# 1998 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

The 1998 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 112th edition of the GAA's premier Gaelic football competition. The championship began on 3 May 1998 and ended on 27 September 1998.
Galway's 1-14 to 1-10 victory over Kildare in the All-Ireland final meant that the Sam Maguire Cup returned to the county and the province of Connacht for the first time since 1966. This was Galway's eighth All-Ireland triumph in all. Kildare, managed by Mick O'Dwyer, had defeated the 1995 champions Dublin and the 1996 champions Meath to win their first Leinster title since 1956, before defeating the 1997 champions Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final.

## Format

The Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connacht championships were conducted as straight knock-out competitions. The Munster football championship for the 2nd year running had Kerry, Cork and Clare as byes to the semi-finals while Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford played a lone-first-round game with the bye team in a lone quarter final. The winners of each provincial competition went on to play in the All Ireland semi-finals.

## Results
### Connacht Senior Football Championship

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Sligo | Sligo | 0-14 | | | | | | |
| London | London | 1-07 | Sligo | Sligo | 0-15 | | | |
| | | | Roscommon | Roscommon | 1-13 | | | |
| | | | | | | Roscommon | Roscommon | 0-17 |
| | | | | | | Galway | Galway | 1-17 |
| | | | Leitrim | Leitrim | 0-05 | | | |
| Mayo | Mayo | 2-06 | Galway | Galway | 1-16 | | | |
| Galway | Galway | 1-13 | | | | | | |
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Finals

### Leinster Senior Football Championship

| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Kildare | Kildare | 0-12 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Dublin | Dublin | 1-8 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Kildare | Kildare | 2-13 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Laois | Laois | 0-8 | | | |
| | | | | | | Laois | Laois | 1-15 | | | | | | |
| Westmeath | Westmeath | 1-18 | | | | Westmeath | Westmeath | 0-15 | | | | | | |
| Carlow | Carlow | 2-5 | Westmeath | Westmeath | 3-14 | | | | | | | | | |
| Longford | Longford | 0-16 (1-16) | Longford | Longford | 1-13 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wexford | Wexford | 2-17 (2-13) | | | | | | | | | | Kildare | Kildare | 1-12 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Meath | Meath | 0-10 |
| | | | | | | Louth | Louth | 3-14 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Wicklow | Wicklow | 1-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Meath | Meath | 0-15 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Louth | Louth | 1-11 | | | |
| | | | | | | Meath | Meath | 3-10 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Offaly | Offaly | 0-7 | | | | | | |
First round
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final

### Munster Senior Football Championship

| First round | First round | First round | Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Quarter-final | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | | | | Clare | Clare | 0-12 | | | |
| | | | | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-16 | | | |
| | | | Waterford | Waterford | 0-07 | | | | | | |
| Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-13 | Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-16 | | | | | | |
| Limerick | Limerick | 1-12 | | | | | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 1-10 |
| | | | | | | | | | Kerry | Kerry | 0-17 |
| | | | | | | Cork | Cork | 1-11 | | | |
| | | | | | | Kerry | Kerry | 1-14 | | | |
First round
Quarter-final
Semi-finals
Final

### Ulster Senior Football Championship

| Preliminary round | Preliminary round | Preliminary round | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| | | | Monaghan | Monaghan | 0-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | Derry | Derry | 3-13 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Derry | Derry | 2-13 | | | |
| Tyrone | Tyrone | 2-07 | | | | Armagh | Armagh | 1-12 | | | |
| Down | Down | 0-15 | Down | Down | 0-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | Armagh | Armagh | 0-16 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Derry | Derry | 1-07 |
| | | | | | | | | | Donegal | Donegal | 0-08 |
| | | | Antrim | Antrim | 0-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | Donegal | Donegal | 1-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Donegal | Donegal | 0-15 | | | |
| | | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 0-13 | | | |
| | | | Fermanagh | Fermanagh | 0-11 | | | | | | |
| | | | Cavan | Cavan | 0-13 | | | | | | |
Preliminary round
Quarter-finals
Semi-final
Final

### All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| Kildare | Kildare | 0-13 | | | |
| Kerry | Kerry | 1-09 | | | |
| Kerry | Kerry | 1-09 | Kildare | Kildare | 1-10 |
| | | | Galway | Galway | 1-14 |
| Galway | Galway | 0-16 | Galway | Galway | 1-14 |
| Derry | Derry | 1-08 | | | |
Semi-finals
Final

## Championship statistics
### Miscellaneous

* Kildare win the Leinster Championship for the first time since 1956, and reach their first All Ireland final since 1935.
* The Galway-Derry All Ireland semi-final was the first meeting of them.
* Galway won the All Ireland title for 1st in 32 years also were the first Connacht team since then to do so.

### Top scorers
#### Overall

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Declan Browne | Tipperary | 2-29 | 35 | 4 | 8.75 |
| 2 | Eddie Lohan | Roscommon | 1-27 | 30 | 4 | 7.50 |
| 3 | Pádraic Joyce | Galway | 1-24 | 27 | 6 | 4.50 |
| 4 | Pádraic Graven | Kildare | 1-20 | 23 | 6 | 3.83 |
| 5 | Maurice Fitzgerald | Kerry | 1-18 | 21 | 3 | 7.00 |
| 5 | Niall Finnegan | Galway | 1-18 | 21 | 6 | 3.50 |
| 7 | Ger Heavin | Westmeath | 2-14 | 20 | 3 | 6.66 |
| 8 | Dessie Barry | Longford | 1-16 | 19 | 3 | 6.33 |
| 9 | Paul Taylor | Sligo | 0-17 | 17 | 3 | 5.66 |
| 10 | Pádraic Davis | Sligo | 0-16 | 16 | 3 | 5.33 |
| 10 | Jarlath Fallon | Galway | 0-16 | 16 | 6 | 2.66 |

#### Single game

| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Declan Browne | Tipperary | 1-07 | 10 | Clare |
| 1 | Maurice Fitzgerald | Kerry | 0-10 | 10 | Tipperary |
| 3 | Declan Browne | Tipperary | 1-06 | 9 | Limerick |
| 3 | Eddie Lohan | Roscommon | 1-06 | 9 | Sligo |
| 3 | Dessie Barry | Longford | 0-09 | 9 | Wexford |
| 3 | Declan Browne | Tipperary | 0-09 | 9 | Waterford |
| 7 | Ger Heavin | Westmeath | 1-05 | 8 | Carlow |
| 7 | Declan Darcy | Dublin | 1-05 | 8 | Kildare |
| 7 | Ger Heavin | Westmeath | 1-05 | 8 | Longford |
| 7 | Colin Kelly | Louth | 1-05 | 8 | Wicklow |
| 7 | Paul Taylor | Sligo | 0-08 | 8 | Roscommon |
| 7 | Eddie Lohan | Roscommon | 0-08 | 8 | Galway |
| 7 | Eddie Lohan | Roscommon | 0-08 | 8 | Galway |
| 7 | Pádraic Davis | Longford | 0-08 | 8 | Wexford |
| 7 | Declan Smyth | Monaghan | 0-08 | 8 | Derry |
| 7 | Pádraic Joyce | Galway | 0-08 | 8 | Derry |

## Roll of Honour

* Kerry - 31 (1997)
* Dublin - 22 (1995)
* Galway - 8 (1998)
* Meath - 6 (1996)
* Cork - 6 (1990)
* Down - 5 (1994)
* Wexford - 5 (1918)
* Cavan - 5 (1952)
* Kildare - 4 (1928)
* Tipperary - 4 (1920)
* Offaly - 3 (1982)
* Louth - 3 (1957)
* Mayo - 3 (1951)
* Roscommon - 2 (1944)
* Limerick - 2 (1896)
* Donegal - 1 (1992)
* Derry - 1 (1993)