All-Ireland Senior Football Championship records and statistics


This article contains records and statistics related to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, which has run since 1887.

General performances

Performance by county

a. London received a bye to the final in five seasons.

Counties

Consecutive wins

Sextuple

Quadruple

Treble

Double

Single

Consecutive All-Ireland Stoppers

Teams that ended All-Ireland winning streaks in the final of the championship.

5-in-a-row

4-in-a-row

Kerry defeated Dublin

3-in-a-row

Kildare defeated Kerry
Wexford defeated Kerry
Kerry defeated Kildare in 1929, Dublin in 1978
Meath defeated Cavan
Tyrone defeated Kerry

2-in-a-row

Dublin
Louth defeated Kerry
Kildare defeated Kerry
Galway defeated Kerry
Cavan defeated Kerry
Meath defeated Kerry
Down defeated Kerry
Kerry defeated Dublin in 1975 and 1984
Tyrone defeated Armagh in 2003 and Kerry in 2005

By semi-final appearances

As of 30 June 2024.
#TeamNo. of AppearancesFirst semi-finalMost recent semi-final
1 Kerry8619032025
2 Dublin5518912023
3 Mayo5019012021
4 Galway4418902024
5 Cavan4018912020
6 Cork3618902012
7 Meath2219392025
8 Roscommon2018921991
9 Tyrone1819562025
10 Kildare1419032010
10 Monaghan1419072023
12 Down1319592010
13 Armagh1218902024
14 Derry1119582023
15 Offaly1019601997
15 Tipperary1018872020
15 Donegal1119722025
18 Antrim919001951
18 Wexford918902008
20 Louth819091957
21 Laois419361946
22 London319061910
22 Sligo319221975
24 Kilkenny219001911
24 Leitrim219271994
24 Clare219171992
27 Limerick118871887
27 Carlow119441944
27 Longford119681968
27 Fermanagh120042004
31 New York0——
31 Waterford0——
31 Westmeath0——
31 Wicklow0——

Semi-final appearances (2001–present)

#CountyNo.Years
1 Kerry212001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
2 Dublin172002, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
3 Mayo122004, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021
4 Tyrone112003, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2025
5 Cork82002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
6 Donegal62003, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2024, 2025
7 Derry42001, 2004, 2022, 2023
7 Armagh42002, 2003, 2005, 2024
7 Galway42001, 2018, 2022, 2024
10 Meath42001, 2007, 2009, 2025
11 Tipperary22016, 2020
11 Monaghan22018, 2023
13 Fermanagh12004
13 Wexford12008
13 Kildare12010
13 Down12010
13 Cavan12020

By province

Most successful provinces

  • Cavan and Down are the Ulster teams with the most All-Ireland titles.
  • Dublin are the Leinster team with the most All-Ireland titles.
  • Galway are the Connacht team with the most All-Ireland titles.
  • Kerry are the Munster team with the most All-Ireland titles.
#ProvinceWinsRunners-upTotal% Success RateWinners by countyLosers by county
1Leinster52389057%Dublin, Meath, Wexford, Kildare, Offaly, Louth Dublin, Meath, Kildare, Wexford, Offaly,
Louth, Laois
2Munster51429354.8%Kerry, Cork, Tipperary, Limerick Kerry, Cork, Clare, Tipperary, Waterford
3Ulster19183751.4%Cavan, Down, Tyrone, Donegal, Armagh, Derry Cavan, Armagh, Tyrone, Antrim, Derry, Monaghan Down, Donegal
4Connacht14334729.8%Galway, Mayo, Roscommon Galway, Mayo, Roscommon
5Britain0550%—London

Provinces with highest number of different winning counties

The provinces providing the highest number of different winning counties are Leinster and Ulster, with six each. Dublin, Meath, Wexford, Kildare, Offaly and Louth from Leinster have won the title, while Cavan, Down, Tyrone, Donegal, Armagh and Derry are the successful Ulster sides. For Leinster's 12 counties, this represents a success rate of 50%, while Ulster's nine counties gives them a success rate of 67%. Four of Munster's six counties have won the title, giving an identical success rate to Ulster, while three of Connacht's five counties have been successful, a success rate of 60%.

Least successful counties

There are eight counties that have never been represented in a Senior All-Ireland Final. These are Carlow, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Sligo, Westmeath, Wicklow, Longford, and New York. Four of these counties have never competed in a semi-final: Waterford, Westmeath, Wicklow, and New York.
Kilkenny currently do not compete in the All-Ireland Championship, having won three Leinster Senior Football Championships in the past, with the county instead prominent in the sport of hurling but have won the Junior All Ireland in 2022. Carlow also compete in hurling and have won an All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championship. Westmeath have enjoyed considerable success in hurling in recent years, winning a number of All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championships and Christy Ring Cups, and their Gaelic football team won the 2004 Leinster Football Championship and the inaugural Tailteann Cup in 2022.
Fermanagh came their closest in 2004, reaching a semi-final replay having defeated 1999 Champions Meath, 2002 Munster Champions Cork, 2003 All-Ireland semi-finalists Donegal and 2002 Champions Armagh. Wicklow's most notable recent achievement was winning the 2012 NFL Division 4 final.

Levels

In the last few years, counties can be divided into four levels or tiers, based on results: Tier 1 counties are consistent participants in the latter stage of the All-Ireland. Tier 2 counties usually compete in the All-Ireland championship or the Tailteann Cup. Tier 3 counties are consistent participants in the Tailteann Cup. Tier 4 counties usually compete in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. There is a big gap between Tier 1, 2 and 3 counties and Tier 4 counties. Tier 4 counties also do not participate in the provincial championships.
Tier 1 counties : Armagh, Cork, Derry, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Tyrone
Tier 2 counties : Cavan, Clare, Down, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath
Tier 3 counties : Antrim, Carlow, Fermanagh, Laois, Leitrim, London, New York, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow
Tier 4 counties : Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Kilkenny, Scotland, Warwickshire, Yorkshire

Team participation

List of All-Ireland SFC counties

The following teams have competed in the All-Ireland SFC for at least one season.
CountyAppearancesDebutMost recentChampionship titlesLast Championship titleBest All-Ireland result
Antrim189020250—Runners-up
Armagh1890202512024Champions
Carlow189720250—Semi-finals
Cavan1888202551952Champions
Clare188720250—Runners-up
Cork1887202572010Champions
Derry1904202511993Champions
Donegal1906202522012Champions
Down1904202551994Champions
Dublin18872025312023Champions
Fermanagh190320250—Semi-finals
Galway1887202592001Champions
Kerry18892025382022Champions
Kildare1888202541928Champions
Kilkenny188719820—Semi-finals
Laois188820250—Runners-up
Leitrim190620250—Semi-finals
Limerick1887202521896Champions
London190020250—Runners-up
Longford190320250—Semi-finals
Louth1887202531957Champions
Mayo1901202531951Champions
Meath1887202571999Champions
Monaghan188820250—Runners-up
New York25199920250—Connacht semi-finals
Offaly1896202531982Champions
Roscommon1892202521944Champions
Sligo190520250—Semi-finals
Tipperary1887202541920Champions
Tyrone1890202542021Champions
Waterford188720250—Runners-up
Westmeath189020250—Quarter-finals
Wexford1887202551918Champions
Wicklow188720250—Leinster runners-up

Other records

By decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of All-Ireland titles, is as follows:1890s: 6 for Dublin 1900s: 5 for Dublin 1910s: 4 for Wexford 1920s: 3 each for Dublin and Kerry 1930s: 5 for Kerry 1940s: 3 for Kerry 1950s: 3 for Kerry 1960s: 3 each for Down and Galway 1970s: 4 for Kerry 1980s: 5 for Kerry 1990s: 2 each for Down and Meath 2000s: 5 for Kerry 2010s: 7 for Dublin 2020s: 2 each for Dublin
and
Kerry

Finishing positions

Unbeaten sides

  • 132 teams have won the All-Ireland SFC unbeaten out of a possible 136.

Beaten sides

The introduction of the qualifier system in 2001 has resulted in 4 'back-door' All-Ireland champions:
  • Galway were beaten by Roscommon in the Connacht semi-finals.
  • Tyrone were beaten by Armagh in the Ulster final.
  • Kerry were beaten by Cork in the Munster final.
  • Cork were beaten by Kerry in the Munster semi-finals.
On a number of occasions a team was defeated twice but have remained in the knockout championship:
  • Tyrone were beaten by Monaghan and Dublin but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Mayo were beaten by Roscommon and Kerry but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Tyrone were beaten by Donegal and Dublin but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Cork were beaten by Clare and Kerry but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Armagh were beaten by Derry and Tyrone but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Tyrone were beaten by Monaghan and Galway but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Roscommon were beaten by Galway and Kildare but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Kildare were beaten by Dublin twice but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Donegal were beaten by Down and Derry but still qualified for the knockout stage.
  • Monaghan were beaten by Derry and Donegal but still qualified for the knockout stage.

Final success rate

Only 1 county have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions:
On the opposite end of the scale, six counties have appeared in the All-Ireland final, losing on each occasion:
  • Laois
  • Antrim
  • Waterford
  • Clare
  • Monaghan
  • London. In each of London's first four appearances in the Final, they have been the beneficiaries of byes to that stage. From the 1900 Championship to the 1903 Championship, the GAA ran the competition between teams based in Ireland first, with the winners of the 'Home Final' going on to play London in the 'Grand Final'. In 1908 London qualified for the Final by winning the semi-final.

Consecutive participations

  • 0, 000
00 have the record number of consecutive participations in the All-Ireland SFC, taking part in the 0 seasons.

Winning other trophies

Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the All-Ireland, their provincial championship and the National Football League all in the same season.

Biggest wins

Scoring Events (2018–present)

As of 27 June 2024.
  • Most goals in a match:
  • * 9 – 2022: Wicklow 5-15 - 4-12 Laois
  • Most points in a match:
  • * 45 – 2018: London 1–19 – 2-26 Louth
  • Most goals by one team in a match:
  • * 7 – 2020: Wicklow 0-07 - 7-14 Meath
  • Most points by one team in a match:
  • * 32 – 2018: Kerry 0-32 - 0-10 Clare
  • Highest aggregate score:
  • * 58 points – 2018: Dublin 4-24 - 2-16 Roscommon
  • Lowest aggregate score:
  • * 17 points – 2019: Clare 0-09 - 0-08 Waterford

Successful defending

Only 12 teams of the 19 who have won the All-Ireland championship have ever successfully defended the title. These are:
  • Kerry on 14 attempts out of 38
  • Dublin on 14 attempts out of 30
  • Wexford on 3 attempts out of 5
  • Galway on 2 attempts out of 9
  • Cork on 1 attempts out of 7
  • Meath on 1 attempts out of 7
  • Cavan on 1 attempts out of 5
  • Down on 1 attempts out of 5
  • Kildare on 1 attempts out of 4
  • Mayo on 1 attempts out of 3
  • Offaly on 1 attempts out of 3
  • Roscommon on 1 attempts out of 2
  • Tyrone on 0 attempts out of 4
  • Tipperary on 0 attempts out of 4
  • Louth on 0 attempts out of 3
  • Donegal on 0 attempts out of 2
  • Limerick on 0 attempts out of 2
  • Armagh on 0 attempts out of 1
  • Derry on 0 attempts out of 1

Gaps

Active gaps

Provinces

Counties in an All-Ireland final without a provincial title

Bold = Champions
Note: The 1887, 2008 and 2010 finals featured two teams that had not won their provincial championship that year.

Longest undefeated run

45 games - Dublin : The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 45 games held by Dublin. It began with a 4–25 to 0–10 win against Longford in their opening game of the 2015 championship and finished with a 0–20 to 1–09 win against Kildare in the Leinster final of the 2021 championship. The 45-game unbeaten streak ended with a 0–17 to 0–14 loss after extra-time to Mayo in the 2021 All-Ireland semi-final.

Miscellaneous

  • Best finish by a debuting team
  • * Champions, Limerick
  • Highest winning record in final
  • * 83%, Down
  • Lowest winning record in final
  • * 0%, London
  • Most played match
  • * Cork vs Kerry
In 2016 Galway became the first team to be knocked out of both Hurling and Football Championships by the same county in the same season

Disciplinary

Fastest goals in Finals

Players

All-time top scorers

''(Those who have accumulated over 166 points)''

;As of match played 27 July 2025
RankPlayerTeamGoalsTwo PointerPointsTallyGamesEraAverage
1Cillian O'ConnorMayo34367469752011-present6.2
2Colm CooperKerry23283352852002-20174.1
3Dean RockDublin13292331632013-20235.2
4Conor McManusMonaghan9288315722005-20244.3
5Mikey SheehyKerry29205292491973-19886.0
6David CliffordKerry22222288452018-present6.4
7Michael MurphyDonegal4275287752007-present3.8
8John DoyleKildare8258282671999-20144.2
9Seán O'SheaKerry7254275462018-present5.9
10Pádraic JoyceGalway12229265661997-20124.0
11Bernard BroganDublin21197260592006-20194.4
12Paddy BradleyDerry17202253441999-20125.8
13Steven McDonnellArmagh18197251671999-20113.7
14Darren McCurryTyrone5227242662012-present3.6
15Maurice FitzgeraldKerry12205241451988-20015.4
16Shane WalshGalway9211238572013-present4.1
17Brian StaffordMeath9206233411986-19955.7
18Oisín McConvilleArmagh11197230521994-20084.4
19Patrick McBreartyDonegal9202229782011-present2.9
20Barney RockDublin16181229391980-19915.9
21Jimmy KeaveneyDublin15182227421964-19805.4
22Tony McTagueOffaly4210222371965-19756.0
23Peter CanavanTyrone9192219581989-20053.8
24Ross MunnellyLaois7190211792003-20222.7
25Seán CavanaghTyrone9181208892002-20172.3
26Cormac CostelloDublin10174204592013-present3.4
27Paddy DohertyDown15158203481954-19714.2
28Paul GeaneyKerry16153201612011-present3.2
29Colin CorkeryCork5182197321993-20046.2
30Con O'CallaghanDublin19138195562016-present3.4
31Dara O'CinneideKerry11149182541995-20053.4
32Matt ConnorOffaly13142181261978-19847.0
33John HeslinWestmeath4168180382011-20244.7
34Pat SpillaneKerry19123180561974-19913.2
35Donal KingstonLaois7158179442007-present4.1
36Ciarán KilkennyDublin7154175802012-present2.1
37Declan BrowneTipperary9141168251996-20076.7
38David TubridyClare9140167432007-20223.9

All-time appearances

;As of match played 13 July 2025
RankPlayerTeamAppearancesYear
1Stephen CluxtonDublin1282001-present
2Aidan O'SheaMayo962009-present
3Seán CavanaghTyrone892002-2017
4Marc Ó SéKerry882002-2015
5Tomás Ó SéKerry881998-2013
6Michael MurphyDonegal862007-present
7Colm CooperKerry852002-2016
8Andy MoranMayo842004-2019
9Darragh Ó SéKerry811997-2010
10Ross MunnellyLaois792003-2022
11Ciarán KilkennyDublin802012-present
12Neil McGeeDonegal772005-2022
13Tom O'SullivanKerry762000-2011
14Conor GormleyTyrone752001-2014
15Keith HigginsMayo742005-2021
16Brian DooherTyrone731995-2011
17John O'LearyDublin701980-1997
17Declan O'SullivanKerry702003-14
17Aidan O'MahonyKerry702004-17

Other records

Most wins

Individual scoring

Cillian O'Connor's four goals in the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park broke the 5–3 record set by Johnny Joyce of Dublin in 1960 and matched with 3–9 by Rory Gallagher of Fermanagh in 2002 and O'Connor himself having scored 3-9 vs Limerick in 2018 for the highest individual scorer in any championship football match.

Team results table

This section represents in colour-coded tabular format the results of GAA county teams in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship since 2001.
Prior to 2001, counties played in separate provincial championships, with only four provincial champions coming together in the All-Ireland semi-finals, and it is difficult to directly compare results across counties. Since 2001, beaten teams from the provincial championships play together in the All-Ireland qualifier series.
However, it must be remembered that counties from the smaller provinces have a slight advantage over those from the larger provinces. Under the 2001–19 system they received a bye to the provincial semi-final and thus entered the second round of the qualifiers without winning a game, while counties from the larger provinces have to defeat one or even two opponents to reach the provincial semi-final. In the modern system a team from a small province can reach the provincial final after winning 1 game, qualifying directly for the All-Ireland group stages, while a team from a large province may need to win 3 games to reach the provincial final.
The old single knockout format was reintroduced in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022 a new competition was introduced, the Tailteann Cup, for teams that finished 17th–32nd in the National Football League and that did not reach their provincial final. These teams go straight into the Tailteann Cup and do not progress to the qualifiers.

Legend

;Used in all seasons
  • ♦ — provincial champions
  • — All-Ireland champions
  • — Runners-up
  • — All-Ireland semi-finals
;2023–present
  • — All-Ireland quarter-finals
  • — All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals
  • — All-Ireland group stage
  • — Tailteann Cup top 4
  • TCx — Tailteann Cup, other place
;2022
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 2
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 1
;2020–21
These are the colour-codes used for 2020 and 2021. X stands for the first letter of the province, e.g. Lpr is Leinster preliminary round, Cf is Connacht final.
  • — Provincial finalists ; Galway in 2020 are not counted as provincial finalists as they did not win any games prior
  • — teams that won two provincial games before being eliminated
  • — teams that won one provincial game before being eliminated
  • — teams that lost their only game
;2018–19
  • — All-Ireland "Super 8" quarter-final groups
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 4
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 3
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 2
  • q1 — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 1
;2001–17
Quarter-finals were played as single matches between 2001 and 2017.
  • — All-Ireland quarter-finals
In 2007 and 2008, teams from Division 4 of the National Football League did not get to play in the qualifiers, instead going straight into the Tommy Murphy Cup, a secondary competition. In those years, there were only three rounds of qualifiers.
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 3
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 2
  • — All-Ireland qualifiers, round 1
  • Cqf, Cqr — Connacht quarter-final or preliminary round TM1 — Tommy Murphy Cup winners
  • TM2 — Tommy Murphy Cup finalists
  • TMsf — Tommy Murphy Cup semi-finalists
  • TMqf — Tommy Murphy Cup quarter-finalists