The O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organized by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954.
History The competition is named in honour of Matt Byrne (14 February 1870 – 21 September 1947), a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, the Corn Uí Bhroin became known as the O'Byrne Cup even though Matt had never used an 'O' in his surname. Byrne was a native of Baltinglass and taught at the local national school. Deeply involved in GAA activities at all levels throughout his life, he was regarded as a good footballer in his youth and an excellent handballer. He was the first secretary of the Maurice Davins' club in Baltinglass and served as a member of the Wicklow County Board for over 50 years, mostly as registrar. He represented Wicklow on Leinster and Central Councils and served as President of the Irish Handball Council in 1941–44. Byrne died in 1947.
The competition is contested by the eleven Leinster county teams (excluding Kilkenny), although Third-level College teams have taken part occasionally. The competition is, together with the Walsh Cup and Kehoe Cup, part of a Leinster GAA Series which takes place each January. The most recent O'Byrne Cup winners were Westmeath, who beat Kildare in the 2026 final.
The O'Byrne Shield was introduced in 2006 for teams knocked out at the first-round stage of the competition. It was later abandoned in 2013 due to the introduction of group stages in the competition, but re-introduced in 2024 when the O'Byrne Cup reverted to straight knockout format.
In September 2024, GAA delegates voted to remove the O'Byrne Cup from the 2025 fixtures calendar on a one-year trial basis. It returned for 2026.
Top winners
Team Wins Years won 1 Kildare 11 1962, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1982, 1989, 2003, 2011, 2013, 20142 Dublin 10 1956, 1958, 1960, 1966, 1999, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2022 Meath 10 1967, 1974, 1977, 1983, 1992, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2018 4 Offaly 6 1954, 1961, 1981, 1993, 1997, 1998 5 Laois 5 1978, 1987, 1991, 1994, 2005 Longford5 1965, 2000, 2020, 2023, 2024 Westmeath 5 1959, 1964, 1988, 2019, 20268 Louth 4 1963, 1980, 1990, 2009 Wicklow 4 1955, 1957, 1986, 1996 10 DCU 2 2010, 2012 11 Carlow 1 2002 Wexford 1 1995
List of finals YearWinnersScoreRunners-upScoreVenue 2026 1-18 1-16 St Conleth's Park2025 Not held due to fixture congestion 2024 Longford 1-15 Dublin 0-9 O'Moore Park 2023 Longford 3-13 Louth 0-12 Pearse Park 2022 Dublin 1-13 Laois 0-11 Dr. Cullen Park2021 Not held due to COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Longford 1-12 Offaly 0-11 O'Connor Park 2019 Westmeath 1-12 Dublin 0-10 Parnell Park 2018 Meath 4-13 Westmeath 1-13 Cusack Park, Mullingar 2017 Dublin 2-16 Louth 1-10 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 2016 Meath 1-17 Longford 1-11 Páirc Tailteann 2015 Dublin 0-24 Kildare 0-19 St Conleth's Park 2014 Kildare 1-10 Meath 0-9 St Conleth's Park 2013 Kildare 1-16 Dublin 0-17 Parnell Park 2012 DCU 3-7 Kildare 1-12 O'Moore Park 2011 Kildare 3-9 Louth 2-9 St Conleth's Park 2010 DCU 1-15 Louth 0-17 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 2009 Louth 1-17 DCU 1-10 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 2008 Dublin 2-12 Longford 1-14 Parnell Park 2007 Dublin 1-18 Laois 2-13 O'Moore Park 2006 Meath 3-14 Offaly 0-14 Páirc Tailteann 2005 Laois 0-17 Westmeath 0-12 Cusack Park, Mullingar 2004 Meath 2-6 Westmeath 0-11 Cusack Park, Mullingar 2003 Kildare 0-12 Longford 1-6 Pearse Park 2002 Carlow 2-10 Wicklow 0-8 Dr. Cullen Park 2001 Meath 1-11 Westmeath 0-11 Cusack Park, Mullingar 2000 Longford 2-6 Westmeath 0-7 Cusack Park, Mullingar 1999 Dublin 1-16 Louth 1-10 Parnell Park 1998 Offaly 4-7 Louth 2-7 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 1997 Offaly 4-13 Wexford 0-5 O'Connor Park 1996 Wicklow 0-12 Wexford 1-7 Aughrim 1995 Wexford 0-9 Westmeath 1-6 Wexford Park 1994 Laois 3-9 Meath 1-11 O'Moore Park 1993 Offaly 1-10 Meath 0-7 Páirc Tailteann 1992 Meath 1-11 Wexford 0-7 Páirc Uí Shíocháin, Gorey 1991 Laois 0-13 Wicklow 0-10 O'Moore Park 1990 Louth 2-4 Kildare 1-6 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 1989 Kildare 2-8 Meath 0-9 St Conleth's Park 1988 Westmeath 0-9, 0-13 (R) Laois 2-3, 2-5 (R) O'Moore Park 1987 Laois 1-8 Wexford 0-9 Bellefield, Enniscorthy 1986 Wicklow 1-7 Westmeath 0-6 Cusack Park, Mullingar 1985 Not held 1984 1983 Meath 1-11 Longford 1-9 Pearse Park 1982 Kildare 2-8 Wicklow 1-5 St Conleth's Park 1981 Offaly 1-12 Dublin 0-11 Parnell Park 1980 Louth 0-8 Dublin 1-4 St Brigid's Park, Dowdallshill 1979 Not held 1978 Laois 3-7 Carlow 1-8 Dr. Cullen Park 1977 Meath 2-9 Offaly 0-9 Páirc Tailteann 1976 Kildare 1-9 Wexford 0-9 Wexford Park 1975 Not held 1974 Meath 1-9 Dublin 2-5 Páirc Tailteann 1973 Kildare 3-11 Dublin 1-4 Fr. Brennan Park, Naas 1972 Not held 1971 1970 Kildare 2-8 Louth 0-8 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 1969 Not held 1968 Kildare 2-7 Westmeath 1-6 St Conleth's Park 1967 Meath 0-10 Dublin 1-5 Páirc Tailteann 1966 Dublin 1-5 Offaly 0-6 St Brendan's Park 1965 Longford 1-9 Kildare 1-6 Pearse Park 1964 Westmeath 1-9 Carlow 1-5 O'Connor Park 1963 Louth 1-10 Longford 0-10 Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda 1962 Kildare 2-6 Louth 1-7 Croke Park 1961 Offaly 1-9 Longford 0-6 O'Connor Park 1960 Dublin 2-6, 1-11 (R) Louth 1-9, 0-7 (R) Croke Park 1959 Westmeath 1-5 Kildare 1-4 Cusack Park, Mullingar 1958 Dublin 1-6, 2-9 (R) Meath 1-6, 2-8 (R) Páirc Tailteann 1957 Wicklow 2-9 Kildare 0-10 Blessington 1956 Dublin 1-10 Kildare 1-3 St Conleth's Park 1955 Wicklow 1-6 Westmeath 0-7 St Conleth's Park 1954 Offaly 0-10 Louth 1-5 Croke Park
O'Byrne Shield Team Wins Years won Laois 3 2008, 2009, 2012 Longford 2 2006, 2007 Carlow 2 2010, 2026 Dublin 1 2011 Louth 1 2024
References