All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Founded	1887
Region	Ireland (GAA)
Number of teams	33
Current champions	Tyrone (3rd time)
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 2009

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland. The series of games are organized by the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months with the All-Ireland Football Final being played on the third or fourth Sunday in September in Croke Park, Dublin. The prize for the winning team is the Sam Maguire Cup. The competition is currently sponsored jointly by Ulster Bank, Toyota and Vodafone.

Every county in Ireland participates in the Championship (except Kilkenny) so the competition is much more open than the Hurling Championship. Kerry and Dublin are among the most successful football teams. Tyrone are the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Football Champions having defeated Kerry in the final.

Contents 1 Format 1.1 Current format 1.2 Historic format 2 Past winners 2.1 Notes 3 Top Winners 4 External links

Format

Current format

The county is a geographical region in Ireland, and each of the thirty-two counties in Ireland organises its own GAA affairs through a County Board. The county teams play in their respective Provincial Championships in Munster, Leinster, Connacht (including London and New York), and Ulster. If successful the county team will go on to play in the All-Ireland series. The football championship qualifying structure (for teams that have been knocked out of their respective provincial championships - The winning team of the respective provincial championship do not take part of the Qualifiers or "Back Door") that was used from 2001 to 2006 worked as follows:

• Round 1 : This Round shall include all the counties that do not qualify for the Provincial -Finals from division 3 or above of the NFL. An Open Draw shall be made to give eight pairings. The division 4 losers enter the Tommy Murphy Cup
• Round 2 : Each of the eight winning teams of round 1 shall play against each other. A draw shall be made to determine the four pairings.
• Round 3 : Each of the four teams defeated in the Provincial Finals shall play against the four winners from Round 2. A draw shall be made to determine the four pairings.
• All Ireland Quarter-Finals : Each of the four Provincial Champions shall play one of the four winners from Round 3. A draw shall be made to determine the four pairings.[1]

Historic format

For the first All-Ireland championship in 1887, the competition was played on an open draw knockout basis. From 1888, the provincial system was introduced, whereby the counties in each of Ireland's four provinces would play each other on a knockout basis to find provincial champions. These four champions would meet in the All-Ireland semi-finals. The structure outlined above (altered for 2007 onwards) was adopted in 2001 to allow more games to be played but still retain provincial championships and the knockout structure.

Past winners

The following table sets out the winning team and beaten finalist of each All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final. The vast majority of finals were contested by the winning semi-finalists, although in certain cases in the early years a provincial championship had not been completed in time and the affected province nominated a team to participate in the All-Ireland semi-final. In some of these cases, the nominated team (e.g. Dublin in 1905) won its semi-final, but was then vanquished in their provincial championship, and their place in the All-Ireland final taken by another team from that province.

Year	Date	Venue	Winner	Score	Runner-up	Score
1887	29 April 1888	Clonskeagh	Limerick	1-4	Louth	0-3
1888	(Championship unfinished as the GAA committee and players travelled to USA to promote the game abroad)
1889	20 October	Inchicore	Tipperary	3-6	Laois	0-0
1890	26 June 1892	Clonturk	Cork	2-4	Wexford	0-1
1891	28 February 1892	Clonturk	Dublin	2-1	Cork	1-9
1892	26 March 1893	Clonturk	Dublin	1-4	Roscommon	1-0
1893	24 June 1894	Phoenix Park	Wexford	1-1	Cork	0-1
1894	21 April 1894	Thurles	Dublin	0-5	Cork	1-2
1895	15 March 1896	Jones' Road	Tipperary	0-4	Meath	0-3
1896	6 February 1898	Jones' Road	Limerick	1-5	Dublin	0-7
1897	5 February 1899	Jones' Road	Dublin	2-6	Cork	0-2
1898	8 April 1900	Tipperary	Dublin	2-8	Waterford	0-4
1899	10 February 1901	Jones' Road	Dublin	1-10	Cork	0-6
1900	26 October 1902	Jones' Road	Tipperary	3-7	London	0-2
1901	2 August 1903	Jones' Road	Dublin	0-14	London	0-2
1902	11 September 1904	Cork	Dublin	2-8	London	0-4
1903	12 November 1905	Jones' Road	Kerry	0-11	London	0-3
1904	1 July 1906	Cork	Kerry	0-5	Dublin	0-2
1905	16 June 1906	Thurles	Kildare	1-7	Kerry	0-5
1906	20 October 1907	Athy	Dublin	0-5	Cork	0-4
1907	5 July 1908	Tipperary	Dublin	0-6	Cork	0-2
1908	3 October 1909	Jones' Road	Dublin	1-10	London	0-4
1909	5 December 1909	Jones' Road	Kerry	1-9	Louth	0-6
1910	13 November 1910	Jones' Road	Louth	W/O	Kerry	Scratch1
1911		Jones' Road	Cork	6-6	Antrim	1-2
1912		Jones' Road	Louth	1-7	Antrim	1-2
1913		Croke Park	Kerry	2-2	Wexford	0-3
1914		Croke Park	Kerry	2-3	Wexford	0-6
1915		Croke Park	Wexford	2-4	Kerry	2-1
1916		Croke Park	Wexford	3-4	Mayo	1-2
1917		Croke Park	Wexford	0-9	Clare	0-5
1918		Croke Park	Wexford	0-5	Tipperary	0-4
1919		Croke Park	Kildare	2-5	Galway	0-1
1920		Croke Park	Tipperary	1-6	Dublin	1-2
1921		Croke Park	Dublin	1-9	Mayo	0-2
1922		Croke Park	Dublin	0-6	Galway	0-4
1923		Croke Park	Dublin	1-5	Kerry	1-3
1924		Croke Park	Kerry	0-4	Dublin	0-3
1925		Croke Park	Galway	3-2	Cavan2	1-2
1926		Croke Park	Kerry	1-4	Kildare	0-4
1927		Croke Park	Kildare	0-5	Kerry	0-3
1928	30 September 1928	Croke Park	Kildare	2-6	Cavan	2-5
1929		Croke Park	Kerry	1-8	Kildare	1-5
1930		Croke Park	Kerry	3-11	Monaghan	0-2
1931		Croke Park	Kerry	1-11	Kildare	0-8
1932		Croke Park	Kerry	2-7	Mayo	2-4
1933	24 September 1933	Croke Park	Cavan	2-5	Galway	1-4
1934		Croke Park	Galway	3-5	Dublin	1-9
1935		Croke Park	Cavan	3-6	Kildare	2-5
1936		Croke Park	Mayo	4-11	Laois	0-5
1937		Croke Park	Kerry	4-4	Cavan	1-7
1938		Croke Park	Galway	2-4	Kerry	0-7
1939		Croke Park	Kerry	2-5	Meath	2-3
1940		Croke Park	Kerry	0-7	Galway	1-3
1941	7 September	Croke Park	Kerry	1-8	Galway	0-7
1942	20 September	Croke Park	Dublin	1-10	Galway	1-8
1943	10 October	Croke Park	Roscommon	2-7	Cavan	2-2
1944	24 September	Croke Park	Roscommon	1-9	Kerry	2-4
1945	23 September	Croke Park	Cork	2-5	Cavan	0-7
1946	27 October	Croke Park	Kerry	2-8	Roscommon	0-10
1947	14 September	Polo Grounds, New York	Cavan	2-11	Kerry	2-7
1948	26 September	Croke Park	Cavan	4-5	Mayo	4-4
1949	25 September	Croke Park	Meath	1-10	Cavan	1-6
1950	24 September	Croke Park	Mayo	2-5	Louth	1-6
1951	23 September	Croke Park	Mayo	2-8	Meath	0-9
1952	12 October	Croke Park	Cavan	0-9	Meath	0-5
1953	27 September	Croke Park	Kerry	0-13	Armagh	1-6
1954	26 September	Croke Park	Meath	1-13	Kerry	1-7
1955	25 September	Croke Park	Kerry	0-12	Dublin	1-6
1956	7 October	Croke Park	Galway	2-13	Cork	3-7
1957	22 September	Croke Park	Louth	1-9	Cork	1-7
1958	28 September	Croke Park	Dublin	2-12	Derry	1-9
1959	27 September	Croke Park	Kerry	3-7	Galway	1-4
1960	25 September	Croke Park	Down	2-10	Kerry	0-8
1961	24 September	Croke Park	Down	3-6	Offaly	2-8
1962	23 September	Croke Park	Kerry	1-12	Roscommon	1-6
1963	22 September	Croke Park	Dublin	1-9	Galway	0-10
1964	27 September	Croke Park	Galway	0-15	Kerry	0-10
1965	26 September	Croke Park	Galway	0-12	Kerry	0-9
1966	25 September	Croke Park	Galway	1-10	Meath	0-7
1967	24 September	Croke Park	Meath	1-9	Cork	0-9
1968	22 September	Croke Park	Down	2-12	Kerry	1-13
1969	28 September	Croke Park	Kerry	0-10	Offaly	0-7
1970	27 September	Croke Park	Kerry	2-19	Meath	0-18
1971	26 September	Croke Park	Offaly	1-14	Galway	2-8
1972	15 October	Croke Park	Offaly	1-19	Kerry	0-13
1973	23 September	Croke Park	Cork	3-17	Galway	2-13
1974	22 September	Croke Park	Dublin	0-14	Galway	1-6
1975	28 September	Croke Park	Kerry	2-12	Dublin	0-11
1976	26 September	Croke Park	Dublin	3-8	Kerry	0-10
1977	25 September	Croke Park	Dublin	5-12	Armagh	3-6
1978	24 September	Croke Park	Kerry	5-11	Dublin	0-9
1979	16 September	Croke Park	Kerry	3-13	Dublin	1-8
1980	21 September	Croke Park	Kerry	1-9	Roscommon	1-6
1981	20 September	Croke Park	Kerry	1-12	Offaly	0-8
1982	16 September	Croke Park	Offaly	1-15	Kerry	0-17
1983	18 September	Croke Park	Dublin	1-10	Galway	1-8
1984	23 September	Croke Park	Kerry	0-14	Dublin	1-6
1985	22 September	Croke Park	Kerry	2-12	Dublin	2-8
1986	21 September	Croke Park	Kerry	2-15	Tyrone	1-10
1987	20 September	Croke Park	Meath	1-14	Cork	0-11
1988	9 October	Croke Park	Meath	0-13	Cork	0-9
1989	17 September	Croke Park	Cork	0-17	Mayo	1-11
1990	16 September	Croke Park	Cork	0-11	Meath	0-9
1991	15 September	Croke Park	Down	1-16	Meath	1-14
1992	20 September	Croke Park	Donegal	0-18	Dublin	0-14
1993	19 September	Croke Park	Derry	1-14	Cork	2-8
1994	18 September	Croke Park	Down	1-12	Dublin	0-13
1995	17 September	Croke Park	Dublin	1-10	Tyrone	0-12
1996	29 September	Croke Park	Meath	2-9	Mayo	1-11
1997	28 September	Croke Park	Kerry	0-13	Mayo	1-7
1998	27 September	Croke Park	Galway	1-14	Kildare	1-10
1999	26 September	Croke Park	Meath	1-11	Cork	1-8
2000	7 October	Croke Park	Kerry	0-17	Galway	1-10
2001	23 September	Croke Park	Galway	0-17	Meath	0-8
2002	22 September	Croke Park	Armagh	1-12	Kerry	0-14
2003	28 September	Croke Park	Tyrone	0-12	Armagh	0-9
2004	26 September	Croke Park	Kerry	1-20	Mayo	2-9
2005	25 September	Croke Park	Tyrone	1-16	Kerry	2-10
2006	17 September	Croke Park	Kerry	4-15	Mayo	3-5
2007	16 September	Croke Park	Kerry	3-13	Cork	1-9
2008	21 September	Croke Park	Tyrone	1-15	Kerry	0-14

Notes

Note 1: Kerry refused to travel owing to a dispute with the Great Southern & Western Railway Company.

Note 2: Some confusion surrounds 1925. Kerry beat Cavan 1-7 to 2-3 in the semi-final. One source contends that, after an objection by Cavan and counter-objection by Kerry, both sides were disqualified. Another suggests that Cavan won that appeal and then lost to Galway in the final.[2].

Top Winners

(Accurate up to and including September 2008)

The top county teams by number of wins (and when they last won and lost a final):

	Team	Winner	Last win	Runner-up	Last losing final
1	Kerry	35	2007	18	2008
2	Dublin	22	1995	13	1994
3	Galway	9	2001	13	2000
4	Meath	7	1999	9	2001
5	Cork	6	1990	15	2007
6	Down	5	1994	0
	Cavan	5	1952	6	1949
	Wexford	5	1918	3	1914
9	Kildare	4	1928	5	1998
	Tipperary	4	1920	1	1918
11	Tyrone	3	2008	2	1995
	Mayo	3	1951	9	2006
	Offaly	3	1982	3	1981
	Louth	3	1957	3	1950
15	Limerick	2	1896	0
	Roscommon	2	1944	4	1980
17	Armagh	1	2002	3	2003
	Derry	1	1993	1	1958
	Donegal	1	1992	0

The top provinces by number of wins:

	Province	Wins	Last Win	Biggest Contributor(s)	Wins
1	Munster	47	2007	Kerry	35
2	Leinster	44	1999	Dublin	22
3	Ulster	16	2008	Cavan & Down	5 each
4	Connacht	14	2001	Galway	9

The following counties have never won an All Ireland:

Province	County (Last final appearance)
Leinster	Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois (1936), Longford, Westmeath, Wicklow
Connacht	Leitrim, Sligo, London (1908), New York
Ulster	Antrim (1912), Fermanagh, Monaghan (1930)
Munster	Clare (1917), Waterford (1898)

External links

• Gaa.ie
• All-Ireland Results

All-Ireland Senior Football Championships 1887  • 1888  • 1889 1890  • 1891  • 1892  • 1893  • 1894  • 1895  • 1896  • 1897  • 1898  • 1899 1900  • 1901  • 1902  • 1903  • 1904  • 1905  • 1906  • 1907  • 1908  • 1909 1910  • 1911  • 1912  • 1913  • 1914  • 1915  • 1916  • 1917  • 1918  • 1919 1920  • 1921  • 1922  • 1923  • 1924  • 1925  • 1926  • 1927  • 1928  • 1929 1930  • 1931  • 1932  • 1933  • 1934  • 1935  • 1936  • 1937  • 1938  • 1939 1940  • 1941  • 1942  • 1943  • 1944  • 1945  • 1946  • 1947  • 1948  • 1949 1950  • 1951  • 1952  • 1953  • 1954  • 1955  • 1956  • 1957  • 1958  • 1959 1960  • 1961  • 1962  • 1963  • 1964  • 1965  • 1966  • 1967  • 1968  • 1969 1970  • 1971  • 1972  • 1973  • 1974  • 1975  • 1976  • 1977  • 1978  • 1979 1980  • 1981  • 1982  • 1983  • 1984  • 1985  • 1986  • 1987  • 1988  • 1989 1990  • 1991  • 1992  • 1993  • 1994  • 1995  • 1996  • 1997  • 1998  • 1999 2000  • 2001  • 2002  • 2003  • 2004  • 2005  • 2006  • 2007  • 2008  • 2009 Connacht Championship – Leinster Championship – Munster Championship – Ulster Championship

Gaelic Athletic Association Gaelic football Gaelic games Hurling Senior Championship (2009) Under 21 Championship Minor Championship Junior Championship National Football League (2009) Tommy Murphy Cup (2009) International Rules (2008) Club Football Championship Sam Maguire Cup Ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Football Championship Brendan Martin Cup Kick Fada Positions History The Sunday Game Up for the Match Handball Senior Hardball Singles Rounders Croke Park Hybrid sports Interprovincial Championship (2007) Gaelic games competitions County colours County nicknames List of clubs List of stadiums List of terminology Senior Championship (2008) Under 21 Championship Minor Championship Junior Championship National Hurling League (2008) Christy Ring Cup (2008) Shinty-Hurling Internationals Club Hurling Championship Liam McCarthy Cup Camogie Camogie Championship O'Duffy Cup Poc Fada Positions Nicky Rackard Cup (2008)