Derry Senior Football Championship

For the hurling equivalent see Derry GAA Senior Hurling Championship

Derry Senior Football Championship
Irish	Craobh Sinsear Peile Dhoire
Founded	1907
Trophy	John McLaughlin Cup
Title holders	Slaughtneil (3rd title)
Most titles	Bellaghy (21 titles)
Sponsors	M & L Contracts

The Derry Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football club competition between the top Derry GAA clubs. The winners of the Derry Championship are awarded the John McLaughlin Cup and qualify to represent Derry in the Ulster Senior Club Football Championship and, if they win Ulster, go on to the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship.

Bellaghy have won the competition more than any other club with 21 successes. The current Derry senior champions are Ballinderry Shamrocks who won their 13th title in October 2013, defeating Ballinascreen in the final at Celtic Park in Derry City. Bellaghy's Tom Scullion has more senior Championship medals than anyone in Derry, picking up medals between 1956 and 1971.

Format

History

Before 1958, three regional tournaments were played to help determine the Derry Senior Football Championship finalists - the South Derry Senior Football Championship, the North Derry Senior Football Championship and the Derry City Senior Football Championship. Of the three winners, one received a bye to the final (in alternating years) and the other two played a semi-final to determine who qualified for the Derry Senior Football Championship final.

From 1958 to 2006 the championship took the form of an open-draw knock-out.

From 2007 to 2008 the championship was altered to include a round-robin group stage with the 16 teams divided into four groups. Each club in a group played each other once with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals onwards the competition was knock-out.

Current Format

In 2009 a "backdoor" system was introduced and continues to be used with minor modifications.

The 16 clubs all play in the first round.
In the second round winners section the eight winning teams from round one play against each other with the four winners going into the quarter-final draw. In the second round losers section the eight beaten teams from round one play against each other.
In round three (also referred to as the quarter-final qualifiers) the four beaten teams from the round two winners section play the four winning teams from the round two losers section.
In the quarter-finals the four teams who have won their first two matches in rounds one and two play the four winners of round three.
The quarter-finals, semi-finais and final are knock-out.

All matches in the competition are played at neutral venues.

Trophy

At the end of the final, the winning team is presented with the John McLaughlin Cup, which they hold until the following year's final. The First Trust Top Scorer award (sponsored by First Trust Bank) was introduced in 1988 and awarded every year since to the player who scores the most over the course of that year's championship. Since 1989 the man of the match in the final is awarded with the Forbes' Kitchens Man of the Match award (sponsored by Forbes' Kitchens).

Top winners

	Team	Wins	Winning Years
1	Bellaghy	21	1956 1958 1959 1960 1961 1963 1964 1965 1968 1969 1971 1972 1975 1979 1986 1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2005
2	Ballinderry	13	1927, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013
3	Newbridge	10	1937 1940 1945 1948 1950 1955 1966 1967 1970 1989
4	Lavey	8	1938 1943 1954 1977 1988 1990 1992 1993
5	Dungiven	7	1947 1951 1983 1984 1987 1991, 1997
6	Magherafelt	6	1939, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1978
7	Ballinascreen	4	1934, 1935, 1941, 1973
8	Glenullin	3	1928, 1985, 2007
8	Slaughtneil	3	2004, 2014, 2015
8	An Lúb	3	1936, 2003, 2009
9=	Ballerin	2	1957, 1976
9=	Éire Óg	2	1907, 1952
12=	Ballymaguigan	1	1962
12=	Clan Chonail	1	1914
12=	Sarsfield’s*	1	1916
12=	St Patrick’s	1	1917
12=	Emmett’s	1	1918
12=	Derry Guilds	1	1921
12=	Buncrana	1	1930
12=	Burt	1	1931
12=	Desertmartin	1	1953
12=	Eoghan Rua, Coleraine	1	2010

Notes:

1914 Clan Chonail are a Donegal team.
1916 Sarsfield's are now defunct. They were a Derry City club, a fore-runner to the modern-day Doire Colmcille club.
1930 Buncrana are a Donegal team.
1931 Burt are a Donegal team.

Roll of honour

Year	Winner	Score	Runners-up	Score	Match report (final)	Man of the match	Winning captain	C'ship top scorer
2015	Slaughtneil	1-7	Eoghan Rua, Coleraine	0-9	^[1]		Francis McEldowney
2014	Slaughtneil	1-8	Ballinderry	0-9	^[2]		Francis McEldowney
2013	Ballinderry	3-10	Ballinascreen	2-7	^[3]			Benny Herron
2012	Ballinderry	1-10	Slaughtneil	0-10	^[4]	Enda Muldoon	Ryan Scott	Christopher Bradley
2011	Ballinderry	2-5	Kilrea	0-6	BBC Sport,	Martin Harney	Kevin McGuckin	James Kielt
2010	Eoghan Rua, Coleraine	2-11	Ballinderry	0-15		Declan Mullan	Richard Carey	Cailen O'Boyle
2009	An Lúb	1-8	Dungiven	0-10		Joe O'Kane	Joe O'Kane	Cathal Grieve
2008	Ballinderry	0-10	Slaughtneil	0-8	Official Derry website, BBC Sport, Belfast Telegraph, Irish Independent	Raymond Wilkinson	Enda Muldoon	Paul Bradley
2007	Glenullin	0-10	Bellaghy	1-6		Gerard O'Kane	Paddy Bradley	Conleith Gilligan (1-26)
2006	Ballinderry	2-11	An Lúb	0-9		Conleith Gilligan	Conleith Gilligan	Conleith Gilligan & Paddy Bradley (0-18)
2005	Bellaghy	2-7	An Lúb	1-6		Joe Diver	Joe Cassidy	Joe Cassidy (0-21)
2004	Slaughtneil		Bellaghy			Padrig Kelly	Shane Kelly	Jim Kelly (3-12)
2003	An Lúb	0-11	Ballinderry	0-7		Padraig O'Kane	Johnny McBride	Jim Kelly (1-15)
2002	Ballinderry	1-11	An Lúb	0-6		Conleith Gilligan	Gerard Cassidy	Gerard Cassidy (0-26)
2001	Ballinderry	1-9	Bellaghy	0-11		Gerard Cassidy	Adrian McGuckin	Gerard Cassidy & Gavin Diamond (1-26)
2000	Bellaghy		Ballinderry			Gareth Doherty	Ciaran McNally	Seanie McGuckin (2-28)
1999	Bellaghy		Ballinderry			Damian Cassidy	Karl Diamond	Gerard Cassidy (3-22)
1998	Bellaghy		Lavey			Gavin Diamond	Kevin O'Neill	Gavin Diamond (1-21)
1997	Dungiven		Castledawson			Joe Brolly	Emmett McKeever	Joe Brolly (1-25)
1996	Bellaghy		Dungiven		The Irish News	David O'Neill	Gareth Doherty	Éamonn Burns (2-24)
1995	Ballinderry		Bellaghy			Gerard Cassidy & Adrian McGuckin	Raymond Bell	Karl Diamond (1-18)
1994	Bellaghy		Ballinascreen			Damian Cassidy	Danny Quinn	Karl Diamond (0-24)
1993	Lavey		Swatragh			Colm McGurk	Anthony Scullion	Anthony Tohill (2-26)
1992	Lavey		Ballinascreen			Seamus Downey	Anthony Scullion	Eamonn Burns (2-17)
1991	Dungiven		Newbridge			Shane Heavern	Plunkett Murphy	Damian Cassidy (4-6)
1990	Lavey		Ballinascreen			Brian McCormick	Johnny McGurk	Eamonn Burns (0-24)
1989	Newbridge		Castledawson			Liam Devlin	Damian Barton	Fergal Kearney (1-14)
1988	Lavey		Newbridge				Henry Downey	Hugh Martin McGurk (1-19)
1987	Dungiven						Liam McElhinney
1986	Bellaghy		Ballinderry				Tommy Doherty
1985	Glenullin		Ballinderry Shamrocks				Dermot McNicholl
1984	Dungiven		Castledawson				Plunkett Murphy
1983	Dungiven		Magherafelt				Colm McGuigan
1982	Ballinderry		Dungiven				Dessie Rocks
1981	Ballinderry		Banagher				Pat McGuckin
1980	Ballinderry		Lavey				Sean McIvor
1979	Bellaghy		Magherafelt				Hugh McGoldrick
1978	Magherafelt		Banagher				Gerry O'Loughlin
1977	Lavey		Ballinderry Shamrocks				Niall Hurley
1976	Ballerin	0-9	Dungiven	0-3			Eamon Moloney
1975	Bellaghy		Magherafelt				Frankie O'Loane
1974	Ballinderry		Banagher				Sean McGuckin
1973	Ballinascreen		Bellaghy				Tommy McKenna
1972	Bellaghy		Ballerin				Larry Diamond
1971	Bellaghy		Lavey				Larry Diamond
1970	Newbridge		Bellaghy				Patsy McLarnon
1969	Bellaghy		Slaughtneil				Tom Quinn
1968	Bellaghy		Newbridge				Tom Scullion
1967	Newbridge		Magherafelt				Brian Devlin
1966	Newbridge		Dungiven				Mickey Gribben
1965	Bellaghy		Ballerin				Tom Scullion
1964	Bellaghy		Ballerin				Tom Scullion
1963	Bellaghy		Newbridge				Tom Scullion
1962	Ballymaguigan		Castledawson				Denis McKeever
1961	Bellaghy		Ballymaguigan				Gerry McCann
1960	Bellaghy		Dungiven				Gerry McCann
1959	Bellaghy		Desertmartin				Peter Kearney
1958	Bellaghy		Ballymaguigan				Peter Kearney
1957	Ballerin	3-8	Ballymaguigan	2-6
1956	Bellaghy		Drum
1955	Newbridge
1954	Lavey		Ballinderry
1953	Desertmartin		Ballerin
1952	Éire Óg, Derry		Desertmartin
1951	Dungiven		Desertmartin
1950	Newbridge		Bellaghy
1949	Magherafelt
1948	Newbridge
1947	Dungiven		Newbridge
1946	Magherafelt		Drum
1945	Newbridge
1944	Lavey		Mitchels
1943	Lavey		Faughanvale
1942	Magherafelt
1941	Ballinascreen		O'Connor's Limavady
1940	Newbridge
1939	Magherafelt
1938	Lavey		Pearses
1937	Newbridge		Lavey
1936	An Lúb		Park
1935	No championship
1934	Ballinascreen
1933	Ballinascreen
1932	No championship
1931	Burt	2-4	Wolfe Tones	0-1			John Kavanagh
1930	Buncrana
1929
1928	Glenullin
1927	Ballinderry		Drumsurn
1926
1925
1924
1923
1922
1921	Derry Guilds
1920
1919
1918	Emmet's
1917	St. Patrick's
1916	Sarsfield's
1915
1914	Clann Chonail
1913
1912
1911
1910
1909
1908
1907	Éire Óg, Derry