| Dates | 4 June 2005 - 14 August 2005 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 10 | ||
| Champions | Westmeath (1stth title) John Shaw (captain) Séamus Qualter (manager) | ||
| Runners-up | Down Simon Wilson (captain) John Crossey (manager) | ||
| Relegated | Derry | ||
| Tournament statistics | |||
| Matches played | 26 | ||
| Goals scored | 104 (4 per match) | ||
| Points scored | 759 (29.19 per match) | ||
| Top scorer(s) | Mattie Dowd (2-39) | ||
| |||
The 2005 Christy Ring Cup is the inaugural edition of the Christy Ring 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 ten GAA county teams ranked 13–22 in the 2005 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.
Competing teams, from Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster were divided into two groups of five, in which teams played each other only once, meaning two home games and two away games per team. The top two teams of each group qualified for the knock-out stages.
On 14 August 2005, Westmeath won the Christy Ring Cup following a 1-23 to 2-18 defeat of Down in the final.[1]
Kildare's Mattie Dowd was the Christy Ring Cup top scorer with 2-39.