Wikipedia

Leinster Under-20 Football Championship

The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county football competition for male players between the ages of 17 and 20 in the province of Leinster. The championship was contested as the Leinster Under-21 Championship between 1964 and 2016 before changing to an under-20 age category from 2018. It is sponsored by EirGrid.

Leinster Under-20 Football Championship
Current season or competition:
2024 Leinster Under-20 Football Championship
IrishCraobh Peile Laighean Fé-20
CodeGaelic football
Founded1964; 60 years ago (1964)
RegionLeinster (GAA)
TrophyFlood Cup
No. of teams11
Title holders Meath (9th title)
Most titles Dublin (16 titles)
SponsorsEirGrid
TV partner(s)TG4
Official websiteLeinster GAA website

The final, currently held in July, serves as the culmination of a series of games played during a five to six-week period, and the results determine which team receives the Flood Cup. The championship has usually been played on a straight knockout basis whereby once a team loses they are eliminated from the championship.

The Leinster Championship is an integral part of the wider GAA Football Under-20 All-Ireland Championship. The winners of the Leinster final, like their counterparts in the other three provinces, advance to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland series of games.

Eleven teams currently participate in the Leinster Championship, with Kilkenny remaining the only county not to field a team. The title has been won at least once by eight teams, with seven of these winning the title more than once.

Current format

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Overview

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The Leinster 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.

Progression

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Teams entering in this round Teams advancing from previous round
First round
(6 teams)
  • 6 teams drawn at random
Quarter-finals
(8 teams)
  • 5 teams who receive a bye at random
  • 3 winners from the first round
Semi-finals
(4 teams)
  • 5 winners from the quarter-finals
Final
(2 teams)
  • 2 winners from the semi-finals

Qualification for subsequent competitions

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The Leinster Championship winners gain automatic entry to the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Championship. Unlike, the hurling counterpart, there is no "back-door" for the runners-up.

Managers

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See also: List of Gaelic football managers

Managers in the Leinster 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. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. The under-20 team manager also works closely with the senior team manager due to an overlap of players on both teams. 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.

Winning managers (1970–present)
Manager Team Wins Winning years
  Dessie Farrell Dublin 4 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
  Jim Gavin Dublin 3 2009, 2010, 2012
  Frank Lynch Louth 3 1970, 1978, 1981
  Luke Dempsey Westmeath 2 1999, 2000
  Paddy Canning Dublin 2 2002, 2005
  Seán Dempsey Laois 2 2006, 2007
  Tom Gray Dublin 2 2019, 2020
  Brian Flanagan Kildare 2 2022, 2023
  Paul Kenny Meath 1 2001
  Tommy Lyons Dublin 1 2003
  Peadar Mac Canann Kildare 1 2004
  Glenn Ryan Kildare 1 2008
  Kevin Kehoe Wexford 1 2011
  Kieran McGeeney Kildare 1 2013
  Davy Burke Kildare 1 2018
  Declan Kelly Offaly 1 2021
  Cathal O'Bric Meath 1 2024

Roll of honour

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# County Titles Runners-up Years won Years runners-up
1 Dublin 16 10 1974, 1975, 1980, 1984, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 1976, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023
2 Kildare 13 8 1965, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1976, 1983, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022, 2023 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1989, 2005, 2015, 2016
3 Meath 9 5 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2024 1971, 1987, 1994, 2000, 2014
Offaly 9 7 1968, 1971, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1986, 1988, 1995, 2021 1964, 1965, 1970, 1972, 1978, 2007, 2017
5 Laois 8 6 1964, 1969, 1982, 1987, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2007 1975, 1986, 1999, 2009, 2019, 2020
6 Louth 3 4 1970, 1978, 1981 1979, 1983, 1996, 2012, 2024
7 Westmeath 2 3 1999, 2000 1995, 1997, 2010
8 Wexford 1 4 2011 1968, 1974, 1988, 2008
9 Longford 0 7 - 1966, 1981, 1982, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2013
Wicklow 0 5 - 1967, 1969, 1990, 1991, 2002
Carlow 0 1 - 1984

List of finals

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Year Winner Score Opponent Score Winning Captain
2024 Meath 3-13 Louth 0-12 Liam Kelly
2023 Kildare 0-16 aet Dublin 0-13 Harry O'Neill/Shane Farrell
2022 Kildare 0-17 Dublin 0-15 Aaron Browne
2021 Offaly 0-15 Dublin 3-03 Kieran Dolan
2020 Dublin 0-18 Laois 0-08 Rory Dwyer
2019 Dublin 4-18 Laois 0-17 James Doran
2018 Kildare 1-15 Dublin 0-10 Aaron Masterson
2017[1] Dublin 2-14 Offaly 0-08 Con O'Callaghan/Cillian O'Shea
2016[2] Dublin 2-14 Kildare 0-17 Andrew Foley/Eoin Murchan
2015[3] Dublin 3-10 Kildare 1-12 David Byrne
2014[4] Dublin 0-15 Meath 0-10 Jack McCaffrey
2013[5] Kildare 1-12 Longford 0-12 Tommy Moolick
2012 Dublin 1-16 Louth 0-08 Kevin O'Brien
2011 [6] Wexford 1-09 Longford 0-11 James Breen
2010 Dublin 1-12 Westmeath 0-09 Jonny Cooper
2009 Dublin 0-12 Laois 0-09 Cian O'Sullivan
2008 Kildare 0-10 Wexford 0-06 Gary White
2007 Laois 0-13 Offaly 1-07 Cahir Healy
2006 Laois 0-09 Longford 0-07 Peter McNulty
2005 Dublin 0-13 Kildare 0-11 Bryan Cullen
2004 Kildare 1-10 Dublin 0-12 Andrew McLoughlin
2003 Dublin 3-13 Longford 1-06 Alan Brogan
2002 Dublin 1-17 Wicklow 2-04 Barry Cahill
2001 Meath 0-10 Dublin 0-05 David Gallagher
2000 Westmeath 0-07 Meath 0-06 Dessie Dolan
1999 Westmeath 1-09 Laois 0-10 Aidan Canning
1998 Laois 1-13 Dublin 1-07 Ian Fitzgerald
1997 Meath 1-11 Westmeath 0-07 Darren Fay
1996 Meath 1-08 Louth 0-08 Trevor Giles
1995 Offaly 0-14 Westmeath 0-08 Mel Keenaghan
1994 Laois 1-17 Meath 1-13 Hugh Emerson
1993 Meath 2-11 Dublin 2-09 Tommy Hanley
1992 Kildare 2-12 Dublin 0-09 Eric Dockery
1991 Meath 0-09 Wicklow 1-05 Peadar McCaffrey
1990 Meath 1-14 Wicklow 0-06 John Brady
1989 Meath 2-05 Kildare 0-09 Barry Ferguson
1988 Offaly 2-07 Wexford 2-05 Garrett O'Brien
1987 Laois 1-12 Meath 1-08 John Bolton
1986 Offaly 1-10 Laois 0-09 Brendan Flynn
1985 Meath 2-07 Kildare 0-12 Robbie O'Malley
1984 Dublin 0-09 Carlow 1-05 Eamon Heery
1983 Kildare 1-13 Louth 1-08 Kevin Nolan
1982 Laois 2-11 Longford 0-03 Michael Drennan
1981 Louth 2-08 Longford 0-06 Pat McConnon
1980 Dublin 0-10 Kildare 0-08 Mick Loftus
1979 Offaly 4-14 Louth 5-04 Brendan Lowry
1978 Louth 2-08 Offaly 2-07 Brendan Byrne
1977 Offaly 0-12 Kildare 0-04 Charlie Conroy
1976 Kildare 1-12 Dublin 0-09 Brendan Whelan
1975 Dublin 0-12 Laois 1-06 Tony Fayne
1974 Dublin 1-10 Wexford 0-08
1973 Offaly 3-08 Kildare 3-06 Charlie Quinn
1972 Kildare 2-09 (R) Offaly 0-06 (R) Denis Dalton
1971 Offaly 1-09 Meath 0-11 Liam Hanlon
1970 Louth 2-13 Offaly 3-09 Terry Lennon
1969 Laois 2-07 Wicklow 2-06 Tim Clancy
1968 Offaly 2-13 Wexford 0-07 Eugene Mulligan
1967 Kildare 3-11 Wicklow 0-04 Pat Mangan
1966 Kildare 4-14 Longford 2-05 Pat Dunny
1965 Kildare 1-11 Offaly 0-10 Pat Dunny
1964 Laois 1-08 Offaly 0-08 Jim Leonard

Records and statistics

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Final

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Team

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  • Most titles: 16:
    • Dublin (1974, 1975, 1980, 1984, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020)
  • Most consecutive title wins: 4:
    • Dublin (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
  • Most appearances in a final: 23:
    • Dublin (1974, 1975, 1986, 1980, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)
  • Most appearances in a final without winning: 7:
    • Longford (1966, 1981, 1982, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2013)

Teams

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By decade

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The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Leinster Championship titles, is as follows:

  • 1960s: 3 for Kildare (1965–66-67)
  • 1970s: 4 for Offaly (1971-73-77-79)
  • 1980s: 2 each for Dublin (1980–84), Laois (1982–87), Meath (1985–89) and Offaly (1986–89)
  • 1990s: 5 for Meath (1990-91-93-96-97)
  • 2000s: 4 for Dublin (2002-03-05-09)
  • 2010s: 7 for Dublin (2010-12-14-15-16-17-19)

Gaps

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Top three longest gaps between successive championship titles:

  • 26 years: Offaly (1995-2021)
  • 23 years: Meath (2001-2024)
  • 18 years: Dublin (1984-2002)

References

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  1. ^ "Con O'Callaghan tips the scales for Dessie Farrell's young Dubs". Irish Examiner. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Con O'Callaghan tips the scales for Dessie Farrell's young Dubs". Irish Examiner. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Leinster U21 FC: Goals win it for Dubs". Hogan Stand. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ^ "Leinster U21 FC final: Dubs squeeze past Royals". Hogan Stand. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Hurley leads charge as Kildare end drought". Irish Examiner. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  6. ^ "O'Regan puts Wexford into history books". Irish Independent. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
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