A general view of Lory Meagher, Nicky Rackard and Christy Ring cups at the GAA Champion 15 Awards ceremony at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
By Colm Shalvey
The group stages of the Christy Ring, Nickey Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups reach the penultimate round this weekend.
Christy Ring Cup
Two form teams in the Christy Ring Cup clash when Wicklow welcome Meath to Aughrim on Saturday.
2023 Nickey Rackard winners Wicklow are the only unbeaten team after three rounds, having followed up back-to-back wins over Ulster sides Tyrone and Donegal with a draw against London. Since losing to London in round one, 2023 champions Meath have rediscovered their winning form at the expense of Tyrone and Derry.
Wicklow will be looking to Luke Evans, Pádraig Doran and Pádraig Doyle to help protect their unbeaten record, while Jack Regan, James Toher, Mikey Cole, Damien Healy and Dáire Shine should continue to be among the main men for Meath.
Ulster sides Tyrone and Derry meet in Dungannon.
Derry, who are bidding to qualify for their fourth Christy Ring final since 2021, beat Donegal and London, before being pipped by Meath. Meanwhile, three consecutive losses have left Tyrone needing to get off the mark to preserve Christy Ring status. Derry beat their neighbours by two points in the first round of the NHL.
Tyrone will hope to be able to recall Aidy Kelly to join Seán Duffin and Rory Weir up front, with Cormac O’Doherty, Mark Craig, Christy McNaughton and John Mullan set to be to the fore for Derry.
London travel to Letterkenny to face Donegal.
2024 Nickey Rackard winners Donegal lost narrowly to both Derry and Wicklow, before ruthlessly defeating Tyrone. With three points to their credit (via a win over Meath and a draw with Wicklow), Allianz Hurling League Division III runners-up London need to get back to winning ways to stay in touch with the front-runners.
Josh McGee-Cronolly netted a hat-trick in Donegal’s derby win a fortnight ago, with Gerard Gilmore, Liam McKinney, veterans Danny Cullen and Declan Coulter and keeper Luke White also impressing. David Devine, Seán Glynn, Paul Kennedy and Conor O’Carroll have been in form for London.
Mayo hurler, Shane Boland.
Nickey Rackard Cup
Mayo will have a fourth win of this year’s Nickey Rackard Cup in their sights in a top-of-the-table Connacht derby at home to Sligo on Saturday.
Two-time Nickey Rackard winners Mayo, who reached another final last year, have hit the ground running with full points from their games against Roscommon, Armagh and Louth. Sligo will also be protecting their unbeaten run, having sandwiched with wins over Louth and Fermanagh with a draw against Roscommon. Mayo won narrowly in Sligo en route to lifting the Allianz League Division III title.
Louth make the short trip to Armagh for a must-win encounter for both sides, who each have two points on the board.
Armagh have as yet been unable to build on their opening victory v Fermanagh, losing their last two to Mayo and Roscommon. Louth lost to Sligo and Mayo, either side of repeating their Allianz Hurling League Division IV Final win over Fermanagh.
Boosted by their All-Ireland U-20 ‘C’ Championship victory last weekend, Armagh can call on Charlie McArdle from that side, along with more experienced players like Tiarnán Nevin, Paul Gaffney and the returning Shea Harvey. Louth will be looking for big performances from Darren Geoghegan, Leon Fox and Conor Clancy.
Sunday’s only game sees Roscommon host Fermanagh.
Having ended up with just one point from back-to-back Connacht derbies against Mayo and Sligo, Roscommon got their first win of the campaign last time out at the expense of Armagh. 2024 Lory Meagher champions Fermanagh have work to do to avoid a swift return to that tier, following losses to Armagh, Louth and Sligo.
Robbie Fallon, Conor Mulry and Cian Murray could lead the way for Roscommon, while Ryan Bogue, Luca McCusker, Seán Corrigan and Daniel Teague are vital to Fermanagh’s chances of their first win.
Monaghan hurler, Niall Arthur.
Lory Meagher Cup
Cavan will be targeting a fourth win of the Lory Meagher Cup when they make the short trip to Longford for a top-of-the-table clash on Saturday.
Wins over Warwickshire, Monaghan and Lancashire have underlined Cavan’s status as strong contenders in this competition, following an encouraging league for Ollie Bellew’s men. 2024 runners-up Longford also remain unbeaten, having followed wins over Lancashire and Warwickshire with a derby draw v Leitrim.
Waterford native Liam O’Brien has racked up 3-71 this year for Cavan, who can also call on Seán Keating, Canice Maher and Nicky Kenny. Reuben Murray, Evan Tully, David Buckley and Martin Farrell could point the way for Longford.
Monaghan need to get their third win of the campaign v Lancashire in Abbottstown if they are to stay in contention.
After starting with a win over Leitrim, Monaghan lost out to neighbours Cavan, but they got back on track in round three by seeing off Warwickshire. Lancashire, who lost to Monaghan in the 2023 Lory Meagher decider, have yet to pick up their first points of the championship, but they got the better of Saturday’s opponents during the league.
Monaghan should welcome Niall Arthur back to spearhead their attack, with support from Niall Garland and James and Shane Slevin. Lancashire will need Peter Boylan, Conor Levingstone, Eoghan Clifford and Shane O’Boyle on song.
Sunday’s only game sees Leitrim travel to Páirc na hÉireann to meet Warwickshire.
All three of Leitrim’s matches so far have gone down to the wire: resulting in a loss to Monaghan, a win over Lancashire and a draw with neighbours Longford. Warwickshire’s season has been tough going, but they did enjoy a comprehensive win over Leitrim in the last round of the NHL.
Leitrim will be relying on Dublin-based duo Joe Murray and Philip Burgess, as well as Martin Feeney and Stephen Goldrick, while Jack Grealish, Miley Connors, Oisín Slattery and Liam Fahy will have to be on their game for Warwickshire.
FIXTURES
Saturday, May 10
Christy Ring Cup Round 4
Donegal v London, Letterkenny, 12.30pm
Tyrone v Derry, Dungannon, 1pm
Wicklow v Meath, Aughrim, 2pm
Nickey Rackard Cup Round 4
Armagh v Louth, BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, 12pm
Mayo v Sligo, Castlebar, 2pm
Lory Meagher Cup Round 4
Lancashire v Monaghan, Abbottstown, 1.30pm
Longford v Cavan, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm
Sunday, May 11
Nickey Rackard Cup Round 4
Roscommon v Fermanagh, King & Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park, 12pm
Lory Meagher Cup Round 4
Warwickshire v Leitrim, Páirc na hÉireann, 2pm
