2018 Joe McDonagh Cup
Team Sponsor Captain Manager ( s ) Location Stadium Capacity
Antrim Creagh Concrete Neil McManus Dominic McKinley Terence McNaughton Ballycastle Páirc Mac Uílín 4,900
Carlow IT Carlow Richard Coady Colm Bonnar Carlow Dr. Cullen Park 21,000
Kerry Kerry Group Pádraig Boyle Fintan O'Connor Tralee Austin Stack Park 12,000
Laois MW Hire Services Ross King Éamonn Kelly Portlaoise O'Moore Park 27,000
Meath Uniflu James Kelly Nick Fitzgerald Navan Páirc Tailteann 15,000
Westmeath Renault Tommy Doyle Michael Ryan Mullingar Cusack Park 11,000
Teams
A total of six teams compete in the Joe McDonagh Cup , with representatives from Leinster ( 4 ) , Munster ( 1 ) and Ulster ( 1 ) . As 2018 was the inaugural year , four of the teams ( Kerry , Laois , Meath and Westmeath ) previously played in the qualifier group of the 2017 Leinster Championship ( tier 1 ) and two teams ( Antrim and Carlow ) were the finalists in the 2017 Christy Ring Cup ( then tier 2 , re-classified as tier 3 for 2018 ) .
The 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup was the inaugural staging of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The fixtures were announced on 13 April 2018. The competition began on 5 May 2018. On 1 July 2018, Carlow won the title following a 2-26 to 1-24 defeat of Westmeath in the final. This was their second successive promotion within the various tiers of hurling, as they were also the 2017 Christy Ring Cup champions. Meath were relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup after losing all of their group stage games. Antrim's Neil McManus was the competition's top scorer with 3-67.