Ulster Senior Football Championship


The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and begins in April. Since 2022 the final has been played in May. Until 2018, the year it moved to June, the final was usually traditionally played on the third Sunday in July.
All nine Ulster counties participate. It is regarded as the hardest to win of the four provincial football championships. At a referee conference in January 2015, David Coldrick said about officiating in the competition: "Ulster makes or breaks you. It can be a graveyard. The games are different. There is an extra dimension and intensity, and you must be at your best. If you aren't prepared physically and mentally, the chances are you will be caught out. But when you are appointed for your first Ulster championship match, that's making progress".
The winners receive the Anglo-Celt Cup, which was presented to the Ulster Council in 1925 by John F. O'Hanlon, who was editor of The Anglo-Celt newspaper based in Cavan.
Cavan have won the most championships. Donegal are the title holders, defeating Armagh after extra-time in the 2025 Ulster [Senior Football Championship final|2025 final].

History

Following the founding of the GAA in 1884, the first Ulster Senior Football Championship was played in 1888, when Red Hand of Monaghan played Mocha Finn's of Cavan at Bryanstown. Monaghan were the first ever Ulster Champions following a 0–3 to 0–2 win after a replay.
Cavan are the most successful team in Ulster SFC history, having won the competition on 40 occasions. Cavan maintain the record for consecutive appearances in Ulster Finals. During the 1930s and 1940s, they appeared in and won seven consecutive Ulster SFC titles. Fermanagh remain the only team not to have won an Ulster SFC title. The Ulster Senior Football Championship celebrated its 125th year in 2013.
For many decades, winning the Ulster Senior Football Championship was considered as much as a team from Ulster could hope for, as the other provinces were usually much stronger and more competitive.
Before 1990, only Cavan in 1933, 1935, 1947, 1948 and 1952, and Down in 1960, 1961 and 1968, had won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title. In the 1990s however, a significant sea change took place, as the Ulster Champions won the All-Ireland in four consecutive years from 1991 to 1994. Since then Ulster has produced more All-Ireland winning teams than any other province.
Currently the Ulster Senior Football Championship is considered one of the toughest provinces to compete in. Ulster teams have gained considerable dominance on the All-Ireland scene, having won three All-Irelands from four in the early 2000s, including in 2003 when for the first time ever, the All-Ireland football final was competed for by two teams from one province.
The Ulster SFC final is normally played on the third Sunday in July, usually at St Tiernach's Park in Clones. From 2004 until 2006, it was staged at Croke Park in Dublin. The 2007 final—contested by Monaghan and Tyrone—marked a return to Clones, with Tyrone emerging victorious. The Athletic Grounds in Armagh hosted the 2020 final, as the fixture was played behind closed doors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. The final was last played in Belfast in 1971.
In the 2000s, Armagh were a dominant force in Ulster, winning six titles in eight years between 1999 and 2006. Donegal won consecutive Ulster SFC titles from the preliminary round in 2011 and 2012 and added the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2012.
The 2019 final had the highest score for the winning team in the final since 1933 when Cavan won, and the second highest score ever. It also had the highest Ulster SFC final score for the losing team ever.

Format

Overview

The Ulster Senior Football Championship is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is currently no seeding. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.

Qualification for subsequent competitions

  • The winner and runner-up of the championship qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship group stage. The remaining seven Ulster teams may also qualify for the All-Ireland SFC group stage via the National Football League. Those who fail to do so qualify for the Tailteann Cup.
  • Note: Before the introduction of the qualifiers in 2001, the winners of the Ulster SFC went straight to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, along with the winners of the Leinster, Munster and Connacht Championships.
  • Teams who are drawn to play in the preliminary round in a given year will receive an automatic bye to the quarter-final stage for the following two seasons.

Teams

The Ulster SFC is contested by the nine traditional counties in the Irish province of Ulster. The province comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland, plus the counties of Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. It is the only provincial football championship with any participating teams from Northern Ireland.

2026 Championship

Nine counties will compete in the 2026 Ulster Senior Football Championship:
County teamLocationStadiumPosition in 2025 ChampionshipUlster SFC titlesLast Ulster SFC titleAll-Ireland SFC titlesLast All-Ireland SFC title
BelfastCorrigan ParkQuarter-finalist1019510
ArmaghAthletic GroundsRunner-up14200822024
CavanBreffni ParkQuarter-finalist40202051952
DerryCeltic ParkPreliminary round exit9202311993
BallybofeyMacCumhaill ParkWinner12202522012
NewryPáirc EslerSemi-finalist12199451994
EnniskillenBrewster ParkQuarter-finalist00
ClonesSt Tiernach's ParkQuarter-finalist1620150
OmaghHealy ParkSemi-finalist16202142021

List of finals

;Notes:

Team records and statistics

Roll of honour

Legend

  • – Ulster SFC winner or runner-up also won the All-Ireland SFC that year.

Team progress: 2001–2019

Below is a record of each county's performance following the introduction of the qualifier system to the All-Ireland series in 2001. Before 2001 only the Ulster SFC title winner contested the All-Ireland SFC. Qualifiers did not occur from 2020 to 2021 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games. They are no longer held, with weaker teams, such as Cavan, Fermanagh and Antrim, moving aside, to instead play in the Tailteann Cup.

Key

Team2001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Q2Q1Q2Q1Q1Q1TMTMQ4Q1Q3Q3Q1Q2Q2Q2Q1Q1Q2
Q3WFQFSFQFQ1QFQ1Q3Q3Q1Q3QFQ2Q1QFQ4Q3
Q4Q1Q2Q2Q4Q1Q1Q1Q2Q2Q1Q2QFQ2Q2Q3Q2Q3Q4
SFQ3Q2SFQ3Q3QFQ1Q3Q3Q4Q1Q3Q1Q3Q4Q2Q1Q2
Q2QFSFQ4Q2QFQ3Q2QFQ1SFWQFFQFQFQ4S8sS8s
Q1Q1Q4Q2Q2Q1Q1Q3Q3FQ4QFQ2Q3Q1Q1Q4Q2Q2
Q1Q3QFSFQ1Q4Q2Q3Q1Q2Q1Q1Q2Q1QFQ2Q1Q4Q1
Q2Q1Q2Q1Q4Q2QFQ4Q2Q4Q1Q2QFQFQFQ2QFSFQ2
QFQ4WQFWQ2QFWSFQFQFQ3SFQ2SFQFSFFSF

By semi-final appearances (since 2016)

Bold indicates years team reached the final.
TeamNo.Years in semi-finals
92016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, [2024 Ulster Senior Football Championship|2024], [2025 Ulster Senior Football Championship|2025]
62016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024, 2025
62019, 2020, 2021, [2023 Ulster Senior Football Championship|2023], 2024, 2025
62016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
62017, 2018, 2020, 2023, 2024, 2025
42016, 2019, 2020, 2022
22022, 2023
12018
0

Post-COVID team results

Legend
  • – Winner
  • – Runner-up
  • – Semi-finalist / Quarter-finalist / Preliminary round exit
For each year, the number of competing teams is shown.
Team2023 2024 2025 Years
PRQFQF3
2nd2nd2nd3
QFQFQF3
1stQFPR3
QF1st1st3
SFSFSF3
QFQFQF3
SFPRQF3
QFSFSF3

Consecutive titles

Septuple

*

Sextuple

*

Quintuple

*

Treble

*

Double

*

Titles by decade

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Ulster SFC titles, is as follows:1880s: 1 for 1890s: 1 for, 1900s: 3 for 1910s: 4 for 1920s: 6 for 1930s: 8 for 1940s: 9 for 1950s: 3 for 1960s: 6 for 1970s: 3 for 1980s: 3 for 1990s: 2 for,,, 2000s: 6 for 2010s: 5 for 2020s: 2 for,

Other records

Final success rate

No county teams have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions.
On the opposite end of the scale, one team has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:
*

Winning other trophies

Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the Ulster SFC, the All-Ireland SFC and the National Football League all in the same season.
  • 2,
  • 1,
  • 1,

Gaps

  • Longest gaps between successive Ulster SFC titles:
  • * 48 years:
  • * 41 years:
  • * 33 years:
  • * 28 years:
  • * 25 years:
  • * 24 years:
  • * 24 years:
  • * 23 years:
  • * 19 years:
  • * 18 years:
  • Longest gaps between successive Ulster SFC finals:
  • * 58 years:
  • * 51 years:
  • * 37 years:
  • * 34 years:
  • * 27 years:
  • * 26 years:
  • * 21 years:
  • * 20 years:
  • * 19 years:
  • * 18 years:

Active gaps

  • Longest active gaps since an Ulster SFC title:
  • * 74 years:
  • * 31 years:
  • * 17 years:
  • * 10 years:
  • * 5 years:
  • * 4 years:
  • * 2 years:
  • * 0 years:
  • Longest active gap since an Ulster SFC final appearance:
  • * 16 years:
  • * 8 years:
  • * 7 years:
  • * 5 years:
  • * 4 years:
  • * 4 years:
  • * 2 years:

Player records

All-time top scorers: Ulster players

As of 3 June 2008, according to the BBC. Updated list
RankPlayerCountyTallyTotal scoreChampionship years
1Paddy Bradley17–2012522000–2012
2Michael Murphy4–2232392007-2022
3Oisín McConville11–1972301997–2008
4Peter Canavan9–1912181989–2005
5Paddy Doherty15–1592041954–1971
6Peter Donohoe17–1331841945–1955
7Seán O'Neill17–1251761959–1975
8Charlie Gallagher10–1421721955–1969
9Steven McDonnell15–1111562000–2011
10Seán O'Connell11–1181511957–1975

Notes:
  • Includes Ulster SFC, All-Ireland SFC and SFC Qualifiers.

All-time top goalscorers: Ulster players

As of 15 June 2008, according to the Sunday Tribune.
RankPlayerCountyNumber of goalsChampionship years
1=Steven McDonnell171999–2011
1=Peter Donohoe171945–1955
1=Seán O'Neill171959–1975
4Paddy Doherty151954–1971
5=Paddy Bradley **132000–2012
5=Ger Houlahan131984–2000
5=James McCartan Snr131958–1967
5=Brendan Coulter *132000–2014
9=Joe Stafford121943–1949
9=Enda Muldoon121997–2011
9=Jason Reilly121997–2008
12=Seán O'Connell111957–1975
12=PT Treacy111960–1973
12=Oisín McConville111997–2008

Notes:
  • Includes Ulster SFC, All-Ireland SFC and SFC Qualifiers.
  • Since the records have been done, Brendan Coulter has become the top goal scorer with 18.
  • *Paddy Bradley scored 4 more goals and finished on 17.

Ulster SFC top scorers: by year

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

Managers

Managers in the Ulster SFC are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players from the club championships. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the individual county boards. From 2018, all inter-county head coaches must be Award 2 qualified. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. Prior to the development of the concept of a manager in the 1970s, teams were usually managed by a team of selectors with one member acting as chairman.

Media coverage

Television

Matches are currently broadcast on RTÉ and by the BBC either on BBC 2 Northern Ireland or through the BBC iPlayer Selected games are also broadcast on the GAA's own GAA+ streaming platform.
Highlights packages are broadcast on RTÉ as part of The Sunday Game.

Radio

Radio coverage is provided by RTÉ Radio 1 on Saturday Sport and Sunday Sport.

Print media

Extensive coverage is offered in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland by daily and Sunday newspapers including The Irish News, the Irish Independent, the Irish Examiner and specialist GAA publications such as Gaelic Life.

Venues

BelfastDerryClones, County MonaghanOmagh, County TyroneEnniskillen, County Fermanagh
Casement ParkCeltic ParkSt Tiernach's ParkHealy ParkBrewster Park
Capacity: 31,661Capacity: 18,000Capacity: 29,000Capacity: 18,500Capacity: 16,000