Christy Ring Cup final: Derry 3-24 Kerry 3-19 Derry ended years of heartbreak in the Christy Ring Cup with a performance that was full of heart and nerve at Croke Park on Saturday, recording their first win in six finals, five of them played since 2021.Kerry’s appalling conversion rate in front of the posts was a huge part of the story, particularly in the opening half when the Ulster side laid the foundations for their win.Conor Melaugh, making his first start in this year’s competition, fired the only goal of the half in the 10th minute, while Rian Collins and Shea Cassidy made hay in the corners, shooting 0-5 from play between them in that 35 minutes.Kerry had plenty of chances too, but 13 of their 19 total wides came before the turnaround, including a goal opportunity that was crashed off the post and wide by Pádraig Boyle.Michael Slattery was lively in the left corner with two good points and Boyle also came into the game after some early misses. But poor attempts on goal from a variety of angles and distances allowed Derry to pull clear, without ever controlling the battles in the trenches.Conor Coyle hoisted over two more from distance and the influential centre back also split the posts in the second half, where Derry simply picked up where they left off.Once again Melaugh found the net at the end of a searing run in the 10th minute of the half and even after Boyle hit back for the Kingdom, Shea Cassidy added to the party atmosphere with a stunning strike inside the near post.Kerry improved with every substitution as four of their five replacements contributed to the scoresheet, but as the half wore on Derry grew in confidence, potting highlight reel scores to move 10 points clear.Two late goals from Oisín Maunsell masked the scale of their dominance but after losing deciders in 2023, 2024 and 2025, the margin of victory will be of little concern to a jubilant Derry side.DERRY: S Kelly; C McGilligan, P Turner, JL McGlade; T Melaugh, C Coyle (0-3), E Cassidy (0-1); C O’Doherty (0-5, 5f), T Brady (0-1); C Melaugh (2-2), D Foley (0-4), D McGilligan (0-2); R Collins (0-2), J Mulholland, S Cassidy (1-4).Subs: R McGarvey for E Cassidy (24-33 mins); E McGill for Mulholland (46), R McGarvey for Brady (51); E Boylan for Collins (66); S Quinn for S Cassidy (68); R McGill for C Melaugh (70).KERRY: C Bohane; E Leen, K O’Connor, S McGrath (0-1); H Lenihan (0-1), J Diggins, M Leane (0-1); K Goulding, A Segal; J Brick, R Walsh (0-1), T Doyle; G Dooley, P Boyle (1-10, 6f), M Slattery (0-2).Subs: J Conway (0-1) for Segal (33 mins); O Maunsell (2-0) for Dooley (40); I Conway for Brick (48); L Óg O’Connor (0-1) for Slattery (55); D Casey (0-1) for Diggins (63).Referee: Matthew Farrell (Offaly).