All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Tier 2
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| GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Tier 2 | |
|---|---|
Current season or competition: 2024 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship Tier 2 | |
| Irish | Craobh Peile Mionúr na hÉireann Sraith 2 |
| Code | Gaelic football |
| Founded | 2024 |
| Region | Ireland (GAA) |
| Trophy | Paul McGirr Cup |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Title holders |  Kildare (1st title) |
| First winner | Kildare |
| Sponsors | Electric Ireland |
| Official website | http://www.gaa.ie/ |
The GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship Tier 2 is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the second tier inter-county Gaelic football competition for male players under the age of 17 in Ireland.
Teams that are eliminated from the early provincial stages of the GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship qualify for this championship. 11 teams currently participate.
The final serves as the culmination of a series of games played during the summer months, and the results determine which team receives the Paul McGirr Cup. The All-Ireland Championship is played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship.
Kildare are the current champions after beating Cavan by 2–12 to 1–10 in the 2024 final.
The All-Ireland Minor Football Championship was created in 1929.[1] Various formats were used in the provincial competitions, however, the All-Ireland series was, for many years, confined to the four provincial champions. A change in format resulted in the four provincial runners-up also being allowed entry to the All-Ireland series. A decision at GAA Congress in 2023 allowed for the creation of additional tiered All-Ireland competitions for counties that do not reach the provincial final stage.[2][3][4]
Format
Qualification
| Province | Championship | Teams progressing |
|---|---|---|
| Connacht | Connacht Minor Football Championship | 2: 3rd and 4th-placed teams |
| Leinster | Leinster Minor Football Championship | 4: Beaten quarter and semi-finalists |
| Munster | Munster Minor Football Championship | 1: 3rd-placed team |
| Ulster | Ulster Minor Football Championship | 4: Beaten quarter and semi-finalists |
Championship
There are 11 teams in the All-Ireland Championship. During the course of a championship season nine games are played comprising three preliminary quarter-finals, four quarter-finals, two semi-finals and a final. The championship is played as a single-elimination tournament. Each game is played as a single leg.
Trophy
The Paul McGirr Cup is the current prize for winning the championship. Paul McGirr of Tyrone suffered a fatal injury in an accidental collision in an Ulster Minor Championship game between Tyrone and Armagh in June 1997.[5] The trophy, donated by the McGirr family in 1998, was previously awarded to the winners of the All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship before being repurposed as the prize for the winners of the All-Ireland U16.5 Championship. The cup was once again repurposed in 2024.[6]