Leinster Senior Football Championship

Development edit

Following the foundation of the Gaelic Athletic Association in 1884, new rules for Gaelic football and hurling were drawn up and published in the United Irishman newspaper. In 1886, county committees began to be established, with several counties affiliating over the next few years. The GAA ran its inaugural All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1887. The decision to establish that first championship was influenced by several factors. Firstly, inter-club contests in 1885 and 1886 were wildly popular and began to draw huge crowds. Clubs started to travel across the country to play against each other and these matches generated intense interest as the newspapers began to speculate which teams might be considered the best in the country. Secondly, although the number of clubs was growing, many were slow to affiliate to the Association, leaving it short of money. Establishing a central championship held the prospect of enticing GAA clubs to process their affiliations, just as the establishment of the FA Cup had done much in the 1870s to promote the development of the Football Association in England. The championships were open to all affiliated clubs who would first compete in county-based competitions, to be run by local county committees. The winners of each county championship would then proceed to represent that county in the All-Ireland series.^[3] For the first and only time in its history the All-Ireland Championship used an open draw format. 12 teams entered the first championship, however, this number increased to 15 in 1888. Because of this, and in an effort to reduce travelling costs, the GAA decided to introduce provincial championships.

Beginnings edit

The inaugural Leinster Championship featured Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Louth, Meath, Queen's County, Wexford and Wicklow. Dublin and Kildare contested the very first match on Sunday 3 June 1888. Wicklow beat Wexford in the third quarter-final a month later, however, a replay was ordered after the game was stopped with ten minutes to go as a result of a pitch invasion, and it was also revealed that Wicklow had played a number of illegal player. Postponements, disqualifications, objections, withdrawals and walkovers were regular occurrences during the initial years of the championship. The inaugural Leinster final between Kilkenny and Wexford was played on Sunday 23 September 1888, with Kilkenny claiming a 1–04 to 0–02 victory.

Team dominance edit

The first years of the Leinster Championship saw one of the most equitable eras in terms of titles won, with five different teams claiming their inaugural titles between 1888 and 1895. In winning the 1892 Leinster final, Dublin, as well as becoming the first team to retain the title, also set in train a level of championship dominance that continues to the present day. After two decades of dominance, Wexford broke the hegemony by setting a new record of six successive titles between 1913 and 1918. Dublin remained the standard-bearers of the province, however, Kildare emerged as a new force, winning eight titles between 1919 and 1935. Since winning their second ever title in 1939, Meath enjoyed some brief periods of dominance and claimed titles in each of the decades that followed to eventually become second only to Dublin in the all-time roll of honour by 1970. A Dublin resurgence in the 1970s was followed by Meath's most successful era, winning eight titles between 1986 and 2001 under Seán Boylan. In the 21st century Dublin set a new record of thirteen-in-a-row between 2011 and 2023.

Leinster championship moments edit

• Meath 1-12 - 1-10 Louth (11 July 2010): In the Leinster final, Meath controversially emerged victorious due to a disputed late goal scored by the Royal County. Many observers, particularly Louth supporters, believed that the goal should have been disallowed due to a foul. This incident sparked debate regarding officiating standards and fair play.
• Carlow 2-14 - 1-10 Kildare (27 May 2018): In a quarter-final clash, Carlow pulled off a notable upset by defeating Kildare. Carlow's victory surprised many, as Division 1 Kildare were the favorites going into the game against their Diviison 4 opponents. The result marked the rise of Carlow football.

Overview edit

The Leinster Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. The draw is seeded, with the previous year's semi-finalists receiving byes to the quarter-finals. Six of the remaining seven teams are drawn together in three first round matches, while the seventh team also receives a bye to the quarter-finals.

In September 2019, the Leinster Council decided against awarding champions Dublin a bye into the semi-final stage; instead deciding to retain the status quo. The Leinster Council did, however, introduce a semi-final draw scheduled for the Sunday night when all quarter-final winners were confirmed, meaning that semi-finalists would not know if they were on the champions' side of the draw until two weeks before the game.^[4]

Later 2022 for 2023 campaign a possible system change is needed another team to Dublin is overdue to win the title.

Progression edit

2024 Teams edit

Eleven counties will compete in the 2024 Leinster Senior Football Championship:

County	Location	Stadium	Position in 2023 Championship	Championship Titles	Last Championship Title	All-Ireland Titles	Last All-Ireland Title
Carlow	Carlow	Dr Cullen Park	Preliminary round	1	1944	0	—
Dublin	Donnycarney	Parnell Park	Champions	63	2024	30	2023
Kildare	Newbridge	St Conleth's Park	Semi-finals	13	2000	4	1928
Laois	Portlaoise	O'Moore Park	Quarter-finals	6	2003	0	—
Longford	Longford	Pearse Park	Preliminary round	1	1968	0	—
Louth	Drogheda	Drogheda Park	Runners-up	8	1957	3	1957
Meath	Navan	Páirc Tailteann	Quarter-finals	21	2010	7	1999
Offaly	Tullamore	O'Connor Park	Semi-finals	10	1997	3	1982
Westmeath	Mullingar	Cusack Park	Quarter-finals	1	2004	0	—
Wexford	Wexford	Chadwicks Wexford Park	Preliminary round	10	1945	5	1918
Wicklow	Aughrim	Aughrim County Ground	Quarter-finals	0	—	0	—

Personnel and kits edit

County	Manager	Captain	Sponsors
Carlow	Niall Carew	Sean Gannon	SETU
Dublin	Dessie Farrell	James McCarthy	Staycity
Kildare	Glenn Ryan	Mick O'Grady	Brady Family
Laois	Billy Sheehan	Trevor Collins and Evan O’Carroll	MW Hire Group
Longford	Paddy Christie[5]	Patrick Fox	Glennon Brothers
Louth	Ger Brennan	Sam Mulroy	STATSports
Meath	Colm O'Rourke	Shane McEntee	Bective Stud, Tea Rooms and Apartments
Offaly	Liam Kearns	Declan Hogan	Glenisk
Westmeath	Dessie Dolan[6]	Kevin Maguire	Renault
Wexford	John Hegarty	Liam Coleman	Zurich Insurance Group
Wicklow	Oisín McConville[7]	Padraig O’Toole	Joule

• The winners and runners-up of the championship qualify to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship group stage. The remaining nine Leinster teams may also qualify to the all-Ireland group stage via the National Football League. Those who fail to do so qualify to the Tailteann Cup.^[8]
• Before the introduction of the qualifiers in 2001, the winners of the Leinster Championship went straight to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Championship, along with the winners of the Connacht, Munster and Ulster Championships.

History edit

Leinster Championship matches were traditionally played at neutral venues or at a location that was deemed to be halfway between the two participants; however, teams eventually came to home and away agreements. Every second meeting between these teams is played at the home venue of one of them. Championship semi-finals were usually played both on the same day at Croke Park. The selection of Croke Park for the vast majority of Dublin's games in recent years has also come in for criticism in the 2nd decade of the 21st century, as it offers a perceived advantage to play in what is effectively their "home" stadium.^[9][10] This has continued into the 2020s.

Cavan took part in 1895 when Connacht and Ulster championships were abolished between 1893 and 1899. London played Louth in 1913 championship.

Attendances edit

Stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the Leinster Council and for the teams involved. For the 2018 championship, gate receipts fell by almost 30% to €1,879,326, compared to €2,634,837 the previous year. The average attendance for the entire series of games was just over 20,000, down from a peak of over 60,000 in 2002.^[11][12] The 2006 final between Dublin and Offaly saw a record attendance of 81,754.^[13]

Current venues edit

County	Location	Province	Stadium	Capacity
Carlow	Carlow	Leinster	Dr Cullen Park	11,000
Dublin	Dublin	Leinster	Croke Park	82,300
Kildare	Newbridge	Leinster	St Conleth's Park	8,200
Laois	Portlaoise	Leinster	O'Moore Park	22,000
Longford	Longford	Leinster	Pearse Park	6,000
Louth	Drogheda	Leinster	Drogheda Park	3,500
Meath	Navan	Leinster	Páirc Tailteann	11,000
Offaly	Tullamore	Leinster	O'Connor Park	18,000
Westmeath	Mullingar	Leinster	Cusack Park	11,500
Wexford	Wexford	Leinster	Chadwicks Wexford Park	18,000
Wicklow	Aughrim	Leinster	Aughrim County Ground	7,000

Legend edit

• Golden background – Leinster champions also won the All-Ireland Championship.

Performance by county edit

County	Title(s)	Runners-Up	Winning years	Losing years
Dublin	63	23	1891, 1892, 1894, 1896, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024	1890, 1895, 1910, 1912, 1915, 1917, 1919, 1927, 1928, 1944, 1957, 1961, 1964, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001
Meath	21	22	1895, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2010	1894, 1896, 1911, 1923, 1930, 1950, 1955, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020
Kildare	13	23	1903, 1905, 1919, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1935, 1956, 1998, 2000	1891, 1906, 1908, 1916, 1920, 1921, 1925, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1978, 1992, 1993, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2017, 2021, 2022
Wexford	10	16	1890, 1893, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1925, 1945	1888, 1897, 1898, 1899, 1901, 1902, 1924, 1926, 1932, 1933, 1939, 1948, 1953, 1956, 2008, 2011
Offaly	10	9	1960, 1961, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1997	1907, 1945, 1954, 1962, 1967, 1970, 1979, 1983, 2006
Louth	8	16	1909, 1910, 1912, 1943, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1957	1889, 1892, 1900, 1905, 1913, 1914, 1918, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1952, 1958, 1960, 2010, 2023, 2024
Laois	6	15	1889, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1946, 2003	1929, 1940, 1943, 1947, 1951, 1959, 1963, 1968, 1981, 1985, 1991, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2018
Kilkenny	3	5	1888, 1900, 1911	1893, 1903, 1904, 1909, 1922
Westmeath	1	4	2004	1931, 1949, 2015, 2016
Carlow	1	2	1944	1941, 1942
Longford	1	1	1968	1965
Wicklow	0	1	—	1897

List of finals (1986–present) edit

List of finals (1983–1985) edit

Match details of all Finals edit

2024	Dublin	1-19 – 2-12	Louth	Croke Park Attendance: 23,113 Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan)
		Report[14]

2023	Dublin	5-21 - 0-15	Louth	Croke Park Attendance: 40,115 Referee: Conor Lane (Cork) Man of the Match: Sean Bugler (St. OP/ER)
	Sean Bugler 1-3, Cormac Costello 0-5 (0-3f, 1 '45), Paul Mannion 1-1 (0-1f), Con O'Callaghan 0-4 (0-2m), James McCarthy, Paddy Small, Colm Basquel 1-0 each, Ciaran Kilkenny 0-3, Jack McCaffrey 0-2, John Small, Dean Rock, Sean McMahon 0-1 each	Report	Sam Mulroy 0-10 (0-7f, 1 '45), Conor Grimes 0-2, Ciaran Downey, Liam Jackson, Craig Lennon 0-1 each

2022	Dublin	5-17 - 1-15	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 38,000 (est.) Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon) Man of the Match: Con O'Callaghan (Cuala)
	Con O'Callaghan 1-5 (0-1m), Cormac Costello 2-1, Dean Rock 0-4f, John Small and Ciaran Kilkenny 1-0 each, Brian Fenton 0-3, Lee Gannon 0-2, Niall Scully and Aaron Byrne 0-1 each	Report	Jimmy Hyland 1-4 (0-3f), Ben McCormack 0-5 (0-1m), Kevin Feely 0-2 (0-1m), Kevin Flynn, Paul Cribbin, Darragh Kirwan, Paddy Woodgate (0-1f) 0-1 each

2021	Dublin	0-20 - 1-9	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan) Man of the Match: Daniel Flynn (Johnstownbridge)
	Dean Rock 0-5 (0-3f), Ciaran Kilkenny (0-1m) and Cormac Costello 0-4 each, Niall Scully 0-2 (0-1m), James McCarthy, Brian Howard, Paddy Small, Con O'Callaghan, Ryan Basquel 0-1 each	Report	Daniel Flynn 1-2 (0-1m), Jimmy Hyland 0-4 (0-1m, 0-1f), Neil Flynn, Alex Beirne, Brian McLoughlin 0-1 each

2020	Dublin	3–21 – 0–9	Meath	Croke Park Referee: Derek O'Mahoney (Tipperary) Man of the Match: Dean Rock (Ballymun Kickhams)
	Dean Rock 1–7 (0-5f, 1 '45), Sean Bugler 1–2, Niall Scully 1–1, Ciaran Kilkenny 0–4, Paddy Small 0–3 (0-2m), Con O'Callaghan 0–2, John Small and Paul Mannion (0-1f) 0–1 each	Report	Jordan Morris 0–4 (0-1f), Bryan Menton, Cillian O'Sulivan, Thomas O'Reilly (0-1f), Joey Wallace, Jason Scully 0–1 each

2019	Dublin	1–17 – 0–4	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 47,027 Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone) Man of the Match: Paul Mannion (Kilmacud Crokes)
	Dean Rock 0–4 (0-1f), Con O'Callaghan 1–0, Cormac Costello (0-2f, 1 '45) and Paul Mannion 0–3 each, Jack McCaffrey 0–2, Philly McMahon, Brian Fenton, Brian Howard, Ciaran Kilkenny, Paddy Andrews 0–1 each	Report	Michael Newman 0–3 and Bryan Menton 0–1

2018	Dublin	1–25 – 0–10	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 41,728 Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry) Man of the Match: Ciaran Kilkenny (Castleknock)
	Dean Rock 0–8 (0-5f, 1 '45), Ciaran Kilkenny 1–4, Cormac Costello 0–4, Brian Fenton, Con O'Callaghan, Paddy Andrews 0–2 each, Brian Howard, Niall Scully, Paul Mannion 0–1 each	Report	Donie Kingston 0–4 (0-2f), Alan Farrell and Gary Walsh 0–2 each, Kieran Lillis and Evan O'Carroll 0–1 each

2017	Dublin	2–23 – 1–17	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 66,734 Referee: Anthony Nolan (Wicklow) Man of the Match: Con O'Callaghan (Cuala)
	Con O'Callaghan 0-12 (0-6f), Bernard Brogan 0-5, James McCarthy and Dean Rock 1-0 each, Ciaran Kilkenny 0-2, Paul Mannion, Paddy Andrews, Shane B. Carthy, Brian Howard 0-1 each	Report [1]	Paddy Brophy 1-3 (0-1f), Kevin Feely 0-5 (0-4f), Daniel Flynn and Cathal McNally 0-2 each, Johnny Byrne, Keith Cribbin, Niall Kelly, David Slattery, Fionn Dowling 0-1 each

2016	Dublin	2–19 – 0–10	Westmeath	Croke Park Attendance: 38,885 Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford) Man of the Match: Bernard Brogan (St. OP/ER)
	Dean Rock 0-8f, Bernard Brogan 1–4, Kevin McManamon 1–2, Paddy Andrews 0–2, John Small, Paul Flynn, Diarmuid Connolly 0–1 each	Report	John Heslin 0–6 (0-5f), Ger Egan 0–2, Denis Corroon, Callum McCormack 0–1 each

2015	Dublin	2–13 – 0–6	Westmeath	Croke Park Attendance: 47,840 Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan) Man of the Match: Diarmuid Connolly (St Vincents)
	Bernard Brogan 1-1, Jack McCaffrey 1-0, Ciaran Kilkenny and Diarmuid Connolly 0-3 each, Dean Rock 0-2f, Philly McMahon, James McCarthy, Michael Darragh Macauley, Alan Brogan 0-1 each.	Report	John Heslin 0-3 (0-2f), Kieran Martin 0-2, Francis Boyle 0-1

2014	Dublin	3–20 – 1–10	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 62,660 Referee: Padraig Hughes (Armagh) Man of the Match: Kevin McManamon (St. Judes)
	Bernard Brogan 1–6 (0-4f), Kevin McManamon 1–5, Eoghan O’Gara 1–1, Diarmuid Connolly, Stephen Cluxton (1 '45), Cian O’Sullivan, Alan Brogan, Jack McCaffrey, Paul Flynn, Dean Rock, Cormac Costello 0–1 each	Report [2]	Mickey Newman 1–2 (0-1f), Shane O’Rourke (0-2f), Andy Tormey, Stephen Bray 0–2 each, Damien Carroll and David Bray 0–1 each

2013	Dublin	2–15 – 0–14	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 54,485 Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois) Man of the Match: Ciaran Kilkenny (Castleknock)
	Paul Mannion 1-4 (0-2f), Paul Flynn 1-1, Stephen Cluxton (0-2f, 1 '45) and Ciaran Kilkenny 0-3 each, Dean Rock 0-2 (0-1f), Diarmuid Connolly and Bernard Brogan (0-1f) 0-1 each	Report	Michael Newman 0-8 (0-6f), Stephen Bray and Eamonn Wallace 0-2 each, Brian Meade and Joe Sheridan 0-1 each

2012	Dublin	2–13 – 1–13	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 69,657 Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo) Man of the Match: Bernard Brogan (St. OP/ER)
	Bernard Brogan 1–7 (0-4f), Denis Bastick 1–0, Alan Brogan and Eoghan O'Gara 0–2 each, James McCarthy and Kevin McManamon 0–1 each	Report	Brian Farrell 0–7 (0-6f), Jamie Queeney 1–0, Graham Reilly 0–3, Donnacha Tobin, Joe Sheridan (1 '45), Stephen Bray 0–1 each

2011	Dublin	2–12 – 1–12	Wexford	Croke Park Attendance: 43,983 Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan) Man of the Match: Alan Brogan (St. OP/ER)
	James McCarthy 1–0, Alan Brogan and Bernard Brogan (0-1f) 0–3 each, Stephen Cluxton (1 '45), Denis Bastick, Paul Flynn, Bryan Cullen, Kevin McManamon, Ross McConnell 0–1 each, Graeme Molloy 1–0 o.g.	Report	Ben Brosnan 0–9 (0-5f, 2 '45), Redmond Barry 1–0, Ciaran Lyng 0–2, Adrian Flynn 0–1

2010	Meath	1–12 – 1–10	Louth	Croke Park Attendance: 48,875 Referee: Martin Sludden (Tyrone) Man of the Match: Eamonn McAuley (Na Piarsaigh)
	Graham Reilly and Cian Ward (0-4f) 0–4 each, Joe Sheridan 1–0, Stephen Bray 0–2, Anthony Moyles and Nigel Crawford 0–1 each	Report	JP Rooney 1–1, Brian White 0–4 (0-1f), Colm Judge 0–2 (0-1f), Paddy Keenan, Andy McDonnell, Adrian Reid 0–1 each

2009	Dublin	2–15 – 0–18	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 74,573 Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)
	Bernard Brogan 0–7 (0-2f), Barry Cahill and Jason Sherlock 1–1 each, Conal Keaney 0–3 (0-2f), Alan Brogan 0–2, Ciaran Whelan 0–1	Report	Ken Donnelly 0–3, Mikey Conway, James Kavanagh, Padraig O'Neill, Ronan Sweeney, Alan Smith, John Doyle 0–2 each, Dermot Earley, Robert Kelly, Eamon Callaghan 0–1 each

2008	Dublin	3–23 – 0–9	Wexford	Croke Park Attendance: 80,112 Referee: Gearoid Ó Conamha (Galway)
	Alan Brogan 1–4 (1 '45), Diarmuid Connolly 1–3, Conal Keaney 0–6 (0-4f), Tomás Quinn 0-4f, Mark Vaughan 1–0, Jason Sherlock 0–3, Collie Moran, Barry Cahill, Shane Ryan 0–1 each	Report	Ciarán Lyng 0-4f, Eric Bradley and Matty Forde 0–2 each, Redmond Barry 0–1

2007	Dublin	3–14 – 1–14	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 81,394 Referee: Michael Hughes (Tyrone)
	Mark Vaughan 1–6 (0-5f), Alan Brogan and Bernard Brogan 1–1 each, Ciaran Whelan and Conal Keaney (0-1f) 0–2 each, Tomás Quinn and Ger Brennan 0–1 each	Report	MJ Tierney 0–7 (0-6f, 1 '45), Ross Munnelly 1–1, Colm Parkinson 0–3, Brian McCormack, Peter O'Leary, Billy Sheehan 0–1 each

2006	Dublin	1–15 – 0–9	Offaly	Croke Park Attendance: 81,754 Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo)
	Tomás Quinn 0–7 (0-3f), Jason Sherlock 1–1, Alan Brogan 0–4, Conal Keaney 0–3 (0-1f)	Report	Niall McNamee 0–4 (0-1f), Ciaran McManus (0-2f) and Thomas Deehan 0–2 each, Alan McNamee 0–1

2005	Dublin	0–14 – 0–13	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 81,025 Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan) Man of the Match: Bryan Cullen (Skerries Harps)
	Tomás Quinn 0–4 (0-3f, 1 '45), Bryan Cullen 0–3, Jason Sherlock 0–2, Stephen O'Shaughnessy, Ciaran Whelan, Collie Moran, Alan Brogan, Conal Keaney 0–1 each	Report	Ross Munnelly 0–5 (0-2f), Chris Conway 0–4 (0-2f), Noel Garvan and Donie Brennan 0–2 each

2004	Westmeath	0–13 – 0–13	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 56,000 Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)
	Denis Glennon 0–5, Dessie Dolan 0–4 (0-3f), Fergal Wilson (0-2f) and Joe Fallon 0–2 each	Report	Brian McDonald 0–4 (0-2f), Ross Munnelly, Chris Conway, Shane Cooke (0-2f) 0–2 each, Darren Rooney, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Mick Lawlor 0–1 each

2004 Replay	Westmeath	0–12 – 0–10	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 38,300 Referee: Mick Monahan (Kildare)
	Alan Mangan 0–4, Dessie Dolan 0–3 (0-1f), Denis Glennon 0–2, Michael Ennis, Brian Morley, Fergal Wilson (0-1f) 0–1 each	Report	Ross Munnelly 0-3f, Kevin Fitzpatrick 0–2, Tom Kelly, Padraig Clancy, Brian McDonald, Donie Brennan, Colm Parkinson 0–1 each

2003	Laois	2–13 – 1–13	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 61,786 Referee: Seamus McCormack (Meath)
	Brian McDonald 1–2, Ross Munnelly 1–1, Ian Fitzgerald 0–4, Tom Kelly 0–2, Padraig Clancy, Gary Kavanagh, Barry Brennan, Donal Miller 0–1 each	Report	John Doyle 0–5 (0-4f), Patrick Murray 0–4 (0-3f), Ronan Sweeney 1–0 pen, Stuart McKenzie-Smith 0–2, Glenn Ryan and Padraig Brennan 0–1 each

2002	Dublin	2–13 – 2–11	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 78,033 Referee: Michael Collins (Cork)
	Ray Cosgrove 1–4 (0-2f), Alan Brogan 1–2, John McNally 0–3 (1 '45), Senan Connell 0–2, Paddy Christie and Ciaran Whelan 0–1	Report	Tadhg Fennin 2–2, John Doyle 0–7 (0-5f), Karl O'Dwyer and Patrick Murray 0–1 each

2001	Meath	2–11 – 0–14	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 66,275 Referee: Michael Curley (Galway)
	Richie Kealy 1–1, Graham Geraghty 1–0, Evan Kelly and Trevor Giles (1 '45) 0–3 each, Donal Curtis 0–2, Ollie Murphy and Ray Magee 0–1 each	Report	Collie Moran 0–4, Ciaran Whelan, Dessie Farrell, Wayne McCarthy (0-3f) 0–3 each, Jason Sherlock 0–1

2000	Kildare	0–14 – 0–14	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 50,066 Referee: Paddy Russell (Tipperary)
	Padraig Brennan 0–5 (0-4f), John Doyle (0-2f) and Tadhg Fennin 0–3 each, Anthony Rainbow, Martin Lynch, Ronan Sweeney 0–1 each	Report	Brian Stynes, Collie Moran, Jason Sherlock 0–3 each, Johnny Magee, Ciaran Whelan, Dessie Farrell, Jim Gavin (0-1f), Vinnie Murphy 0–1 each

2000 Replay	Kildare	2–11 – 0–12	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 51,156 Referee: Pat McEnaney (Monaghan)
	Padraig Brennan 0–5 (0-4f), Dermot Earley and Tadhg Fennin 1–0 each, Willie McCreery and John Doyle (0-2f) 0–2 each, Martin Lynch and Bryan Murphy 0–1 each	Report	Collie Moran 0–3, Ciaran Whelan, Jim Gavin (0-2f), Dessie Farrell 0–2 each, Brian Stynes (0-1f), Jason Sherlock, Vinnie Murphy (0-1f) 0–1 each

1999	Meath	1–14 – 0–12	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 56,315 Referee: Michael Curley (Galway)
	Ollie Murphy 1–5, Trevor Giles 0–5 (0-4f), Graham Geraghty 0–2, Hank Traynor and Nigel Nestor 0–1 each	Report	Declan Darcy 0-6f, Jim Gavin 0–5 (0-3f), Ciaran Whelan 0–1

1998	Kildare	1–12 – 0–10	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 62,504 Referee: John Bannon (Longford)
	Padraig Graven 0-4f, Bryan Murphy 1–0, Willie McCreery, Eddie McCormack, Karl O'Dwyer 0–2 each, Anthony Rainbow and Declan Kerrigan 0–1 each	Report	Trevor Giles (0-2f) and Ray Magee (0-2f) 0–3 each, John McDermott, Tommy Dowd, Ollie Murphy, Jody Devine 0–1 each

1997	Offaly	3–17 – 1–15	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 46,047 Referee: Brian White (Wexford) Man of the Match: Vinny Claffey (Doon)
	Roy Malone 2–0, Vinny Claffey 1–5, Colm Quinn 0–4, David Reynolds (0-1f) and Peter Brady 0–3 each, Ciaran McManus (0-1f) and Ronan Mooney 0–1 each		Brendan Reilly 0–7 (0-3f, 1 '45), Jimmy McGuinness 1–2, Trevor Giles and Ollie Murphy 0–3 each

1996	Meath	0–10 – 0–8	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 55,182 Referee: Brian White (Wexford) Man of the Match: John McDermott (Skryne)
	Trevor Giles 0–4 (0-3f), Tommy Dowd and Brendan Reilly 0–2 each, Evan Kelly and Barry Callaghan 0–1 each		Charlie Redmond 0–4 (1f, 1'45), Ciaran Whelan 0–2, Eamon Heery and Brian Stynes 0–1 each

1995	Dublin	1–18 – 1–8	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 63,000 Referee: Pat Casserly (Westmeath)
	Charlie Redmond 0–7 (0-6f), Paul Clarke 1–2, Dessie Farrell 0–3 (0-1f), Paul Curran and Jason Sherlock 0–2 each, Jim Gavin and Mick Galvin 0–1 each	Report	Evan Kelly 1–0, Trevor Giles 0-3f, Colm O'Rourke 0–2 (0-1f), Graham Geraghty, Jody Devine, Brian Stafford (0-1f) 0–1 each

1994	Dublin	1–09 – 1–08	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 50,172 Referee: Brian White (Wexford)
	Charlie Redmond 1–4 (0-4f), Brian Stynes 0–2, Niall Guiden, Dessie Farrell, Paul Clarke 0–1 each	Report	Graham Geraghty 1–2, Jimmy McGuinness, Brendan Reilly, Colm O'Rourke, Bernard Flynn, Tommy Dowd, PJ Gillic 0–1 each

1993	Dublin	0–11 – 0–7	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 59,696 Referee: Tommy McDermott (Cavan) Man of the Match: Jack Sheedy (Lucan Sarsfields)
	Charlie Redmond 0–5 (0-3f, 1 '45), Pat Gilroy, Dessie Farrell, Paul Bealin, Vinnie Murphy, Mick Galvin, Johnny Barr 0–1 each	Report	Niall Buckley 0-4f, Sean McGovern, Johnny McDonald, Declan Kerrigan 0–1 each

1992	Dublin	1–13 – 0–10	Kildare	Croke Park Attendance: 60,271 Referee: Brian White (Wexford) Man of the Match: Keith Barr (Erin's Isle)
	Charlie Redmond 0–5 (0-4f,1'45), Keith Barr 1–0, Vinnie Murphy 0–3, Paul Curran, Eamon Heery, Paul Clarke, Dessie Farrell, Mick Galvin 0–1 each	Report	Niall Buckley 0–4 (0-3f), Martin Lynch and Paul McLoughlin 0–2, Brian Fahy and Johnny McDonald 0–1 each

1991	Meath	1–11 – 0–8	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 28,157 Referee: Tommy Howard (Kildare) Man of the Match: Martin O'Connell (St. Michaels)
	Brian Stafford 0–5 (0-4f), David Beggy 1–0, Bernard Flynn 0–3, Colm Coyle 0–2, Colm O'Rourke 0–1		Michael Turley 0–4 (0-3f), Leo Turley 0–2, Pat Roe and Colm Maher 0–1 each

1990	Meath	1–14 – 0–14	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 53,847 Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath) Man of the Match: Dave Foran (Thomas Davis)
	Brian Stafford 0–8 (0-6f), Colm O'Rourke 1–1, Bernard Flynn 0–2, Martin O'Connell, David Beggy, PJ Gillic 0–1 each	Report	Barney Rock 0-5f, Paul Clarke and Kieran Duff (0-2f) 0–2 each, Keith Barr, Vinnie Murphy, Charlie Redmond, Joe McNally, Leo Close 0–1 each

1989	Dublin	2–12 – 1–10	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 56,839 Referee: S Kelly (Carlow)
	V Murphy 1-2, K Duff 1-2, B Rock 0-5, P Curran 0-2, J McNally 0-1.		B Stafford 0-5, B Flynn 0-4, M McCabe 1-0, C O'Rourke 0-1.

1988	Meath	2–05 – 0–09	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 42,302 Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)
	PJ Gillic 1-3 (0-2f), Mattie McCabe 1-1, Liam Hayes 0-1		Declan Sheehan 0-3 (0-1f), Vinnie Murphy 0-2, Noel McCaffrey, Charlie Redmond (0-1 pen), Barney Rock (0-1f), Mick Galvin 0-1 each

1987	Meath	1–13 – 0–12	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 48,122 Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)
	Brian Stafford 0-6 (0-5f) Mattie McCabe 1-2, Colm O'Rourke and Finian Murtagh 0-2 each, David Beggy 0-1.		Barney Rock 0-4 (0-3f), Noel McCaffrey and Joe McNally 0-2 each, Declan Bolger, Charlie Redmond, Mick Gavin, Anto McCaul 0-1 each

1986	Meath	0–09 – 0–07	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 43,763 Referee: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare)
	Finian Murtagh (0-1f) and Colm O'Rourke 0-3 each, Liam Hayes (0-1f), David Beggy, Bernard Flynn (0-1f) 0-1 each		Barney Rock 0-3 (0-2f, 1 '45), Kieran Duff (0-1f) and Charlie Redmond (0-1f) 0-2 each

1985	Dublin	0–10 – 0–04	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 33,425 Referee: Paddy Kavanagh (Meath)
	Barney Rock 0-6 (0-4f), Anto McCaul 0-2, Jim Ronayne and Tommy Carr 0-1 each		Liam Irwin (0-1f), Willie Brennan, Christy Maguire (0-1f), Gerry Browne 0-1 each

1984	Dublin	2–10 – 1–09	Meath	Croke Park Attendance: 56,051 Referee: J Gunning (Offaly)
	Barney Rock 1-4 (0-3f), Kieran Duff 1-4, Anton O'Toole and Joe McNally 0-1 each		Ben Tansey 1-0, Liam Smith 0-3f, Mattie McCabe 0-2, Martin O'Connell (1 '50), Liam Hayes, Colm O'Rourke, Bernard Flynn 0-1 each

1983	Dublin	2–13 – 1–11	Offaly	Croke Park Attendance: 36,912 Referee: P Collins (Westmeath)
	Joe McNally 1-2, Barney Rock 0-5f, John Caffrey 1-0, Tommy Conroy and Kieran Duff 0-2 each, Anton O'Toole and John Kearns 0-1 each		Matt Connor 1-7 (0-6f), Brendan Lowry 0-2, Tomas O'Connor and Martin Fitzpatrick 0-1 each

1982	Offaly	1–16 – 1–07	Dublin	Croke Park Attendance: 32,50 Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath)
	Séamus Darby 1-3, Gerry Carroll, John Guinan, Matt Connor (0-1f, 1 '50), Liam O'Mahony 0-3 each, Brendan Lowry 0-1		Niall Gaffney 1-1, Barney Rock 0-2, John Kearns 0-2, Anto McCaul 0-1, Kieran Duff 0-1.

1981	Offaly	1–18 – 3–09	Laois	Croke Park Attendance: 28,398 Referee: Paddy Collins (Westmeath)
	Brendan Lowry 1-4, Matt Connor 0-5 (0-3f), Tomas O'Connor, Pat Fitzgerald, Gerry Carroll, Sean Lowry 0-2 each, Aidan O'Halloran 0-1		Willie Brennan 1-3 (0-2f), Mick Moore 1-2, Tom Prendergast 1-1, John Costello, Eamon Whelan, Declan O'Loughlin 0-1 each

1980

Offaly	1–10 – 1–08	Dublin

Croke Park

1979

Dublin	1–08 – 0–09	Offaly

Croke Park

1978

Dublin	1–17 – 1–06	Kildare

Croke Park

1977

Dublin	1–09 – 0–08	Meath

Croke Park

1976

Dublin	2–08 – 1–09	Meath

Croke Park

1975

Dublin	3–13 – 0–08	Kildare

Croke Park

1974

Dublin	1–14 – 1–09	Meath

Croke Park

1973

Offaly	3–21 – 2–12	Meath

Croke Park

1972

Offaly	1–18 – 2–08	Kildare

Croke Park

1971

Offaly	2–14 – 0–06	Kildare

Croke Park

1970

Meath	2–22 – 5–12	Offaly

Croke Park

1969

Offaly	3–07 – 1–08	Kildare

Croke Park

1968

Longford	3–09 – 1–04	Laois

Croke Park

1967

Meath	0–08 – 0–06	Offaly

Croke Park

1966

Meath	1–09 – 1–08	Kildare

Croke Park

1965

Dublin	3–06 – 0–09	Longford

Croke Park

1964

Meath	2–12 – 1–07	Dublin

Croke Park

1963

Dublin	2–11 – 2–09	Laois

Croke Park

1962

Dublin	2–08 – 1–07	Offaly

Croke Park

1961

Offaly	1–13 – 1–08	Dublin

O'Moore Park, Portlaoise

Attendance: 26,826

1960

Offaly	0–10 – 1–06	Louth

Croke Park

Managers in the Leinster Championship are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players from the club championships. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the individual county boards. From 2018, all inter-county head coaches must be Award 2 qualified. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. Prior to the development of the concept of a manager in the 1970s, teams were usually managed by a team of selectors with one member acting as chairman.

Winning managers (1971–present) edit

#	Manager(s)	Winning team(s)	Titles(s)	Winning years
1	Seán Boylan	Meath	8	1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2001
2	Kevin Heffernan	Dublin	7	1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985
	Jim Gavin	Dublin	7	2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Dessie Farrell	Dublin	5	2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
4	Paul Caffrey	Dublin	4	2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
	6	Tom Gilhooley	Offaly	3	1971, 1972, 1973
Eugene McGee		Offaly	3	1980, 1981, 1982
Pat O'Neill		Dublin	3	1993, 1994, 1995
Mick O'Dwyer		Kildare Laois	2 1	1998, 2000 2003
Pat Gilroy		Dublin	3	2009, 2011, 2012
11	Tony Hanahoe	Dublin	2	1977, 1978
	Tommy Lyons	Offaly Dublin	2	1997, 2002
13	Gerry McCaul	Dublin	1	1989
	Paddy Cullen	Dublin	1	1992
	Páidí Ó Sé	Westmeath	1	2004
	Éamonn O'Brien	Meath	1	2010

At the end of the Leinster final, the winning team is presented with a trophy. The Delaney Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. Traditionally, the presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Hogan Stand of Croke Park where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match.

The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup actually has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before the presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team and management then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup.

The current cup was first presented after the 1953 final, however, it would be another 50 years before it was named the Delaney Cup.^[15] The Delaney brothers were a famous Gaelic football family from Portlaoise who lined out at club, county and provincial level.^[16]

In accordance with GAA rules, the Leinster Council awards up to twenty-six gold medals to the winners of the Leinster final.

Since 1994, the Leinster Championship has been sponsored. The sponsor has usually been able to determine the championship's sponsorship name.

Team results (2022–present) edit

Legend

• 1st – Champions
• 2nd – Runners-up
• SF/QF/PR – Semi-finals/Quarter-finals/Preliminary round

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

Team	2022 (11)	2023 (11)	2024 (11)	Years
Carlow	PR	PR	PR	3
Dublin	1st	1st	1st	3
Kildare	2nd	SF	SF	3
Laois	PR	QF	QF	3
Longford	QF	PR	PR	3
Louth	QF	2nd	2nd	3
Meath	SF	QF	QF	3
Offaly	PR	SF	SF	3
Westmeath	SF	QF	PR	3
Wexford	QF	PR	QF	3
Wicklow	QF	QF	QF	3

Teams by decade edit

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Leinster Senior Football Championship titles, is as follows:

• 1880s: 1 each for Kilkenny (1888) and Laois (1889)
• 1890s: 7 for Dublin (1891-92-94-96-97-98-99)
• 1900s: 6 for Dublin (1901-02-04-06-07-08)
• 1910s: 6 for Wexford (1913–14-15-16-17-18)
• 1920s: 5 for Dublin (1920-21-22-23-24)
• 1930s: 3 each for Kildare (1930-31-35), Dublin (1932-33-34) and Laois (1936-37-38)
• 1940s: 3 for Meath (1940-47-49)
• 1950s: 3 each for Louth (1950-53-57), Meath (1951-52-54) and Dublin (1955-58-59)
• 1960s: 3 each for Offaly (1960-61-69), Dublin (1962-63-65) and Meath (1964-66-67)
• 1970s: 6 for Dublin (1974-75-76-77-78-79)
• 1980s: 4 for Dublin (1983-84-85-89)
• 1990s: 4 each for Meath (1990-91-96-99) and Dublin (1992-93-94-95)
• 2000s: 6 for Dublin (2002-05-06-07-08-09)
• 2010s: 9 for Dublin (2011-12-13-14-15-16-17-18-19)
• 2020s: 4 for Dublin (2020-21-22-23)

Other records edit

Gaps edit

• Longest gaps between successive Leinster titles:
  • 57 years: Laois (1946–2003)
  • 44 years: Meath (1895–1939)
  • 42 years: Kildare (1956–1998)
  • 31 years: Louth (1912–1943)
  • 20 years: Wexford (1925–1945)

Active gaps edit

• Longest gaps since last Leinster title:
  • 113 years: Kilkenny (1911–)
  • 80 years: Carlow (1944–)
  • 79 years: Wexford (1945–)
  • 67 years: Louth (1957–)
  • 56 years: Longford (1968–)
  • 27 years: Offaly (1997–)
  • 24 years: Kildare (2000–)
  • 21 years: Laois (2003–)
  • 20 years: Westmeath (2004–)
  • 14 years: Meath (2010–)
  • 1 year: Dublin (2023–)
• Longest gaps since last Leinster final appearance:
  • 127 years: Wicklow (1897–)
  • 102 years: Kilkenny (1922–)
  • 80 years: Carlow (1944–)
  • 56 years: Longford (1968–)
  • 18 years: Offaly (2006–)
  • 13 years: Wexford (2011–)
  • 8 years: Westmeath (2016–)
  • 6 years: Laois (2018–)
  • 4 years: Meath (2020–)
  • 2 years: Kildare (2022–)
  • 1 year: Dublin (2023–)
  • 1 year: Louth (2023–)

Longest undefeated run edit

• Dublin - 39 matches (2011–present): The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 39 games held by Dublin. It began with a 1–16 to 0–11 win over Laois on 5 June 2011. Dublin completed a provincial 10 in a row with a 3–21 to 0–09 win over Meath on 21 November 2020.^[17] The streak is still running at 39 matches after Dublin won the 2023 championship.

Most recent championship meetings edit

Team progress since 2001 edit

Below is a record of each county's performance since the introduction of the qualifier system to the All-Ireland series in 2001. Qualifiers did not occur from 2020 and 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. But came back in 2022 Round Robin in 2023

Key

Top scorers edit

All time edit

By year edit

Single game edit