Derry Intermediate Football Championship


The Derry Intermediate Football Championship is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to Derry GAA.

Format

The competition traditionally took the structure of an open-draw knock-out.
In 2007 and 2008, the championship was altered to include a round robin, group structure with the 16 teams divided into four groups. Each club in a group played each other once with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals onwards the competition took the format of a knock-out.
The format was changed once again for the 2009 Championship. The Derry Competitions Control Committee accepted a proposal to scrap the group stage and introduce a "backdoor" system. The 16 clubs play in the first round. In the second round the eight first round winners are drawn against each other, with the four winners going into bowl A for the quarter-finals. The eight first round losers are also drawn against each other and the four winners advance to the quarter-finals. Teams in bowl A are drawn out against teams from bowl B to make up the quarter-final draw. Thereafter the competition is an open-draw knock-out.

Honours

The trophy awarded to the Derry IFC winning team is named after John Bateson, James Sheridan and Martin Lee, all members of the South Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died in an explosion in Magherafelt on 18 December 1971. All three men came from Ballymaguigan and played for the St Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan.
The winners of the Derry Intermediate Championship qualify to represent their county in the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship. It is the only team from the county to qualify for this competition. The Derry IFC winner may enter the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship at either the preliminary round or the quarter-final stage. They often do well there, with Steelstown, Craigbane and Eoghan Rua, Coleraine all winning Ulster titles since the turn of the century, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship. The winners can, in turn, go on to play in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship, at which it would enter at the semi-final stage, providing it hasn't been drawn to face the British champions in the quarter-finals. Steelstown, for instance, won the 2022 All-Ireland title, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship of the previous year.

List of finals

YearWinnerScoreOpponentScoreVenueWinning captain
1971Ballymaguigan1-05Greenlough1-02
1972SwatraghDungiven
1973Ballinascreen III
1974GlackDrum
1975KilreaSean O'Neill
1976GreenloughFaughanvale
1977GlenullinDesertmartin
1978Faughanvale?
R 0-10		Ballinascreen B?
R 0-01		Donal McElhinney
1979Swatragh
1980GlenDrumsurn
1981Faughanvale0-13Ballymaguigan2-04Donal McElhinney
1982Slaughtneil
1983GlenDrum
1984MoneymoreDrum
1985Foreglen1–10Desertmartin1-06
1986Craigbane0-11An Lúb1-03
1987Craigbane2-05
R 0-11		Claudy1-08
R 0-09
1988Slaughtmanus0-07
R 0-08		Ballerin0-07
R 1-04
1989Limavady0-07Faughanvale0-06
1990Bellaghy0-06
R 4-09		Faughanvale0-06
R 0-09
1991Drumsurn1-14Desertmartin2-08
1992Craigbane3-11Magilligan0-07
1993Ballymaguigan0-09Dungiven1-05
1994An Lúb0-13Desertmartin1-08
1995Craigbane1-08Banagher1-07
1996Faughanvale0-11Craigbane0-10
1997Craigbane0-15Claudy1-05
1998Faughanvale0-09Claudy0-08
1999Faughanvale1-10Drumsurn0-10
2000Craigbane1-17Newbridge1-08
2001Ballymaguigan1–12Moneymore0-06
2002Newbridge
2003Ballymaguigan0–13Desertmartin0–12
2004Foreglen*
2005ClaudyEoghan Rua
2006Eoghan RuaForeglen
2007NewbridgeForeglen
2008Greenlough1–10Ballymaguigan0-09
2009Ballymaguigan2-08Greenlough0–12
2010Castledawson0–11Steelstown0–10
2011Craigbane0-09Swatragh0-08
2012SwatraghForeglen
2013Foreglen3-09Glen Maghera1–11--
2014Castledawson0-07Slaughtmanus0-06
2015Greenlough2–17Craigbane0-09
2016Castledawson0–15Steelstown1–11--
2017Newbridge1-09Faughanvale1-04
2018Banagher1–12Ballymaguigan1-08
2019Foreglen0–15Claudy0-09
2020Greenlough1–12Steelstown1-08
2021Steelstown0-09Greenlough0-08
2022Glenullin0–15Drumsurn1–11
2023Glenullin2-11
A.E.T		Banagher1-11
A.E.T		Brian Mullan
2024Ballinderry1-13
R 0-13		Faughanvale2-10
R 0-10		Gareth McKinless
2025Glenullin2-16Foreglen2-13

  • The 2004 final went unplayed, Foreglen were awarded that year's title.

    Wins listed by club

#ClubWinsYears wonRunner UpYears Runner Up
1Craigbane71986 1987 1992 1995 1997 2002 201121996 2015
2Faughanvale51978 1981 1996 1998 199951976 1989 1990 2017 2024
Ballymaguigan51971 1993 2001 2003 200931981 2008 2018
3Foreglen41985 2004 2013 201942006 2007 2012 2025
Greenlough41976 2008 2015 202031971 2009 2021
Glenullin41977 2022 2023 20250
4Newbridge32002 2007 201812000
Swatragh31972 1979 201212011
Castledawson32010 2014 20160
5Glen21980 198312013
6Claudy1200541987 1997 1998 2019
Drumsurn1199131980 1999 2022
Steelstown1202032010 2016 2020
Banagher1201821995 2023
Loup1199411986
Moneymore1198412001
Slaughtmanus1198812014
Eoghan Rua1200612005
Ballinascreen III119730
Glack119740
Kilrea119750
Slaughtniel119820
Limavady119890
Bellaghy119900
Ballinascreen120240
Desertmartin051977 1985 1991 1994 2003
Drum031974 1983 1984
Dungiven021972 1993
Ballinascreen B011978
Ballerin011988
Magilligan011992