Tailteann Cup

2022

The first Tailteann Cup was a knockout tournament whereby once a team was defeated they were eliminated from the championship. The pairings were drawn by location. Each match was played as a single leg.

2023–2025

The Tailteann Cup emulated the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship format which includes a group stage and a knockout stage.

2026-

Alongside the All-Ireland SFC, the Tailteann Cup moved to a double-elimination format from 2026 onwards.

Round 1 (16 teams remaining)

The sixteen teams who did not qualify for the All-Ireland series are drawn at random into eight ties. The first team chosen receives home-field advantage.

Round 2A (Eight teams)

Winners of the Round 1 ties play each other in this round, with fixtures chosen by open draw and the first team chosen playing at home. Three winners progress to the quarter-finals and one team moves to the preliminary quarter-final.

Round 2B (Eight teams)

Losers of the Round 1 ties play each other in this round. Winners progress to Round 3 and losers are eliminated.

Round 3 (Eight teams)

Losers of Round 2A ties play winners of Round 2B ties in this round. Home advantage is determined by a separate draw from the draw for fixtures and rematches from Round One are avoided where possible. Winners progress to the quarter-finals and losers are eliminated.

Preliminary quarter-final (Two teams)

One Round 2A winner (selected at random) plays New York in this round. The Round 2A winner is guaranteed home advantage unless that team is London, in which case the game will be moved to a neutral site in Ireland.

Quarter-finals (Eight teams remaining)

Winners from Round 2A and the preliminary quarter-final are seeded and play a Round 3 winner, with rematches avoided where possible. Round 2A/PQF winners receive home advantage unless they are New York, who will play at a neutral site in Ireland should they advance.

Semi-finals (Four teams remaining)

The winners of the quarter-finals make up the semi-final pairings. Rematches from either provincial championships or earlier in the Tailteann Cup are avoided where possible. Games are played at neutral venues determined by the Competition Committee. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final

The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game. Winning team are declared Tailteann Cup champions.

Group stage, preliminary quarter-finals and quarter-finals

Fixtures in the three group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least one home game.

Semi-finals and final

The Tailteann Cup semi-finals and final are played at Croke Park.

Legend

• 1st – Champion
• 2nd – Runner-up
• SF – Semi-finalist
• PR/R{1/2/3}/GS/PQF/QF – Preliminary Round/Round {1/2/3}/Group Stage/Preliminary Quarter-final/Quarter-final
• AI – All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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

More information Team, 2022 (17) ...

Team	2022 (17)	2023 (17)	2024 (17)	2025 (17)	2026 (17)	Years
Antrim	R1	SF	SF	PQF	QF	5
Carlow	QF	QF	GS	PQF	R2	5
Cavan	2nd	QF	AI	AI	AI	2
Clare	AI	AI	AI	AI	R2	1
Down	R1	2nd	1st	AI	2nd	4
Fermanagh	QF	PQF	QF	SF	SF	5
Kildare	AI	AI	QF	1st	AI	3
Laois	R1	SF	2nd	PQF	QF	5
Leitrim	QF	GS	PQF	GS	R3	5
Limerick	AI	QF	QF	2nd	R2	4
London	R1	GS	PQF	GS	R3	5
Longford	R1	PQF	GS	GS	R3	5
Meath	AI	1st	AI	AI	AI	1
New York	QF	PQF	PQF	PQF	PQF	5
Offaly	SF	PQF	GS	QF	SF	5
Sligo	SF	AI	SF	QF	QF	4
Tipperary	R1	GS	PQF	GS	R3	5
Waterford	PR	GS	GS	GS	R2	5
Westmeath	1st	AI	AI	QF	AI	2
Wexford	PR	QF	GS	QF	QF	5
Wicklow	R1	GS	QF	SF	1st	5

Close

Finishing positions

• Most championships
  • 1, Westmeath (2022)
  • 1, Meath (2023)
  • 1, Down (2024)
  • 1, Kildare (2025)
  • 1, Wicklow (2026)
• Most second-place finishes
  • 2, Down (2023, 2026)
• Most semi-final finishes
  • 2, Sligo (2022, 2024)
  • 2, Antrim (2023, 2024)
  • 2, Offaly (2022, 2026)
  • 2, Fermanagh (2025, 2026)
• Most quarter-final finishes
  • 3, Wexford (2024, 2025, 2026)
• Most preliminary quarter-final finishes
  • 4, New York (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)
• Most group stage finishes
  • 3, Waterford (2023, 2024, 2025)

Unbeaten sides

• Teams that have won the Tailteann Cup unbeaten:
  • Westmeath had 4 wins in 2022.
  • Meath had 6 wins in 2023.
  • Down had 6 wins in 2024.
  • Kildare had 6 wins in 2025.

Beaten sides

On five occasions a team was defeated twice, but remained in the knockout championship:

• Longford (2023) were beaten by Carlow and Limerick, but still qualified for the knockout stage.
• Tipperary (2024) were beaten by Sligo and Antrim, but still qualified for the knockout stage.
• Wicklow (2024) were beaten by Fermanagh and Laois, but still qualified for the knockout stage.
• London (2024) were beaten by Down and Limerick, but still qualified for the knockout stage.
• Antrim (2025) were beaten by Westmeath and Limerick, but still qualified for the knockout stage.

Final success rate

Four teams have been victorious on each occasion they have appeared in the final:

• Westmeath (2022)
• Meath (2023)
• Kildare (2025)
• Wicklow (2025)

On the opposite end of the scale, three teams have lost on each occasion they have appeared in the final:

• Cavan (2022)
• Laois (2024)
• Limerick (2025)

Consecutive participations

• 5, Antrim (2022–2026)
• 5, Carlow (2022–2026)
• 5, Fermanagh (2022–2026)
• 5, Laois (2022–2026)
• 5, Leitrim (2022–2026)
• 5, London (2022–2026)
• 5, Longford (2022–2026)
• 5, New York (2022–2026)
• 5, Offaly (2022–2026)
• 5, Tipperary (2022–2026)
• 5, Waterford (2022–2026)
• 5, Wexford (2022–2026)
• 5, Wicklow (2022–2026)

13 counties have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tailteann Cup, taking part in the all five editions of the competition.

Winning other trophies

Although not an officially recognised achievement, no teams have ever achieved the distinction of winning the Tailteann Cup and their respective Division in the National Football League.

Biggest wins

• The most one sided finals:
  • 5 points – 2023: Meath 2–13 - 0–14 Down
  • 4 points – 2022: Westmeath 2–14 - 1–13 Cavan
• The most one sided matches:
  • 22 points – 2024: Waterford 0–6 - 5–15 Kildare
  • 22 points – 2023: Down 8–16 - 2–12 Laois
  • 20 points – 2024: Kildare 3–25 - 1–11 Longford
  • 20 points – 2026: Fermanagh 3–27 - 1–13 New York
  • 18 points – 2023: Tipperary 0–6 - 2–18 Down
  • 17 points – 2023: Meath 2–23 - 0–12 Wexford
  • 17 points – 2024: Sligo 2–20 - 0–9 London
  • 17 points – 2024: London 0–10 - 1–24 Down
  • 17 points – 2026: Waterford 0–10 - 5–12 London
  • 16 points – 2024: Tipperary 1–12 - 3–22 Sligo

Scoring Events

• Most goals in a match:
  • 10 – 2023: Down 8–16 - 2–12 Laois
• Most points in a match:
  • 40 – 2026: Fermanagh 3–27 - 1–13 New York
• Most goals by one team in a match:
  • 8 – 2023: Down 8–16 - 2–12 Laois
• Most points by one team in a match:
  • 27 – 2026: Fermanagh 3–27 - 1–13 New York
• Highest aggregate score:
  • 58 points – 2023: Down 8–16 - 2-12 Laois
• Lowest aggregate score:
  • 21 points – 2024: Laois 0–11 - 0–10 Wicklow

Successful defending

Defending champions are promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in the following year, and a number of teams maintained that status in the year beyond that. These are:

• Westmeath 1 attempts out of 1 (2024)
• Meath 1 attempts out of 1 (2025)

Gaps

• Longest gap between successive cup titles:
  • 0 years: N/A
• Longest gap between successive Tailteann Cup final appearances:
  • 2 years: Down (2024–2026)
• Longest gap between successive championship appearances
  • 3 years: Westmeath (2022–2025)

Active gaps

• Longest active gap since last title:
  • 4 years: Westmeath (2022–)
• Longest active gap since last cup final appearance:
  • 4 years: Westmeath (2022–), Cavan (2022–)
• Longest active gap since last cup appearance
  • 3 years: Cavan (2023–), Meath (2023–)

Provinces

• To date, the Tailteann Cup final has not involved two teams from the same province.
• The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster, with four:
  • Meath
  • Westmeath
  • Kildare
  • Wicklow
• Province success rates (of counties that have ever competed in the competition)
  • Leinster 44% (4 out of 9 counties)
  • Connacht 0% (0 out of 2 counties)
  • Munster 0% (0 out of 4 counties)
  • Ulster 25% (1 out of 4 counties)
  • Outside Ireland 0% (0 out of 2 counties)

Tailteann Cup final pairings

Longest undefeated run

The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 6 games held by Westmeath (2022–2025), Meath (2023–), Down (2024–) and Kildare (2025–)

Miscellaneous

• Best finish by a debuting team
  • Champions: Westmeath (2022), Meath (2023)
• Highest winning record
  • 100%, Meath (6 wins in 6 matches)
• Lowest winning record
  • 0%, New York (0 wins in 5 matches), Clare (0 wins in 2 matches)
• Most played match
  • 3, Down vs Laois (2023, 2024, 2026)

Overall

More information Year, Player ...

Year	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
2022	John Heslin	Westmeath	1–25	28	4	7.0
2023	Pat Havern	Down	1–34	37	7	5.3
2024	Mark Barry	Laois	4–20	32	7	4.6
2025

Close

Final

More information Year, Player ...

Year	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
2022	Ronan O'Toole	Westmeath	0–5	5	Cavan
2023	Jack O'Connor	Meath	1–2	5	Down
2024	Mark Barry	Laois	1–2	5	Down
2025

Close

2022

1. Aidan Devaney (Sligo)
2. Jack Smith (Westmeath)
3. Kevin Maguire (Westmeath)
4. Evan Lyons (Sligo)
5. Jason McLoughlin (Cavan)
6. Ronan Wallace (Westmeath)
7. Killian Clarke (Cavan)
8. Sam McCartan (Westmeath)
9. Seán Carrabine (Sligo)
10. Gearóid McKiernan (Cavan)
11. Ronan O'Toole^FOTY (Westmeath)
12. Anton Sullivan (Offaly)
13. Gerard Smith (Cavan)
14. John Heslin (Westmeath)
15. Keith Beirne (Leitrim)

Reference: Tailteann Cup Team of the Year 2022

2023

^{[10][11][12][13][14]}

1. Seán Brennan (Meath)
2. Adam O'Neill (Meath)
3. Pierce Laverty (Down)
4. Padraig Faulkner (Cavan)
5. Donal Keogan (Meath)
6. Padraic Harnan (Meath)
7. Danny Magill (Down)
8. Odhran Murdock (Down)
9. Conor Gray (Meath)
10. Jack Flynn (Meath)
11. Ross Dunphy (Carlow)
12. Liam Kerr (Down)
13. Jordan Morris (Meath)
14. Mathew Costello^FOTY (Meath)
15. Ruairí McCann (Antrim)

Reference: Tailteann Cup Team of the Year 2023

2024

^{[15][16][17][18][19]}

1. Killian Roche (Laois)
2. Pierce Laverty (Down)
3. Ryan McEvoy (Down)
4. Kavan Keenan (Antrim)
5. Daniel Guinness (Down)
6. Brian Byrne (Laois)
7. Evan Lyons (Sligo)
8. Emmet Rigter (Limerick)
9. Odhran Murdock (Down)
10. Mark Barry (Laois)
11. Darragh Kirwan (Kildare)
12. Seán Carrabine (Sligo)
13. Niall Murphy (Sligo)
14. Evan O'Carroll (Laois)
15. Pat Havern^FOTY (Down)

Reference: Tailteann Cup Team of the Year 2024

2025

^{[20][21][22][23][24]}

1. Josh Ryan (Limerick)
2. Harry O'Neill (Kildare)
3. Lee Cullen (Fermanagh)
4. Malachy Stone (Wicklow)
5. James McGrath (Kildare)
6. Iain Corbett (Limerick)
7. Sam McCartan (Westmeath)
8. Dean Healy (Wicklow)
9. Kevin Feely (Kildare)
10. James Naughton (Limerick)
11. Alex Beirne^FOTY (Kildare)
12. Danny Neville (Limerick)
13. Luke Loughlin (Westmeath)
14. Darragh Kirwan (Kildare)
15. Sean Nolan (Wexford)

Reference: Tailteann Cup Team of the Year 2025