# List of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finals
The [All-Ireland Senior Football Championship](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-ireland-senior-football-championship) final is the annual decider of the premier [Gaelic football](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaelic-football) competition for Irish county teams, organized by the [Gaelic Athletic Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/gaelic-athletic-association) (GAA) and played for the Sam Maguire Cup. The 2026 final, between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park on 26 July, is the 137th final of a series first staged in 1887.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First final | 1887 championship, won by Limerick (Commercials) 1-4 to 0-3 over Louth (Dundalk Young Irelands); played on 29 April 1888[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) • [2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) |
| Years without a final | 1888, championship unfinished owing to the American Invasion Tour; 1925, no final with Galway declared champions[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) • [1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) |
| Trophy | Sam Maguire Cup, presented to the GAA in 1928; first winners Kildare in the 1928 final[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) |
| Main venue | Every final since 1912 has been played at Jones's Road/Croke Park except the 1947 Cavan-Kerry decider at the Polo Grounds, New York[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) |
| Most recent final | 2025: Kerry 1-26 Donegal 0-19, Kerry's 39th title[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c7vl526jv29o) |
| 2026 final | Kerry v Mayo, 26 July 2026, Croke Park, 3.30pm; referee Martin McNally (Monaghan) in his first senior final[4](https://www.gaa.ie/article/martin-mcnally-to-referee-all-ireland-sfc-final) |
| Drawn finals | A drawn final goes to 20 minutes of extra time and, if still level, a replay; the 2026 replay is fixed for 8 August at Croke Park[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) |
## Early finals, 1887 to 1902
The first championship was an open draw in which counties were represented by their club champions, teams played 21 a side, and a goal outweighed any number of points.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) The 1887 final was won by Limerick (Commercials) 1-4 to 0-3 over Louth (Dundalk Young Irelands).[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) The GAA's own accounts differ on the venue: the official results record places it at Clonskeagh, Dublin, on 29 April 1888, while a GAA preview article places it at Beech Hill in Donnybrook on the same date.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) • [1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
The 1888 championship was abandoned because the would-be competitors toured the United States, an episode known as the American Invasion Tour.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) Tipperary won the 1889 final 3-6 to 0-0 over Laois (Maryborough), and Cork (Midleton) beat Wexford (Blues & Whites) 2-4 to 0-1 in the 1890 final, which was itself not played until June 1892.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf)
**The 1891 dispute.** The final of the 1891 championship, replayed at Thurles on 21 May 1895, ended in disorder: Cork were leading 1-2 to 0-5 when a dispute arose and Dublin walked off before the finish. Cork refused to play a third time and the title was awarded to Dublin.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) • [5](https://www.dublingaa.ie/news/dubs-first-all-ireland-sfc-replay-since-1895) From 1896 a goal was made equal to three points and the scoring parallelogram was introduced.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf) Dublin then won four finals in succession from 1897 to 1900, and Tipperary took the 1900 title, beating London (Hibernians) 3-7 to 0-2 in October 1902.[2](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf)
## Venues
Finals before the GAA acquired [Croke Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/croke-park) were played at venues around Dublin and in the counties of Cork, Kildare, and Tipperary.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qs6bzbFH5U) Fifteen different venues have hosted the final.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) The first final at Jones's Road, now Croke Park, was the 1895 decider, played in March 1896, and since 1912 every final has been played there except the 1947 Cavan-Kerry decider at New York's Polo Grounds.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
## Replays and drawn finals
For much of the championship's history a drawn final was settled by a replay. The recorded list of All-Ireland final replays includes Kerry 0-17 Galway 1-10 (2000), Meath 2-9 Mayo 1-11 (1996), Meath 0-13 Cork 0-12 (1988), Offaly 1-19 Kerry 0-13 (1972), Cavan 0-9 Meath 0-5 (1952), Kerry 2-8 Roscommon 0-10 (1946), Roscommon 2-7 Cavan 2-2 (1943), Galway 2-4 Kerry 0-7 (1938), Kerry 4-4 Cavan 1-7 (1937), Kerry 1-4 Kildare 0-4 (1926), Kerry 2-3 Wexford 0-6 (1914), and the unfinished 1894 decider.[5](https://www.dublingaa.ie/news/dubs-first-all-ireland-sfc-replay-since-1895)
The 2016 drawn final between Dublin and Mayo, watched by a crowd of 82,257, produced the first final replay since Kerry beat Galway in 2000; it was Mayo's only appearance in a senior final replay, while Dublin's sole previous final replay had been in 1895 (the 1894 championship).[5](https://www.dublingaa.ie/news/dubs-first-all-ireland-sfc-replay-since-1895) Under the rules in force for 2026, a drawn final is decided by 20 minutes of extra time and, if the teams are still level after 90 minutes, by a replay.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
## The Sam Maguire Cup
The [Sam Maguire Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-maguire-cup) was presented to the GAA in 1928 and its first winners were Kildare in the 1928 final. It is named for Sam Maguire, an [Irish Republican Brotherhood](https://www.edgepedia.org/irish-republican-brotherhood) activist and prominent London GAA player and official from Dunmanway in Cork, who died in 1927 at 49; his friends commissioned the cup in his honor.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) Winners of the final receive 36 solid gold All-Ireland medals inspired by the Celtic Cross design.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
## Recent finals and the 2026 decider
Kerry won the 2025 final with a dominant 1-26 to 0-19 victory over Donegal at Croke Park, a 39th All-Ireland title and their first since 2022.[3](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c7vl526jv29o) Kerry's first title came in 1903, and the county came into the 2026 final seeking a 40th.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026) Mayo, champions in 1936, 1950, and 1951, are their opponents in the 2026 decider.[1](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
The championship format has changed recently. The 2025 All-Ireland football championship was the last played under the group-phase format, which Congress abolished in February 2025 in favor of a qualifier-style series.[7](https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2025/0222/1498260-hurling-handpass-reform-rejected-at-gaa-congress/) For 2026, 16 counties take part: the eight provincial champions and runners-up and the next eight highest-ranked teams at the conclusion of the [National League](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-league), with the final on 26 July 2026 and any replay on 8 August.[8](https://www.gaa.ie/article/format-for-2026-all-ireland-sfc-and-tailteann-cup) The 2026 final will be refereed by Martin McNally of Corduff in Monaghan, his first senior final and his 32nd senior intercounty championship game since 2018.[4](https://www.gaa.ie/article/martin-mcnally-to-referee-all-ireland-sfc-final)
## References
1. [Final Fling Peil 2026, GAA.ie](https://www.gaa.ie/article/final-fling-peil-2026)
2. [All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Results, GAA.ie (PDF)](https://www.gaa.ie/api/pdfs/image/upload/t8bphnbixyanijooj1un.pdf)
3. [GAA All-Ireland SFC final 2025: Kerry 1-26 Donegal 0-19, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c7vl526jv29o)
4. [Martin McNally to referee All-Ireland SFC Final, GAA.ie](https://www.gaa.ie/article/martin-mcnally-to-referee-all-ireland-sfc-final)
5. [Dubs first All-Ireland SFC replay, Dublin GAA](https://www.dublingaa.ie/news/dubs-first-all-ireland-sfc-replay-since-1895)
6. [List of All-Ireland Senior Football Championship finals, YouTube (WikiReader)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qs6bzbFH5U)
7. [Group phase abolished as new SFC format approved, RTÉ](https://www.rte.ie/sport/football/2025/0222/1498260-hurling-handpass-reform-rejected-at-gaa-congress/)
8. [Format for 2026 All-Ireland SFC and Tailteann Cup, GAA.ie](https://www.gaa.ie/article/format-for-2026-all-ireland-sfc-and-tailteann-cup)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football competitions and records › Records and substantive reference › Gaelic football records and reference*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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