Brewster Park
Round 3
July 9 Tyrone 4-16 4-11 Sligo Carrickmore
July 9 Donegal 6-18 1-8 Fermanagh O' Donnell Park

Group B edit

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1   Louth 3 3 0 0 9-51 4-28 38 6 Advance to Semi-Finals
2   Armagh 3 2 0 1 12-42 6-26 34 4 Advance to Quarter-Finals
3   Cavan 2 0 0 2 3-13 5-37 -30 0
4   Leitrim 2 0 0 2 3-21 12-36 -42 0
Date Team 1 Score Score Team 2 Venue
Round 1
June 18 Armagh 1-16 1-9 Cavan Crossmaglen
June 18 Louth 3-19 0-15 Leitrim Drogheda
Round 2
June 25 Cavan 2-4 4-21 Louth St. Tiernach's Park
June 25 Leitrim 3-6 9-17 Armagh
Round 3
July 9 Armagh 2-9 2-11 Louth Keady
July 9 Leitrim Cancelled Cavan -

Group C edit

Pos Team Pld W D L SF SA Diff Pts Qualification
1   London 3 3 0 0 2-64 5-29 26 6 Advance to Semi-Finals
2   Longford 3 2 0 1 6-38 4-36 8 4 Advance to Quarter-Finals
3   Monaghan 3 1 0 2 4-36 5-42 -9 2
4   Warwickshire 3 0 0 3 4-24 2-55 -25 0


Date Winner Score Score Runner-up Venue
Round 1
June 18 Longford 2-12 0-21 London Michael Fay Park
June 18 Monaghan 0-17 1-11 Warwickshire Gavin Duffy Park
Round 2
June 25 London 1-20 2-11 Monaghan Emerald GAA Grounds
June 25 Warwickshire 2-7 1-15 Longford Páirc na hÉireann
Round 3
July 9 Longford 3-11 2-8 Monaghan Michael Fay Park
July 9 London 1-23 1-6 Warwickshire Emerald GAA Grounds

Knockout stage edit

Bracket edit

Quarter-final playoffs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
London 3-13
Donegal 1-10
London 5-08
Louth 1-05
Louth 3-10
Tyrone 1-08
Tyrone 3-14
Longford 2-14 Longford 3-13
Armagh 1-14

The runners-up in groups 3B and 3C played each other with the winner playing the runner up in group 3A. The winner of that match joined the three group winners in the semi-finals.

Matches edit

Game Date Venue Winner Score Runner-up Score
Quarter-Final Play off July 16 Breffni Park, Cavan Longford 2-14 Armagh 1-14 (AET)
Quarter-Final July 24 Breffni Park, Cavan Tyrone 3-14 Longford 3-13
Semi-Final August 6 Drogheda Park, Drogheda Louth 3-10 Tyrone 1-8
Semi-Final August 7 O' Donnell Park, Letterkenny London 3-13 Donegal 1-10

Final edit

21 August 2005 Final London 5-08 - 1-05 Louth Croke Park, Dublin

London are promoted to the 2006 Christy Ring Cup.

Match details edit

See also: 2005 Nicky Rackard Cup final

The 2005 Nicky Rackard Cup final was used as a curtain raiser for the semi-final of the 2005 Liam MacCarthy Cup. London won the game by a margin of 15 points.

At half time, thanks to two goals in the space of a minute from Barry Shortall and Kevin McMullan, London led by 2-04 to 0-05. Ten minutes into the second half, London re-opened the scoring for a 2-05 to 0-05 lead. Louth subsequently scored what would be their only goal - and only score of the second half.[citation needed] On 57 minutes, McMullan scored a further goal for London. Four minutes later, Sean Quinn kicked in London's fourth goal. Corner forward Dave Burke subsequently scored a fifth on 67 minutes. Burke clipped over a 65 and Gary Fenton added another point for London before the final whistle.[4]

London: JJ Burke; E Phelan, T Simms, B Forde; J Dillon, F McMahon, B Foley 0-1; M Harding 0-01 (1f), M O'Meara; D Smyth, J Ryan, J McGaughan; D Bourke 1-04 (3f), B Shortall 1-00, K McMullan 2-01.

Subs: E Kinlon (for Smyth 36 mins), G Fenton 0-01 (for O'Meara 36 mins), S Quinn 1-00 (for Shortall 55 mins), P Doyle (for Phelan 68 mins), P Finneran (for McMullan 70 mins).

Louth: S Smith; D Black, A Carter, S Darcy; R Byrne, P Dunne, D Mulholland; D McCarthy, S Callan 0-02; T Hilliard, J Carter, D Byrne; G Smith 1-01 (1f), D Dunne 0-01, N McEneaney 0-01.

Subs: G Collins (for R Byrne h/t), S Byrne (for J Carter 53 mins), A Mynes (for McEneaney 65 mins), N Byrne (for Darcy 71 mins).

Referee: T Mahon (Fermanagh).

Stadia and locations edit

Main article: List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums
County Location Province Stadium(s) Capacity
Neutral Dublin Leinster Croke Park (neutral) 82,300
  Armagh Armagh Ulster Athletic Grounds 18,500
  Cavan Cavan Ulster Breffni Park 32,000
  Donegal Ballybofey Ulster MacCumhaill Park 18,000
  Fermanagh Enniskillen Ulster Brewster Park 18,000
  Leitrim Carrick-on-Shannon Connacht Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada 9,331
  London South Ruislip Britain McGovern Park 3,000
  Longford Longford Leinster Pearse Park 6,000
  Louth Drogheda Leinster Drogheda Park 3,500
  Monaghan Clones Ulster St Tiernach's Park 36,000
  Sligo Sligo Connacht Markievicz Park 18,558
  Tyrone Omagh Ulster Healy Park 17,636
  Warwickshire Solihull Britain Páirc na hÉireann 4,500

Statistics edit

Scoring events edit

  • Widest winning margin: 29 points

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "History". www.LondonGAA.com. London GAA. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cup Final Previews". www.GAA.IE. GAA. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  3. ^ Dolan, Damian (30 April 2020). "A rivalry renewed, but not for the faint-hearted". www.TheIrishWorld.com. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  4. ^ https://www.rte.ie/sport/hurling/2005/0821/195548-london
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