Tailteann Cup

The Tailteann Cup is a second tier Gaelic football championship competition held annually since 2022 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is contested by those county teams who do not qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the winner is awarded the Tailteann Cup.

The name 'Tailteann' comes from the ancient Tailteann Games.

The title has been won by 3 different counties, none of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Down, Meath and Westmeath, who have won the cup on 1 occasion each. Down are the title holders, defeating Laois by 0-14 to 2-06 in the 2024 final.

Creation
Following ongoing one-sided matches in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship between counties of differing standards, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) began considering the addition of a tournament for so-called weaker counties who were usually eliminated in the early stages of their respective provincial championship. At a national conference in November 2018, the GAA found broad support for the introduction of a second-tier championship and canvassed options for its potential structure and future inclusion within the annual calendar. One year later at a specially convened congress, 76% of delegates formally approved of the second-tier tournament. The tournament was named the Tailteann Cup in February 2020 and it was intended it would hold its inaugural season that year, though its introduction was ultimately delayed until 2022 due the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games over that period.

Second and third-tier competitions have been incorporated in hurling for several years, such as the Christy Ring Cup and Nicky Rackard Cup.

Development
In 2023 a group stage was introduced, following the success of the inaugural cup.

Team changes
19 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the Tailteann Cup. Fifteen have been ever-presents. in 2023, Limerick and Meath became the most recent counties to make their debut in the Cup

2022
The first Tailteann Cup was a knockout tournament whereby once a team was defeated they were eliminated from the championship. The pairings were drawn by location. Each match was played as a single leg.

2023–present
The Tailteann Cup has since emulated the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship format which includes a group stage and a knockout stage.

Tailteann Cup moments

 * Westmeath 2-14 - 1-13 Cavan (1 July 2022): Westmeath won the inaugural Tailteann Cup, defeating Cavan in Croke Park.
 * Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois (25 June 2023): This semi-final meeting was the biggest ever Tailteann Cup winning margin in the cups history.

Format
Up to 17 teams compete in the cup. The teams are drawn from the bottom 16 rankings from that season's National Football League, plus New York. However, if a team in this position qualifies for the final of its provincial championship, that team continues to compete in the same year's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and does not compete in the Tailteann Cup.

The teams that compete in the Tailteann Cup are split into four round-robin groups, and the top two teams from each group proceed to one of four knockout quarter-finals matches, followed by semi-finals and the final. The Winners of the four Quarter Final pairings qualify for the semi-finals, with pairings decided via an open draw. The final of the Tailteann Cup is currently scheduled three weeks before the All-Ireland Football Final, and is staged at Croke Park in Dublin.

For the inaugural 2022 Tailteann Cup, the format was altered to a straight-knockout competition with Round 1 and the Quarter Finals organised on a geographical basis with Northern and Southern Sections. From 2023 onwards, there are scheduled to be no North/South sections.

Unlike the contest for the Sam Maguire Cup, London and New York are permitted to meet each other in the contest for the Tailteann Cup.

Group stage (Sixteen teams remaining)edit
Group stage (24 matches): The 16 counties who did not qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship group stage make up the group stage teams. Teams are divided into four groups of four. The group winners advance to the quarter-finals and the group runners-up and 3 out of 4 group third placed teams advance to the preliminary quarter-finals. Five teams are eliminated at this stage while twelve teams advance to the All-Ireland knockout-stage

Preliminary quarter-finals (12 teams remaining)
Preliminary quarter-finals (4 matches): The second-placed teams from the group stage play the 3 best third-placed teams from the group stage and New York. Teams who met in the provincial finals are kept apart in separate preliminary quarter-finals. Four teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the quarter-finals.

Quarter-finals (Eight teams remaining)
Quarter-finals (4 matches): The winners of the preliminary quarter-finals join the first placed teams in the group stage. Teams who met in the provincial finals are kept apart in separate quarter-finals. Four teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals (Four teams remaining)
Semi-finals (2 matches): The winners of the quarter-finals make up the semi-final pairings. Teams who met in the provincial finals are kept apart in separate semi-finals. Two teams are eliminated at this stage while the winners advance to the final.

Final
Final (1 match): The two winners of the semi-finals contest this game. Winning team are declared Tailteann Cup champions.

2024 teams
Seventeen counties will compete in the 2024 Tailteann Cup:

List of Tailteann Cup counties
The following teams have competed in the Tailteann Cup in at least one season.

Group stage, preliminary quarter-finals and quarter-finals
Fixtures in the three group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least one home game.

Semi-finals and Final
The Tailteann Cup semi-finals and final are played at Croke Park.

Legend

 * – Champions
 * – Runners-up
 * – Semi-Final
 * – Preliminary Round/Round 1/Group Stage/Preliminary Quarter-Final/Quarter-Final
 * AI – All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

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

Seasons in Tailteann Cup
The number of years that each county has played in the Tailteann Cup between 2022 and 2024. A total of 20 counties have competed in at least one season of the Tailteann Cup. 14 counties have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participate in the 2024 Tailteann Cup.

All time table
Legend after 2024 final

By decade
The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Tailteann Cup titles, is as follows:


 * 2020s: 1 each for Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022), Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (2023) and colours of Down.svg Down (2024).

Match records

 * Most matches played
 * 14, Colours_of_Down.svg Down
 * 14, Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois


 * Most wins
 * 11, Colours_of_Down.svg Down


 * Most losses
 * 7, Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford


 * Most draws
 * 3, Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois

Finishing positions

 * Most championships
 * 1, Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022)
 * 1, Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (2023)
 * 1, colours of Down.svg Down (2024)


 * Most second-place finishes
 * 1, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2022)
 * 1, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2023)
 * 1, Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2024)


 * Most semi-final finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2022, 2024)
 * 2, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2023, 2024)


 * Most quarter-final finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2022, 2023)
 * 2, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2022, 2024)
 * 2, Colours_of_Limerick.svg Limerick (2023, 2024)


 * Most preliminary quarter-final finishes
 * 2, Colors_of_New_York.svg New York (2023, 2024)


 * Most group stage finishes
 * 2, Colours_of_Waterford.svg Waterford (2023, 2024)

Unbeaten sides

 * Teams that have won the Tailteann Cup unbeaten:
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath had 4 wins in 2022.
 * Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath had 6 wins in 2023.
 * colours of Down.svg Down had 6 wins in 2024.

Beaten sides
On four occasions a team was defeated twice but have remained in the knockout championship:


 * Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2023) were beaten by Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow and Colours_of_Limerick.svg Limerick but still qualified for the knockout stage.
 * Tipperary (2024) were beaten by Sligo and Antrim but still qualified for the knockout stage.
 * Wicklow (2024) were beaten by Fermanagh and Laois but still qualified for the knockout stage.
 * London (2024) were beaten by Down and Limerick but still qualified for the knockout stage.

Final success rate
Only two counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions:


 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022)
 * Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (2023)

On the opposite end of the scale, only two counties has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:


 * Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2022)
 * Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2024)

Consecutive participations

 * 3, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Carlow.svg Carlow (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Fermanagh.svg Fermanagh (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_London.svg London (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Longford.svg Longford (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colors_of_New_York.svg New York (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Tipperary.svg Tipperary (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Waterford.svg Waterford(2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Wexford.svg Wexford (2022-2024)
 * 3, Colours_of_Wicklow.svg Wicklow (2022-2024)

14 counties have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tailteann Cup, taking part in the all 3 seasons.

Winning other trophies
Although not an officially recognised achievement, no teams have ever achieved the distinction of winning the Tailteann Cup and their respective Division in the National Football League.

Biggest wins

 * The most one sided finals:
 * 5 points – 2023: Meath 2-13 - 0-14 Down
 * 4 points – 2022: Westmeath 2-14 - 1-13 Cavan
 * The most one sided matches:
 * 22 points – 2024: Waterford 0-06 - 5-15 Kildare
 * 22 points – 2023: Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois
 * 20 points – 2024: Kildare 3-25 - 1-11 Longford
 * 18 points – 2023: Tipperary 0-06 - 2-18 Down
 * 17 points – 2023: Meath 2-23 - 0-12 Wexford
 * 17 points – 2024: Sligo 2-20 - 0-09 London
 * 17 points – 2024: London 0-10 - 1-24 Down
 * 16 points – 2024: Tipperary 1-12 - 3-22 Sligo
 * 15 points – 2022: Offaly 3-17 - 0-11 New York

Scoring Events

 * Most goals in a match:
 * 10 – 2023: Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois
 * Most points in a match:
 * 38 – 2022: Westmeath 3-22 - 2-16 Offaly
 * Most goals by one team in a match:
 * 8 – 2023: Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois
 * Most points by one team in a match:
 * 25 – 2023: Cavan 2-25 - 2-09 Offaly
 * 25 – 2024: Kildare 3-25 - 1-11 Longford
 * Highest aggregate score:
 * 58 points – 2023: Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois
 * Lowest aggregate score:
 * 21 points – 2024: Laois 0-11 - 0-10 Wicklow

Successful defending
Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. These are:


 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath 1 attempts out of 1 (2023)
 * Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath TBD attempts out of 1 (2024)

Gaps

 * Longest gap between successive cup titles:
 * 0 years: N/A
 * Longest gap between successive Tailteann Cup final appearances:
 * 1 year: Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2023–2024)
 * Longest gap between successive championship appearances
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Sligo.svg Sligo (2022–2024)

Active gaps

 * Longest active gap since last title:
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022–)
 * Longest active gaps since last cup final appearance:
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022–), Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan (2022–)
 * Longest active gap since last cup appearance
 * 2 years: Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022–)

Provinces

 * On 0 occasions has the Tailteann Cup final involved two teams from the same province.
 * The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster, with two:
 * Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath
 * Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath
 * Province success rates (of counties that have ever competed in the competition)
 * Flag_of_Leinster.svg Leinster 22% (2 out of 9 counties)
 * Flag_of_Connacht.svg Connacht 0% (0 out of 2 counties)
 * Flag_of_Munster.svg Munster 0% (0 out of 3 counties)
 * Flag_of_Ulster.svg Ulster 25% (1 out of 4 counties)

Longest undefeated run
The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 6 games held by Meath (2023-) and  Down (2024-)

Miscellaneous

 * Best finish by a debuting team
 * Champions, Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (2022)
 * Best finish by a debuting team (after 2022)
 * Champions, Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (2023)
 * Highest winning record
 * 100%, Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (6 wins in 6 matches)
 * 100%, Colours_of_Westmeath.svg Westmeath (4 wins in 4 matches)
 * Lowest winning record
 * 0%, Colors_of_New_York.svg New York (0 wins in 2 matches)
 * Most played match
 * 2, Colours_of_Antrim.svg Antrim vs Colours_of_Leitrim.svg Leitrim (2022, 2023)
 * 2, Colours_of_Cavan.svg Cavan vs Colours_of_Down.svg Down (2022, 2023)
 * 2, Colours_of_Down.svg Down vs Colours_of_Meath.svg Meath (2023 (2x))
 * 2, Colours_of_Offaly.svg Offaly vs Colours_of_Wexford.svg Wexford (2022, 2023)
 * 2, colours of Down.svg Down vs Colours_of_Laois.svg Laois (2023, 2024)