2005 Christy Ring Cup
# 2005 Christy Ring Cup

The 2005 Christy Ring Cup was the inaugural staging of the Christy Ring Cup, the Gaelic Athletic Association's second-tier hurling championship. Competing teams, from Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster were divided into two groups of five, in which teams played each other only once, meaning two home games and two away games per team. The top two teams of each group qualified for the knock-out stages.

On 14 August 2005, Westmeath won the Christy Ring Cup following a 1-23 to 2-18 defeat of Down in the final.

Kildare's Mattie Dowd was the Christy Ring Cup top scorer with 2-39.

## Team changes

### To Championship

Relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship

* Carlow
* Kildare
* Meath
* Westmeath
* Wicklow

Relegated from the Munster Senior Hurling Championship

* Kerry

Relegated from the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship (Continued to compete in Ulster)

* Derry
* Down

Promoted from the All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship

* Mayo
* Roscommon

## Teams

### General Information

| County | Last Provincial title | Last All-Ireland title | Position in 2004 Championship | Appearance |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Carlow | — | — | Leinster preliminary round | 1st |
| Derry | 2001 | — | Ulster semi-final | 1st |
| Down | 1997 | — | Qualifiers round 1 | 1st |
| Kerry | 1891 | 1891 | Munster quarter-final | 1st |
| Kildare | — | — | Leinster first round | 1st |
| Mayo | 1909 | — | All Ireland senior b Runners-up | 1st |
| Meath | — | — | Leinster first round | 1st |
| Roscommon | 1913 | — | — | 1st |
| Westmeath | — | — | Leinster quarter-final | 1st |
| Wicklow | — | — | Leinster preliminary round | 1st |

### Personnel and kits

* County
* Carlow
* Derry
* Down
* Kerry
* Kildare
* Mayo
* Meath
* Roscommon
* Westmeath
* Wicklow

## Group A

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Westmeath | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10-64 | 8-49 | +21 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage |
| 2 | Down | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 14-72 | 9-57 | +30 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage |
| 3 | Meath | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9-67 | 7-52 | +21 | 5 | |
| 4 | Roscommon | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4-46 | 13-83 | -64 | 2 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs |
| 5 | Derry | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7-49 | 7-57 | -8 | 1 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs |

## Group B

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts | Qualification |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Carlow | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5-50 | 5-53 | -3 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage |
| 2 | Kildare | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 11-54 | 7-50 | +16 | 6 | Advance to Knockout Stage |
| 3 | Kerry | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12-59 | 8-46 | +25 | 5 | |
| 4 | Wicklow | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8-55 | 10-49 | +0 | 3 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs |
| 5 | Mayo | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7-41 | 13-61 | -38 | 0 | Advance to Relegation Playoffs |

## Knockout stage

### Bracket

| Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1A | Westmeath | 7-14 | | | |
| 2B | Kildare | 1-12 | | | |
| 2B | Kildare | 1-12 | 1A | Westmeath | 1-23 |
| | | | 1B | Down | 2-18 |
| 1B | Carlow | 1-11 | 1B | Down | 2-18 |
| 2A | Down | 4-23 | | | |

## Championship Statistics

### Top Scorers Overall

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Mattie Dowd | Kildare | 2-39 | 45 | 5 | 9.00 |
| 2 | Martin Coulter | Down | 2-35 | 41 | 6 | 6.83 |
| 3 | Pat Coady | Carlow | 0-37 | 37 | 5 | 7.40 |

### Scoring events

* Widest winning margin: 26 points
   * Down 5-25 - 2-08 Roscommon (Round 3)
* Most goals in a match: 8
   * Kildare 4-17 - 4-04 Mayo (Round 3)
   * Westmeath 7-14 - 1-12 Kildare (Semi-finals)
* Most points in a match: 49
   * Wicklow 2-27 - 3-22 Derry (Relegation playoff semi-final)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 7
   * Westmeath 7-14 - 1-12 Kildare (Semi-finals)
* Most points by one team in a match: 27
   * Wicklow 2-27 - 3-22 Derry (Relegation playoff semi-final)
* Highest aggregate score: 64 points
   * Wicklow 2-27 - 3-22 Derry (Relegation playoff semi-final)
* Lowest aggregate score: 28 points
   * Carlow 1-12 - 0-13 Mayo (Round 2)

## Miscellaneous

* Westmeath won their 1st championship in 14 years, winning the 1991 All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship.
* Westmeath became the first county to win the Christy Ring Cup.
