GAA Football Championship 2009

Galway- Have won a total of 9 All Ireland Championships; their most recent success came in 2001. They have dominated the Connaught Provincial Championships with a total of 43, most recently in 2008 with a 2-12 to 1-14 win over Mayo. After beating Mayo they went down to the eventual runners up Kerry by a score of 1-21 to 1-16. Sure to be in the mix again this year.

Leitrim- Have never won the All Ireland. They have won a total of 2 Connaught Provincial Championships most recently in 1994. In 2008, they beat New York, before losing to Galway 2-14 to 1-13. Unlikely to figure again this year.

Mayo- Have won a total of 3 All Ireland Championships, most recently in 1951. They have won 41 Connaught Provincial Championships two behind their rivals Galway, their latest in 2006. In 2008 they reached the Final of the Connaught Championships after an easy 13 point victory over Sligo before losing out to Galway 2-12 to 1-14. In the Quarters they were paired with Tyrone, the eventual winners, a game they probably should have killed off before eventually going down to a point. Could have a chance this year as they showed last year they are not far off the top teams.

Roscommon- Have won 2 All Ireland’s, most recently in 1944, and 19 Connaught Senior Championships, their latest in 2001. In 2008 they were demolished in the Connaught Championship Quarters by Galway, beaten by 18 points, and again swept aside by Donegal in the last 32 of the Qualifiers, by 8 points. Unlikely to figure in 2009.

Sligo- Have never won the All Ireland, but has won 3 Connaught Championships, most recently in 2007. In 2008 they beat London before losing to Mayo in the Provincial semis by 13 points. Again unlikely to feature this year.

Carlow- Have never won the All Ireland, and has 1 Leinster Championship to their name, in 1944. In 2008 they were heavily beaten by Meath 1-25 to 0-08. A rank outsider this time around.

Dublin- Have 22 All Ireland’s, most recently in 1995, and 48 Leinster Championships, their last in 2008. In winning the Leinster Championship Dublin disposed of Louth, Westmeath and comfortably Wexford. In the Quarter Finals they were overrun by a magnificent Tyrone team, 3-14 to 1-8. With the large support and high expectations, they will surely be in the running again.

Kildare- Have won 4 All Ireland’s, their latest in 1928, and 13 Leinster Titles the last one coming in 2000. In 2008, they were beaten by Wicklow by 4 points, in the last 32 of the Qualifiers they beat Cavan by a point, overcame Limerick by a goal in the Last 16 of the Qualifiers, and comfortably disposed of Fermanagh by 6 points taking them to the All Ireland Quarters before losing out to Cork by a goal. This year could see another solid performance but unlikely to trouble the big boys.

Kilkenny- Have never won the All Ireland but has won 3 Leinster Championships. Unfortunately they currently do not compete in the Championship. Renowned more for their Hurling skills.

Laois- Have never won the All Ireland but has won 6 Leinster Championships most recently in 2003. In 2008 they beat Wicklow, before losing to Wexford in the Semis of Leinster. The Qualifiers saw them beat Longford before losing to Down 2-14 to 1-15. Unlikely again to make an impact this year.

Longford- Have never won the All Ireland but has won 1 Leinster Championship in 1968. In 2008 they lost to Westmeath and to Laois in the Qualifiers. No chance this time around.

Louth- Have won the All Ireland 3 times, lastly in 1957, and 8 Leinster Championships again the last in 1957. In 2008, lost by 13 points to Dublin and then to Tyrone in the Qualifiers. Unlucky to run into two big guns in their only two matches but little improvement expected this year.

Meath- Have won 7 All Ireland’s, most recently in 1999 and 20 Leinster Championships, their latest in 2001. In 2008, they overcame Carlow before losing to Wexford by a point. In a high scoring came they lost out to Limerick in the Qualifiers. A disappointing Meath team in recent years and again improvement unlikely.

Offaly- Have won 3 All Ireland’s, most recently in 1982 and 10 Leinster Championships, their latest in 1997. In 2008, they were knocked out of Leinster by Westmeath before being trounced by Down in the Qualifiers by 5-19 to 2-10. No hopes this year.

Westmeath- Have never won an All Ireland but has won one Leinster Championship in 2004. In 2008, they defeated Longford and Offaly before losing out to Dublin in the semis of Leinster, by a respectable 2 points. In the Qualifiers they overcame Tipperary before succumbing to Tyrone by 4 points. This team should not be underestimated and further improvement could make them a force in the latter stages of the competition.

Wexford- Have won 5 All Ireland’s, the latest in 1918 and 10 Leinster Championships their last in 1945. In 2008, they defeated Meath and Laois on their way to the Leinster Final before a heavy defeat against Dublin, losing 3-23 to 0-09. In the Qualifiers they easily swept aside Down, and in the Quarters of the Championship they defeated Armagh by 5 points. A remarkable effort by Wexford who only lost to the eventual winners Tyrone in the Semis by 6 points. A repeat performance could see them go close again, but it will be a lot more difficult to sustain those performances this time around.

Wicklow- Have never won an All Ireland or a Leinster Championship. In 2008, they defeated Kildare before being dumped out of the Championship by Laois who only narrowly defeated Wicklow by 2 points. Unfortunately again, one of the forgotten teams who may cause one or two surprises this time around but very unlikely to go far.

Clare- Have never won an All Ireland, but has won 2 Munster Championships, the most recent in 1992. In 2008, they defeated Waterford by 2 points before comprehensively losing to Kerry by 12 points. Another county more accustomed to Hurling so little chance of any impact.

Cork- Have won the All Ireland 6 times and won the Munster Championship 35 times most recently last year in 2008. In 2008 on their way to winning Munster they defeated Limerick and their great rivals Kerry in the Final by 5 points. The Quarters saw them paired with Kildare who they defeated by a goal. In the Semis they came up against Kerry again. The first match ended in a draw and the replay saw Kerry advance by a 4 point margin. Although Cork again will undoubtedly have a say on where Sam ends up, it seems as if they may have had their chance to overcome Kerry last year and their near rivals may just have that edge on them going into this year's competition.

Kerry- Have won the All Ireland 35 times, their latest in 2007 and the Munster Championship 72 times, again in 2007. In 2008, they defeated Clare before being defeated by Cork in the Munster Final. A hard fought victory by a goal over Monaghan in the Qualifiers allowed them to progress to the Quarters. A defeat of Galway and a victory over their rival Cork in a Semi Final replay saw them go into the All Ireland Final as favourites against Tyrone. It did not work out well for the Kerry men as they went down by 4 points to Tyrone. It goes without saying Kerry will once again be there this year fighting for Sam.

Limerick- Have won the All Ireland 2 times, the last in 1896. In 2008, they defeated Tipperary before losing to Cork by 3 points. In the Qualifiers they pushed passed Meath before succumbing to Kildare. A creditable effort last year, but little or no chance this year of making any impact.

Tipperary- Have won 4 All Ireland’s, the last in 1920 and 9 Munster Championships, their latest in 1935. In 2008, they lost to Limerick before being losing out to Westmeath by 9 points in the Qualifiers. Repeat performance expected this year.

Waterford- Have never won an All Ireland but has won the Munster Championship once back in 1898. In 2008, they lost to Clare by 2 points, unlikely to progress any further this year.

Antrim- Have never won the All Ireland. In 2008, they lost their one and only match in the championship to Cavan. No significant improvement can be foreseen this time around.

Armagh- Have won 1 All Ireland, in 2002, and 14 Ulster Championships their last in 2008. On their way to the Ulster Championship title they defeated Cavan, Down and after a Final replay they overcame Fermanagh. The Quarters saw them lose to Wexford by 5 points. May have past their best but surely to give it their all again, possibly not enough this time around.

Cavan- Have won 5 All Ireland’s, their latest in 1952, and 39 Ulster Championships, the last back in 1997. In 2008 they comfortably overcame the minnows of Ulster, Antrim, by 5 points before losing to Armagh. The Qualifiers saw them pitted against Kildare, which they narrowly lost by a point. Again Qualifiers looks likely again this year and it depends on their draw as to how far they can advance.

Derry- Have won 1 All Ireland back in 1993 and 7 Ulster Championships, their latest in 1998. In 2008, they defeated Donegal by 2 points before losing to Fermanagh in the Ulster Semis by the same margin. The Qualifiers saw them lose by a point to Monaghan. A disappointing campaign last year and should not be written off just yet, have the potential to go far.

Donegal- Have won 1 All Ireland back in 1992 and 5 Ulster Championships, the latest again coming in 1992. In 2008, they were knocked out of Ulster by Derry. The Qualifiers saw them easily defeat Roscommon before losing to Monaghan by a point. A few peoples dark horse this year, but would need to improve significantly.

Down- Have won 5 All Ireland’s, latest being 1995, and 12 Ulster Championships again the latest coming in 1995. In 2008, they took a real scalp, as they defeated Tyrone in a replay, before narrowly losing out to Armagh. The Qualifiers saw two great performances as they comfortably swept aside Offaly by 18 points and then beat a much fancied Laois team by 2 points. They were then knocked out by Wexford in the next round. Again a team that should not be underestimated, if they built on a solid year last year then anything could happen.

Fermanagh- Have never won an All Ireland or an Ulster Championship. In 2008, they went all the way to the Ulster Championship Final. On their way they disposed of Monaghan and then Derry, before losing out to Armagh in the final, by 6 points after a replay. A dismal performance in the Qualifiers saw them lose by 6 points to Kildare. Cannot see a repeat performance this year, the fact that they lost the chance to win the Ulster Championship for the first time may have knocked the stuffing out of them, can only wait and see if they can recover this year.

Monaghan- Have never won the All Ireland but have 14 Ulster Championships to their name, most recently in 1988. In 2008, they were knocked out of Ulster by Fermanagh in their first match. The Qualifiers saw a recovery of sorts as they narrowly defeated Derry, dispatched of Donegal, before losing to Kerry by a goal. This year they will be taken more seriously by the big names which could hinder their progress in this campaign.

Tyrone- Have won 3 All Ireland’s, they are current All Ireland holders, and 11 Ulster Championships, their latest in 2007. In 2008, on their way to taking home Sam, they decided to go the long route to Croke Park, as they lost their first match to Down in a replay. The Qualifiers saw them easily defeat Louth by 8 points, Westmeath by 4 points, and Mayo by a point. After finding their feet in the Qualifiers, Tyrone destroyed a Dublin team that went into the game as strong favourites, winning the match by 12 points. Wexford stood in their way of the All Ireland Final but were brushed to the side as Tyrone won the game by 6 points. The Final was a match up between the two dominant forces in the first decade of the 21st century, Tyrone v Kerry. Still considered the underdogs Tyrone overcame Kerry by 4 points. Many will be rueing the fact that they wrote off Tyrone very early on last year. They seem to overcome adversity and silence critics but this year it may well be a step too far. A lot will depend on the draw in the Qualifiers as I could see them crashing out of Ulster early on.

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