2005 Nicky Rackard Cup
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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.
| Teams | 12 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Champions | London (1st title) | ||
| Runners-up | Louth | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 23 | ||
| |||
Format
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:
- Group 3A: Sligo, Tyrone, Donegal and Fermanagh
- Group 3B: Louth, Cavan, Armagh and Leitrim
- Group 3C: London, Warwickshire, Longford and Monaghan
The group winners advance to the semi-finals. The runners-up in Groups 3C and 3B meet in the quarter-final playoff, with the winner meeting the runner-up of Group 3A in the quarter-final.
Team changes
To Championship
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
General Information
| 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
Group A
| 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
| 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
| 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-Final playoff |
| 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
Bracket
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
Matches
| 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
| 21 August 2005 Final | London | 5-08 - 1-05 | Louth | Croke Park, Dublin |
London are promoted to the 2006 Christy Ring Cup.
Match details
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
| 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
Scoring events
- Widest winning margin: 29 points
- Most goals in a match: 12
- Most points in a match: 34
- Louth 3-19 - 0-15 Leitrim (Round 1)
- Most goals by one team in a match: 9
- Most points by one team in a match: 23
- London 1-23 - 1-06 Warwickshire (Round 3)
- Highest aggregate score: 59 points
- Lowest aggregate score: 30 points
Miscellaneous
- London won their 1st championship in 10 years, last winning the 1995 All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship.[citation needed]