2021 Nicky Rackard Cup

Dates	26 June – 31 July 2021
Teams	5
Champions	Mayo (2nd title) Keith Higgins (captain) Derek Walsh (manager)
Runners-up	Tyrone Damian Casey (captain) Michael McShane (manager)
Relegated	Leitrim
Tournament statistics
Matches played	8
Goals scored	27 (3.38 per match)
Points scored	305 (38.13 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Declan Coulter (1-34)
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The2021 Nicky Rackard Cup was the 17th staging of theNicky Rackard Cup since its establishment by theGaelic Athletic Association in2005. The cup began on 26 June 2021 and ended on 31 July 2021.

Longford andMonaghan did not participate in the competition after being relegated in2020.Donegal were the defending champions, however, they were beaten byTyrone in the semi-final.^[1]Leitrim were relegated after a defeat byArmagh.

The final was played on 31 July 2021 atCroke Park inDublin, betweenMayo andTyrone, in what was their first ever meeting in a final. Mayo won the match by 2-27 to 1-14 to claim their second cup title overall and a first title since2016.^[2]

Donegal'sDeclan Coulter was the Nicky Rackard Cup's top scorer with 1-34.

Relegated from theChristy Ring Cup

• None

Promoted from theLory Meagher Cup

• None

Promoted to theChristy Ring Cup

• None

Relegated to theLory Meagher Cup

• Longford
• Monaghan

The format has been changed for 2021 with 5 teams playing across two groups, one with 3 teams and one with 2 teams based on an open draw.^[3]

Group A will feature 3 teams and be played in a single Round Robin format with each team having one home game and one away game.

Group B will feature 2 teams who will play a single fixture.

All teams will play a knockout format after this group stage, with the group winners and second-placed team in Group A being placed in the semi-finals. A tie between the third-placed team in Group A and second-placed team in Group B will determine the fourth semi-finalist.

The winner of the final will be promoted to theChristy Ring Cup.

The loser of the quarter-final will be relegated to theLory Meagher Cup

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts	Qualification
1	Mayo	2	2	0	0	2-43	0-26	+23	4	Advance to Semi-Finals
2	Donegal	2	1	0	1	1-47	6-24	+5	2
3	Leitrim	2	0	0	2	4-19	1-56	-28	0	Advance to Quarter-Finals

Donegal vMayo

26 June 2021Round 1	Donegal	0-17 - 2-14	Mayo	O'Donnell Park
	D Coulter (0-9, 4f, 1 ’65), R Ryan (0-3); B Lafferty (0-2), S McVeigh (0-1), N Cleary (0-1),	Report	S Boland (0-9, 4f); K Higgins (1-3, 1f, 1 ’65), A Phillips (1-0), B Hunt (0-1), E Delaney (0-1).	Referee: K Bardy (Louth)

Mayo vLeitrim

3 July 2021Round 2	Mayo	0-29 - 0-10	Leitrim	Elverys McHale Park
	K Higgins 0-9, 4f, S Boland 0-6, 4f; A Phillips 0-3, J Coyne, K Kiely & Gary Nolan 0-2 each, B Hunt, S Regan, M Phillips, C Phillips & S Kenny 0-1 each	Report	G O’Hagan 0-7, 4f; D McGovern, K McDermott & L Donnellan (f) 0-1 each

Leitrim vDonegal

10 July 2021Round 3	Leitrim	4-10 - 1-27	Donegal	Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
	D Kelleher 2-0; G O’Hagan 0-5, 3f; B Murray 1-1; J McNabola 1-0; K McDermott 0-2; C O’Donovan & L Moreton 0-1 each	Report	D Coulter 1-10, 1 pen, 7f, 1 65; R Ryan 0-7, 3f; G Gilmore 0-5; B Lafferty 0-3; C McDermott & J O’Loughlin 0-1 each

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	SF	SA	Diff	Pts	Qualification
1	Tyrone	1	1	0	0	1-18	1-16	+2	2	Advance to Semi-Finals
2	Armagh	1	0	0	1	1-16	1-18	-2	0	Advance to Quarter-Finals

Armagh vTyrone

3 July 2021Round 1	Armagh	1-16 - 1-18	Tyrone	Athletic Grounds
	F Donnelly 0-6, D Magee 1-2, S McKearney 0-2, P McBride 0-2, E McGuinness 0-1, J Short 0-1, T O'Neill 0-1, P McKearney 0-1.		D Casey 0-10, B McGurk 1-1, L Devlin 0-2, M Little 0-2, R Weir 0-1, C Kearns 0-1, C Ferguson 0-1.

Quarter-Finals - 17 July

Semi-Finals - 24 July

Final - 31 July

1A

Mayo

2-23

2B

Armagh

2-09

2B

Armagh

7-25

3A

Leitrim

1-21

1A

Mayo

2-27

1B

Tyrone

1-14

1B

Tyrone

2-24

2A

Donegal

1-21

Armagh vLeitrim

17 July 2021Quarter-final	Armagh	7-25 - 1-21	Leitrim	Kingspan Breffni Park
	D Magee 5-2; F Donnelly 0-8, 3f; P McKearney & P McBride 1-2 each; T O’Neill & O Curry 0-3 each; J Shortt 0-2; M Moan, E McGuinness, S McKearney 0-1 each	Report	G O'Hagan 0-11, 10f; K McDermott (f) & B Murray 0-3 each, 1f; D Kelleher 1-0; J McNabola, L Moreton, L Donnellan (f) 0-1 each

Mayo vArmagh

24 July 2021Semi-final	Mayo	2-23 - 2-09	Armagh	Avant Money Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada
	K Higgins (0-11, 10f), A Phillips (1-3), C Freeman (1-1), S Kenny (0-4, 2f), S Regan (0-2), J Coyne (0-1) and B Morley (0-1)	Report	F Donnelly (1-3, 0-2f), S Doherty (1-0, 1-0 pen), P McBride (0-2), D Magee (0-2), M McClatchey (0-1) and S McKearney (0-1)

Tyrone vDonegal

24 July 2021Semi-final	Tyrone	2-24 - 1-21	Donegal	Páirc Naomh Colmcille
	D Casey (0-11, 10f), C Grogan (1-4), C Ferguson (1-4), L Devlin (0-3); CJ McGourty (0-2)	Report	D Coulter (0-15, 12f), C Matthewson (1-1), R Ryan (0-2), D Cullen (0-1), B Lafferty (0-1), G Gilmore (0-1).

Mayo vTyrone

31 July 2021Final	Mayo	2-27 - 1-14	Tyrone	Croke Park
	C Freeman 1-4, K Higgins 0-7 (0-1f, 0-1 65), S Regan 1-3, S Boland 0-3 (0-2f), A Phillips 0-3, B Morley 0-2, C Phillips 0-1, S Kenny 0-1 (0-1f), J Coyne 0-1, G Nolan 0-1, O Greally 0-1.	Report	D Casey 0-9 (0-5f), C Grogan 1-0, C Kearns 0-3, B McGurk 0-1, T Morgan 0-1.	Referee: T Fitzsimons (Offaly)

Top scorer overall

In a single game

• Nicky Rackard Cup
• 2021 in hurling

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022