London claim Christy Ring title over Derry; silverware for New York and Roscommon

It will probably go down as some sort of record within hurling’s multi-tiered championship structure.

Davy Devine, operating in the fifth tier last year with Warwickshire, jumped up two levels this season and inspired London to Christy Ring Cup title success, securing their place in next season’s Joe McDonagh Cup.

Devine scored 1-12 at Croke Park as London saw off Derry by 1-27 to 1-24, heaping yet more final misery on the Oak Leaf county, who have now lost three finals in a row.

Throw in Derry’s 2021 final defeat to Offaly and you get a feeling for their torment.

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Presuming Devine sticks around for 2026, he will have climbed three rungs of hurling’s championship ladder in double quick time.

London manager Neil Rogers was appreciative of Devine’s efforts, describing this as his best display yet in a green jersey.

“He’s had an unbelievable season for us,” said Rogers. “I think today was his best performance of all. He was on the frees and I think he only missed one, he was up at 100 per cent other than that. He stuck his goal away well too.”

London's Enda Egan with Derry's Patrick Turner. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho

It was far from a one-man show though as London turned the tables on a Derry side that had beaten them in the round robin. London also lost the Division 3 league final to a Mayo side that were competing in the earlier Nickey Rackard Cup final.

So Derry had plenty of reason for optimism though they operated in London’s slipstream for the majority of this game.

Thomas Brady’s 13th-minute goal for Derry was a beauty, when he struck a bullet from 20 metres out to the corner of the net, and amounted to an immediate response to Devine’s goal moments earlier.

But London deserved their 1-15 to 1-12 half-time lead and Derry only briefly took the lead after a strong third quarter.

Eamon Conway came surging into the game for Derry and scored four second-half points in all, helping them to lead by 1-20 to 1-19 with 15 minutes to go.

But they couldn’t kick on and were suckered by six London points in a row after that which gave them a vital cushion in the closing minutes.

Things got a little chaotic during the finale as Derry cut the deficit to one before wincing as Devine reeled off back-to-back insurance points in stoppage time.

That left three in it and Derry did have the opportunity to rescue a draw, and extra-time, when Cormac O’Doherty presided over a 75th minute free but his shot was blocked for a 65 that also came to nothing.

New York's Jonathan Glynn and James Breen lift the Lory Meagher Cup. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho

Like Devine, former Galway star Johnny Glynn displayed his ability to jump between hurling’s various grades when he captained New York to the Lory Meagher Cup title.

Eight years after lining out for Galway in their 2017 All-Ireland final win, Glynn was back on the front line again and scored two important points in a 4-17 to 2-17 win over Cavan.

David Mangan, another Galway man, scored 1-7 in total while Dara Walsh, Tipperary’s AJ Willis and Tomas O’Connor weighed in with New York goals too.

They entered this year’s Lory Meagher Cup competition having been absent from the championship scene since 2006.

They came in, controversially, at the semi-final stage, beating Monaghan in Mullingar last week, and capped a profitable 10 days or so in Ireland with promotion to the next level.

The Roscommon team and manager Kevin Sammon celebrate with the Nickey Rackard Cup after beating Mayo. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho

Drawing on players from hurling strongholds like Tipperary, Galway and Cork, they hit the interval with a 3-11 to 0-13 half-time lead.

Mangan and midfielder Adam Loughlin Stones caused Cavan all sorts of bother and New York were 11 points up after 40 minutes.

Kilkenny man Nicky Kenny, an All-Ireland club SHC winner with Cuala, pulled back a goal for Cavan and free-taker Liam O’Brien hit another from a penalty.

But the Breffni couldn’t get any closer to New York than five points as they slipped to a second final defeat in five seasons.

Brendan Mulry was the Roscommon hero in the day’s opening game, the Nickey Rackard Cup final, hitting the 72nd-minute winning point in a 3-16 to 1-21 victory over Mayo.

Roscommon were underdogs and trailed by three with 68 minutes on the clock but reeled off points from Ben McGahon, Conor Mulry and Eoin Kiernan to level it, teeing up Brendan Mulry to snipe the dramatic winner.