Connacht Senior Football Championship

The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning team receives the Nestor Cup.

The Connacht Senior Football Championship is run on a knock-out basis in which they are eliminated from the competition. A series of games are played during the summer months and the final is played in June or July. The winners and runners-up progresses directly to the All-Ireland Group Stage. (before 2020, all losing teams progress to the All-Ireland Qualifiers and before 2001 the All-Ireland was a straight knock-out format meaning all losing teams were eliminated after a single defeat).

Galway are the three time title-holders, defeating Mayo by 0-16 to 0-15 in the 2024 final.

History
Galway are Connacht's most successful county with 8 All Ireland titles. Roscommon have won the competition 24 times, most recently in 2019. Sligo have won the Nestor cup three times, most recently in 2007, while Leitrim have won the competition twice, most recently in 1994. The competing counties play for the JJ Nestor Cup, which is presented to the winning captain on Connacht Final Day.

London have competed in the Connacht Senior Football Championship since 1975, while New York joined in 1999. In this time London have managed three victories: one in 1977 and two in 2013, against Sligo and Leitrim. New York recorded their first and only victory in the championship over Leitrim in 2023.

Connacht championship moments

 * Leitrim 0-12 - 2-04 Mayo (24 July 1994):
 * Sligo 1-10 - 0-12 Galway (8 July 2007):
 * Mayo 5-11 - 0-10 London (21 July 2013):
 * New York 0-15 pen - 0-15 Leitrim (8 April 2023):

2024 Championship
Seven counties will compete in the 2024 Connacht Senior Football Championship: the five counties in the Irish province of Connacht and the two foreign-based teams of London and New York.

Managers
Managers in the Connacht Championship 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.

Legend

 * – Connacht champions also won the All-Ireland Championship.

Team results
Legend
 * – Champions
 * – Runners-up
 * – Semi-Finals/Quarter-Finals/Preliminary round

List of Connacht Senior Football Championship counties
The following teams have competed in the Connacht Championship for at least one season.

Most recent championship meetings
* = COVID-19 After being postponed in 2020 resheduled for 2025, Roscommon vs London, Galway vs New York for 1st fixtures since 2015.

+ = In 2026, Mayo vs London, Roscommon vs New York absent in 2021 also because of the same reason 1st fixtures since 2016 in rotation.

In 2027, Sligo vs New York, Leitrim vs London are lined up. In 2028, Sligo vs London, Leitrim vs New York if London and New York don't win before that in 2029 Galway vs London and Mayo vs New York like in 2024.

Quintuple

 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

Quadruple

 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1929, 1930, 1931, 1932)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)

Treble

 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1935, 1936, 1937)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1940, 1941, 1942)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1982, 1983, 1984)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (2022, 2023, 2024)

Double

 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1915, 1916)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1920, 1921)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1923, 1924)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1925, 1926)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1933, 1934)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1943, 1944)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1946, 1947)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1952, 1953)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1961, 1962)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1970, 1971)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1973, 1974)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1986, 1987)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1988, 1989)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1990, 1991)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1992, 1993)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1996, 1997)
 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (2002, 2003)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (2020, 2021)

Single

 * Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1900, 1902, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1938, 1945, 1954, 1968, 1976, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2016, 2018)
 * Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1901, 1904, 1918, 1939, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1981, 1985, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2009)
 * Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1892, 1903, 1905, 1912, 1914, 1972, 2001, 2010, 2017, 2019)
 * Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (1928, 1975, 2007)
 * Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1927, 1994)

By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Connacht Senior Football Championship titles, is as follows:


 * 1900s: 6 for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1901, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909)
 * 1910s: 4 each for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1910, 1915, 1916, 1918) and Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1911, 1913, 1917, 1919)
 * 1920s: 5 for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1929)
 * 1930s: 7 for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939)
 * 1940s: 4 each for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1940, 1941, 1942, 1945) and Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1943, 1944, 1946, 1947)
 * 1950s: 5 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
 * 1960s: 6 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968)
 * 1970s: 5 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976)
 * 1980s: 5 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
 * 1990s: 5 for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999)
 * 2000s: 5 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008)
 * 2010s: 5 for Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
 * 2020s: 3 for Colours_of_Galway.svg Galway (2022, 2023, 2024)

Final success rate
No counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions.

On the opposite end of the scale, one county has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:


 * Colours_of_London.svg London (2013)

Gaps

 * Longest gaps between successive Connacht titles:
 * 67 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1927–1994)
 * 47 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (1928–1975)
 * 32 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (1975–2007)
 * 29 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1914–1943)
 * 12 years: Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1955–1967)
 * 12 years: Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (1969–1981)
 * 11 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1892–1903)
 * 10 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1962–1972)
 * 10 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1980–1990)
 * 10 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1991–2001)
 * Longest gaps between successive Connacht finals:
 * 27 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1967–1994)
 * 22 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1927–1949)
 * 16 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (1981–1997)
 * 15 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (1932–1947)
 * 13 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1914–1927)
 * 11 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1892–1903)
 * 10 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (1931–1941)

Active gaps

 * Longest active gaps since a championship title:
 * 30 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (1994–)
 * 17 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2007–)
 * 5 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (2019–)
 * 3 years: Colours_of_Mayo.svg Mayo (2021–)
 * Longest active gap since a championship final appearance:
 * 24 years: Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2000–)
 * 11 years: Colours_of_London.svg London (2013–)
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Roscommon.svg Roscommon (2022–)
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2023–)

Most Recent winning captain per county

 * Galway: Seán Kelly (2023)
 * Leitrim: TBD (1994)
 * Mayo: Aidan O'Shea (2021)
 * Roscommon: Enda Smith (2019)
 * Sligo: TBD (2007)