The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship (JFC) (Irish: Craobh Sóisear Peile na hÉireann) is an inter-county competition in Gaelic football. County teams compete against each other and the winner is declared All-Ireland Junior Champions. Organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the championship has been contested since 1912 under two different formats, while retaining the same name.
The decision was taken at the 1927 GAA Congress to allow county teams under the remit of the British Provincial Council to compete in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship. In 1928, Ulster GAA did not organise the Ulster Junior Football Championship, and so for the 1928 All-Ireland Junior Football Championship, the winners of the All-Britain Football Championship, London, were chosen to fill in the final semi-final spot. Despite London losing to Kerry by 4-10 to 2-3 at Highgate, the tournament was restructured to incorporate the All-Britain winners. Between 1929 and 1939 (with the exception of 1930, where London entered a preliminary quarter-final) the Irish junior provincial winners would compete in two semi-finals followed by a 'home' final, with the victorious 'home' finalists meeting the champions of Britain in the All-Ireland JFC final. After the Second World War, this structure resumed, and continued until 1974.
No All-Ireland JFCs were held between 1974 and 1982. While the tournament resumed in 1983, the end of the Ulster JFC and temporary end of the Connacht Junior Football Championship in the late 1980s prompted a reshuffle to the tournament's structure, among wider discontentment with football fixture congestion. In 1992, with the return of Connacht, the All-Ireland was played with simple semi-finals and a final between the Leinster, Munster, Connacht, and Britain junior provincial champions.
In Gaelic games, 'junior' is the term used to describe lower tiers behind senior (and where appropriate, intermediate) competition, rather than referring to age-grade as in some sports. Under-17 competitions in Gaelic games are referred to as 'minor' competitions. While the JFC was contested between the 'junior' county teams in Ireland between 1912 and 2021, the definition of what constituted a 'junior' player differed from county to county. In some counties, the junior team was the second team after the senior team and any players who had not played with the senior team could play with the junior team, while in others, such as Cork and Kerry, players could only be chosen from clubs within the county that played in junior or intermediate grades, with these counties unable to choose players from senior clubs even if they had not played for the senior county team. A county that won the JFC in the pre-2021 format had to pick a new team for the following year - no player could be on a winning team for two successive years.
Since 2022, the competition has involved the All-Britain winners and runners-up, alongside Kilkenny, New York, and USGAA. While New York and London compete in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship/Tailteann Cup structure, the junior teams are made up exclusively of home-grown players. Kilkenny, USGAA, and the other British counties do not field senior teams in the SFC.
With three wins, New York are the most successful team in the post-2021 format. Kerry are the most successful county in the competition's history from the pre-2021 period, having lifted the title on twenty occasions.
Teams 10 teams now compete in the championship: CountyProvinceStadiumProvincial championshipProvincial titlesLast provincial titlePosition in 2026 ChampionshipChampionship titlesLast championship title GloucestershireBritainPontcanna Fields, CardiffAll-Britain Football Championship12008Group stage (All-Britain)0 N/A HertfordshireBritainRadlett Road, WatfordAll-Britain Football Championship32000Semi-final (All-Britain)0 N/A KilkennyLeinsterNowlan Park, KilkennyN/A 32018Quarter-final12022 LancashireBritainOld Bedians, DidsburyAll-Britain Football Championship122016Group stage (All-Britain)0 N/A LondonBritainMcGovern Park, RuislipAll-Britain Football Championship242026Champion72026 New Yorkno official provinceGaelic Park, The BronxN/AN/AN/ASemi-final3 2025 ScotlandBritainClydebank Sports Hub, GlasgowAll-Britain Football Championship22019Semi-final (All-Britain)0 N/A United Statesno official provinceN/AN/AN/AN/ARunner-up0N/A WarwickshireBritainPáirc na hÉireann, SolihullAll-Britain Football Championship162023Semi-final0 N/A YorkshireBritainPáirc Beeston, LeedsAll-Britain Football Championship42001Group stage (All-Britain)0 N/A
Roll of Honour
Wins by county +CountyTitle(s)Runners-upYears wonYears runners-up Kerry 205 1913, 1915, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1941, 1949, 1954, 1963, 1967, 1983, 1991, 1994, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 20191997, 2000, 2002, 2010, 2014 Cork 173 1951, 1953, 1955, 1964, 1972, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 20131966, 1986, 1992 London 726 1938, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1986, 20261929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2024, 2025 Dublin 63 1914, 1916, 1939, 1948, 1960, 20081926, 1930, 1971 Mayo 57 1933, 1950, 1957, 1995, 19971914, 1925, 1936, 2001, 2012, 2015, 2016 Meath 54 1947, 1952, 1962, 1988, 20031996, 1999, 2005, 2017 Galway 44 1931, 1958, 1965, 19851994, 2003, 2018, 2019 Louth 421925, 1932, 1934, 19611912, 1928 New York31 2023, 2024, 20252022 Tipperary 301912, 1923, 1998 - Roscommon 23 1940, 20002006, 2008, 2009 Wicklow 21 1936, 20021969 Cavan 21 1927, 20141941 Waterford 20 1999, 2004 - Sligo 20 1935, 2010 - Westmeath 12 19291915, 1940 Longford 11 19371924 Laois 11 19731993 Wexford 11 19922007 Kilkenny112022 2023 Armagh 10 1926 - Tyrone 10 1968 - Monaghan 10 1956 - Fermanagh 10 1959 - Down 10 1946 - Warwickshire09 -1946, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 Lancashire04 -1949, 1953, 1958, 1963 Kildare04 -1927, 1970, 2011, 2013 Carlow02 -1913, 1923 Hertfordshire02 -1965, 1972 Yorkshire02 -1961, 1983 Leitrim02 -1938, 2004 Limerick01 -1916 Offaly01 -1998 United States01 -2026
Wins by province
+ProvinceTitle(s)Runners-up Munster 429 Leinster 2223 Connacht 1316 Britain 742 Ulster 71 North America32
List of finals
1912-2021: 'Junior county team' format
Year WinnersScore Runners-up1912 Tipperary1–041–03 Louth1913 Kerry0–071–02 Carlow1914 Dublin5–041–06 Mayo1915 Kerry0–061–02 Westmeath1916 Dublin1–021–02 Limerick Dublin6–040–03 Limerick1917no championship191819191920192119221923 Tipperary2–061–01 Carlow1924 Kerry1–060–04 Longford1925 Louth2–062–05 Mayo1926 Armagh4–110–04 Dublin1927 Cavan0–070–03 Kildare1928 Kerry2–082–03 Louth1929 Westmeath0–091–02 London1930 Kerry2–021–04 Dublin1931 Galway3–031–05 London1932 Louth0–060–04 London1933 Mayo3–072–04 London1934 Louth1–030–03 London1935 Sligo5–080–03 London1936 Wicklow3–032–05 Mayo1937 Longford0–090–07 London1938 London5–072–09 Leitrim1939 Dublin2–140–04 London1940 Roscommon2–090–05 Westmeath1941 Kerry0–090–04 Cavan1942no championship1943194419451946 Down2–101–09 Warwickshire1947 Meath2–112–06 London1948 Dublin2–111–05 London1949 Kerry2–140–06 Lancashire1950 Mayo0-040-03 London1951 Cork5–111–03 Warwickshire1952 Meath3–090–04 London1953 Cork1–111–04 Lancashire1954 Kerry1–071–05 London1955 Cork3–091–05 Warwickshire1956 Monaghan3–072–06 London1957 Mayo2–072–05 Warwickshire1958 Galway4–053–01 Lancashire1959 Fermanagh1–112–04 London1960 Dublin2–050–05 London1961 Louth1–131–10 Yorkshire1962 Meath1–133–05 London1963 Kerry3–052–05 Lancashire1964 Cork1–082–04 London1965 Galway1–080–04 Hertfordshire1966 London1–060–08 Cork1967 Kerry0–090–04 London1968 Tyrone3–080–07 London1969 London3–091–12 Wicklow1970 London1–120–11 Kildare1971 London1–090–09 Dublin1972 Cork5–160–03 Hertfordshire1973 Laois0–121–08 London1974no championship197519761977197819791980198119821983 Kerry0–150–02 Yorkshire1984 Cork3–100–07 Warwickshire1985 Galway4–170–04 Warwickshire1986 London1–090–07 Cork1987 Cork0–140–03 Warwickshire1988 Meath1–100–03 London1989 Cork0–180–03 Warwickshire1990 Cork3–160–08 Warwickshire1991 Kerry2–140–05 London1992Wexford1–090–11 Cork1993 Cork0–112–03 Laois1994 Kerry0–150–04 Galway1995 Mayo3–090–10 London1996 Cork4–110–10 Meath1997 Mayo2–081–10 Kerry1998 Tipperary2–090–06 Offaly1999 Waterford2–122–11 Meath2000 Roscommon0–140–11 Kerry2001 Cork1–153–07 Mayo2002 Wicklow4–092–12 Kerry2003 Meath0–162–07 Galway2004 Waterford1–101–10 Leitrim Waterford2–122–09 Leitrim2005 Cork0–101–04 Meath2006 Kerry1–090–10 Roscommon2007 Cork1–143–02 Wexford2008 Dublin0–130–07 Roscommon2009 Cork0–150–12 Roscommon2010 Sligo2–101–07 Kerry2011 Cork1–120–13 Kildare2012 Kerry0–191–07 Mayo2013 Cork0–131–07 Kildare2014 Cavan2–140–14 Kerry2015 Kerry2–180–10 Mayo2016 Kerry2–182–11 Mayo2017 Kerry2–191–14 Meath2018 Kerry2–132–11 Galway2019 Kerry3–140–13 Galway
2022-present: New 'overseas-dominant' format YearWinnersScoreRunners-upWinning captain2022 Kilkenny3-121-09 New York Mick Malone2023 New York0-131-09 Kilkenny Danny Corcoran2024 New York0-130-12 London Dylan Curran2025 New York0-202-13 London Conor Mathers2026 London5-120-17 United States Noel Maher
Records and statistics
Records by county
Most championships: Kerry (20 times: 1913, 1915, 1924, 1928, 1930, 1941, 1949, 1954, 1963, 1967, 1983, 1991, 1994, 2006, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) Most second-place finishes: London (26 times: 1929, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1988, 1991, 1995, 2024, 2025) Most semi-final finishes (2022–present): Warwickshire (5 times: 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026) Most quarter-final finishes (2022–present): Kilkenny (2 times: 2024, 2026) Counties that have won on every final appearance: 3 times: Tipperary (1912, 1923, 1998) 2 times: Waterford (1999, 2004) and Sligo (1935, 2010) 1 time: Armagh (1926), Tyrone (1968), Monaghan (1956), Fermanagh (1959) and Down (1946)
Counties that have lost on every final appearance: 9 times: Warwickshire (1946, 1951, 1955, 1957, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990) 5 times: Lancashire (1949, 1953, 1958, 1963) 4 times: Kildare (1927, 1970, 2011, 2013) 2 times: Carlow (1913, 1923), Hertfordshire (1965, 1972), Yorkshire (1961, 1983), and Leitrim (1938, 2004) 1 time: Limerick (1916), Offaly (1998), and United States (2026)
Defending champions retaining their title: Defended once: Cork (1989-1990) Defended twice: London (1969-1971) and New York (2023-2025) Defended four times: Kerry (2015-2019)
Longest gaps between successive championship titles: 87 years: Cavan (1927–2014) 75 years: Tipperary (1923–1998) and Sligo (1935–2010) 66 years: Wicklow (1936–2002) 60 years: Roscommon (1940–2000) 48 years: Dublin (1960–2008) 40 years: London (1986–2026) 38 years: Mayo (1957–1995) 27 years: Galway (1931–1958) and Louth (1934–1961)
Most successful team by decade: 1910s: Kerry (913, 1915) and Dublin (1914, 1916) 1920s: Kerry (1924, 1928) 1930s: Louth (1932, 1934) 1940s: Kerry (1941, 1949) 1950s: Cork (1951, 1953, 1955) 1960s: Kerry (1963, 1967) and London (1966, 1969) 1970s: London (1970, 1971) 1980s: Cork (1984, 1987, 1989) 1990s: Cork (1990, 1993, 1996) 2000s: Cork (2001, 2005, 2007, 2009) 2010s: Kerry (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019) 2020s: New York (2023, 2024, 2025)
Team results (since the 2022 restructure) For each year, the number of teams in each championship (in brackets) are shown: Team2022 (9)2023 (9)2024 (10)2025 (10)2026 (10) GloucestershireBBBBB HertfordshireBBBBB Kilkenny1st2ndQFSFQF LancashireBBBBB LondonSFSF2nd2nd1st New York2nd1st1st1stSF ScotlandBBBBB United States——SFQF2nd WarwickshireSFSFSFSFSF YorkshireBBBBB
– Champions – Runners-up – Semi-finals - Quarter-finals – All-Britain
Records by province