The 2022 Christy Ring, Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups continue this weekend.

Christy Ring Cup

Wicklow and Mayo will be looking to bounce back from heavy first-round defeats when they clash in the Christy Ring Cup on Saturday.

Christy Ring Cup ever-presents Wicklow reached the semi-finals last year, but they have had a challenging 2022 so far, with just one win in their last seven games. That sole win came at the expense of Saturday’s opponents, Mayo, in a closely-contested relegation play-off in Division IIB of the Allianz Hurling League. 2021 Nickey Rackard champions Mayo have struggled to rediscover that momentum this year, although they did draw with Wicklow during the group stage of the league, so those previous meetings suggest there is little between these teams.

Brandon Ryan, Mark Murphy and John Doyle should be to the fore for Wicklow, who will hope to welcome back Seánie Germaine and John Henderson. Shane Boland, Seán Kenny and veteran Keith Higgins will be key to Mayo’s chances of ending their winless run.

Kildare and London will both be targeting back-to-back wins when they meet in Newbridge.

London returned to the Christy Ring Cup for the first time since 2019 by coming from behind to defeat Sligo last weekend, while Kildare were comprehensive winners away to Mayo. Kildare, who defeated London in the 2018 final, are among the front-runners to win this title for what would be a third time in five years. Both teams retained their status in the Allianz Hurling League this spring – Kildare in Division IIA and London in Division IIB.

Kildare had a wide range of scoring threats against Mayo, with James Burke, Jack Sheridan, Brian Byrne, Paul Divilly and Cathal Dowling all making big contributions. London will be looking to Ronan Crowley to lead their scoring, with Benny McCarry, Richie Lombard and Dónal Hannon also capable of chipping in.

Sunday’s Christy Ring Cup fixture sees Sligo host Derry.

This is a repeat of the recent Allianz Hurling League Division IIB Final, where a five-point win for Derry denied Sligo a third consecutive promotion. Derry continued their momentum when they claimed a seventh consecutive win at the expense of Wicklow last time out, while Sligo were unable to build on a strong start in Ruislip, where London came from nine points down to get off the mark.

Derry have a range of scoring threats (as Sligo have already seen twice this year), with Cormac O’Doherty, Odhrán McKeever and Gerard and Fintan Bradley all contributing. The return to full fitness of the prolific Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch is a major boost for Sligo, who will also be expecting Andrew Kilcullen, Joe McHugh and Rory Hannify to play key roles.

Nickey Rackard Cup

The first of Sunday’s two Ulster derbies in the Nickey Rackard Cup is Tyrone v Fermanagh in Omagh.

2021 runners-up Tyrone started their campaign with a comprehensive win away to Warwickshire, while Lory Meagher champions Fermanagh could take some heart from their performance in running Donegal close. That result ended a five-game winning run for Fermanagh, who lifted the Allianz Hurling League Division IIIB title earlier this month, while Division IIIA winners Tyrone have now gone seven matches without defeat.

Damian Casey continues to lead by example for Tyrone, but he had plenty of support last time out from the likes of Tiernan Murphy, Ruairí Slane, Rory Weir and former Antrim dual player CJ McGourty. Fermanagh can also call on an Antrim native in Barney McAuley, who hit 1-6 against Donegal. The Erne men will also need Seán Corrigan, Luca McCusker, Tom Keenan and Ryan Bogue on top form.

Roscommon will be expected to make it back-to-back wins when they host Warwickshire.

Roscommon put their Division IIIA semi-final loss to Armagh behind them to run out convincing winners over the same opponents last weekend. In contrast, Warwickshire – who were relegated to Division IIIB last month – saw their winless run continue with a heavy defeat against Tyrone. Roscommon are bidding to make a quick return to Christy Ring level under the guidance of Clare native Francis O’Halloran.

Roscommon made light of the absence of top scorer Cathal Dolan to overpower a 13-man Armagh side, with Brendan Mulry and Mickey Joe Egan continuing their goal-scoring form and Daniel Glynn also enjoying a productive afternoon. Warwickshire will need the likes of John Collins, Kelvin Magee and Pádraic Crehan on top form if they are to rip up the form book.

Letterkenny is the venue for the meeting of Donegal and Armagh.

Donegal, who lost to Tyrone at the semi-final stage last July, are bidding to win the Nickey Rackard Cup for the third time in five years. Armagh have lost four finals at this level since winning their second title in 2012. Both teams saw their league runs end with narrow defeats in the knock-out stages – Donegal in a Division IIB semi-final against Sligo and Armagh in the Division IIIA decider against neighbours Tyrone. Donegal finished strongly to get the better of Fermanagh in round one, while Armagh had no answers to an on-song Roscommon forward line.

Donegal have been boosted by the return to their ranks of talented Tipperary native Davin Flynn, who has 1-55 to his name this season. Danny Cullen and Ronan McDermott should also be to the fore for Mickey McCann’s side. Antrim legend Terence McNaughton recently came on board as interim manager for Armagh, who are set to be without Tiarnán Nevin due to suspension. ‘Sambo’ will hope that players like Dean Gaffney, Danny Magee, Eoin McGuinness and Simon Doherty can turn their fortunes around.

Lory Meagher Cup

Longford and Lancashire will both be looking to get off the mark in the Lory Meagher Cup on Saturday.

Division IIIB runners-up Longford were pipped by a late penalty against Leitrim in the first round, while Lancashire’s return to the Lory Meagher Cup saw them fall well short of Louth.

New Longford manager Adrian Moran has added to his options by recruiting fellow Westmeath natives Paddy Lynam (who should return from suspension here) and Emmet Corrigan, with Joe O’Brien, Cathal Mullane and Reuben Murray remaining as mainstays. Lancashire, who reached back-to-back finals at this level in 2018 and 2019, will need big performances from Danny Connolly, Greg Jacob and David Power.

Louth and Monaghan will both be targeting second wins when they face off at Darver.

2020 champions Louth are fresh from ending a winless run with an impressive second-half performance against Lancashire, while Monaghan are gunning for a second derby win in the space of a week after seeing off Cavan. This is the third meeting of these counties at the same venue inside the last year: Louth won by seven points in last year’s Lory Meagher group stage, but Monaghan had the same winning margin in the league in late February.

With Darren Geoghegan remaining sidelined by injury for Louth last weekend, Mark Gahan, Seán Kerrisk, Paul Mathews and Feidhelm Joyce all stepped up to the mark. Monaghan will be looking for big performances from Fergal Rafter, Mark Treanor and Thomas and Declan Hughes.

The last Lory Meagher Cup game of round two sees 2019 winners Leitrim travel to 2021 finalists Cavan.

Leitrim, who dropped down from the Nickey Rackard last year, timed their run perfectly to pip Longford at the weekend, while a late rally from Cavan wasn’t enough to play catch-up on Monaghan. Leitrim ran out seven-point winners when these sides met in Division IIIB.

Joe Murray, Gavin O’Hagan and goal-poacher James McNabola will once again carry the bulk of Leitrim’s scoring threat. Canice Maher, Fiachra Hughes and Seán Keating should be prominent for Cavan, who have been boosted by the return of Cuala’s Cillian Sheanon.

FIXTURES

Saturday, April 16

Christy Ring Cup Round 2

Wicklow v Mayo, Aughrim, 1pm

Kildare v London, Newbridge, 2.30pm

Lory Meagher Cup Round 2

Longford v Lancashire, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, 2pm

Sunday, April 17

Christy Ring Cup Round 2

Sligo v Derry, Markievicz Park, 1pm

Nickey Rackard Cup Round 2

Tyrone v Fermanagh, Omagh, 12pm

Roscommon v Warwickshire, Dr. Hyde Park, 1pm

Donegal v Armagh, Letterkenny, 2pm

Lory Meagher Cup Round 2

Louth v Monaghan, Darver, 1pm

Cavan v Leitrim, Kingspan Breffni, 2pm