The Joe McDonagh Cup (Irish: Corn Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonnacha)[1] is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association.

At the GAA's Special Congress on 30 September 2017, a new provincial hurling championship system featuring five-team round-robin groups in both Leinster and Munster was accepted.

These four teams joined the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists - Antrim and Carlow - in creating the new Tier 2 Championship.

Kerry have been ever-presents, never being promoted or relegated, while Offaly hold the dubious distinction of being the only team to fall from the tier-one Leinster championship into the Joe McDonagh and immediately into the hurling's third-tier, the Christy Ring Cup, in successive seasons — in 2018 and 2019.

In 2021, teams were divided into 2 groups to lessen the fixtures due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

The Joe McDonagh Cup is unique among the four lower-tier hurling competitions in that it also currently provides a direct entry route for the top two teams to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; the two top-placed teams, in addition to contesting the Joe McDonagh Cup final, are rewarded with immediate entry into the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage.

Which provincial championship depends on the provincial allegiance of the winner: The bottom team in the Joe McDonagh group stage is relegated to the third-tier Christy Ring Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Christy Ring Cup for that year.

promotion relegation absent Best finish (2024) 2022 2020-2023 2023 2023- 2020-2022 2024- 2021- 2024- The Joe McDonagh Cup winners and runners-up qualify for the subsequent All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage.

Fixtures in the five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams.

The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech.

He was an All-Ireland medal winner with Galway in 1980 before later serving as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association.

Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the Joe McDonagh Cup and their respective Division in the National Hurling League: Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship.