Preview: Weekend's Ring, Rackard, Meagher Cups action

By Colm Shalvey

The 2026 Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups get underway this weekend.

Christy Ring Cup

All three first-round games in the Christy Ring Cup are down for decision on Sunday.

Two former Christy Ring Cup champions clash in Trim, where Meath host Kerry.

Meath, who won three titles at this level between 2016 and 2023, fell surprisingly short of the top two last year, while three-time Joe McDonagh finalists Kerry were relegated back to the Christy Ring. Both counties competed in Division II of the league, where a six-point win at Sunday’s venue helped Kerry qualify for the final, which was won by Laois.

Ronan Walsh and Oisín Maunsell have been in prolific form this season for Kerry, who are captained by James O’Connor. Tom Shine, Simon Ennis and youngsters Lorcan Byrne and Mark Leavy could be central to Meath’s chances.

Donegal and Wicklow meet in a repeat of the 2023 Nickey Rackard Cup final and last month’s Division III decider.

Wicklow won both of those games, hitting two late goals from Seánie Germaine to pip Donegal to the post just a couple of weeks ago in a dramatic finish that will be fresh in the memory for both sides. Donegal, who bounced back from that 2023 defeat to lift a fourth Nickey Rackard title 12 months later, will be looking to turn the tide in this one, having found Wicklow a tricky opponent in recent years.

Gerard Gilmore, Liam McKinney and goal threat Richie Ryan should play key roles for Donegal, who have Danny Cullen in a remarkable 23^rd season in the county jersey. Wicklow will be looking to their hat-trick hero from last time out, Seánie Germaine, as well as the likes of Pádraig Doyle, John Henderson and Pádraig Doran.

The last action of the opening weekend sees Roscommon travel to Derry.

Derry could only manage one win in Division II of the league, while Roscommon fell just short of promotion from Division III. Derry have lost three consecutive Christy Ring finals, with Roscommon securing their return to this grade by winning last year’s Nickey Rackard Cup.

Derry have undergone some transition to their panel since losing to London last May, but Johnny McGarvey can still call on players of the calibre of Cormac O’Doherty, Shea Cassidy and Déaglán Foley. Roscommon, who have been boosted by their U-20s qualifying for the All-Ireland ‘B’ final, will be depending on Enda Lawless, Conor Mulry, Seán Canning and Conor Morris to lead the way.

Nickey Rackard Cup

The opening day of the Nickey Rackard Cup kicks off with Armagh v Mayo.

Both counties have won the Nickey Rackard twice, with Mayo returning to the final in 2024 and ’25, only to lose out to Donegal and Roscommon. They will each be looking to recover from disappointing league campaigns, which ended in relegation: Mayo from Division II and Armagh from Division III.

Barry Shortt, Odhrán Curry and Jack Loughran should play big parts for Armagh against a Mayo side likely to be led by Ryan Duffy, Cormac Phillips and David Kenny.

Garvaghey is the venue for the clash of another pair of two-time Nickey Rackard winners: Tyrone and Sligo.

Both counties managed to compete at Christy Ring level for a couple of years, but Sligo dropped down in 2024, soon to be followed by Tyrone. Sligo boasted a 100% record in winning the Division IV league title in some style, while Tyrone preserved their Division III status with a bit to spare.

Michael Little and Aidy Kelly enjoyed productive league campaigns for Tyrone, with Andrew Kilcullen, Thomas Cawley and Robert and Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch currently in rich veins of form for Sligo.

There is a 3pm throw-in in Darver for Louth and Fermanagh.

These sides were in Division III this spring, with a four-point win over Fermanagh in round three playing a big part in keeping Louth up at the expense of the Erne County. Darren Geoghegan and Peter Fortune remain among the main men for Louth, who have added the talents of former Limerick prospect Andrew La Touche Cosgrave and Laois native Ciarán McKelvey to their ranks. Caolán Duffy and Luca McCusker could miss out through injury for Fermanagh, increasing their reliance on Seán Corrigan and Danann McKeogh.

Lory Meagher Cup

Longford and Lancashire get the Lory Meagher Cup underway on Saturday.

Two-time Lory Meagher winners Longford have been in two of the last four finals, with Lancashire also reaching the decider three times, most recently in 2023. Reuben Murray, Martin Farrell and David Buckley have all been in prolific form through the spring for Longford, firing Diarmuid Cahill’s side towards promotion to Division III. Peter Boylan, Pádraic Burke and Shane Nugent could lead Lancashire’s challenge.

2025 runners-up Cavan host Warwickshire in round one.

It took debutants New York to deny Cavan a first title last year, so the Breffni County will be hopeful of going all the way this season. Just a single point separated these teams in the Division IV table, with Cavan winning their most recent meeting by 3-13 to 1-13. Cavan can no longer call on the 2025 Lory Meagher Player of the Year Liam O’Brien, but Mark Moffett has been racking up scores of late, with Seán Keating, Jack Barry and Jack McGuinness also chipping in. Warwickshire showed some decent form in their last few outings, including a draw with promoted side Longford. They will hope to have players like Jack Grealish, Liam Fahy and Luke Hands available.

Leitrim have home advantage against Monaghan.

Leitrim take some momentum into this one after winning their last four games, even if that run arrived too late to catch Longford in the promotion race. Meanwhile, 2023 champions Monaghan, who lost to New York in the semi-final last year, will need a significant upturn in performance levels to catch some of the teams who finished above them in Division IV.

Mike Wall has added firepower to his Leitrim team in Daniel Miller, Colm Canning and Paul Mulligan, regularly joining Seán Ó Ríordáin and Philip Burgess on the scoresheet. Niall Arthur shoulders much of the scoring burden for Monaghan, who will also need Eithan Flynn, Niall Garland and Jack Guinan on song.

FIXTURES

Saturday, April 11

Nickey Rackard Cup Round 1

Armagh v Mayo, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 1.30pm

Tyrone v Sligo, Garvaghey, 2pm

Louth v Fermanagh, Darver, 3pm

Lory Meagher Cup Round 1

Cavan v Warwickshire, Kingspan Breffni, 1pm

Longford v Lancashire, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 1pm

Leitrim v Monaghan, Carrick-on-Shannon, 3pm

Sunday, April 12

Christy Ring Cup Round 1

Donegal v Wicklow, Letterkenny, 1pm

Meath v Kerry, Trim, 1pm

Derry v Roscommon, Celtic Park, 3pm