2006 Christy Ring Cup

2006 Christy Ring Cup

Dates	3 June 2006 – 6 August 2006
Teams	8
Champions	Antrim (1st title) Karl McKeegan (captain) Jim McKernan (manager)
Runners-up	Carlow Eoin Garvey (manager)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	24
Top scorer(s)	Paul Braniff (6-26)
← 2005 (Previous) (Next) 2007 →

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. ^[1] 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. ^[2]

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

Personnel and kits

County	Manager	Captain(s)	Sponsor
Antrim
Carlow
Down
Kerry
Kildare
London
Mayo
Meath
Roscommon
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	Down	4	4	0	0	8-76	2-43	51	8	Advance to Knockout Stage
2	Antrim	4	3	0	1	15-70	2-48	61	6
3	London	4	2	0	2	7-45	4-59	-5	4
4	Meath	4	1	0	3	2-65	10-50	-9	2
5	Roscommon	4	0	0	4	2-35	16-91	-98	0	Advance to relegation playoff

Results

Roscommon v London

10 June 2006Round 1	Roscommon	0-10 - 2-10	London	Athleague Sportsfield
	R Mulry 0-4, B Kelly 0-3, G Fallon 0-1, D Loughnane 0-1, A Cunniffe 0-1.		S Malone 0-4, S Quinn 1-0, P Fagan 1-0, G Smith 0-1, M Gordon 0-1, F McMahon 0-1, B Foley 0-1, K McMullen 0-1, T Simms 0-1.	Referee: T McMahon (Fermanagh)

Down v Antrim

10 June 2006Round 1	Down	1-23 - 1-7	Antrim	McKenna Park
	P Braniff 0-8, S Clarke 0-4, O Clarke 1-0, B McGourty 0-3, M Coulter 0-3, D Flynn 0-2, E Trainor 0-1.		Brian McFall 0-4, K Kelly 1-0, John McIntosh 0-2, J Scullion 0-1.	Referee: G Devlin (Armagh)

Antrim v Roscommon

18 June 2006Round 2	Antrim	9-39 - 0-5	Roscommon	Casement Park
	P Richmond (3-4), J McIntosh (2-8), L Watson (2-3), J Scullion (1-5), M Dallas (0-7), B McFall (1-3), B Delargy (0-3), M Molloy (0-3), D McKillop (0-2), M Scullion (0-1).		B Kelly (0-3), G Fallon (0-1), R Kennedy (0-1).

London v Meath

18 June 2006Round 2	London	3-15 - 0-20	Meath	Emerald GAA Grounds
	S Malone (2-2), K McMullan (1-1), F McMahon (0-3), M O’Meara (0-3), D Smith (0-2), P Fagan (0-2), B Foley (0-1), S Quinn (0-1).		T Reilly (0-11), K Dowd (0-3), J Keena (0-2), G O’Neil (0-2), S Clynch (0-1), K Fagan (0-1).

Down v Roscommon

24 June 2006Round 3	Down	3-21 - 0-12	Roscommon
	B Innes 1-3, S Clarke 1-4, E Clarke 1-2, P Braniff 0-5, E Trainor 0-3, S Wilson 0-2 B McGourty 0-1.		R Mulry 0-7, B Kelly 0-2, A Cunniffe, G Fallon, Conniughton 0-1 each.

Antrim v Meath

24 June 2006Round 3	Antrim	3-12 - 0-13	Meath
	L Watson 2-4, 2-2 frees; J McIntosh 0-4; K Kelly 1-1; M Dallas 0-2; P McGill 0-1.		T Riley 0-6 (2f '65), S Clynch, J Keena 0-2 each, M Cole, P Coone, P Donnelly 0-1 each.

Down v Meath

8 July 2006Round 4	Down	2-15 - 0-11	Meath	McKenna Park
	Paul Braniff 2-2, S Clarke 0-5, B McGourty 0-4, E Trainor 0-2, Gabriel Clarke 0-1, S Wilson 0-1.		N Hackett 0-4, M Cole 0-2, K Fegan 0-2, J Keenan 0-1, E Keogh 0-1, S Heavey 0-1.	Referee: T Mahon (Fermanagh)

Antrim v London

8 July 2006Round 4	Antrim	2-12 - 1-7	London	Casement Park
	Paddy Richmond 1-2, Johnny McIntosh 1-2, Brian McFall 0-5, M Scullion 0-1, K Kelly 0-1, J Scullion 0-1.		B Foley 1-1, J Ryan 0-2, D Smith 0-2, E Phelan 0-1, P Fagan 0-1.	Referee: G McGrath (Westmeath)

London v Down

15 July 2006Round 5	London	1-13 - 2-17	Down	Emerald GAA Grounds
	E Conway 0-4, J Ryan 1-0, P Fagan 0-2, S Malone 0-2, F McMahon 0-2, K McMullan 0-1, M O’Meara 0-1, T Simms 0-1.		Paul Braniff 0-5, E Trainor 0-5, S Clarke 1-1, S Murray 0-2, S Wilson 0-1, B McGourty 0-1, G Adair 0-1, M Braniff 0-1.	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Meath v Roscommon

15 July 2006Round 5	Meath	2-21 - 2-8	Roscommon	Páirc Tailteann
	P Coone 1-5, K Fagan 1-3, T Reilly 0-5, S Clynch 0-3, J Keenan 0-2, J Watters 0-2, N Hackett 0-1.		M Connaughton 0-5, A Flaherty 1-0, T Reddington 1-0, G Waldron 0-1, A Cunniffe 0-1, M Kelly 0-1.

Group B

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

Results

Wicklow v Carlow

3 June 2006Round 1	Wicklow	2-8 - 1-11	Carlow	Pearse Park
	J Keogh 1-4, D Moran 1-0, D Hyland 0-1, G Doran 0-1, T McGrath 0-1, A O’Brien 0-1.		D Roberts 1-1, D Runbar 0-4, P Cody 0-2, B Lawler 0-1, C Hughes 0-1, P Kehoe 0-1, B Cox 0-1.

Kerry v Kildare

3 June 2006Round 1	Kerry	2-12 - 1-16	Kildare	Austin Stack Park
	M Boyle 2-0, M Conway 0-6, J Egan 0-5, J M Dooley 0-1.		B Whyte 0-9, D Harney 1-2, P Reidy 0-2, C Divilly 0-1, C Buggy 0-1, O Lynch 0-1.

Kildare v Wicklow

10 June 2006Round 2	Kildare	3-14 - 2-11	Wicklow	St. Conleth's Park
	B White 0-7, A McAndrew 1-3, D Harney 1-0, B Byrne 1-0, C Divilly 0-1, P Reidy 0-1, M Moloney 0-1.		A O'Brien 1-2, L Glynn 1-1, J Keogh 0-3, J Murphy 0-2, D Hyland 0-1, G Doran 0-1, E Glynn 0-1.	Referee: D Magee (Down)

Carlow v Mayo

10 June 2006Round 2	Carlow	3-15 - 0-5	Mayo	Dr. Cullen Park
	B Lawlor 1-3, D Shaw 1-0, A Brennan 1-0, P Coady 0-3, S McMahon 0-2, D Roberts 0-2, P Kehoe 0-1, R Foley 0-1, E Coady 0-1, S Kavanagh 0-1.		K Higgens 0-2, S Broderick 0-1, S Coyne 0-1, P Higgins 0-1.	Referee: C McAllister (Cork)

Mayo v Kildare

24 June 2006Round 3	Mayo	1-12 - 2-19	Kildare	McHale Park
	P Higgins 1-1, S Broderick 0-6, S Coyle, D McDonald, P McConn, S Hunt, P Broderick 0-1 each.	Report	B White 1-7, A McAndrew 1-1, M Moloney 0-3, O Lynch 0-2, M Dowd 0-2, E Hannon, P Reidy, C Divill, B Byrne, D Harley 0-1 each.

Kerry v Wicklow

24 June 2006Round 3	Kerry	2-7 - 0-15	Wicklow	Austin Stack Park
	M Conway 1-4, M Boyle 1-0, A Keane, J Dooley, M Hanafin 0-1 each.	Report	J Keogh 0-6, L Glynn 0-2, A O'Brien 0-2, J O'Neill 0-2, D Moran, E Glynn, E Dunne 0-1 each.

Kerry v Mayo

8 July 2006Round 4	Kerry	0-4 - 0-8	Mayo	Austin Stack Park
	J Egan 0-2 (2f), B O'Donovan and M Boyle 0-1 each		K Higgins 0-4 (3f), S Barrett 0-2 (2f), P Higgins and D McDonnell 0-1 each.

Kildare v Carlow

8 July 2006Round 4	Kildare	3-13 - 2-7	Carlow	St. Conleth's Park
	B White 0-7 5f, C Divilly 2-0, B Byrne 1-0, DHarney 0-3, O Lynch 0-2, M O'Sowd 0-1.		P Coady 1-1 both f, A Brennan 1-0, D Roberts 1f and P Keogh 0-2 each, D Murphy and B Lawler 0-1 each.

Carlow v Kerry

15 July 2006Round 5	Carlow	1-22 - 3-11	Kerry	Dr. Cullen Park
	P Coady 0-11, P Keohoe 1-4, D Murphy 0-3, B Lawler 0-2, R Foley 0-1, M Keating 0-1.		I McCarthy 1-4, M Conway 1-2, A Keane 1-0, S Mounsell 0-2, N Whelan 0-1, G O'Grady 0-1, A Boyle 0-1.	Referee: C Groome (Offaly)

Mayo v Wicklow

15 July 2006Round 5	Mayo	3-9 - 2-10	Wicklow	James Stephens Park
	P Broderick 2-2, S Barrett 1-0, S Broderick 0-2, D McDonald 0-2, D McConn 0-1, K Healey 0-1, A Freeman 0-1.		A Brennan 1-3, G Doran 1-0, E Flynn 0-3, J Murphy 0-2, J Bermingham 0-1, D O'Haolain 0-1.

Knockout stage

Bracket

	Semi-Finals					Final
	Kildare		0-06
	Antrim		2-21
						Antrim		5-13
						Carlow		1-07
	Down		5-08
	Carlow		2-19

Relegation final

Kerry v Roscommon

22 July 2006Relegation final	Kerry	2-19 - 1-7	Roscommon	Cusack Park
	M Conway 2-6, B Donovan 0-4, M Boyle 0-4, I McCarthy 0-2, M Quilter 0-1, A Keane 0-1, P Lyons 0-1.		M Kelly 1-1, B Hanley 0-2, R Mulry 0-2, M Connaughton 0-2.

Semi-finals

Kildare v Antrim

23 July 2006Semi-final	Kildare	0-6 - 2-21	Antrim	Cusack Park
	B White (0-3, two frees, '65), PB Byrne, D Harney, O Lynch (0-1 each).	Report	L Watson (0-12, seven frees, four '65s), P Richmond (1-2), B McFall (1-1), M Scullion, K Kelly (0-2 each), C Cunning, J McIntosh (0-1 each).

Down v Carlow

23 July 2006Semi-final	Down	5-8 - 2-19	Carlow	Cusack Park
	P Braniff (4-6, three frees), E Clarke (1-1), S Wilson (0-1, free)	Report	P Coady (0-6, three frees, '65), D Murphy (2-0), B Lawler (0-5), R Foley (0-3), F Foley, C Hughes, A Brennan, P Kehoe, K English (0-1 each).

Final

Main article: 2006 Christy Ring Cup final

Antrim v Carlow

6 August 2006Final	Antrim	5-13 - 1-7	Carlow	Croke Park
	J McIntosh (2-4, four frees), B McFall (1-2), K Kelly (1-1), J Scullion (1-0), P Richmond (0-2), M Molloy (0-2, one free, one 65), P McGill (0-1), B Delargy (0-1).	Report	F Foley (1-0, free), P Coady (0-3, frees), D Roberts (0-1), R Foley (0-2), S McMahon (0-1).	Referee: J McGrath (Westmeath)

Stadia and locations

See also: List of Gaelic Athletic Association stadiums

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

References

1. "Westmeath book place in the big time". Irish Examiner. 14 August 2005. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
2. Keys, Colm (21 July 2006). "Roscommon hurlers ask 49-year-old to come out of retirement". Irish Independent.