2006 Christy Ring Cup

The 2006 Christy Ring Cup is the second edition of the Christy Ring Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association in 2005 and is the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by ten GAA county teams ranked 13–22 in the 2006 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. The cup began on 3 June 2006 and ended on 6 August 2006.

Westmeath were the defending champions, however, they availed of their automatic right of promotion to the All-Ireland Championship. Antrim and London contested the cup for the first time.

On 6 August 2006, Antrim won the Christy Ring Cup following a 5-13 to 1-7 defeat of Carlow in the final. This was their first Christy Ring Cup title.

Down's Paul Braniff was the championship's top scorer with 6-26.

Anthony Flaherty came out of retirement at the age of 49 to play for Roscommon against Meath in this competition. Flaherty had not played competitive hurling for eight years ("about 1998") at that time. Flaherty scored a goal against Meath in that game.

Team changes

To Championship

Relegated from the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

• Antrim

Promoted from the Nicky Rackard Cup

• London

From Championship

Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship

• Westmeath

Relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup

• Derry

Teams

General Information

County	Last Provincial title	Last All-Ireland title	Position in 2005 Championship	Appearance
File:Colours of Antrim.svg Antrim	2005	—	Lost relegation playoff (All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship)	1st
File:Colours of Carlow.svg Carlow	—	—	Semi-finals	2nd
File:Colours of Down.svg Down	1997	—	Runners-up	2nd
File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kerry	1891	1891	3rd in Group B	2nd
File:Colours of Kildare.svg Kildare	—	—	Semi-finals	2nd
File:Colours of London.svg London	—	1901	Champions (Nicky Rackard Cup)	1st
File:Colours of Mayo.svg Mayo	1909	—	5th in Group B	2nd
File:Colours of Meath.svg Meath	—	—	3rd in Group A	2nd
File:Colours of Roscommon.svg Roscommon	1913	—	4th in Group A	2nd
File:Colours of Wicklow.svg Wicklow	—	—	4th in Group B	2nd

Personnel and kits

County	Manager	Captain(s)	Sponsor
Antrim
File:Colours of Carlow.svg Carlow
File:Colours of Down.svg Down
File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kerry
File:Colours of Kildare.svg Kildare
London
File:Colours of Mayo.svg Mayo
File:Colours of Meath.svg Meath
Roscommon
File:Colours of Wicklow.svg Wicklow

Format

Ten counties contested the 2006 competition for the Christy Ring Cup — the prize for the winners of Tier Two of the Guinness All-Ireland Hurling Championship. The inaugural competition involved the current middle rank of hurling counties:

• Leinster: Carlow, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow
• Ulster: Antrim, Down
• Connacht: Mayo, Roscommon
• Munster: Kerry
• Britain: London

These 10 counties are divided into two groups of five and play in a round-robin format, guaranteeing at least four games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up will qualify for the semi-finals of the Christy Ring Cup. The prize for the winners of the final will be promotion to Tier One of the Hurling Championship to contest the Liam MacCarthy Cup the following year.

The last team in each group will be involved in a relegation play-off with the eventual loser being relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup.

Group stage

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts	Qualification
1	File:Colours of Down.svg Down	4	4	0	0	8-76	2-43	51	8	Advance to Knockout Stage
2	File:Colours of Antrim.svg Antrim	4	3	0	1	15-70	2-48	61	6
3	File:Colours of London.svg London	4	2	0	2	7-45	4-59	-5	4
4	File:Colours of Meath.svg Meath	4	1	0	3	2-65	10-50	-9	2
5	File:Colours of Roscommon.svg Roscommon	4	0	0	4	2-35	16-91	-98	0	Advance to relegation playoff

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts	Qualification
1	File:Colours of Kildare.svg Kildare	4	4	0	0	9-62	7-43	25	8	Advance to Knockout Stage
2	File:Colours of Carlow.svg Carlow	4	2	1	1	7-55	8-37	15	5
3	File:Colours of Mayo.svg Mayo	4	2	0	2	4-34	7-48	-23	4
4	File:Colours of Wicklow.svg Wicklow	4	1	1	2	6-45	9-41	-5	3
5	File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kerry	4	0	0	4	7-34	2-61	-12	0	Advance to relegation playoff

Stadia and locations

County	Location	Province	Stadium(s)	Capacity
Neutral Venue	Dublin	Leinster	Croke Park	82,300
File:Colours of Antrim.svg Antrim	Belfast	Ulster	Casement Park	31,661
File:Colours of Carlow.svg Carlow	Carlow	Leinster	Dr Cullen Park	21,000
File:Colours of Down.svg Down	Newry	Ulster	Páirc Esler	20,000
File:Colours of Kerry.svg Kerry	Tralee	Munster	Austin Stack Park	12,000
File:Colours of Kildare.svg Kildare	Newbridge	Leinster	St Conleth's Park	8,200
File:Colours of London.svg London	South Ruislip	Britain	McGovern Park	3,000
File:Colours of Mayo.svg Mayo	Castlebar	Connacht	MacHale Park	25,369
File:Colours of Meath GAA.svg Meath	Navan	Leinster	Páirc Tailteann	11,000
File:Colours of Roscommon.svg Roscommon	Roscommon	Connacht	Dr Hyde Park	25,000
File:Colours of Wicklow.svg Wicklow	Aughrim	Leinster	Aughrim County Ground	7,000

Championship Statistics

Top scorers

• Paul Branniff (Down) 6-26 (44)
• Johnny McIntosh (Antrim) 5-21 (36)
• Liam Watson (Antrim) 4-19 (31)
• Mikey Conway (Kerry) 4-18 (30)
• Pat Coady (Carlow) 1-26 (29)
• Paddy Richmond (Antrim) 5-10 (25)
• Brian McFall (Antrim) 3-15 (24)

Miscellaneous

• Antrim won a championship double in 2006 by winning the Christy Ring Cup and the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship.

See also

• 2006 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship
• 2006 Munster Senior Hurling Championship
• 2006 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship
• 2006 Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
• 2006 Nicky Rackard Cup (Tier 3)