Tommy Murphy Cup


The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the main All-Ireland. The series of games, organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association, were played during the summer months, with the final being played in August at Croke Park. The Cup was named after Tommy [Murphy (Gaelic footballer)|Tommy Murphy], a footballer from County Laois who was, appropriately for the competition, the only member of the Team of the Millennium from a county which had not won an All-Ireland.
Later changes to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship meant that the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup featured the eight lowest-ranking teams in National Football League, unless the teams reached the final of their respective provincial championships. Antrim defeated the holder Wicklow in the final. The cup was cancelled after the 2008 tournament.

Format

The Tommy Murphy Cup was a single elimination tournament. Each team was afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches were drawn at random and there was no seeding. Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a period of extra time; however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time, a replay took place, and so on until a winner was found.

Teams

Seasons in Tommy Murphy Cup

The number of years that each county team played in the Tommy Murphy Cup between 2004 and 2008. A total of 18 counties have competed in at least one season of the Tommy Murphy Cup. Antrim and London have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participated in the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup.
YearsCounties
5Antrim, London
4Carlow, Clare, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wicklow
3Leitrim, Tipperary
2Louth, Roscommon, Sligo
1Cavan, Fermanagh, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Wexford

Roll of honour

ProvinceWinnersRunners-upTotal
Leinster224
Munster202
Ulster112
Connacht022

Team records and statistics

Team results

Legend

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

All time table

Legend
Colours
Currently competing in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Currently competing in the Tailteann Cup
Currently competing in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship

Other records

Finishing positions

Unbeaten sides

Beaten sides

The knockout format of the cup has resulted in 0 'back-door' Tommy Murphy Cup champions.

Final success rate

Only 3 counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions:
On the opposite end of the scale, only 3 counties has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:

Consecutive participations

Antrim and London have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tommy Murphy Cup, taking part in all 5 seasons.

Winning other trophies

Although not an officially recognised achievement, one team has achieved the distinction of winning the Tommy Murphy Cup and their respective Division in the National Football League:

Biggest wins

Scoring Events

  • Most goals in a match:
  • * 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most points in a match:
  • * 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most goals by one team in a match:
  • * 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most points by one team in a match:
  • * 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Highest aggregate score:
  • * 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Lowest aggregate score:
  • * 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000

Successful defending

Some defending champions have a chance to retain their title. None have achieved this. These are:

Gaps

  • Longest gaps between successive Tommy Murphy Cup final appearances:
  • * 1 year: Antrim
  • * 1 year: Wicklow
  • Longest gap between successive championship appearances
  • * 4 years: Sligo

Provinces

  • The Tommy Murphy Cup final has never involved two teams from the same province.
  • The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster and Munster, with 2:
  • * Leinster: Louth and Wicklow
  • * Munster: Clare and Tipperary

Longest undefeated run

The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 00 games held by 000.

Miscellaneous