Derry stun Kerry to end Christy Ring Cup final heartbreak

Derry had lost four of the last five Christy Ring Cup finals, including the last three in a row. Kerry hit 18 wides in the game, 13 of them in the first half

Derry have won their first ever Christy Ring Cup title, earning them promotion to the second tier Joe McDonagh Cup. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Christy Ring Cup final: Derry 3-24 Kerry 3-19 

Of all the Christy Ring Cup finals that you might have expected Derry to win in the last five years, this was probably the longest shot of them all.

The battle-scarred Ulster side started the afternoon as 6/1 outsiders to finally take the tier three title after final losses in each of the last three seasons to London, Kildare and Meath, as well as in 2021 to Offaly.

But they did just that, two goals from rookie Connor Melaugh, who finished with 2-02, and another from Shea Cassidy, going a long way towards sealing the landmark win the Oak Leaf County has craved.

There were big displays too from Deaghlan Foley, Conor Coyle and Darragh McGilligan as the Ulster outfit made a mockery of their raging underdogs status.

Kerry, just down from the Joe McDonagh Cup and desperate for a speedy return, will take some time to get their heads around this one.

They trailed from the opening minute of the Croke Park encounter, blasted 18 wides and never really threatened to deliver on their favourites' status.

Pádraig Boyle struck 1-10 for John Griffin's side and substitute Oisín Maunsell blasted two late goals but the reality is they operated in Derry's slipstream for the duration of the contest.

It's Derry's first ever Ring Cup final win, following five defeats overall, and the historic triumph was all the more noteworthy considering the huge turnover in their squad since last year's final defeat to London with player retirements, withdrawals and defections all leaving them up against it at the start of 2026.

Maybe it was being written off as such long shot outsiders, maybe it was all those past final defeats or maybe it was simply the knowledge that having beaten Kerry a fortnight ago, they could do so again.

Connor Melaugh of Derry scores his side's first goal during the Christy Ring Cup final match against Kerry. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Whatever the motivation, Derry played like a team on a mission in the opening quarter and burst into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead after just 10 minutes, setting the tempo for the afternoon.

Tiernan Melaugh was a late addition to the Derry lineup and Joe Mulholland, wearing number 11, played close to Kerry's goal.

But the bright start had less to do with carefully choreographed tactics and more to do with a ferocity all around the field that Kerry simply couldn't handle.

Rian Collins, Conor Coyle and Cormac O'Doherty fired the first four points of the game between them for Derry.

And when Connor Melaugh burst through from the left wing, leaving Jason Diggins in his wake, and blasted in off the underside of the crossbar for a spectacular goal, Derry were really purring.

When Kerry eventually came alive, it was largely down to Boyle's individual excellence.

The Ballyduff full-forward overcame a bad gash on his shin picked up in the round-robin loss to Derry to line out.

He had Patrick Turner for company but escaped the Derry full-back for two excellent points in the second quarter.

And Boyle latched onto a long Diggins delivery for another tidy score approaching half time.

The problem for Kerry was all the wides, a whopping 13 in the first half alone which badly undermined their challenge.

Derry were far more efficient and continued to pick off the scores, opening up a commanding 1-10 to 0-5 lead after 29 minutes.

They had seven different scorers in the opening half and were good value for their 1-12 to 0-9 lead at the break.

Eamon Cassidy and Thomas Brady scored points for a fired up Derry in the third quarter and both of them punched the air in celebration.

They retained a six-point lead in the 45th minute when Melaugh picked up a breaking ball 45 metres from goal, skipped away from defender Kyle O'Connor and dispatched a fine solo goal.

Four minutes later, Kerry clawed back the goal they desperately needed, Ronan Walsh bursting through the centre and laying off to Boyle to convert.

But a third Derry goal, registered by Shea Cassidy after a searing run, kept the underdogs in a strong position, 3-15 to 1-13.

That cushion came in useful in the final 15 minutes or so as Kerry did their best to rescue a result.

Substitute Maunsell sniped 67th and 72nd minute goals, both brilliantly taken, but Derry had done enough to keep themselves just out of reach with late points from Deaghlan Foley and O'Doherty.

Scorers for Derry: Connor Melaugh 2-2, Shea Cassidy 1-4, Cormac O'Doherty 0-5 (0-5f), Deaghlan Foley 0-4, Conor Coyle 0-3, Rian Collins 0-2, Darragh McGilligan 0-2, Thomas Brady 0-1, Eamon Cassidy 0-1.

Scorers for Kerry: Pádraig Boyle 1-10 (0-6f), Oisín Maunsell 2-0, Michael Slattery 0-2, Sean McGrath 0-1, Jordan Conway 0-1, Hugh Lenihan 0-1, Ronan Walsh 0-1, Liam Óg O'Connor 0-1, Michael Leane 0-1, Daniel Casey 0-1.

DERRY: Seán Kelly; Cathair McGilligan, Patrick Turner, Jamie Lee McGlade; Tiernan Melaugh, Conor Coyle, Eamon Cassidy; Cormac O'Doherty, Thomas Brady; Connor Melaugh, Deaghlan Foley, Darragh McGilligan; Rian Collins, Joe Mulholland, Shea Cassidy.

Subs: Ryan McGarvey for Eamon Cassidy 25-34, Eamon McGill for Mulholland 46, McGarvey for Brady 51, Eunan Boylan for Collins 67, Seán Quinn for Shea Cassidy 68, Ryan McGill for Melaugh 70.

KERRY: Conor Bohane; Eric Leen, Seán McGrath, Kyle O'Connor; Hugh Lenihan, Jason Diggins, Michael Leane; Kevin Goulding, Adam Segal; Jordan Brick, Ronan Walsh, Tom Doyle; Gavin Dooley, Pádraig Boyle, Michael Slattery.

Subs: Jordan Conway for Segal 34, Oisín Maunsell for Dooley 40, Ivan Conway for Brick 48, Liam Óg O'Connor for Slattery 55, Daniel Casey for Diggins 63.

Referee: Matthew Farrell (Offaly).