NOW THAT ALL the silverware has been handed out, to be held by the county champions for a year and to be the focus of Monday Clubs, gravesides, dinner dances and everything going on in a club, we take a look at all the senior county football championship cups in the country and explain the names behind them…
ULSTER
Antrim
The Padraig MacNamee Cup
Named after the former GAA President (1938 – 1943), MacNamee was from Forkhill in Armagh and became a member of the Antrim county board.
He taught in St Patrick’s School in Holywood, where the local Naomh Pól play in a ground named after him: Páirc Mac Con Midhe, albeit this is in Down.
McNamee’s most famous act as President came in his early months, when he expelled the Irish President, Dr Douglas Hyde, as a patron of the GAA following his attendance at an International soccer match.
Dunloy captain Seaan Elliott with the Padraig MacNamee Cup. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Armagh
The Gerry Fagan Cup
A Clann Éireann player, he captained the Lurgan club to county title success in 1954 and 1963.
Fagan played many years with the county team and later served as Armagh county secretary and refereed. Armagh renamed their championship in his honour in 1995, shortly after his death.
Named for the Canonised former Primate of all Ireland who was famously hanged, the cup itself was donated by a Fr Henry Plunkett who ministered in Belfast and Ballymoney, moving on to California.
He donated the cup in 1931 to the Cavan county board. It was actually decommissioned in 1984, but by 2004 it was decided to give it another spin and is used today.
Derry
The John McLaughlin Cup
Originally from Donegal, the schoolteacher came to Faughanvale and helped form the local club in 1933.
Known to all as ‘The Master,’ the Faughanvale club grounds are named after him. McLaughlin served as the county board chairman for almost two decades before he died suddenly at the age of 64.
Donegal
The Dr Maguire Cup
Sponsored now by Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure, along with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Dr, or Canon Edward Maguire, a former President of the Old Seminary in Letterkenny, became the first President of the Donegal county board when they were formed in October 1905.
Down
The Frank O’Hare Cup
A prominent club member of Mayobridge GAA, O’Hare was a shopkeeper and a driving force in trying to ignite interest in the early years of the previous century in Down GAA.
He donated a cup in 1906 and this is the same silverware played for today.
Fermanagh
The New York Cup
An unusual name, coming from a competition among ‘new’ clubs founded in 1950; Cashel, Ederney and Kinawley, who played a tournament among themselves for a new cup, donated by the Fermanagh Men’s Association in New York.
Originally the ‘New York Gold Cup’, this was around three foot tall and ornate, before being replaced by a new, chalice-style mini Sam Maguire in 1998.
Monaghan
The Mick Duffy Cup
Named after the former Monaghan county board chairman, Mick Duffy who served in that role for an astonishing 21 years, 1951–72.
11 years after that, his own son Páraic took the same job, before later becoming Director-General of the GAA for a decade.
Darren Hughes with the Mick Duffy Cup. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Tyrone
The O’Neill Cup
The local championship has been going since 1904, and the O’Neill County Cup was purchased by the county board in 1926 at a cost of £20 and four shillings.
Later on, the competition was rededicated to become the O’Neill Cup, named after Paddy O’Neill who was a county secretary for 26 years.
LEINSTER
Carlow
The Conlon Cup
Now here is a county with a clear succession plan. The rather neat and tidy Haughney Memorial Cup gave way to the Fr Lawler Cup in 1955.
By the time of the 1984 GAA Centenary, a new cup was presented, called ‘The Conlon Cup’ to celebrate Patrick J Conlon who founded ‘The Nationalist and Leinster Times,’ which later became as it is known today, ‘The Carlow Nationalist.’
Advertisement
Dublin
The Clery Cup
Unsurprisingly, this was paid for and named after the famous department store on O’Connell Street, that had many workers from rural and GAA backgrounds.
However, it would be a stretch to say the name is in heavy rotation or ever referred to by that name by habit. For a time, it was called ‘The Evening Herald Cup’ as part of a sponsorship package.
The Clery Cup on the right, joined by the New Ireland Cup for the Dublin hurling championship. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Kildare
The Dermot Bourke Cup
Named after a headmaster in Broadford who revived the GAA in that area in the early 1950s. He himself played for 34 years, lining out for Kildare in the 1930s.
Kilkenny
The Ned Langton Trophy
Anyone remotely familiar with Kilkenny city or hurling folklore will be aware of the Langton family, proprietors of the hotel and famous pit stop for county hurlers to eat and drink after training. Ned Langton, alongside his wife Bridie, founded the establishment in 1938.
Laois
The Jack Delaney Cup
A much-decorated footballer with a dominant Stradbally team of the time, Jack Delaney was one of four brothers; Bill, Chris and Mick the others, along with their uncle, Tom, who won the Leinster championship with Laois in 1936. They backed it up with two more in succession, all four brothers playing on each of the teams.
Longford
The Seán Connolly Cup
Prior to 1960, there appeared to be no cup awarded to the winners of the senior football championship in Longford, just medals.
The cup bought was originally commissioned by the Feis Áth Cliath committee, but after a split in that organisation, the cup was never picked up. So Longford got it on the cheap, following some engraving that had to be blanked out. It is identical in design to the St Andrews Links golf trophy.
Seán Connolly was an Officer Commanding of the Longford Brigade during the War of Independence, who was killed during an RIC ambush in Leitrim.
Louth
The Joe Ward Cup
A former county board Chairman of many years, The Joe Ward Cup was first presented in 1949 to Stabannon Parnells a year after his death. First elected as county secretary in 1903, he was selector on the Louth management team when they won the All-Ireland title in 1910.
The Joe Ward Cup. Bryan Keane / INPHO
Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO
Meath
The Keegan Cup
Named after the tragic tale of Tom Keegan, who played midfield for Syddan against Castletown in the intermediate championship in August 1940.
He received a dangerous head injury in the game and when removed to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, he passed away the next day, aged just 26. 13 years later, his club presented the county board with the cup in his memory.
Offaly
The Dowling Cup
A distinctive, big-eared cup, the Dowling Cup was donated to the Offaly board in 1954 by brothers Mick, Christy and Billy Dowling, prominent members of the Tullamore club.
Niall Darby with the Dowling Cup. Ger Rogers / INPHO
Ger Rogers / INPHO / INPHO
Westmeath
The Flanagan Cup
An absolute beast of a trophy, named after the former St Loman’s and Westmeath footballer Paddy Flanagan, who passed away in 2022. He later served a number of administrative roles in the Leinster Council including over 20 years as chairman of the Communications Committee.
In his spare time, he wrote a column on all things GAA for the Westmeath Examiner under the pen name, ‘Aindrias O.’
Luke Loughlin and Ian Martin lift the Flanagan Cup. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Wexford
The Seamus Keevans Memorial Cup
Named after ‘Mr Wexford Football’, this is one of the freshest trophies in the country, having only been handed over six years ago.
The much-travelled Garda Síochána sergeant had the distinction of playing in all four provinces; for his native Wexford, Sligo, Cavan, Waterford and Cork. He later managed his county and was chairman of the county football board in the ‘80s.
Wicklow
The Miley Cup
Seamus Miley had been a very promising footballer with Wicklow, playing in the team that reached the 1993 Leinster final, where he marked one Trevor Giles.
Five years later, his career was ended after he suffered a severely broken leg in a league final for his club Dunlavin. In 2007, he tragically lost his life in an industrial accident. A year later, Wicklow dedicated their senior championship cup to this much-loved figure.
The Miley Cup is held aloft. Garry O'Neill / INPHO
Garry O'Neill / INPHO / INPHO
CONNACHT
Galway
The Frank Fox Cup
A member of the Galway team that won the 1934 All-Ireland football championship, Fox also won two Connacht titles and two Railway Cups.
He died after complications arising from an operation for appendicitis at the age of 29. His brother Tom lived in America and presented the Galway county board with a trophy in his honour in 1951.
Micheál Lundy, the Frank Fox Cup, his mother Helen. Mike Shaughnessy / INPHO
Mike Shaughnessy / INPHO / INPHO
Leitrim
The Fenagh Perpetual Cup
The trophy was presented by Dick Ellis of Fenagh to the Leitrim county board, and as such is occasionally called ‘The Dick Ellis Cup’ locally in honour of the local councillor and former GAA Connacht Council President.
Mayo
The Paddy Moclair Cup
Named after Mayo’s full-forward when they won the All-Ireland title in 1936, he claimed no fewer than seven Connacht titles and six national leagues across a 12-year county career.
He later became a greyhound trainer and won the Irish Greyhound Derby in 1948 with a dog named ‘Western Post.’ He passed away while sitting Mayo county board President in 1983.
The Paddy Moclair Cup. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Roscommon
The Fahey Cup
Named after a former county board secretary, John Joe Fahey. John Joe’s son, Mick, later was a player, administrator and former county chairperson in Roscommon.
Sligo
The Owen B Hunt Cup
First presented for the 1953 senior championship, Hunt was born in Mayo and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1910.
He studied law and journalism, earned a French citation for bravery fighting in World War 1, and later donated a silver trophy to Sligo for their county championship.
MUNSTER
Clare
The Jack Daly Cup
Rather fittingly for the year that is in it, Jack Daly was an Éire Óg player and won a county hurling title for the club in 1957 at 19. By 25, he was the Clare chairman.
He donated a trophy in time for the 1969 championship and put up another in 1980 after Kilrush Shamrocks won five consecutive titles and kept the Cup. The Daly family donated a third cup in 2024, and Éire Óg have won it ever since.
Cork
The Andy Scannell Cup
A teacher at Clondulane National School outside Fermoy, Scannell was a selector when Cork won the All-Ireland title in 1945. He later took over as county board chairman in the 1950s.
Steven Sherlock lifts the Andy Scannell Cup. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
Kerry
The Bishop Moynihan Cup
From Rathmore, he was the Bishop of Kerry from 1952 to 1969. The cup was commissioned by former GAA President Seán Kelly, and similar in shape to the Sam Maguire, only with a thicker neck.
It was first presented in 1971 and handed over to the East Kerry team. The trophy, like many others, was created by Des Byrne, the Dublin man who was operating a premises in Kilkenny.
The Bishop Moynihan Cup. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Limerick
The Fr Casey Cup
A rather timely one here. Fr William Casey of Abbeyfeale was the local Parish Priest, and also a Land Leaguer and, in the nascent days of the GAA, served as chairman of Limerick county board.
Born in the 1840s, he lived through The Famine and was an immensely popular Priest, known as ‘The People’s Priest’ with a reported 12,000 attending his funeral.
And on Sunday past, the Fr Casey’s club beat Kildimo-Pallaskenry in the county final.
Tipperary
The Philly Ryan Cup
The most recent of all cups to be dedicated, it was donated only this September by the Ryan family and their club, Clonmel Commercials, in recognition of a life spent in service to Tipperary football.
Philly Ryan was a former county goalkeeper and was the serving county team manager when he passed away last October, suffering a sudden death after collapsing while out walking.
Philly Ryan RIP. Tommy Grealy / INPHO
Tommy Grealy / INPHO / INPHO
Waterford
The Conway Cup
In the time-honoured tradition, Waterford needed a trophy for their football championship and an approach was made to Joe Conway, a butcher in St Mary’s Street in Dungarvan.
He provided the cash and had the honour of the cup carrying his name.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
What's in a name? The story behind every SFC cup
NOW THAT ALL the silverware has been handed out, to be held by the county champions for a year and to be the focus of Monday Clubs, gravesides, dinner dances and everything going on in a club, we take a look at all the senior county football championship cups in the country and explain the names behind them…
ULSTER
Antrim
The Padraig MacNamee Cup
Named after the former GAA President (1938 – 1943), MacNamee was from Forkhill in Armagh and became a member of the Antrim county board.
He taught in St Patrick’s School in Holywood, where the local Naomh Pól play in a ground named after him: Páirc Mac Con Midhe, albeit this is in Down.
McNamee’s most famous act as President came in his early months, when he expelled the Irish President, Dr Douglas Hyde, as a patron of the GAA following his attendance at an International soccer match.
Armagh
The Gerry Fagan Cup
A Clann Éireann player, he captained the Lurgan club to county title success in 1954 and 1963.
Fagan played many years with the county team and later served as Armagh county secretary and refereed. Armagh renamed their championship in his honour in 1995, shortly after his death.
Cavan
The Oliver Plunkett Cup
Named for the Canonised former Primate of all Ireland who was famously hanged, the cup itself was donated by a Fr Henry Plunkett who ministered in Belfast and Ballymoney, moving on to California.
He donated the cup in 1931 to the Cavan county board. It was actually decommissioned in 1984, but by 2004 it was decided to give it another spin and is used today.
Derry
The John McLaughlin Cup
Originally from Donegal, the schoolteacher came to Faughanvale and helped form the local club in 1933.
Known to all as ‘The Master,’ the Faughanvale club grounds are named after him. McLaughlin served as the county board chairman for almost two decades before he died suddenly at the age of 64.
Donegal
The Dr Maguire Cup
Sponsored now by Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure, along with RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Dr, or Canon Edward Maguire, a former President of the Old Seminary in Letterkenny, became the first President of the Donegal county board when they were formed in October 1905.
Down
The Frank O’Hare Cup
A prominent club member of Mayobridge GAA, O’Hare was a shopkeeper and a driving force in trying to ignite interest in the early years of the previous century in Down GAA.
He donated a cup in 1906 and this is the same silverware played for today.
Fermanagh
The New York Cup
An unusual name, coming from a competition among ‘new’ clubs founded in 1950; Cashel, Ederney and Kinawley, who played a tournament among themselves for a new cup, donated by the Fermanagh Men’s Association in New York.
Originally the ‘New York Gold Cup’, this was around three foot tall and ornate, before being replaced by a new, chalice-style mini Sam Maguire in 1998.
Monaghan
The Mick Duffy Cup
Named after the former Monaghan county board chairman, Mick Duffy who served in that role for an astonishing 21 years, 1951–72.
11 years after that, his own son Páraic took the same job, before later becoming Director-General of the GAA for a decade.
Tyrone
The O’Neill Cup
The local championship has been going since 1904, and the O’Neill County Cup was purchased by the county board in 1926 at a cost of £20 and four shillings.
Later on, the competition was rededicated to become the O’Neill Cup, named after Paddy O’Neill who was a county secretary for 26 years.
LEINSTER
Carlow
The Conlon Cup
Now here is a county with a clear succession plan. The rather neat and tidy Haughney Memorial Cup gave way to the Fr Lawler Cup in 1955.
By the time of the 1984 GAA Centenary, a new cup was presented, called ‘The Conlon Cup’ to celebrate Patrick J Conlon who founded ‘The Nationalist and Leinster Times,’ which later became as it is known today, ‘The Carlow Nationalist.’
Dublin
The Clery Cup
Unsurprisingly, this was paid for and named after the famous department store on O’Connell Street, that had many workers from rural and GAA backgrounds.
However, it would be a stretch to say the name is in heavy rotation or ever referred to by that name by habit. For a time, it was called ‘The Evening Herald Cup’ as part of a sponsorship package.
Kildare
The Dermot Bourke Cup
Named after a headmaster in Broadford who revived the GAA in that area in the early 1950s. He himself played for 34 years, lining out for Kildare in the 1930s.
Kilkenny
The Ned Langton Trophy
Anyone remotely familiar with Kilkenny city or hurling folklore will be aware of the Langton family, proprietors of the hotel and famous pit stop for county hurlers to eat and drink after training. Ned Langton, alongside his wife Bridie, founded the establishment in 1938.
Laois
The Jack Delaney Cup
A much-decorated footballer with a dominant Stradbally team of the time, Jack Delaney was one of four brothers; Bill, Chris and Mick the others, along with their uncle, Tom, who won the Leinster championship with Laois in 1936. They backed it up with two more in succession, all four brothers playing on each of the teams.
Longford
The Seán Connolly Cup
Prior to 1960, there appeared to be no cup awarded to the winners of the senior football championship in Longford, just medals.
The cup bought was originally commissioned by the Feis Áth Cliath committee, but after a split in that organisation, the cup was never picked up. So Longford got it on the cheap, following some engraving that had to be blanked out. It is identical in design to the St Andrews Links golf trophy.
Seán Connolly was an Officer Commanding of the Longford Brigade during the War of Independence, who was killed during an RIC ambush in Leitrim.
Louth
The Joe Ward Cup
A former county board Chairman of many years, The Joe Ward Cup was first presented in 1949 to Stabannon Parnells a year after his death. First elected as county secretary in 1903, he was selector on the Louth management team when they won the All-Ireland title in 1910.
Meath
The Keegan Cup
Named after the tragic tale of Tom Keegan, who played midfield for Syddan against Castletown in the intermediate championship in August 1940.
He received a dangerous head injury in the game and when removed to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan, he passed away the next day, aged just 26. 13 years later, his club presented the county board with the cup in his memory.
Offaly
The Dowling Cup
A distinctive, big-eared cup, the Dowling Cup was donated to the Offaly board in 1954 by brothers Mick, Christy and Billy Dowling, prominent members of the Tullamore club.
Westmeath
The Flanagan Cup
An absolute beast of a trophy, named after the former St Loman’s and Westmeath footballer Paddy Flanagan, who passed away in 2022. He later served a number of administrative roles in the Leinster Council including over 20 years as chairman of the Communications Committee.
In his spare time, he wrote a column on all things GAA for the Westmeath Examiner under the pen name, ‘Aindrias O.’
Wexford
The Seamus Keevans Memorial Cup
Named after ‘Mr Wexford Football’, this is one of the freshest trophies in the country, having only been handed over six years ago.
The much-travelled Garda Síochána sergeant had the distinction of playing in all four provinces; for his native Wexford, Sligo, Cavan, Waterford and Cork. He later managed his county and was chairman of the county football board in the ‘80s.
Wicklow
The Miley Cup
Seamus Miley had been a very promising footballer with Wicklow, playing in the team that reached the 1993 Leinster final, where he marked one Trevor Giles.
Five years later, his career was ended after he suffered a severely broken leg in a league final for his club Dunlavin. In 2007, he tragically lost his life in an industrial accident. A year later, Wicklow dedicated their senior championship cup to this much-loved figure.
CONNACHT
Galway
The Frank Fox Cup
A member of the Galway team that won the 1934 All-Ireland football championship, Fox also won two Connacht titles and two Railway Cups.
He died after complications arising from an operation for appendicitis at the age of 29. His brother Tom lived in America and presented the Galway county board with a trophy in his honour in 1951.
Leitrim
The Fenagh Perpetual Cup
The trophy was presented by Dick Ellis of Fenagh to the Leitrim county board, and as such is occasionally called ‘The Dick Ellis Cup’ locally in honour of the local councillor and former GAA Connacht Council President.
Mayo
The Paddy Moclair Cup
Named after Mayo’s full-forward when they won the All-Ireland title in 1936, he claimed no fewer than seven Connacht titles and six national leagues across a 12-year county career.
He later became a greyhound trainer and won the Irish Greyhound Derby in 1948 with a dog named ‘Western Post.’ He passed away while sitting Mayo county board President in 1983.
Roscommon
The Fahey Cup
Named after a former county board secretary, John Joe Fahey. John Joe’s son, Mick, later was a player, administrator and former county chairperson in Roscommon.
Sligo
The Owen B Hunt Cup
First presented for the 1953 senior championship, Hunt was born in Mayo and emigrated to Philadelphia in 1910.
He studied law and journalism, earned a French citation for bravery fighting in World War 1, and later donated a silver trophy to Sligo for their county championship.
MUNSTER
Clare
The Jack Daly Cup
Rather fittingly for the year that is in it, Jack Daly was an Éire Óg player and won a county hurling title for the club in 1957 at 19. By 25, he was the Clare chairman.
He donated a trophy in time for the 1969 championship and put up another in 1980 after Kilrush Shamrocks won five consecutive titles and kept the Cup. The Daly family donated a third cup in 2024, and Éire Óg have won it ever since.
Cork
The Andy Scannell Cup
A teacher at Clondulane National School outside Fermoy, Scannell was a selector when Cork won the All-Ireland title in 1945. He later took over as county board chairman in the 1950s.
Kerry
The Bishop Moynihan Cup
From Rathmore, he was the Bishop of Kerry from 1952 to 1969. The cup was commissioned by former GAA President Seán Kelly, and similar in shape to the Sam Maguire, only with a thicker neck.
It was first presented in 1971 and handed over to the East Kerry team. The trophy, like many others, was created by Des Byrne, the Dublin man who was operating a premises in Kilkenny.
Limerick
The Fr Casey Cup
A rather timely one here. Fr William Casey of Abbeyfeale was the local Parish Priest, and also a Land Leaguer and, in the nascent days of the GAA, served as chairman of Limerick county board.
Born in the 1840s, he lived through The Famine and was an immensely popular Priest, known as ‘The People’s Priest’ with a reported 12,000 attending his funeral.
And on Sunday past, the Fr Casey’s club beat Kildimo-Pallaskenry in the county final.
Tipperary
The Philly Ryan Cup
The most recent of all cups to be dedicated, it was donated only this September by the Ryan family and their club, Clonmel Commercials, in recognition of a life spent in service to Tipperary football.
Philly Ryan was a former county goalkeeper and was the serving county team manager when he passed away last October, suffering a sudden death after collapsing while out walking.
Waterford
The Conway Cup
In the time-honoured tradition, Waterford needed a trophy for their football championship and an approach was made to Joe Conway, a butcher in St Mary’s Street in Dungarvan.
He provided the cash and had the honour of the cup carrying his name.
**
Check out the latest episode of The 42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
CHAMPIONEES COUNTY CUPS GAA Gaelic Football Silverware