The 1887 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is the first edition of GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament, played between 12 counties of Ireland. The tournament featured club teams who represented their respective counties after their county championship. The 21 a-side final was between Commercials of Limerick and Young Irelands of Louth. The final was played in Beech Hill, Donnybrook on April 29, 1888, with Commercials winning by 1-4 to 0-3. Unlike later All-Irelands, there were no provincial championships and it was an open draw.[1]
 | |
| All-Ireland Champions | |
|---|---|
| Winning team | Limerick (1st win) |
| Captain | Denis Corbett |
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Louth |
| Provincial Champions | |
| Munster | Not played |
| Leinster | Not played |
| Ulster | Not played |
| Connacht | Not played |
| Championship statistics | |
1888 → | |
Format
editThe 1887 championship was the only to be held as an open-draw knockout tournament, without provincial championships.
Representative clubs
editFrom 1887 until 1891 the club champions represented the whole county. In the very first All-Ireland championship the participating counties were represented by the following clubs:
| County | Club |
|---|---|
| Clare | |
| Cork | Lees |
| Kilkenny | Kilmacow |
| Limerick | Commercials |
| Louth | Dundalk Young Irelands |
| Meath | Dowdstown |
| Tipperary | |
| Waterford | Ballyduff Lower |
| Wexford | Castlebridge |
Results
editFirst round
editSecond round
edit| Limerick | 1-10 – 1-10 | Kilkenny |
|---|---|---|
| [2] |
Semi-final
edit
- Louth received a Bye into the All-Ireland final
Final
editMiscellaneous
edit- No Provincial championships in the first year of the championship.
References
edit- ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). A to Z of Sport: The Compendium of Sporting Knowledge. Little Brown. p. 356. ISBN 978-0-316-72645-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mulligan, John (2008) 1887 All-Ireland Championship Dundalk Young Irelands Gaelic Football Club