The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition in operation from 2004 to 2008, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the All-Ireland series. The competition, organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association, was played during the summer months, with the final being played in August at Croke Park. The Cup was named after Tommy Murphy, a footballer from County Laois who was, appropriately for the competition, the only member of the Team of the Millennium from a county which had not won an All-Ireland.
Later changes to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship meant that the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup featured the eight lowest-ranking teams in National Football League, unless the teams reached the final of their respective provincial championships. Antrim defeated the holder Wicklow in the final.News | Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Official Website - GAA.ie The cup was cancelled after the 2008 tournament.
Format The Tommy Murphy Cup was a single elimination tournament. Each team was afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches were drawn at random and there was no seeding. Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a period of extra time; however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time, a replay took place, and so on until a winner was found.
Teams
Debut of counties YearDebutantsTotal2004 Antrim, Clare, London, Louth, Sligo52005 Carlow, Fermanagh, Kilkenny, Leitrim, Longford, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow102006 Cavan, Monaghan22007 Offaly12008None0Total18
List of Tommy Murphy Cup counties CountyTotal yearsFirst year in ChampionshipMost recent year in ChampionshipChampionship titlesLast championship titleBest Tommy Murphy Cup finish Antrim520042008120081st Carlow4200520080—Semi-finals Cavan1200620060—Quarter-finals Clare420042008120041st Fermanagh1200520050—Quarter-finals Kilkenny4200520080—Preliminary round Leitrim3200520080—2nd London5200420080—Semi-finals Longford1200520050—Semi-finals Louth220042006120061st Monaghan1200620060—Quarter-finals Offaly1200720070—Quarter-finals Roscommon2200520060—Semi-finals Sligo2200420080—2nd Tipperary320052007120051st Waterford4200520080—Semi-finals Wexford1200520050—2nd Wicklow420052008120071st
Seasons in Tommy Murphy Cup The number of years that each county team played in the Tommy Murphy Cup between 2004 and 2008. A total of 18 counties have competed in at least one season of the Tommy Murphy Cup. Antrim and London have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participated in the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup. YearsCounties5Antrim, London4Carlow, Clare, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wicklow3Leitrim, Tipperary2Louth, Roscommon, Sligo1Cavan, Fermanagh, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Wexford
List of finals YearDateWinnersRunners-upVenueWinning captainWinning marginRefereeNo. of TeamsCounty ScoreCounty Score 2008 2 August Antrim 3–12 (21) Wicklow 1–15 (18) Croke Park3 9 2007 4 August Wicklow 3–13 (22) Antrim 1–17 (20) Croke Park2 9 2006 27 August Louth 3–14 (23) Leitrim 1–11 (14) Croke Park Martin Farrelly9 Jimmy McKee 13 2005 4 September Tipperary 3–10 (19) Wexford 0–15 (15) Croke Park4J White (Donegal) 9 2004 22 August Clare 1–11 (14) Sligo 0–11 (11) Croke Park3 4
Roll of honour +Performances in the Tommy Murphy Cup by countyCountyTitle(s)Runners-upYears wonYears runner-up Wicklow1120072008 Antrim1120082007 Clare102004 — Tipperary102005 — Louth102006 — Sligo01 —2004 Wexford 01 —2005 Leitrim 01 —2006
+Performances in the Tommy Murphy Cup final by provinceProvinceWinnersRunners-upTotal Leinster224 Munster202 Ulster112 Connacht022
Team records and statistics
Team results
Legend
– Champions – Runners-up – Semi-Final – Quarter-finals/Preliminary Round AI – All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
For each year, the number of teams in each championship (in brackets) are shown. Team2004 (5)2005 (12)2006 (13)2007 (9)2008 (9)Years AntrimSFQFSF2nd1st5 CarlowAIPRSFQFQF4 CavanAIAIQFAIAI1 Clare1stAIPRSFQF4 FermanaghAIQFAIAIAI1 Kilkenny—PRPRPRPR4 LeitrimAIPR2ndAISF3 LondonQFQFQFQFSF5 LongfordAISFAIAIAI1 LouthSFAI1stAIAI2 MonaghanAIAIQFAIAI1 OffalyAIAIAIQFAI1 RoscommonAISFPRAIAI2 Sligo2ndAIAIAIQF2 TipperaryAI1stQFQFAI3 WaterfordAIQFPRSFQF4 WexfordAI2ndAIAIAI1 WicklowAIPRPR1st2nd4 Semi-final appearances #CountyNo.Semi-final appearance years1 Antrim42004, 2006, 2007, 20082 Wicklow22007, 2008 Louth22004, 2006 Clare22004, 2007 Leitrim22006, 20086 Sligo12004 Tipperary12005 Wexford12005 Roscommon12005 Longford12005 Carlow12006 Waterford12007 London12008
All time table Legend ColoursCurrently competing in the All-Ireland Senior Football ChampionshipCurrently competing in the Tailteann CupCurrently competing in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship #Team1 Antrim12804162 Tipperary750210= Wicklow8503104 Louth54018= Clare740386 Leitrim63036= London830568 Longford32014= Wexford32014= Carlow6204411 Cavan21012= Fermanagh21012= Roscommon31022= Sligo31022= Waterford5104216 Monaghan10010= Offaly10010= Kilkenny40040
Other records
Finishing positions
Most championships 1, Clare (2004) 1, Tipperary (2005) 1, Louth (2006) 1, Wicklow (2007) 1, Antrim (2008)
Most second-place finishes 1, Sligo (2004) 1, Wexford (2005) 1, Leitrim (2006) 1, Antrim (2007) 1, Wicklow (2008)
Most semi-final finishes 2, Antrim (2004, 2006)
Most quarter-final finishes 4, London (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Most preliminary round finishes 4, Kilkenny (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008)
Unbeaten sides
All 5 teams have won the Tommy Murphy Cup unbeaten: Clare had 3 wins in 2004. Tipperary had 4 wins in 2005. Louth had 4 wins in 2006. Wicklow had 3 wins in 2007. Antrim had 3 wins in 2008.
Beaten sides The knockout format of the cup has resulted in 0 'back-door' Tommy Murphy Cup champions.
Final success rate Only 3 counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions:
Clare (2004) Tipperary (2005) Louth (2006)
On the opposite end of the scale, only 3 counties has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:
Sligo (2004) Wexford (2005) Leitrim (2006)
Consecutive participations
5, Antrim (2004–2008) 5, London (2004–2008)
Antrim and London have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tommy Murphy Cup, taking part in all 5 seasons.
Winning other trophies Although not an officially recognised achievement, one team has achieved the distinction of winning the Tommy Murphy Cup and their respective Division in the National Football League:
Louth in 2006 (Division 2).
Biggest wins
The most one sided finals: 9 points – 2006: Louth 3-14 - 1-11 Leitrim The most one sided matches: 38 points – 2007: Kilkenny 1-00 - 3-32 Antrim
Scoring Events
Most goals in a match: 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000 Most points in a match: 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000 Most goals by one team in a match: 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000 Most points by one team in a match: 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000 Highest aggregate score: 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000 Lowest aggregate score: 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000
Successful defending Some defending champions have a chance to retain their title. None have achieved this. These are:
Tipperary on 0 attempts out of 1 (2006) Wicklow on 0 attempts out of 1 (2008)
Gaps
Longest gaps between successive Tommy Murphy Cup final appearances: 1 year: Antrim (2007–2008) 1 year: Wicklow (2007–2008) Longest gap between successive championship appearances 4 years: Sligo (2004–2008)
Provinces
The Tommy Murphy Cup final has never involved two teams from the same province. The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster and Munster, with 2: Leinster: Louth and Wicklow Munster: Clare and Tipperary
Longest undefeated run The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 00 games held by 000 (0000–0000).
Miscellaneous
Best finish by a debuting team Champions, Clare (2004) Best finish by a debuting team (after 2004) Champions, Tipperary (2005) Highest winning record 80%, Louth (4 wins in 5 matches) Lowest winning record 0%, Kilkenny (0 wins in 4 matches) 0%, Monaghan (0 wins in 1 match) 0%, Offaly (0 wins in 1 match) Most played match 00, 000 vs 000 (0000)
See also All-Ireland Senior Football Championship All-Ireland Senior B Football Championship (1990–2000) Tailteann Cup (2022–present)
References