The 2025 Kildare Senior Football Championship was the 132nd edition of the Kildare GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Kildare, Ireland. The tournament consists of 16 teams with the winner going on to represent Kildare in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship started with a preliminary round sorted by a random draw, followed by a group stage and finally a knockout stage.
Naas were the defending champions this year after they defeated Celbridge in the previous years final. This was Naas' 4th Senior Football Championship in a row.
Caragh returned to the senior grade for the first time since 2001 after defeating Leixlip in the 2024 Kildare Intermediate Football Championship.
On 19 October, Athy defeated Naas 1–17 to 0–18 in the final. This is Athy's 8th championship win and their first since 2020.
Confey were defeated by Allenwood in the Relegation Play-off 1–16 to 0–13, meaning that they will play in the 2026 Kildare Intermediate Football Championship for the first time since 2011.
Championship structure The 2025 Senior Football Championship consisted of 16 teams drawn against each other in the preliminary round. The winners of the games were drawn into a 'winners' group, while the losers were drawn into a 'losers' group. These groups consist of 4 teams each. In the winners groups, the top two teams head straight into the quarter-finals while the 3rd placed team plays in a preliminary quarter-final. In the losers groups, the top placed team heads straight into the quarter-final, the 2nd placed team heads into a preliminary quarter-final, and the last placed team heads into a relegation play-off to retain their senior status.
Team changes The following teams have changed division since the 2024 championship season.
To S.F.C. Promoted from 2024 I.F.C. Caragh - (Intermediate Champions)
From S.F.C. Relegated to 2025 I.F.C. St. Laurence's
Participating teams The 16 teams that participated in the 2025 competition were: ClubLocation2024 Championship Position2025 Championship Position AllenwoodAllenwoodNon-QualifierRelegation Finalist AthyAthySemi-FinalistChampions CaraghProsperous2024 I.F.C ChampionsQuarter-Finalist CarburyCarburyNon-QualifierNon-Qualifier CelbridgeCelbridgeRunners-UpSemi-Finalist ClaneClaneQuarter-FinalistQuarter-Finalist ClogherinkoeClogherinkoePreliminary Quarter-FinalistNon-Qualifier ConfeyLeixlipNon-QualifierRelegated to 2026 I.F.C EadestownEadestownPreliminary Quarter-FinalistPreliminary Quarter-Finalist JohnstownbridgeJohnstownbridgeQuarter-FinalistQuarter-Finalist KilcockKilcockRelegation FinalistNon-Qualifier MaynoothMaynoothNon-QualifierPreliminary Quarter-Finalist MoorefieldNewbridgeQuarter-FinalistQuarter-Finalist NaasNaasChampionsRunners-Up SarsfieldNewbridgeSemi-FinalistSemi-Finalist RaheensCaraghQuarter-FinalistNon-Qualifier
Preliminary round All 16 teams were randomly drawn to play one of the other 16. The winners of these games headed into the 'winners' groups (Group A and B) while the losers were placed into the 'losers' group (Group C and D).
The draw for the preliminary round of the championship was made on 23 May 2025.
Group Stage They were four groups called Group A, B, C and D. These groups were defined by the winners and losers of the preliminary round, with the winners being in Group A and B, and the losers being in Group C and D. In Group A and B, the top two teams headed straight into the quarter-finals while the 3rd placed team played in a preliminary quarter-final. In Group C and D, the 1st placed team headed straight into the quarter-finals with the second placed team playing a preliminary quarter-final. The last placed teams in Group C and D went to play a relegation play-off to determine which team got relegated.
The draw for the group stages of the championship was made on 10 August 2025.
Group A
TeamMatchesScorePtsPldWDLForAgainstDiff Celbridge32105240 +125 Athy32017046 +244 Johnstownbridge31117562 +133 Clogherinkoe30033786 -490
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Group B
TeamMatchesScorePtsPldWDLForAgainstDiff Sarsfield33007535 +406 Naas32016546 +194 Maynooth31125064 -142 Raheens30033378 -450
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Group C
TeamMatchesScorePtsPldWDLForAgainstDiff Clane33008161 +206 Moorefield31026659 +72 Kilcock31025159 -82 Allenwood31024766 -192
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Group D
TeamMatchesScorePtsPldWDLForAgainstDiff Caragh33006145 +166 Eadestown32015260 -84 Carbury31024949 02 Confey30035462 -80
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Knock-out stages The 1st and 2nd placed teams in Group A and B and the 1st placed teams in Group C and D qualified for the quarter-finals. The 3rd placed teams in Group A and B and the 2nd placed teams in Group C and D qualified for the preliminary quarter-finals. Quarter-final pairings were drawn with the winners of Group A and B playing the winners of the preliminary-quarter-finals, while the 2nd placed teams of Group A and B played the winners of Group C and D. The fixtures for the knock-out stages were determined on 7 September 2025.
Preliminary quarter-finals
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
Relegation play-off The relegation play-off consisted of the 4th placed teams in Group C and D. The winners of the playoff retained their status as a senior level club, while the loser would be relegated to the Kildare Intermediate Football Championship.
References