2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship


The 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 132nd edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887.
Thirty-three teams took part – thirty-one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, London and New York. Kilkenny, as in previous years, did not enter.
Dublin were the defending champions. In 2018 they won a record-equalling fourth consecutive title, becoming only the fourth team to achieve this feat. They won the 2019 final, defeating Kerry in a replay, and became the GAA's first ever five-in-a-row All-Ireland senior champions.

Competition format

Provincial Championships format

, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. Most teams who lose a match in their provincial championship enter the All-Ireland qualifiers – New York does not enter the qualifiers.
All provincial matches are knock-out. If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes, two periods of ten minutes each way are played. If the score is still level the tie goes to a replay.

Qualifiers format

Twenty eight of the twenty nine teams beaten in the provincial championships enter the All-Ireland qualifiers, which are knock-out. Sixteen of the seventeen teams eliminated before their provincial semi-finals play eight matches in round 1 of the qualifiers, with the winners of these games playing the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2. The eight winning teams from round 2 play-off against each other in round 3, with the four winning teams playing the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4. This completes the double-elimination format as the four round 4 winners re-enter the main competition at the Super 8 stage. Further details of the format are included with each qualifier round listed below.
In rounds one to three, teams from divisions three and four of the National Football League have home advantage if drawn against teams from divisions one and two.
All qualifier matches are knockout with "Winner On The Day" rules being applied if a match is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes. Initially two extra time periods of ten minutes each way are played. If the score is still level two further periods of five minutes each way are played. If the score is still level, the winner is determined by a penalty shoot-out.

All-Ireland format

Significant changes to the format of the All-Ireland championship were made at the GAA's Annual Congress in February 2017 and introduced in 2018. The major change was the creation of the All-Ireland Quarter-Final Group Stage commonly known as "The Super 8s", which replaced the four knockout quarter-finals. Two groups of four teams compete in three rounds in the Super 8s.
The top two teams in each group contest the semi-finals on a weekend in early August. The All-Ireland final is played "by the 35th Sunday of the year".
The semi-finals and final are knock-out. If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes in a semi-final, two periods of ten minutes each way are played. If the score is still level the semi-final is replayed. If the score is level at the end of the normal seventy minutes in the final, the match is replayed.
The changes will be trialed for three years before being reviewed by the GAA in late 2020.

Live Gaelic Football On TV

, the national broadcaster in Ireland, will provide the majority of the live television coverage of the football championship in the second year of a five-year deal running from 2017 until 2021. Sky Sports will also broadcast live games and have exclusive rights to a number of matches including some All-Ireland football super 8 matches. Both RTÉ and Sky Sports televise the two All-Ireland semi-finals and final live.
, BBC Northern Ireland planned to air four Ulster Championship games live: the Antrim–Tyrone quarter-final, the two semi-finals, and the final.

Provincial Championships

Connacht Senior Football Championship|Connacht Senior Football Championship]]

For official fixtures and results see

Leinster Senior Football Championship">2019 Leinster Senior Football Championship">Leinster Senior Football Championship

The four teams who won their quarter-finals in the previous year are given byes to this year's quarter-finals. Six of the seven remaining teams play-off in the preliminary round with the seventh team also receiving a bye to the quarter-finals.
For official fixtures and results see

Munster Senior Football Championship">2019 Munster Senior Football Championship">Munster Senior Football Championship

The two teams who won the semi-finals in the previous year are given byes to this year's semi-finals.
For official fixtures and results see

Ulster Senior Football Championship">2019 Ulster Senior Football Championship">Ulster Senior Football Championship

An un-seeded draw determined the fixtures for all nine teams. In April 2018 the Ulster GAA Competitions Control Committee introduced a rule that the two teams who play in the preliminary round are exempt from playing in the preliminary round in the following two years. Derry and Tyrone were therefore awarded byes to the quarter-finals in 2020 and 2021.
For official fixtures and results see

All-Ireland Qualifiers

For official fixtures and results see

Qualifiers Round 1

In the first round of the qualifiers sixteen of the seventeen teams beaten in the preliminary rounds or quarter-finals of the provincial championships compete. New York does not enter the qualifiers. The round 1 draw is unrestricted − if two teams have played each other in a provincial match they can be drawn to meet again. The eight winners of these matches play the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2 of the qualifiers.
The following teams take part in round 1 –
;
;
;
;
In the second round of the qualifiers the eight winning teams from round 1 play the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists. The round 2 draw is unrestricted − if two teams have played each other in a provincial match they can be drawn to meet again. The eight winners of these matches play each other in four matches in round 3.
The following teams take part in round 2 –
; Connacht
; Leinster
; Munster
; Ulster
In the third round of the qualifiers the eight winning teams from round 2 play off in four matches. Round 3 draw rules do not allow two teams that have played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing can be avoided. In 2019 only Laois and Westmeath had played each other and this pairing was prevented in the draw. The four winners of these matches play the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4.
The following teams take part in round 3:
In the fourth round of the qualifiers, the four winning teams from round 3 play the four beaten provincial finalists. Round 4 draw rules do not allow two teams that have played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing can be avoided. The matches are normally held in neutral venues. The four winners of these matches play in the round robin All-Ireland Super 8s.
The following teams take part in round 4 –
Galway
Cork
Cavan
Meath
Clare
Tyrone
Mayo
Laois

All-Ireland

For official fixtures and results see

All-Ireland Quarter-Finals Group Stage

Structure

Format
The four provincial champions and the four winning teams from round four of the All-Ireland qualifiers are divided into two groups of four teams. Each group consists of two provincial champions and the two losing provincial finalists of the other two provinces or the team that beats them in round four of the qualifiers.
There are three rounds of two games in each group. Teams have one home game, one away game and one game in Croke Park:
Phase 1 - Weekend of 13/14 July - Each of the two provincial champions play one of the two qualifiers with both provincial champions having home advantage.
Phase 2 - Weekend of 20/21 July - The provincial champions play each other and the two qualifiers play each other. All round 2 matches are in Croke Park.
Phase 3 - Weekend of 3/4 August - Both qualifiers have home advantage when they play the provincial champions.
Dublin, if they qualify, will play their home game at Croke Park meaning that they will have two "Super 8" games in Croke Park. Some counties criticised the use of Croke Park as a home venue for Dublin. At the GAA Congress on 23 February 2019 Donegal proposed that Dublin be limited to playing one "Super 8" game at Croke Park. The motion failed as it only received 36% of the available votes.
Super 8 games are played in the four weeks beginning in early July and ending in the first weekend in August. Two points are awarded for a win and one point for a draw. The top two teams in each group advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Tie-breaker
If only two teams are level on group points -
If three or more teams are level on group points, score difference is used to rank the teams.

All-Ireland Quarter-Finals Group 1

All-Ireland Quarter-Finals Group 2

All-Ireland Semi-Finals

The winners of Super 8s Group 1 play the runners-up of Super 8s Group 2 and the winners of Super 8s Group 2 play the runners-up of Super 8s Group 1.

All-Ireland Final

The Central Competitions Control Committee of the GAA decided in October 2018 that, in future, the final should be played "by the 35th Sunday of the year". Traditionally the final was held on the third Sunday in September.

Championship Statistics

RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalMatchesAverage
1Cathal McShane Tyrone3-495896.3
2Seán O'Shea Kerry1-535687.1
3Dean Rock Dublin1-394267.0
4Mark Collins Cork2-313766.2
5Mickey Newman Meath4-243675.1
6Peter Harte Tyrone1-323593.9
7Cormac Costello Dublin1-313484.3
7Adam Tyrrell Kildare1-313465.7
9Michael Murphy Donegal2-253165.2
10Rian O'Neill Armagh3-213056
11David Clifford Kerry0-292954.2
11Conor Cox Roscommon0-292964.8
11Patrick McBrearty Donegal1-262964.8
11Cillian O'Connor Mayo2-232955.8
15Paul Mannion Dublin0-282883.5
16Con O'Callaghan Dublin4-132583.1
17Donal Kingston Laois0-242454.8
17Luke Connolly Cork5-092464
19Paul Geaney Kerry2-172382.9

Top Scorer: Single game

RankPlayerCountyTallyTotalOpposition
1Cormac Costello Dublin1-1215 Louth
2Dean Rock Dublin1-1114 Roscommon
3Bernard Allen Offaly0-1111 London
3Mark Collins Cork1-0811 Laois
3Seán O'Shea Kerry1-0811 Meath
6Mark Collins Cork0-1010 Limerick
6Donal Kingston Laois0-1010 Cork
6Seán O'Shea Kerry0-1010 Dublin
6Dean Rock Dublin0-1010 Kerry
6Michael Murphy Donegal1-0710 Kerry
6Adam Tyrrell Kildare1-0710 Longford
6Brian Hurley Cork2-0410 Laois
13Cormac Costello Dublin0-099 Kildare
13Peter Harte Tyrone0-099 Longford
13Shane McGuigan Derry1-069 Tyrone
13Patrick McBrearty Donegal1-069 Meath
13Mickey Newman Meath1-069 Carlow
13Mickey Newman Meath1-069 Clare

Scoring Events

  1. Ciaran Branagan
  2. Barry Cassidy
  3. Brendan Cawley, first year
  4. David Coldrick
  5. Niall Cullen
  6. Maurice Deegan
  7. David Gough
  8. Jerome Henry
  9. Sean Hurson
  10. Fergal Kelly
  11. Conor Lane
  12. Martin McNally
  13. Joe McQuillan
  14. James Molloy, first year
  15. Noel Mooney
  16. Paddy Neilan
  17. Anthony Nolan
  18. Derek O'Mahoney

    Stadia and locations