2024 Tailteann Cup final

The 2024 Tailteann Cup final was the third final of the Tailteann Cup and the culmination of the 2024 Tailteann Cup, the GAA's second-tier Gaelic football competition for county teams. The match was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 13 July 2024, between and. The game was played prior to the All Ireland football semi-final between Kerry and Armagh. It was televised live on RTÉ2 as part of The Saturday Game, presented by Joanne Cantwell from the Croke Park studio.
Down won the match on a scoreline of 0–14 to 2–6.

Paths to the final

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Victory margin	Score	Ref
Group game	11 May 2024		Páirc Esler	Win	14	1-20 to 1-6
Group game	18 May 2024		McGovern Park	Win	17	1-24 to 0-10
Group game	2 June 2024		Breffni Park	Win	6	2-22 to 3-13
Quarter-final	15 June 2024		Páirc Esler	Win	9	1-18 to 0-12
Semi-final	23 June 2024		Croke Park	Win	2	1-20 to 2–15 a.e.t.

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Victory margin	Score	Ref
Group game	12 May 2024		O'Moore Park	Draw	0	2-17 to 2-17
Group game	19 May 2024		Echelon Park	Win	1	0-11 to 0-10
Group game	1 June 2024		Pearse Park, Longford	Loss	–1	2-13 to 3-11
Preliminary quarter-final	9 June 2024		O'Moore Park	Win	4	1-13 to 1-9
Quarter-final	16 June 2024		O'Connor Park	Win	5	2-11 to 0-12
Semi-final	23 June 2024		Croke Park	Win	5	3-12 to 1-13

Match

Details

Laois came strongly into the game after a tricky start, reeling off 1–2 between the seventh and 15th minutes. Seamus Lacey grabbed an 11th minute goal that put the Division 4 champions ahead briefly, 1–1 to 0–3. Meanwhile, Down had possession and while they fired four of the game's next five points to lead 0–8 to 1–3 at half-time, six wides in the first-half undermined them. The sides shared six points equally in the third quarter, Laois initially scoring three-in-a-row to take the lead before Down responded. Down stretched the gap to five after reeling off six points in a row in all between the 46th and 69th minutes. Laois dramatically grabbed a goal back through Barry in stoppage time to make it an interesting final few minutes.