2018_All-Ireland_Minor_Football_Championship
The 2018 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship was the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football competition for under 17s. Thirty one county teams from Ireland competed (Kilkenny did not participate).
| Championship details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | April – 2 September 2018 |
| Teams | 31 |
| All-Ireland Champions | |
| Winning team | Kerry (16th win) |
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Galway |
| Provincial Champions | |
| Munster | Kerry |
| Leinster | Meath |
| Ulster | Monaghan |
| Connacht | Galway |
| Championship statistics | |
| Player of the Year | Paul Walsh (Kerry) |
| 2019 → | |
2018 was the first minor competition for under 17 year-olds – previously the competition had an under 18 age limit. The under 17 championship with a new format was introduced after a vote at the GAA congress on 26 February 2016.
A league format was introduced in Connacht and Leinster. Munster retained their double elimination format and Ulster changed to a double elimination format.
Kerry defeated Galway by 0-21 to 1-14 on 2 September 2018 to win their fifth All-Ireland minor title in a row, the first time this feat was achieved.
The winners received the Tom Markham Cup.
Thirty one teams from Ireland contested the championship as Kilkenny withdrew after competing in 2016. New York and London did not participate in this competition.
Provincial Championships
Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organised provincial championships. Each province decided their own rules for determining their champions. The formats for the 2018 provincial championships are explained in the sections below.
All-Ireland
The four provincial winners play the four provincial runners-up in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Two semi-finals and a final follow. All matches are played in a single knockout format. The minor final is normally played before the All-Ireland senior final.
Connacht Minor Football Championship
Connacht Format
All five Connacht counties compete in a single round-robin format.[1] The top 2 teams in the round robin table meet again in the Connacht final.
The winners receive the Tom Kilcoyne Cup.
Connacht Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Galway |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 44 | +54 | 8 | Contest Connacht final and advance to All-Ireland quarter finals |
| 2 |  Roscommon |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 93 | 66 | +27 | 6 | |
| 3 |  Mayo |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 79 | 60 | +19 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Leitrim |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 101 | −47 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Sligo |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 101 | −52 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) League points; 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition; 3) Scoring difference; 4) Highest total score for; 5) A play-off.
Connacht League Section Rounds 1 to 5
| 2 May 2018 Round 1 | Mayo | 4-20 - 1-9 | Leitrim | MacHale Park |
| Report | Referee: P Daly Roscommon |
| 4 May 2018 Round 1 | Galway | 4-18 - 0-8 | Roscommon | Tuam Stadium, Galway |
| M Cooley (2) A Halloran (2) | Report | Referee: B Judge Sligo |
| 11 May 2018 Round 2 | Sligo | 0-10 - 3-15 | Galway | Markievicz Park Sligo |
| Referee: Declan Corcoran Mayo |
| 23 June 2018 Round 3 | Leitrim | 0-9 - 4-15 | Roscommon | Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada |
| Referee: Ronan Hynes Sligo |
| 23 June 2018 Round 3 | Mayo | 2-18 - 0-10 | Sligo | MacHale Park |
| Referee: Marty Parker Roscommon |
| 29 June 2018 Round 4 | Galway | 0-15 - 1-9 | Mayo | Tuam Stadium, Galway |
| Report | Referee: Brendan Healy Roscommon |
| 29 June 2018 Round 4 | Sligo | 0-13 - 2-14 | Leitrim | Markievicz Park Sligo |
| Referee: Paul Lydon Mayo |
Connacht Final
Leinster Minor Football Championship
Leinster Format
Leinster teams competed in two groups, one of six teams and one of five teams. Each team in a group plays a single match against the other teams. [2] The first two teams in each group progress to the Leinster semi-finals.
Leinster Group 1 Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Meath |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 39 | +29 | 6 | Advance to Leinster Semi-Final |
| 2 |  Dublin |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 4 | |
| 3 |  Offaly |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 43 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 |  Wicklow |
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 67 | 53 | +14 | 3 | |
| 5 |  Louth |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 49 | 77 | −28 | 1 | |
| 6 |  Westmeath |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 35 | 67 | −32 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) League points; 2) Where only two teams are involved, the outcome of the meeting of the two teams in the competition; 3) Scoring difference; 4) Highest total score for; 5) A play-off.
Leinster Group 1 Rounds 1 to 5
| April 2018 Round 1 | v |
| April 2018 Round 1 | v |
| April 2018 Round 1 | v |
| April 2018 Round 2 | v |
| April 2018 Round 2 | v |
| April 2018 Round 2 | v |
| April 2018 Round 3 | v |
| April 2018 Round 3 | v |
| April 2018 Round 3 | v |
| June 2018 Round 4 | v |
| June 2018 Round 4 | v |
| June 2018 Round 4 | v |
| June 2018 Round 5 | v |
| June 2018 Round 5 | v |
| June 2018 Round 5 | v |
Leinster Group 2 Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | SF | SA | Diff | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wexford | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 |  Kildare | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 |
| 3 |  Carlow | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Laois | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 |  Longford | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-0 | 1-0 | 1 | 2 |
Leinster Group 2 Rounds 1 to 5
| April 2018 Round 1 | v |
| April 2018 Round 1 | v |
| April 2018 Round 2 | v |
| April 2018 Round 2 | v |
| April 2018 Round 3 | v |
| April 2018 Round 3 | v |
| June 2018 Round 4 | v |
| June 2018 Round 4 | v |
| June 2018 Round 5 | v |
| June 2018 Round 5 | v |
Leinster Semi-Finals
| 7 July 2018 Semi-Final 1 | Laois | v | Meath | ||
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| Semi-Final 2 | v | ||||
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Leinster Final
| Meath | v | Kildare |
|---|
21 July 2018 2:00 pm Final |
Munster Minor Football Championship
Munster Format
All six Munster teams competed in the three quarter-finals of the main draw. The three beaten teams entered the play-off section and, after two play-off matches, one team re-entered the main draw at the semi-final stage. From the semi-finals all matches were knockout. [3]
Munster Main Draw
| Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Munster Final | ||||||||||||
 Kerry
| 1-15 | |||||||||||||
 Tipperary
| 0-4 | Kerry
| 1-11 | |||||||||||
 Cork
| 4-20 | Cork
| 1-10 | |||||||||||
 Waterford
| 0-5 | Kerry
| ||||||||||||
 Clare
| ||||||||||||||
| Clare
| 1-9 | |||||||||||||
| Clare
| 3-13 | Tipperary
| 2-4 | |||||||||||
 Limerick
| 1-9 | |||||||||||||
Munster Playoff Draw
The three teams who were beaten in the quarter-finals of the main draw competed in a play-off in two matches. The winning team from the play-offs re-entered the main draw at the semi-final stage.
| Playoff 1 | Playoff 2 | ||||||||
| Tipperary
| 2-12 | ||||||||
| Limerick
| 1-11 | Tipperary
| 2-11 | ||||||
| Waterford
| 2-6 | ||||||||
Munster Quarter-Finals
| Quarter-Final A | v | ||||
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| Quarter-Final B | v | ||||
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| Quarter-Final C | v | ||||
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Munster Playoff Rounds 1 and 2
| Playoff 1 | v | ||||
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| Playoff 2 | v | ||||
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Munster Semi-Finals
| Semi-Final 1 | v | ||||
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| Semi-Final 2 | v | ||||
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Munster Final
| Final | v | ||||
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Ulster Minor Football Championship
Ulster Format
In 2018 the Ulster Championship changed to a double-elimination format, which replaced the straight knockout style of previous years. Every team who lost a match before the semi-finals re-entered the competition via the Qualifiers Round 1 (R1), Qualifiers Round 2 (R2) or Qualifiers Round 3 (R3). This ensured that all teams played at least two games.[4] The semi-finals and final were knockout.
The winners received the Father Murray Cup.
Ulster Direct Route
Ulster Preliminary Round
Two of the nine teams were drawn to play in the preliminary round.
Ulster Round 1
The seven teams who avoided the preliminary round plus the winners of the preliminary round competed in four matches in round 1.
| 28 April 2018 (2018-04-28) Round 1 | Antrim  |
0-08 (08) – (14) 2-08 |  Fermanagh |
Belfast | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Corrigan Park | ||||
| Referee: Martin Conroy
|
| 28 April 2018 (2018-04-28) Round 1 | Donegal  |
1-10 (13) – (27) 5-12 |  Tyrone |
Ballybofey | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: MacCumhaill Park | ||||
| Referee: Kevin Faloon
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| 28 April 2018 (2018-04-28) Round 1 | Down  |
0-11 (11) – (08) 0-08 |  Armagh |
Newry | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Páirc Esler | ||||
| Referee: Pat Clarke
|
| 28 April 2018 (2018-04-28) Round 1 | Cavan  |
0-18 (18) – (17) 1-14 |  Derry |
Kingscourt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | |||||
| Referee: Stephen Campbell
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Ulster Round 2
The four winning teams from round 1 met in two matches.
| 12 May 2018 (2018-05-12) Round 2 | Fermanagh |
1-07 (10) – (15) 2-09 | Cavan |
Enniskillen | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Brewster Park | ||||
| Referee: Mark Dorrian
|
Ulster Qualifier Route
Ulster Qualifiers R1
Two of the five teams beaten in the preliminary round or round 1 met in a playoff match. The losing team was eliminated from the competition.
Ulster Qualifiers R2
The four remaining teams who lost only one match in the preliminary round or round 1 met in two matches with the two losing teams being eliminated,
| 12 May 2018 (2018-05-12) Q Round 2 | Armagh |
1-05 (08) – (23) 3-14 | Derry |
Armagh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Athletic Grounds | ||||
| Referee: Darren O'Hare
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| 13 May 2018 (2018-05-13) Q Round 2 | Donegal |
1-10 (13) – (15) 1-12 |  Monaghan |
Ballybofey | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: MacCumhaill Park | ||||
| Referee: Conor Dourneen
|
Ulster Qualifiers R3
The two losing teams from round 2 (who lost only one match) met the two winning teams from the qualifiers R2. The two losing teams were eliminated from the competition.
| 20 May 2018 (2018-05-20) Q Round 3 | Fermanagh |
0-05 (05) – (17) 2-11 | Derry |
Armagh | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 IST (UTC+1) | Venue: Athletic Grounds | ||||
| Referee: Karol Doherty
|
Ulster Knockout Stage
Ulster Semi-Finals
The two winning teams from round 2 met the two winning teams from the qualifiers R3. The two losing teams were eliminated from the competition.
Ulster Final
All-Ireland Draw
| Quarter-Final | Semi-Final | Final | ||||||||||||
| Galway
| 0-18 | |||||||||||||
| Clare
| 0-11 | Galway
| 3-13 | |||||||||||
| Meath
| 1-15 | Meath
| 2-09 | |||||||||||
| Derry
| 1-10 | Galway
| 1-14 | |||||||||||
| Kerry
| 2-16 | Kerry
| 0-21 | |||||||||||
| Roscommon
| 2-07 | Kerry
| 1-16 | |||||||||||
| Monaghan
| 2-11 | Monaghan
| 2-11 | |||||||||||
| Kildare
| 0-08 | |||||||||||||
Quarter-finals
The four provincial champions played the four beaten finalists from the provincial championships.
| Meath |
1-15 (18) – (13) 1-10 | Derry |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 1-10 – 0-04) | ||
| Gls: Luke Mitchell Pts: Luke Mitchell (6, 5f) Luke Kelly (2), Darragh Swaine (2), David Bell, Bryan McCormack, Adam Reilly, Cian McBride, Mathew Costello |
Gls: Conleth McGuckian (pen) Pts: Enda Downey (5, 1f, 1 '45), Conleth McGuckian (4, 3f), Niall Doyle | |
| Kerry |
2-16 (22) – (13) 2-07 | Roscommon |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 2-10 – 0-04) | ||
| Gls: Ruaidhrí Ó’Beaglaoích, Killian Falvey Pts: Paul Walsh (5, 2f), Patrick D’Arcy (3), Darragh Rahilly (2), Paul O’Shea (2), Dylan Geaney (2, 1f), Ruaidhrí Ó’Beaglaoích, Michael Lenihan |
Gls: Fearghus Lennon, Charlie Carthy Pts: James Fitzpatrick (3), Adam McDermott (2), Richard Walsh, Fearghus Lennon | |
| Monaghan |
2-11 (17) – (08) 0-08 | Kildare |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 1-05 – 0-05) | ||
| Gls: Aaron Mulligan, Donnacha Swinburne Pts: Sean Jones (4, 4f), Aaron Mulligan (3, 2f), Donnacha Swinburne, Loughlinn Power, Shane Hanratty, Karl Gallagher |
Pts: Padraig Behan (5, 3f), Eoghan O’Haire (2, 2f), Sam Reilly | |
| Galway |
0-18 (18) – (11) 0-11 | Clare |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 0-03 – 0-08) | ||
Pts: Ryan Monaghan (6, 6f), Oisín Gormley (3), Conor Raftery (2) Eoghan Tinney (2), Aidan Halloran, Tony Gill, Daniel Cox, Tomo Culhane, Niall Cunningham |
Pts: Shane Meehan (4, 4f), Thomas Guyler (2), Keelan Guyler (2), Joey Droney, Emmet McMahon (f), Tadhg Lillis | |
Semi-finals
There was no draw for the semi-finals as the fixtures are pre-determined on a three yearly rotation. This rotation ensures that a provinces's champions play the champions of all the other provinces once every three years in the semi-finals, if they each win their quarter-finals. If a provincial winner loses their quarter final, then the provincial runner-up who beat them take their place in the semi-final.
| Galway |
3-13 (22) – (15) 2-09 | Meath |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 0-06 – 2-04) | ||
| Gls: Tony Gill, Oisin McCormack, Eoghan Tinney Pts: Aidan Halloran (4), Cathal Sweeney (3), Ryan Monahan (2, 2f), Tomo Culhane, Conor Raftery, Daniel Cox, Paul Kelly |
Gls: Luke Mitchell, Luke Kelly Pts: Luke Mitchell (4, 2f), David Bell (2, 2f), Matthew Costello, Bryan McCormack, Sean Coffey | |
| Kerry |
1-16 (19) – (17) 2-11 | Monaghan |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 0-10 – 0-06) | ||
| Gls: David Mangan Pts: Dylan Geaney (5, 2f), Darragh Rahilly (3), Paul Walsh (3, 2f), Dan McCarthy (2), Killian Falvey, Darragh Lyne, Jack Kennelly |
Gls: Jason Irwin, Mark Mooney Pts: Aaron Mulligan (4, 1f), Sean Jones (4, 4f), Loughlin Power, Donnacha Swinburne, Jason Irwin | |
Final
| Galway |
1-14 (17) – (21) 0-21 | Kerry |
|---|---|---|
| (HT: 1-09 – 0-08) | ||
| Gls: Tony Gill Pts: Matthew Cooley (5, 4f), Tomo Culhane (2), Conor Raftery (2), Ryan Monaghan, Liam Judge, Eoghan Tinney, Oisin Gormley, Paul Kelly |
Pts: Paul Walsh (4, 1f), Killian Falvey (4), Darragh Rahilly (3), Ruaidhrí Ó Beaglaoích (3), Dylan Geaney (2), Paul O’Shea (2, 1f, 1 ’45), Michael Lenihan, Dan McCarthy, Jack O’Connor (f) | |
1. John Ball (Kildare)
2. Ronan Grimes (Monaghan)
3. Owen Fitzgerald (Kerry)
4. Tiarnan Woods (Derry)
5. Colm Moriarty (Kerry)
6. Tony Gill (Galway)
7. Mark Lavin (Dublin)
8. Darragh Rahilly (Kerry)
9. Conor Raftery (Galway)
10. Paul Walsh (Kerry)
11. Matthew Costello (Meath)
12. Aaron Mulligan (Monaghan)
13. Luke Mitchell (Meath)
14. Eoin Darcy (Wicklow)
15. Matthew Cooley (Galway)