Kildare, Donegal and Sligo were the big winners at Croke Park on Saturday afternoon, where the lower-tier hurling championship deciders took centre stage amidst scorching conditions.
For the second time in five seasons, Kildare were crowned Christy Ring Cup champions with a richly-deserved 3-19 to 1-11 triumph against an overwhelmed London.
Thanks to Jack Sheridan’s well-taken goal, the Lilywhites entered the interval with a commanding 1-9 to 0-6 cushion.
When defender Lee Murphy was red-carded in the latter stages of the opening half, London were left with a steep hill to climb on the resumption. Further Kildare three-pointers from Sheridan and Kevin Whelan placed the outcome beyond doubt, before Colin Nelson grabbed a late consolation effort for their overseas counterparts.
Meanwhile, Donegal executed an impressive second-half turnaround against Warwickshire to secure the Nicky Rackard Cup on a scoreline of 2-19 to 0-18. With Niall McKenna to the fore, Warwickshire held a 0-12 to 0-8 buffer at the midway stage.
Yet, following four points without reply from Declan Coulter, Donegal gathered significant momentum after the restart. They subsequently hit the front with a 47th-minute Gavin Browne goal and the ever-dependable Coulter also netted to give Donegal their first Nicky Rackard title since 2013.
In the Lory Meagher decider, Kevin Gilmartin was the hat-trick hero for Sligo in their dramatic one-point victory over Lancashire (4-15 to 2-20).
Despite moving the Yeats County into the ascendancy with a brace of opening period goals, Gilmartin and his teammates faced the prospect of a third final defeat in four years when they trailed the Exiles by three points in the dying moments.
However, after Eoin Comerford reduced the gap with a pointed free, Gilmartin broke Lancashire hearts with a decisive major in stoppage-time.
