Tailteann Cup

The Tailteann Cup is a second tier Gaelic football championship competition held annually since 2022 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is contested by those county teams who do not qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the winner is awarded the Tailteann Cup.

Tailteann Cup
Current season or competition:
2023 Tailteann Cup
IrishCorn Tailteann
CodeGaelic football
Founded2022
RegionIreland (GAA)
No. of teams17
Title holders Westmeath (1st title)
Most titles Westmeath (1 titles)
TV partner(s)RTÉ
Official websitewww.gaa.ie

The name 'Tailteann' comes from the ancient Tailteann Games.

History

Following ongoing one-sided matches in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship between counties of differing standards, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) began considering the addition of a tournament for so-called weaker counties who were usually eliminated in the early stages of their respective provincial championship. At a national conference in November 2018, the GAA found broad support for the introduction of a second-tier championship and canvassed options for its potential structure and future inclusion within the annual calendar.[1] One year later at a specially convened congress, 76% of delegates formally approved of the second-tier tournament.[2] The tournament was named the Tailteann Cup in February 2020 and it was intended it would hold its inaugural season that year,[3] though its introduction was ultimately delayed until 2022 due the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games over that period.

Second and third-tier competitions have been incorporated in hurling for several years, such as the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup.

Format

Up to 17 teams compete in the cup. The teams are drawn from the bottom 16 rankings from that season's National Football League, plus New York. However, if a team in this position qualifies for the final of its provincial championship, that team continues to compete in the same year's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and does not compete in the Tailteann Cup.[4]

The teams that compete in the Tailteann Cup are split into four round-robin groups, and the top two teams from each group proceed to one of four knockout quarter-finals matches, followed by semi-finals and the final.[4][5] The Winners of the four Quarter Final pairings qualify for the semi-finals, with pairings decided via an open draw. The final of the Tailteann Cup is currently scheduled three weeks before the All-Ireland Football Final, and is staged at Croke Park in Dublin.[6]

For the inaugural 2022 Tailteann Cup, the format was altered to a straight-knockout competition with Round 1 and the Quarter Finals organised on a geographical basis with Northern and Southern Sections. From 2023 onwards, there are scheduled to be no North/South sections.[7]

Unlike the contest for the Sam Maguire Cup, London and New York are permitted to meet each other in the contest for the Tailteann Cup.

Teams

2023 Championship

Seventeen counties will compete in the 2023 Tailteann Cup:

County Location Stadium Province Position in 2022 Championship Provincial Titles Last Provincial Title All-Ireland Titles Last All-Ireland Title
Antrim Belfast Corrigan Park Ulster Round 1 10 1951 0 —
Carlow Carlow Dr Cullen Park Leinster Quarter-finals 1 1944 0 —
Cavan Cavan Breffni Park Ulster Runners-up 40 2020 5 1952
Down Newry Páirc Esler Ulster Round 1 12 1994 5 1994
Fermanagh Enniskillen Brewster Park Ulster Quarter-finals 0 — 0 —
Laois Portlaoise O'Moore Park Leinster Round 1 6 2003 0 —
Leitrim Carrick-on-Shannon Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada Connacht Quarter-finals 2 1994 0 —
Limerick Limerick Gaelic Grounds Munster Round 2 (All-Ireland Senior Football Championship) 1 1896 2 1896
London South Ruislip McGovern Park Britain Round 1 0 — 0 —
Longford Longford Pearse Park Leinster Round 1 1 1968 0 —
Meath Navan Páirc Tailteann Leinster Round 1 (All-Ireland Senior Football Championship) 21 2010 7 1999
New York Bronx Gaelic Park North America Quarter-finals 0 — 0 —
Offaly Tullamore O'Connor Park Leinster Semi-finals 10 1997 3 1982
Tipperary Thurles Semple Stadium Munster Round 1 10 2020 4 1920
Waterford Waterford Walsh Park Munster Preliminary round 1 1898 0 —
Wexford Wexford Chadwicks Wexford Park Leinster Preliminary round 10 1945 5 1918
Wicklow Aughrim Aughrim County Ground Leinster Round 1 0 — 0 —

List of Finals
Year Date Winners Runners-up Venue Winning captain(s) Winning Margin Referee
County (titles) Score County Score
2022 9 July Westmeath (1) 2-14 (20) Cavan 1-13 (16) Croke Park Kevin Maguire 4 Barry Cassidy (Derry)

Roll of honour

Performances by county
County Title(s) Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
Westmeath 1 0 2022 —
Cavan 0 1 — 2022

Performances by province
Province Winners Runners-up Total
Leinster 1 0 1
Ulster 0 1 1

Team records and statistics

Legend

For each year, the number of teams in each championship (in brackets) are shown.

Team 2022 (17) 2023 (17) Years
Antrim R1 2
Carlow QF 2
Cavan 2nd 2
Down R1 2
Fermanagh QF 2
Laois R1 2
Leitrim QF 2
Limerick AI 1
London R1 2
Longford R1 2
Meath AI 1
New York QF 2
Offaly SF 2
Sligo SF AI 1
Tipperary R1 2
Waterford PR 2
Westmeath 1st AI 1
Wexford PR 2
Wicklow R1 2

By semi-final appearances

Years in bold represent years qualified to final.

Team No. Years qualified to semi-finals
Cavan 1 2022
Westmeath 1 2022
Offaly 1 2022
Sligo 1 2022

Seasons in Tailteann Cup

The number of years that each county has played in the Tailteann Cup between 2022 and 2023. A total of 19 counties have competed in at least one season of the Tailteann Cup. 15 counties have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2023 Tailteann Cup.

Years Counties
2 Antrim, Carlow, Cavan, Down, Fermanagh, Laois, Leitrim, London, Longford, New York, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow
1 Limerick, Meath, Sligo, Westmeath

Debut of counties
Year Debutants Total
2022 Antrim, Carlow, Cavan, Down, Fermanagh, Laois, Leitrim, London, Longford, New York, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow 17
2023 Limerick, Meath 2
Total 19

List of Tailteann Cup counties

The following teams have competed in the Tailteann Cup for at least one season.

County Total years First year in Championship Most recent year in Championship Championship titles Last Championship title Most recent championship finish Best Tailteann Cup finish Current Championship Lvl
Antrim 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Carlow 2 2022 2023 0 — Quarter-finals QF Tailteann Cup 2
Cavan 2 2022 2023 0 — Runners-up 2nd Tailteann Cup 2
Down 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Fermanagh 2 2022 2023 0 — Quarter-finals QF Tailteann Cup 2
Laois 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Leitrim 2 2022 2023 0 — Quarter-finals QF Tailteann Cup 2
Limerick 1 2023 0 — Round 2 (All-Ireland SFC) — Tailteann Cup 2
London 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Longford 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Meath 1 2023 0 — Round 1 (All-Ireland SFC) — Tailteann Cup 2
New York 2 2022 2023 0 — Quarter-finals QF Tailteann Cup 2
Offaly 2 2022 2023 0 — Semi-finals SF Tailteann Cup 2
Sligo 1 2022 0 — Semi-finals SF All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 1
Tipperary 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2
Waterford 2 2022 2023 0 — Preliminary round PR Tailteann Cup 2
Westmeath 1 2022 1 2022 Champions 1st All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 1
Wexford 2 2022 2023 0 — Preliminary round PR Tailteann Cup 2
Wicklow 2 2022 2023 0 — Round 1 R1 Tailteann Cup 2

All time table

Legend

Colours
Currently competing in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Currently competing in the Tailteann Cup

As of 14 May 2023 (after Round 1).

# Team Pld W D L Points
1 Westmeath 4 4 0 0 8
2 Cavan 5 4 0 1 8
3 Offaly 5 4 0 1 8
4 Carlow 3 2 0 1 4
5 Sligo 3 2 0 1 4
6 Fermanagh 3 1 1 1 3
7 Limerick 1 1 0 0 2
8 Meath 1 1 0 0 2
9 Antrim 2 1 0 1 2
10 Down 2 1 0 1 2
11 Leitrim 3 1 0 2 2
12 Wicklow 3 1 0 2 2
13 Wexford 2 0 1 1 1
14 New York 1 0 0 1 0
15 Laois 2 0 0 2 0
16 London 2 0 0 2 0
17 Longford 2 0 0 2 0
18 Tipperary 2 0 0 2 0
19 Waterford 2 0 0 2 0

See also

References
  1. "Second Tier Championship format to be discussed in January". gaa.ie. 24 November 2018.
  2. Sean Moran (19 October 2019). "Tier 2 football championship gets green light at special congress". The Irish Times.
  3. Kevin O'Brien (29 February 2020). "Tier 2 football championship to be called the Tailteann Cup". the42.ie.
  4. "All-Ireland football championship to be revamped in 2023 as Green Proposal passes Congress". the42.ie. 26 February 2022.
  5. "GAA publish Master Fixtures Schedule for 2022". gaa.ie. 21 December 2021.
  6. "Tailteann Cup decider won't feature on All-Ireland undercard". RTE Sport. 22 December 2021.
  7. Ciarán Murphy (10 March 2022). "Ciarán Murphy: Priorities unclear until the GAA gives the Tailteann Cup some love". The Irish Times.
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