All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
Founded	1964
Region	Ireland (GAA)
Trophy	Clarke Cup
Title holders	Mayo (5th title)
First winner	Kerry
Most titles	Cork (11 titles)
Sponsors	EirGrid

The All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the EirGrid Under-21 Football Championship) is the premier "knockout" competition for players aged between 18 and 21 in gaelic football played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association and currently start in late February or early March.

The trophy for the winning team is the Clarke Cup which is named in honour of former Kildare Secretary and Treasurer Tim Clarke.

Mayo are the 2016 All Ireland U-21 Champions, scoring five goals to defeat Cork in the final.

Overview

The All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship was created in 1964 in response to a Congress motion put forward by the Kerry County Board. Since then the competition has grown in importance and profile. The championship is run on an inter-county provincial basis with the winners from Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht playing off against each other in two semi-finals. Cork are the most successful teams in the history of the Under-21 Championship. Two teams have achieved three-in-a-rows; Kerry from 1975 to 1977 and Cork from 1984 to 1986. The coveted treble of winning senior, under-21, minor titles in the same year has been achieved on just one occasion, by Kerry in 1975. Because teams will only play together for at most, about two or three years, unlike the senior competition, it is unusual that one county will dominate for periods any longer than this.

It is usually considered a mark of a very promising player to play for both a county's Under 21 and Senior team at the same time. Many great players have achieved this, although one particular example would be Frank McGuigan, who, in 1973, represented Tyrone in the Ulster Finals of the Minors, Seniors and Under 21s.^[1]

Top winners

	Team	Wins	Years won
1	Cork	11	1970, 1971, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1994, 2007, 2009
2	Kerry	10	1964, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2008
3	Mayo	5	1967, 1974, 1983, 2006, 2016
	Tyrone	5	1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2015
	Galway	5	1972, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013
6	Dublin	4	2003, 2010, 2012, 2014
7	Roscommon	2	1966, 1978
	Derry	2	1968, 1997
	Donegal	2	1982, 1987
10	Kildare	1	1965
	Antrim	1	1969
	Meath	1	1993
	Down	1	1979
	Offaly	1	1988
	Westmeath	1	1999
	Armagh	1	2004

Wins, Runners-up & Final Appearances

County	Win	Runner-up	Appearance
Cork	11	5	16
Kerry	10	7	17
Mayo	5	6	11
Galway	5	3	8
Tyrone	5	2	7
Dublin	4	3	7
Roscommon	2	4	6
Derry	2	2	4
Donegal	2	1	3
Down	1	3	4
Kildare	1	3	4
Offaly	1	2	3
Antrim	1	1	2
Meath	1	1	2
Armagh	1	0	1
Westmeath	1	0	1
Cavan	0	3	3
Laois	0	3	3
Fermanagh	0	2	2
Limerick	0	1	1
Tipperary	0	1	1

Roll of honour

Year	Winner	Runner Up
2016	Mayo 5-7	Cork 1-14
2015[2]	Tyrone 1–11	Tipperary 0-13
2014[3]	Dublin 1-21	Roscommon 3-6
2013[4]	Galway 1-14	Cork 1-11
2012	Dublin 2-12	Roscommon 0-11
2011	Galway 2-16	Cavan 1-9 [5]
2010	Dublin 1–10	Donegal 1-8
2009	Cork 1–13	Down 2–9
2008	Kerry 2–12	Kildare 0–11
2007	Cork 2–10	Laois 0–15
2006	Mayo 1–13	Cork 1–11
2005	Galway 6-5	Down 4–6
2004	Armagh 2-8	Mayo 1-9
2003	Dublin 0–12	Tyrone 0-7
2002	Galway 0–15	Dublin 0-7
2001	Tyrone 0–13	Mayo 0–10
2000	Tyrone 3–12	Limerick 0–13
1999	Westmeath 0–12	Kerry 0-9
1998	Kerry 2-8	Laois 0–11
1997	Derry 1–12	Meath 0-5
1996	Kerry 1–17	Cavan 2–10
1995	Kerry 2–12 3–10 (R)	Mayo 3-9 1–12 (R)
1994	Cork 1–12	Mayo 1-5
1993	Meath 1-8	Kerry 0–10
1992	Tyrone 1–10	Galway 1-7
1991	Tyrone 4–16	Kerry 1-5
1990	Kerry 5–12	Tyrone 2–11
1989	Cork 2-8	Galway 1–10
1988	Offaly 0–11	Cavan 0-9
1987[6]	Donegal 1-7 1–12 (R)	Kerry 0–10 2-4 (R)
1986	Cork 3–16	Offaly 0–12
1985	Cork 0–14	Derry 1-8
1984	Cork 0-9	Mayo 0-6
1983	Mayo 2-5 1-8 (R)	Derry 1-8 1-5 (R)
1982	Donegal 0-8	Roscommon 0-5
1981	Cork 0–14 2-9 (R)	Galway 2-8 1-6 (R)
1980	Cork 2-8	Dublin 1-5
1979	Down 1–9	Cork 0-7
1978	Roscommon 1-9	Kerry 1-8
1977	Kerry 1–11	Down 1–5
1976	Kerry 0–14	Kildare 1-3
1975	Kerry 1–15	Dublin 0–10
1974	Mayo 0-9 2–10 (R)	Antrim 0-9 2-8 (R)
1973	Kerry 2–13	Mayo 0–13
1972	Galway 2-6	Kerry 0-7
1971	Cork 3–10	Fermanagh 0-3
1970	Cork 2–11	Fermanagh 0-9
1969	Antrim 1-8	Roscommon 0–10
1968	Derry 3-9	Offaly 1-9
1967	Mayo 2–10 4-9 (R)	Kerry 2–10 1-7 (R)
1966	Roscommon 2–10	Kildare 1–12
1965	Kildare 2–11	Cork 1-7
1964	Kerry 1–10	Laois 1-3

References

1. "Personalities". Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2007.
2. "Tyrone seal dramatic Under-21 triumph". RTE Sport. 3 May 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
3. "Dublin 1-21 Roscommon 3-6". RTE Sport. 3 May 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
4. "U21FC final: Galway win thriller". Hogan Stand. 4 May 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
5. "Galway U21 2-16 Cavan U21 1-09". RTÉ Sport. 1 May 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-03.
6. "Donegal downed the Kingdom back in 1987 too". Democrat. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2012.

External links

• Official Website