| Dates | 5 May 2018 – 1 July 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 6 | ||
| Champions |  Carlow (1st title)Richard Coady and Diarmuid Byrne (captain) Colm Bonnar (manager) | ||
| Runners-up |  WestmeathTommy Doyle (captain) Michael Ryan (manager) | ||
| Relegated |  Meath | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 17 | ||
| Goals scored | 50 (2.94 per match) | ||
| Points scored | 661 (38.88 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) |  Neil McManus (3-67) | ||
| |||
The 2018 Joe McDonagh Cup is the inaugural edition of the Joe McDonagh Cup since its establishment by the Gaelic Athletic Association and is the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by six GAA county teams ranked 11–16 in the 2018 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.[1][2] The fixtures were announced on 13 April 2018. The competition began on 5 May 2018.
On 1 July 2018, Carlow won the title following a 2-26 to 1-24 defeat of Westmeath in the final. This was their second successive promotion within the various tiers of hurling, as they were also the 2017 Christy Ring Cup champions.
Meath were relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup after losing all of their group stage games.
Antrim's Neil McManus was the competition's top scorer with 3-67.
- ^ Moran, Seán (30 September 2017). "GAA Congress approve round-robin provincial hurling championships". Irish Times. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
- ^ "Hurling changes will benefit Tier 2 counties, says Westmeath boss". RTÉ News. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2017.