The 1980 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 94th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 11 May 1980 and ended on 21 September 1980.
Kerry entered the championship as the defending champions.
On 21 September 1980, Kerry won the championship following a 1–9 to 1–6 defeat of Roscommon in the All-Ireland final. This was their 26th All-Ireland title and their third in succession.
Offaly's Matt Connor was the championship's top scorer with 5–31. Kerry's Jack O'Shea was named as the Texaco Footballer of the Year.
Munster Championship format change
Following a number of one-sided results in the Munster Championship in the late 1970s, the Munster Council changed the format in 1980. Kerry, long regarded as the standard bearers in the province, were given a bye to the Munster final. Cork, who had been second to Kerry since 1975, were given a bye to a lone semi-final. The other four "weaker" teams (Clare, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford) were paired against each other in two preliminary round games. The winners of these two games faced each other in a lone quarter-final with the winners of that game qualifying to meet Cork in the lone semi-final. This format was previously used in 1941 and lasted only one season.
Results Connacht Senior Football Championship
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Leinster Senior Football Championship
First round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Munster Senior Football Championship
Preliminary round
Quarter-final
Semi-final
Final
Ulster Senior Football Championship
Preliminary round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Semi-finals
Final
Championship statistics
Top scorers
Overall Rank Player County Tally Total Matches Average1Matt ConnorOffaly5–3146411.502Michael FinneranRoscommon5–203557.003Tony McManusRoscommon6–82655.20
Single game
Rank Player County Tally Total Opposition1Matt ConnorOffaly2–915Kerry2Matt ConnorOffaly2–814Kildare3Michael FinneranRoscommon3–312LondonTony McManusRoscommon3–312London5Willie CullenCarlow2–511KildareMichael FinneranRoscommon1–811Armagh7Jim McDonnellLouth2–410WexfordDinny AllenCork2–410LimerickMatt ConnorOffaly1–710Dublin10Tom ShawKildare1–69WicklowTim DaltonCork1–69LimerickMikey SheehyKerry1–69Roscommon
Miscellaneous
Limerick beat Clare for the first time since 1945 after a replay. Navan host Dublin vs Meath fixture for the first time since 1961 the only meeting between played outside Croke Park until Portlaoise fixture in 2025. At the Munster final between Cork and Kerry at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, Cork Secretary of the Cork County Board Frank Murphy delivered an oration in honour of Tom Barry, a guerrilla leader during the War of Independence. Barry had died in the week leading up to the game. Roscommon win the Connacht title for the fourth year in a row being the only time its happened not to be Galway/Mayo. Offaly stop Dublin to 7 Leinster titles in a row in the Leinster final. Roscommon play in the All Ireland final for the first time since 1962. The All Ireland semifinal between Kerry and Offaly sets a new record for goals (8) in a semifinal. It would not be equalled until 2020 and as of July 2022, it has not been surpassed.
References