The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 131st edition of the GAA's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887.
Thirty-three teams took part – thirty-one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland (Kilkenny, as in previous years, do not enter), London and New York.
Dublin won their third championship in a row, defeating Mayo in the final on 17 September 2017 by 1–17 to 1–16.
Format
Provincial Championships format Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. All teams who lose a match in their provincial championship (with the exception of New York) enter the All-Ireland qualifiers. All provincial matches are knock-out.
Qualifiers format Twenty eight of the twenty nine teams beaten in the provincial championships enter the All-Ireland qualifiers, which are knockout. Sixteen of the seventeen teams (New York do not enter the qualifiers) eliminated before their provincial semi-finals play eight matches in round 1, with the winners of these games playing the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2. The eight winning teams from round 2 play-off against each other in round 3, with the four winning teams facing the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4 to complete the double-elimination format. Further details of the format are included with each qualifier round listed below.
All-Ireland format The four provincial champions play the four winners of round 4 of the qualifiers in the quarter-finals. Two semi-finals and a final follow. All matches are knock-out. If a game ends in a draw it is replayed. If a replay ends in a draw, two ten minute periods of extra time are played each way. If extra time ends in a draw, the match is replayed for a third time.
Changes from 2016 On 1 January 2017 the 'mark' was introduced. It is defined as –
When a player catches the ball cleanly from a kick-out without it touching the ground, on or past the 45 metre line nearest the kick out point, he shall be awarded a ‘mark’ by the referee. The player awarded a ‘mark’ shall have the options of (a) taking a free kick or (b) playing on immediately.
Provincial championships
Leinster Senior Football Championship
The four teams who won the quarter-finals in the previous year are given byes to this year's quarter-finals.
Munster Senior Football Championship
The two teams who won the semi-finals in the previous year are given byes to this year's semi-finals.
The Munster championship differed from the other provincial championships with regard to which teams were designated A or B in the qualifiers – the loser of Limerick v Clare went into the B qualifiers, while the loser of Cork v Waterford went into the A qualifiers the winner of Limerick v Clare joined Kerry on the A side of the draw, while the winner of Cork v Waterford joined Tipperary on the B side of the draw
Ulster Senior Football Championship
An un-seeded draw determines the fixtures for all nine teams.
Connacht Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Series
Qualifiers
A and B teams An A and B system for the qualifier draws was introduced in 2014 and was retained. The teams were designated as A or B depending on which half of their provincial championships they played in. Although some teams receive byes in the early provincial rounds, their position in the round in which they entered the competition was usually determined by the provincial draw, resulting in most teams being designated as A or B randomly. For example, each of the four provinces had two semi-finals – one between two teams designated A and one between two teams designated B – and the beaten semi-finalists in each province were always one A team and one B team.
In all qualifier rounds A teams played A teams and B teams played B teams. Usually the A teams played their provincial games before the B teams, which allowed the A qualifier games to be scheduled a week before the B qualifier games. The A and B system attempted to ensure that teams beaten in the provincial championships had a least two weeks before playing their subsequent qualifier match, though this was not always possible.
Round 1 In the first round of the qualifiers sixteen of the seventeen teams beaten in the preliminary rounds or quarter-finals of the provincial championships competed. New York did not enter the qualifiers. Four A teams played four A teams and four B teams played four B teams. The round 1 draw was unrestricted − if two teams had played each other in a provincial match they could be drawn to meet again, with the winner of the provincial match receiving home advantage. The eight round 1 winners played the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2 of the qualifiers.
The following teams took part in round 1;
Sligo London
Laois Longford Louth Wicklow Carlow Offaly Wexford
Waterford Limerick
Antrim Derry Armagh Cavan Fermanagh
Round 2 In the second round of the qualifiers the eight winning teams from Round 1A and Round 1B played the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists. The round 2 draw was unrestricted − if two teams had played each other in a provincial match they could be drawn to meet again, with the winner of the provincial match receiving home advantage. The eight winners of these matches played each other in Round 3.
The following teams took part in round 2;
Derry
Laois
Longford
Sligo
Clare
Donegal
Mayo
Meath
Armagh
Carlow
Cavan
Wexford
Leitrim
Monaghan
Tipperary
Westmeath
Round 3 In the third round of the qualifiers winning teams from round 2A played against winning teams from round 2A, while winning teams from round 2B played against winning teams from round 2B. Round 3 draw rules did not allow two teams that had played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing could be avoided. The four winners of these matches played the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4.
The following teams took part in round 3;
Clare
Donegal
Mayo
Meath
Armagh
Carlow
Monaghan
Tipperary
Round 4 In the fourth round of the qualifiers, the four winning teams from round 3 played the four beaten provincial finalists. Round 4 draw rules did not allow two teams that had played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing could be avoided. The matches were normally held in neutral venues. The four winners of these matches played the provincial champions in the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
The following teams took part in round 4;
Donegal
Mayo
Cork
Galway
Armagh
Monaghan
Down
Kildare
Galway had beaten Mayo in the Connacht semi-final. In order to avoid a repeat pairing of Galway and Mayo, the round 4A fixtures of Galway v Donegal and Mayo v Cork were arranged without the need for a draw. Down had beaten both Armagh and Monaghan in the Ulster championship meaning that a repeat pairing was unavoidable in round 4B. A draw held on Monday 17 July 2017 determined that Down would meet Monaghan again.
Quarter-finals The four provincial champions played the four winners from round 4 of the qualifiers. Draw rules 1) Two teams who met in a provincial final could not meet again 2) If one of the provincial champions had already met one of the qualifiers in an earlier match then those two teams could not be drawn together if such a pairing could be avoided.
This was the final year of the knock-out quarter-finals which began with the introduction of the All-Ireland qualifiers in 2001. Following a vote at the GAA congress on Saturday 25 February 2017, the last eight teams in 2018 competed in two groups of four with the winners and runners-up in each group progressing to the semi-finals.
Semi-finals There was no draw for the semi-finals as the fixtures were pre-determined on a three yearly rotation. This rotation ensured that a provinces champions played the champions of the other three provinces once every three years in the semi-finals if they each won their quarter-finals and prevented the champions from the same two provinces meeting in the semi-finals in successive years. If a qualifier team were to defeat a provincial winner in a quarter-final, the qualifier team would take that provincial winner's place in the semi-final.
Final
Stadia and locations Each team has a nominal home stadium, though not all teams are guaranteed a home game over the course of the Championship. In addition, games may be played at a neutral or alternate venue. For example, Dublin have not played a Championship game in Parnell Park, their nominal home, since the 2004 Championship.
Team Location Stadium Stadium capacity Antrim Belfast Casement Park Armagh Armagh Athletic Grounds Carlow Carlow Dr Cullen Park Cavan Cavan Breffni Park Clare Ennis Cusack Park Cork Cork Páirc Uí Chaoimh Derry Derry Celtic Park Donegal Ballybofey MacCumhaill Park Down Newry Páirc Esler Dublin Dublin Parnell Park Fermanagh Enniskillen Brewster Park Galway Galway Pearse Stadium Kerry Killarney Fitzgerald Stadium Kildare Newbridge St Conleth's Park Laois Portlaoise O'Moore Park Leitrim Carrick-on-Shannon Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada Limerick Limerick Gaelic Grounds
Team Location Stadium Stadium capacity London Ruislip Emerald GAA Grounds Longford Longford Pearse Park Louth Drogheda Drogheda Park Mayo Castlebar MacHale Park Meath Navan Páirc Tailteann Monaghan Clones St Tiernach's Park New York Kingsbridge Gaelic Park Offaly Tullamore O'Connor Park Roscommon Roscommon Dr Hyde Park Sligo Sligo Markievicz Park Tipperary Thurles Semple Stadium Tyrone Omagh Healy Park Waterford Waterford Walsh Park Westmeath Mullingar Cusack Park Wexford Wexford Wexford Park Wicklow AughrimAughrim County Ground
Referees Panel As announced in May 2017:
Cormac Reilly (Meath) returned after missing 2016, while Eddie Kinsella (Laois) retired at the end of 2016.
This was a first year as a referee in the SFC for two men: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh) and Jerome Henry (Mayo).
+Championship PanelNameCountyClubMatches refereedBRANAGAN, CiaránDownCASSIDY, BarryDerryBellaghyCOLDRICK, DavidMeathBlackhall GaelsCULLEN, NiallFermanaghDEEGAN, MauriceLaoisStradballyDUFFY, MartinSligoKilgassGOUGH, DavidMeathSlaneHENRY, JeromeMayoHICKEY, RoryClareHUGHES, PádraigArmaghHURSON, SeanTyroneGalbally PearsesKELLY, FergalLongfordLANE, ConorCorkBanteerMCQUILLAN, JoeCavanKill ShamrocksMOONEY, NoelCavanNEILAN, PaddyRoscommonSt Faithleach'sNOLAN, AnnthonyWicklowO'MAHONEY, DerekTipperaryO'SULLIVAN, PadraigKerryREILLY, CormacMeath
Linesman Panel James Bermingham (Cork) Brendan Cawley (Kildare) Liam Devenney (Mayo) Paul Faloon (Down) John Hickey (Carlow) Shaun McLaughlin (Donegal) Martin McNally (Monaghan) James Molloy (Galway)
Statistics All scores correct as of 21 September 2017
Top scorer: overall Rank Player CountyTally Total Matches Average 1Cillian O'Connor Mayo3–66 75 10 7.5 2Dean Rock Dublin3–31 40 6 6.7 3Conor McManus Monaghan2–31 37 7 5.3 4Paul Broderick Carlow1–30 33 5 6.6Andy Moran Mayo3–24 33 10 3.3 6Paul Geaney Kerry1–29 32 5 6.4 7Patrick McBrearty Donegal1–26 29 5 5.8 8Con O'Callaghan Dublin2–20 26 6 4.3 9Donal Kingston Laois2–19 25 4 6.25 10Eoin Cleary Clare1–22 25 4 6.2 11James O'Donoghue Kerry0–24 24 5 4.8 12John Heslin Westmeath1–20 23 3 7.7 13Michael Murphy Donegal0–21 21 5 4.2Robbie Smyth Longford0–21 21 3 7Donal Lenihan Meath0–21 21 4 5.2 16Conor Sweeney Tipperary2–13 19 3 6.3
Top scorer: from play Rank Player CountyTally Total Matches Average 1Andy Moran Mayo3–24 33 10 3.3 2Cillian O'Connor Mayo3–18 27 10 2.7 3Con O'Callaghan Dublin2–12 18 6 3.0 4Paul Mannion Dublin0–17 17 6 2.8 5Conor McManus Monaghan2–10 16 7 2.3Paul Geaney Kerry1–13 16 5 3.2Patrick McBrearty Donegal1–13 16 5 3.2Daniel Flynn Kildare2–10 16 4 4.0
Top scorer: single game