# 2017 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship

The 2017 All-Ireland Minor Football Championship was the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football competition for under 18's. 31 county teams from Ireland competed (Kilkenny did not participate).
2017 was the final year of this competition with an under 18 age limit; an under 17 championship with a new format replaced it after a vote at the GAA congress on 26 February 2016.
The winners received the Tom Markham Cup.
Kerry won their fourth minor title in a row, defeating Derry in the final on 17 September 2017 by 6-17 to 1-08. This was the first time that any county had won four minor titles in a row.

## Teams

Thirty one teams contested the championship as Kilkenny withdrew after competing in 2016. New York and London did not participate in this competition.

## Format

Provincial Championships
Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster organised four provincial championships. Each province determined the format for deciding their champions and it could have been a league, group, knock-out, double-elimination, etc. or a combination of these. The format for the 2017 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. The final is normally played before the All-Ireland senior final on the third Sunday in September. All these matches are knock-out.

## Provincial championships
### Connacht Minor Football Championship
#### Connacht Format

All five Connacht counties competed in a straight knock-out format.

#### Connacht Main Draw

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Connacht Final | Connacht Final | Connacht Final |
| | | | Galway | Galway | 1-13 | | | |
| Mayo | Mayo | 0-11 | Roscommon | Roscommon | 1-6 | | | |
| Galway | Galway | 3-15 | | | | Galway | Galway | 3-11 |
| | | | | | | Sligo | Sligo | 0-10 |
| | | | Sligo | Sligo | 3-12 | | | |
| | | | Leitrim | Leitrim | 3-7 | | | |

#### Connacht Quarter-final

| Quarter-final | Mayo | 0-11 - 3-15 | Galway | McHale Park Referee: E O’Grady (Leitrim) |
| Quarter-final | John Gallagher 0-4f, Tommy Conory 0-2, Michael McGarry, Cathal Slattery, Kuba Callaghan, Dylan Prendergast, Mikie Conroy 0-1 each | | Daniel Kenny 2-0, Evan Murphy 0-5 (0-4f), Rory Cunningham 0-3, Martin Kerrigan 1-0, Darragh Silke (0-2f) and Padraic Costello 0-2 each Matthias Barrett, Matthew Tierney (0-1f), Conor Campbell 0-1 each | McHale Park Referee: E O’Grady (Leitrim) |

#### Connacht Semi-finals

| 28 June 2017 Semi-final | Galway | 1-13 - 1-6 | Roscommon | Pearse Stadium, Salthill Referee: Eamonn O’Grady (Leitrim) |
| 28 June 2017 Semi-final | Conor Newell 1-0, Liam Boyle 0-3, Brian Harlowe, Darragh Silke, Padraic Costello (0-1f) 0-2 each, Eoin McFadden, Matthias Barrett, Evan Murphy (0-1f), Conor Campbell 0-1 each | Report | Brian Derwin 1-3 (0-2f), Ronan Dowd 0-2, Sean Henry 0-1 | Pearse Stadium, Salthill Referee: Eamonn O’Grady (Leitrim) |
| 28 June 2017 Semi-final | Sligo | 3-12 - 3-7 | Leitrim | Markievicz Park Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo) |
| 28 June 2017 Semi-final | Red Og Murphy 1-2 (0-2f), Conall Ryan 0-4, Evan Lavin and Ryan Walsh 1-1 each, Luke Towey 0-2, Barry Gorman and Roland Anderson 0-1 | Report | Oisin McLoughlin 2-1 (0-1f), Caleb Duffy 0-3, Jordan Reynolds 1-0, Evan Harkin, Aaron Hoare, Riordan O'Rourke (0-1f) 0-1 each | Markievicz Park Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo) |

#### Connacht final

| 10 July 2016 2.00 PM Final | Galway | 3-11 - 0-10 | Sligo | Pearse Stadium Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo) |
| 10 July 2016 2.00 PM Final | Darragh Silke 0-4 (0-3f), Padraic Costello 1-1, Conor Campbell and Daniel Kenny 1-0, Matthias Barrett 0-2, Liam Boyle, Evan Murphy, Martin Kerrigan, Rory Cunningham | Report | Red Og Murphy (0-2f) and Conall Ryan 0-3 each, Niall Colsh, Barry Gorman, Luke Towey, Ryan Walsh 0-1 each | Pearse Stadium Referee: Liam Devenney (Mayo) |

### Leinster Minor Football Championship
#### Leinster Format

Preliminary round
The eleven participating Leinster teams competed in six matches in the preliminary round of the main draw, with (Offaly) playing two matches due to the odd number of teams.
Losers section
The six beaten teams entered the losers' section and played four play-off matches. Two teams then re-entered the main draw at the quarter-final stage. From the quarter-finals all matches were played under a straight knock-out format.

#### Leinster Main Draw

| First round | First round | First round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals |
| Offaly | Offaly | 3-18 | | | | |
| Wexford | Wexford | 0-6 | Rd 1 winner | Rd 1 winner | | |
| Offaly | Offaly | 0-13 | | | | |
| Westmeath | Westmeath | 1-4 | | | QF winner | QF winner |
| Longford | Longford | 1-19 | | | QF winner | QF winner |
| Wicklow | Wicklow | 3-8 | Rd 1 winner | Rd 1 winner | | |
| Carlow | Carlow | 0-9 | | | | |
| Kildare | Kildare | 2-13 | | | | |
| Dublin | Dublin | 1-15 aet | | | | |
| Meath | Meath | 1-13 aet | Rd 1 winner | Rd 1 winner | | |
| Laois | Laois | 0-15 aet | | | | |
| Louth | Louth | 2-11 aet | | | QF winner | QF winner |
| | | | | | QF winner | QF winner |
| | | | Rd 1 winner | Rd 1 winner | | |

#### Leinster Losers' Section Matches

The six beaten teams in the preliminary round of the main draw play-off in three matches. Three teams from the losers' section re-enter the main draw at the quarter-final stage.
| Losers Round 1 | Losers Round 1 | Losers Round 1 | Leinster Quarter-finalists** | Leinster Quarter-finalists** | Leinster Quarter-finalists** |
| Wexford | Wexford | 2-14 | | | |
| Wicklow | Wicklow | 3-7 | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | n/a |
| Meath | Meath | 0-10 | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | n/a |
| Laois | Laois | 0-11 | | | |
| Westmeath | Westmeath | 0-17 | | | |
| Carlow | Carlow | 2-12 | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | Quarter-finalist in Main Draw | n/a |

#### Leinster First round

| 17 April 2017 Preliminary round | Wexford | 0-6 - 3-18 | Offaly | Enniscorthy Referee: Seamus Mulhare |
| 17 April 2017 Preliminary round | Jamie Myler (0-2f) and Mick Molloy (0-2f) 0-2 each, Eoin Porter and David Gouldson 0-1 each | Report | Cian Johnston 2-5, Cian Farrell 1-3 (0-3f), Conor Lynam 0-4 (0-1f), Mark Newman 0-2, Adam Owens, Sean Ibbotson, Sean Farrell, Nathan Poland 0-1 each | Enniscorthy Referee: Seamus Mulhare |
| 22 April 2017 First round | Carlow | 0-9 - 2-13 | Kildare | Dr. Cullen Park Referee: David O'Connor |
| 22 April 2017 First round | | Report | | Dr. Cullen Park Referee: David O'Connor |
| 22 April 2017 First round | Longford | 1-19 - 3-8 | Wicklow | Pearse Park Referee: James King |
| 22 April 2017 First round | | Report | | Pearse Park Referee: James King |
| 22 April 2017 First round | Offaly | 0-13 - 1-4 | Westmeath | O'Connor Park Referee: Stephen Murphy |
| 22 April 2017 First round | | Report | | O'Connor Park Referee: Stephen Murphy |
| 22 April 2017 First round | Dublin | 1-15 - 1-13 AET | Meath | Parnell Park Referee: Patrick Maguire |
| 22 April 2017 First round | James Doran 1-5, Ciaran Archer 0-6 (0-1f), Ross McGarry 0-2 (0-1f), Donal Ryan and Mark Tracey 0-1 each | Report | Shane Walsh 0-6 (0-3f), Conor Freyne 1-1, Jordan Morris 0-3, Adam Murphy, Sean Martin and Paddy Conway 0-1 each | Parnell Park Referee: Patrick Maguire |
| 22 April 2017 First round | Laois | 0-15 - 2-11 AET | Louth | O'Moore Park Referee: Niall Ward |
| 22 April 2017 First round | | Report | | O'Moore Park Referee: Niall Ward |

#### Leinster Losers Section

| 6 May 2017 Losers Section | Wexford | 2-14 - 3-7 | Wicklow | Wexford Park Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin) |
| 6 May 2017 Losers Section | Meath | 0-10 - 0-11 | Laois | Páirc Tailteann Referee: David Hickey (Carlow) |
| 7 May 2017 Losers Section | Westmeath | 0-17 - 2-12 | Carlow | Cusack Park, Mullingar Referee: Fergal Smyth (Offaly) |

#### Leinster Quarter-finals

| Quarter-final | Dublin | 6-12 - 0-5 | Longford | Parnell Park Referee: Seamus Mulhaire (Laois) |
| Quarter-final | Ross McGarry 2-2, James Doran 1-2, Seán Hawkshaw and Adam Byrne 1-1 each, James Madden 1-0, Eoin O'Dea and Niall O'Leary 0-2 each, Darragh Conlon and David Lacey 0-1 each | Report | Dylan Farrell 0-2f, Joseph Hagan, Shane Farrell, Robbie O’Connell 0-1 each | Parnell Park Referee: Seamus Mulhaire (Laois) |
| Quarter-final | Kildare | 1-14 - 2-6 | Laois | Newbridge Referee: John Hickey (Carlow) |
| Quarter-final | Darragh Ryan 1-2, David Kelly 0-5f, Shane O'Sullivan (0-1f) and Darragh Kirwan (0-1f) 0-2 each, James Carey, Ger Cunningham, David Foley 0-1 each | Report | Ciaran Comerford 1-1, Niall Dunne 1-0, Mark Barry 0-2, Alan Kinsella, Diarmuid Whelan (0-1f), Jack Owens 0-1 each | Newbridge Referee: John Hickey (Carlow) |
| Quarter-final | Louth | 0-15 - 1-11 | Offaly | Drogheda Park Referee: David Hickey |
| Quarter-final | Carlow | 2-8 - 1-12 | Wexford | Dr. Cullen Park Referee: Stephen Murphy |

#### Leinster Semi-finals

| Semi-final | Wexford | 2-15 - 4-10 | Louth | Wexford Park |
| Semi-final | Kildare | 0-14 - 1-16 | Dublin | St. Conleth's Park Referee: John Hickey (Carlow) |
| Semi-final | Darragh Kirwan 0-4, Jack Barrett 0-3f, Shane O’Sullivan 0-2, Darragh Ryan, Brian McDonnell, James Burke, Findlay Nairn and Jack Cully 0-1 each | Report | Ross McGarry 1-2 (0-2f), David Lacey 0-5 (0-1f), Sean Hawkshaw 0-3, Donal Ryan and Daniel Brennan 0-2 each, James Doran and Ciaran Archer 0-1 each | St. Conleth's Park Referee: John Hickey (Carlow) |

#### Leinster final

| 16 July 2017 2.00 pm Final | Dublin | 2-19 - 0-12 | Louth | Croke Park, Dublin Referee: Patrick Maguire (Longford) Man of the Match: Kieran Kennedy |
| 16 July 2017 2.00 pm Final | James Doran 1-1, David Lacey 0-4 (0-1f, 1 '45), James Madden 1-0, Ross McGarry 0-3, Eoin O'Dea, Sean Hawkshaw, Ciaran Archer (0-1f) 0-2 each, Kieran Kennedy, Mark Tracey, Daniel Brennan, Adam Byrne, Luke Doran 0-1 each | Report | Ciaran Keenan (0-5f) and John Gallagher (0-3f, 1 '45) 0-5 each, Liam Jackson and Ferghal Malone 0-1 each | Croke Park, Dublin Referee: Patrick Maguire (Longford) Man of the Match: Kieran Kennedy |
| GK | 1 | David O'Hanlon (Na Fianna) |
| RCB | 2 | Darren Maher (St Patrick's, Donabate) |
| FB | 3 | Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne (Cuala) |
| LCB | 4 | Liam Flatman (Kilmacud Crokes) |
| RHB | 5 | Kieran Kennedy (Ballyboden St Enda's) |
| CHB | 6 | Neil Matthews (Erin's Isle) |
| LHB | 7 | Eoin O'Dea (Na Fianna) |
| MF | 8 | Mark Tracey (Cuala) |
| MF | 9 | Donal Ryan (Na Fianna) (c) |
| RHF | 10 | Daniel Brennan (St Sylvester's) |
| CHF | 11 | James Doran (Na Fianna) |
| LHF | 12 | James Madden (Ballyboden St Enda's) |
| RCF | 13 | Ross McGarry (Ballyboden St Enda's) |
| FF | 14 | Seán Hawkshaw (Naomh Mearnóg) |
| LCF | 15 | David Lacey (Na Fianna) |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Adam Byrne (Naomh Ólaf) for Brennan |
| | 17 | Ciarán Archer (St Maur's) for Lacey |
| | 18 | Aaron Lynch (St Sylvester's) for Maher |
| | 19 | Luke Doran (Naomh Ólaf) for O'Dea |
| | 20 | Karl Lynch Bissett (Naomh Mearnóg) for Tracey |
| | 21 | Eoghan Joyce (Ballinteer St John's) for Hawkshaw |
| GK | 1 | Alan McGauley (St Mary's) |
| RCB | 2 | Alan Connor (Newtown Blues) |
| FB | 3 | Philip Trainor (St Mary's) |
| LCB | 4 | Dan Corcoran (Geraldines) |
| RHB | 5 | Leonard Grey (St Patrick's) |
| CHB | 6 | Eoghan Callaghan (Naomh Máirtín) (c) |
| LHB | 7 | James O'Reilly (Cooley Kickhams) |
| MF | 8 | Liam Jackson (St Mary's) |
| MF | 9 | Conor Morgan (Naomh Máirtín) |
| RHF | 10 | Ben Mooney (Geraldines) |
| CHF | 11 | Gerry Garland (St Mochta's) |
| LHF | 12 | Ciaran Keenan (St Mary's) |
| RCF | 13 | Fearghal Malone (Cooley Kickhams) |
| FF | 14 | John Gallagher (John Mitchels) |
| LCF | 15 | Conor Gillespie (St Mary's) |
| Substitutes: ||
| | 16 | Adam Molloy (Na Piarsaigh) for McGauley |
| | 17 | Conor Nicholson (Dundalk Gaels) for Malone |
| | 18 | Shane Hickey (Mattock Rangers) for Morgan |
| | 19 | Nicky Browne (St Mochta's) for Mooney |
| | 20 | Shane Byrne (Roche Emmets) for Gillespie |
| | 21 | Keelan O'Neill (Glen Emmets) for Garland |
| | 22 | Dean McGreehan (Cooley Kickhams) for Grey |

### 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 followed a knock-out format.

#### Munster Main Draw

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Munster Final | Munster Final | Munster Final |
| Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-8 | | | | | | |
| Cork | Cork | 3-21 | Cork | Cork | 1-10 | | | |
| Kerry | Kerry | 2-16 | Kerry | Kerry | 2-17 | | | |
| Clare | Clare | 1-6 | | | | Kerry | Kerry | 2-21 |
| | | | | | | Clare | Clare | 0-3 |
| | | | Limerick | Limerick | 0-12 | | | |
| Limerick | Limerick | 1-10 | Clare | Clare | 3-13 | | | |
| Waterford | Waterford | 0-9 | | | | | | |

#### Munster Playoff Rounds 1 and 2

The three beaten teams 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 1 | Playoff 1 | Playoff 2 | Playoff 2 | Playoff 2 |
| Clare | Clare | 5-11 | | | |
| Waterford | Waterford | 0-6 | Clare | Clare | 0-10 |
| | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 0-5 |

#### Munster Quarter-finals

| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | Tipperary | 1-8 - 3-21 | Cork | Semple Stadium Referee: Richard Moloney (Limerick) |
| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | | Report | | Semple Stadium Referee: Richard Moloney (Limerick) |
| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | Kerry | 2-16 - 1-6 | Clare | Austin Stack Park Referee: David Murnane (Cork) |
| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | | Report | | Austin Stack Park Referee: David Murnane (Cork) |
| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | Limerick | 1-10 - 0-9 | Waterford | Gaelic Grounds Referee: David Grogan (Tipperary) |
| 12 April 2017 Quarter-final | | Report | | Gaelic Grounds Referee: David Grogan (Tipperary) |

#### Munster Semi-finals

| 10 May 2017 Semi-final | Cork | 1-10 - 2-17 | Kerry | Pairc Ui Rinn |
| 10 May 2017 Semi-final | | Report | | Pairc Ui Rinn |
| 10 May 2017 Semi-final | Limerick | 0-12 - 3-13 | Clare | Gaelic Grounds |
| 10 May 2017 Semi-final | | Report | | Gaelic Grounds |

#### Munster final
### Ulster Minor Football Championship
#### Ulster Format

All nine Ulster teams competed with the fixtures mirroring the senior fixtures i.e. if Derry are drawn to play Tyrone in their first match in the senior championship then Derry minors play Tyrone minors in their first match. Often the minor teams played immediately before the seniors. All matches followed a knock-out format.
The winners receive the Fr. Murray Cup.

#### Ulster Main Draw

| Preliminary round | Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Ulster Final | Ulster Final | Ulster Final |
| | | Donegal | Donegal | | | | | | | |
| | | Antrim | Antrim | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Derry | Derry | 3-17 | | | |
| | | | | | Antrim | Antrim | 0-9 | | | |
| | | Derry | Derry | 0-18 | | | | | | |
| | | Tyrone | Tyrone | 1-14 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Derry | Derry | 2-22 |
| | | | | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 1-12 |
| | | Down | Down | | | | | | | |
| | | Armagh | Armagh | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | Down | Down | 2-7 | | | |
| | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 0-15 | | | |
| | | Cavan | Cavan | | | | | | | |
| Monaghan | Monaghan | Monaghan | Monaghan | | | | | | | |
| Fermanagh | Fermanagh | | | | | | | | | |

#### Ulster Preliminary round

| First round | Monaghan | 1-17 - 2-7 | Fermanagh | St. Tiernach's Park Referee: Stephen Campbell |

#### Ulster Quarter-finals

| 21 May 2017 Quarter-final | Donegal | 2-14 - 0-21 | Antrim | MacCumhaill Park Referee: Paul McKeever |
| 28 May 2017 Quarter-final | Derry | 0-18 - 1-14 | Tyrone | Celtic Park |
| 28 May 2017 Quarter-final | | Report | | Celtic Park |
| 28 May 2017 Quarter-final | Cavan | 3-14 - 1-15 | Monaghan | Breffni Park |
| 4 June 2017 Quarter-final | Down | 2-13 - 2-11 | Armagh | Páirc Esler |

#### Ulster Semi-finals

| 18 June 2017 12:00 pm Semi-final | Derry | 3-17 - 0-9 | Antrim | St Tiernach's Park, Clones |
| 24 June 2017 Semi-final | Cavan | 0-15 - 2-7 | Down |

#### Ulster final

| 16 July 2017 Noon Final | Derry | 1-22 - 2-12 | Cavan | St Tiernach's Park, Clones Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan) Man of the Match: Padraig McGrogan |
| 16 July 2017 Noon Final | Ben McCarron 1-3, Lorcan McWillians 0-6 (0-3f), Paddy Quigg 0-4 (0-1f), Declan Cassidy 0-3, Conleth McShane, Padraig McGrogan, Oisin McWilliams (0-1f), Tiarnan McHugh, Fergal Mortimer, Alex Doherty 0-1 each | Report | Philip Rogers 1-2, James Smith 1-0, Cian Madden and Oisin Pierson (0-2f) 0-3 each, Patrick Lynch (0-1f) and John Cooke 0-2 each | St Tiernach's Park, Clones Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan) Man of the Match: Padraig McGrogan |

## All-Ireland
### All-Ireland Main Draw

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
l

### All-Ireland Quarter-finals

The four provincial champions played the four beaten finalists from the provincial championships.

### All-Ireland 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.
| 20 August 1:30 pm Semi-final | Kerry | 2-22 - 2-10 | Cavan | Croke Park, Dublin Man of the Match: David Clifford (Fossa) |
| 20 August 1:30 pm Semi-final | | Report | | Croke Park, Dublin Man of the Match: David Clifford (Fossa) |
| 27 August 2:00 pm Semi-final | Dublin | 0-14 - 0-17 | Derry | Croke Park, Dublin Referee: Sean Lonergan Man of the Match: Lorcan McWilliams (Swatragh) |
| 27 August 2:00 pm Semi-final | James Doran 0-6, David Lacey 0-5 (0-4f), Ross McGarry 0-2, Sean Hawshaw 0-1 | Report | Paddy Quigg (0-4f) and Lorcan McWilliams (0-4f) 0-5 each, Ben McCarron 0-3 (0-2f), Oisin McWilliams, Richie Mullan, Mark McGrogan, Jon Paul Devlin 0-1 each | Croke Park, Dublin Referee: Sean Lonergan Man of the Match: Lorcan McWilliams (Swatragh) |

### All-Ireland final
## Miscellaneous

* Kerry win a fourth consecutive All-Ireland minor title. This is the first time this has been achieved since the beginning of the Minor Championship.
* Kerry set a new record of 24 consecutive wins since their last defeat in the 2013 All-Ireland Quarter-final defeat to Tyrone.