Hurling

Round-up: Weekend's Ring, Rackard, Meagher Cups action

12 April 2026 - 7:16PM

Derry hurler, Cormac O'Doherty. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Christy Ring Cup

Kerry made an impressive start to the Christy Ring Cup with a big win over Meath in Trim.

In a game where a heavy shower of hailstones resulted in a delay of several minutes early in the second half, Kerry dominated proceedings, with a Kevin Goulding goal helping them to a 1-14 to 0-6 interval lead. Kerry weren’t deterred by the stoppage after the restart, with further goals from Jordan Brick and Michael Slattery putting the game beyond Meath’s reach.

Derry also made a strong start at the expense of Roscommon.

Cormac O’Doherty, Joe Mulholland and Déaglán Foley were among the scorers as Derry built up a 1-12 to 1-7 lead by the end of the first half, with Jack Donnelly finding the net for Roscommon. Derry played a chunk of the second half with 14 men, but they still had enough scoring power to secure the win, with 13 players getting on the scoresheet.

Donegal turned the tables on Wicklow with a strong performance in Letterkenny.

After being stung by a couple of late goals in the Division III league final, Donegal led from start to finish this time around, with Liam McKinney and Richie Ryan leading the scoring. Willie Cash raised the green flag for Wicklow, but Donegal had nine marksmen as they powered to a comfortable win.

Nickey Rackard Cup

Mayo started the Nickey Rackard Cup with a convincing win away to Armagh.

Despite a brace of goals from Charlie McArdle, Armagh played second-fiddle for most of the first half, with Cormac Phillips and Shane Boland among Mayo’s scorers as they built up a 0-18 to 2-2 advantage. Corey Scahill found the net to keep Mayo well clear and they added a late strike from Phillips, taking his haul to 1-10.

Louth emerged on top of a close battle with Fermanagh at Darver.

With Darren Geoghegan and Danann McKeogh leading the scoring for either side, just a point separated them at the break: 0-8 to 0-7. Despite being reduced to 14 men, Louth retained a narrow lead from there, with Ciarán McKelvey hitting a couple of important points and Conor Murphy firing home the game’s only goal.

Tyrone’s goal-scoring touch made the difference as they saw off Sligo at Garvaghey.

The hosts raised the green flag three times in the first 35 minutes, with a Shea Munroe brace (the first of which was the game’s opening score) and a Turlough Mullin strike helping them lead by 3-6 to 0-4. Niall McGarel added a fourth major for Tyrone to quell Sligo’s hopes of a comeback on a day where Andrew Kilcullen accounted for just over half of their 15 points.

Lory Meagher Cup

Longford made an impressive start to the Lory Meagher Cup by powering past Lancashire.

Reuben Murray led the scoring throughout for Longford, who were 1-10 to 1-3 up at half-time, with Peter Boylan’s goal for Lancashire being cancelled out by Niall Hawes. The Division IV finalists plundered three goals in quick succession midway through the second half, courtesy of Ronan Courtney, Dan Crossan and Johnny Casey. Murray added a fifth on his way to a 1-14 tally as Longford ran out comprehensive winners.

A Mark Moffett hat-trick led Cavan to a hard-earned win at home to Warwickshire.

Four points from Jack Grealish helped Warwickshire to a 0-12 to 1-5 interval lead, but Cavan turned it around by hitting the first five points of the second half. Warwickshire still only trailed by two inside the last ten minutes, until Moffett netted twice to seal a 3-14 to 0-15 win for Cavan.

Completing a clean sweep of wins for the home teams in the Lory Meagher first round, Leitrim held off the challenge of Monaghan.

An early goal by Gavin O’Hagan got Leitrim off on the front foot and they maintained that for most of the first half, with Philip Burgess and Daniel Miller among their marksmen. Michael O’Brien added a second major for the home side and although Monaghan got goals back late in both halves through Eithan Flynn and Niall Arthur, a brace of points from O’Hagan doubled Leitrim’s winning margin from two to four.

RESULTS:

Saturday, April 11

Nickey Rackard Cup Round 1

Armagh 2-7 Mayo 2-25

Louth 1-16 Fermanagh 0-15

Tyrone 4-10 Sligo 0-15

Lory Meagher Cup Round 1

Longford 5-21 Lancashire 1-6

Cavan 3-14 Warwickshire 0-15

Leitrim 2-13 Monaghan 2-9

Sunday, April 12

Christy Ring Cup Round 1