Ulster Senior Football Championship

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The Ulster Senior Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Bank of Ireland Ulster Championship) is the premier Gaelic football "knockout" competition played in the province of Ulster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ulster Council and are played during the summer months, and all the counties participate.

The Ulster football Final is played in July normally in St. Tiernach's Park, Clones however since 2003 it has been staged in Croke Park, Dublin. The final between Monaghan and Tyrone in 2007 returned to Clones with Tyrone lifting the cup.

The Ulster Football Championship is run on a knock-out basis in which once a team loses they are eliminated from the competition, and so compete in the All-Ireland Qualifier Series of the Sam Maguire Cup. The winner of the Championship goes on to play in the All-Ireland quarter final. Before the introduction of the qualifier series, in 2001, the winner of the Ulster Championship would compete, along with the other three provincial winners, in the All-Ireland semi-finals, and then the two winners would compete in the All-Ireland final.

Cavan are the most successful team in Ulster, having won the championship on 39 occasions. In recent years, Armagh have become the dominant force in Ulster, winning six titles in seven years between 1999 and 2006. Fermanagh remain the only team to not have won an Ulster title.

For many decades, winning the Ulster Championship was considered as much as a team from Ulster could hope for, as the other provinces would usually be much stronger than their Ulster opposition. In the 1990's however, a significant sea change took place, as the Ulster Champions won the All-Ireland four years in a row from 1991-1994. Now the Ulster Championship is considered one of the toughest provinces to compete in, and Ulster teams have gained considerable dominance on the All-Ireland scene, having won three All-Irelands from four in the early 2000's, including in 2003 when for the first time ever, the All-Ireland final was competed for by two teams from one province - Ulster. However, in the last 2 years no Ulster team has managed to make it past the quarter-final stage.

Contents

[edit] 2007 Championship

  Preliminary Round Quarter finals Semi Final Final
                                     
 Down 0-15 (replay)  
 Cavan 0-11 (replay)  
   Down 1-15  
     Monaghan 2-15  
      
        
   Monaghan 0-14  
   Derry 1-09  
        
        
   Antrim 0-10
     Derry 1-13  
      
        
   Monaghan 1-13
   Tyrone 1-15
        
        
   Fermanagh 1-09
     Tyrone 0-13  
      
        
   Tyrone 2-15
   Donegal 1-07  
        
        
   Donegal 1-09
     Armagh 1-08  
      

The encounters have all produced close matches so far. It took a replay for Down to get past Cavan in the preliminary round, and both Fermanagh and Armagh only lost their matches by a single point.

Ulster's representatives in the draw for the All-Ireland Qualifier Series are;

  • Cavan eliminated by Mayo - Round One
  • Fermanagh eliminated by Meath - Round Two
  • Armagh eliminated by Derry - Round One
  • Down eliminated by Meath - Round One
  • Donegal eliminated by Monaghan - Round Three
  • Derry - successfully reached All-Ireland Quarter final
  • Monaghan - successfully reached All-Ireland Quarter final


* Antrim are a Division Four team in the National Football League (Ireland), and as such, are entered straight into the Tommy Murphy Cup, rather than go into the qualifiers for the Sam Maguire Cup.

[edit] Top Scorers

This is a list of the top scorers of the championship, as well as the top scorer in each individual county.

Rank Name County Tally Total
1 T Freeman Monaghan 0-12 12 points
2= C Hanratty Monaghan 2-01 7
2= D McCabe Cavan 0-07 7
2= J McGovern Down 0-07 7
2= C McFadden Donegal 0-07 7
...
8= C O'Reilly Fermanagh 0-05 5
8= O McConville Armagh 1-02 5
8= C Gilligan Derry 0-05 5
8= B Dooher Tyrone 0-05 5
...
=18 CJ McGourty, P Cunningham Antrim 0-04 4

[edit] 2008 Draw

  Preliminary Round Quarter finals Semi Final Final
                                     
        
   Fermanagh 2-08  
     Monaghan 0-10  
      
        
   Fermanagh  
   Derry  
        
        
   Donegal 1-12
     Derry 1-14  
      
        
        
        
        
        
   Tyrone
     Down  
      
        
        
          
        
        
   Cavan
     Armagh  
 Antrim 1-14
 Cavan 1-19  

[1]

[edit] Top Winners

Team Winner Winning Years
1 Cavan 39 1891, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1997.
2 Armagh 13 1890, 1902, 1950, 1953, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006
2 Monaghan 13 1888, 1906, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1921, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1938, 1979, 1985, 1988
4 Down 12 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1981, 1991, 1994.
5 Tyrone 11 1956, 1957, 1973, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007
6 Antrim 10 1900, 1901, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1946, 1951
7 Derry 7 1958, 1970, 1975, 1976, 1987, 1993, 1998
8 Donegal 5 1972, 1974, 1983, 1990, 1992
9 Fermanagh 0 N/A

[edit] Roll of Honour

Year Winner Opponent
2007 Tyrone Monaghan
2006 Armagh Donegal
2005 Armagh Tyrone
2004 Armagh Donegal
2003 Tyrone Down
2002 Armagh Donegal
2001 Tyrone Cavan
2000 Armagh Derry
1999 Armagh Down
1998 Derry Donegal
1997 Cavan Derry
1996 Tyrone Down
1995 Tyrone Cavan
1994 Down Tyrone
1993 Derry Donegal
1992 Donegal Derry
1991 Down Donegal
1990 Donegal Armagh
1989 Tyrone Donegal
1988 Monaghan Tyrone
1987 Derry Armagh
1986 Tyrone Down
1985 Monaghan Derry
1984 Tyrone Armagh
1983 Donegal Cavan
1982 Armagh Fermanagh
1981 Down Armagh
1980 Armagh Tyrone
1979 Monaghan Donegal
1978 Down Cavan
1977 Armagh Derry
1976 Derry Cavan
1975 Derry Down
1974 Donegal Down
1973 Tyrone Down
1972 Donegal Tyrone
1971 Down Derry
1970 Derry Antrim
1969 Cavan Down
1968 Down Cavan
1967 Cavan Down
1966 Down Donegal
1965 Down Cavan
1964 Cavan Down
1963 Down Donegal
1962 Cavan Down
1961 Down Armagh
1960 Down Cavan
1959 Down Cavan
1958 Derry Down
1957 Tyrone Derry
1956 Tyrone Cavan
1955 Cavan Derry
1954 Cavan Armagh
1953 Armagh Cavan
1952 Cavan Monaghan
1951 Antrim Cavan
1950 Armagh Cavan
1949 Cavan Armagh
1948 Cavan Antrim
1947 Cavan Antrim
1946 Antrim Cavan
1945 Cavan Fermanagh
1944 Cavan Monaghan
1943 Cavan Monaghan
1942 Cavan Down
1941 Cavan Tyrone
1940 Cavan Down
1939 Cavan Armagh
1938 Monaghan Armagh
1937 Cavan Armagh
1936 Cavan Monaghan
1935 Cavan Fermanagh
1934 Cavan Armagh
1933 Cavan Tyrone
1932 Cavan Armagh
1931 Cavan Armagh
1930 Monaghan Cavan
1929 Monaghan Cavan
1928 Cavan Armagh
1927 Monaghan Armagh
1926 Cavan Antrim
1925 Cavan Antrim
1924 Cavan Monaghan
1923 Cavan Monaghan
1922 Cavan Monaghan
1921 Monaghan Derry
1920 Cavan Armagh
1919 Cavan Antrim
1918 Cavan Antrim
1917 Monaghan Armagh
1916 Monaghan Cavan
1915 Cavan Monaghan
1914 Monaghan Fermanagh
1913 Antrim Monaghan
1912 Antrim Armagh
1911 Antrim Cavan
1910 Antrim Cavan
1909 Antrim Cavan
1908 Antrim Cavan
1907
1906 Monaghan Antrim
1905 Cavan
1904
1903 Cavan Armagh
1902 Armagh Antrim
1901 Antrim Armagh
1900 Antrim
1899
1898
1897
1896
1895
1894
1893
1892
1891 Cavan Armagh
1890 Armagh Tyrone
1889
1888 Monaghan Cavan

Notes:

[edit] Top Ulster Scorers

Player County Score
Oisin McConville Armagh 10-190 (220)
Peter Canavan Tyrone 9-191 (218)
Paddy Doherty Down 15-159 (204)
Paddy Donohoe Cavan 17-133 (184)
Seán O'Neill Down 17-125 (176)
Charlie Gallagher Cavan 10-142 (172)
Paddy Bradley Derry 12-125 (161)
Seán O'Connell Derry 11-118 (151)
Rónán Carolan Cavan 2-138 (144)
Stephen McDonnell Armagh 14-100 (142)
Anthony Tohill Derry 4-121 (133)
Stephen O'Neill Tyrone 7-112 (133)

* Scores include Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers. Correct as of 18th July 2006.

[edit] Ulster top scorers by year

* Scores only include Ulster Championship. All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers are not included.

[edit] See also

v • d • e
Gaelic Athletic Association
   
v • d • e
Gaelic games