# 2023 Tailteann Cup

The 2023 Tailteann Cup was the second edition of the Tailteann Cup, a Gaelic football competition contested by the seventeen county teams that did not qualify for a provincial final, including New York (the other teams compeeted for the Sam Maguire Cup). These teams initially competed in their provincial championship and if they reached their provincial final, they continued in the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, progressing to the All-Ireland group stage.
The final was played on 15 July 2023 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Meath and Down. Meath won after defeating Down 2–13 to 0–14.

## Format
### Cup format

The 17 teams who competed in the 2023 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship but did not qualify for the round-robin group stages compete in the Tailteann Cup. Limerick and Meath enter the Tailteann Cup for the first time.
New York advance directly to the preliminary quarter-finals. The other 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four teams. Seeding is determined by placing in the 2023 National Football League (after promotion and relegation is applied and after division finals take place).
The Group Stage is divided into four groups of four teams, with each team in a group playing the other teams in their group once; each team gets one home fixture, one away and one neutral. Teams are awarded two points for a win and one point for a draw.
The four preliminary quarter-finals will consist of the second-placed teams receiving home advantage against New York and the three third-placed teams with the best record. At the quarter-final stage the four group winners play the four preliminary quarter-final winners.
The semi-finals and final are played in Croke Park. All knock-out matches are winner on the day. The winner of the 2023 Tailteann Cup qualify for the group stage of 2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship regardless of their league position.

### Teams by province

The participating teams, listed by province, with numbers in parentheses indicating final positions in the 2023 National Football League before the championship were:
Britain (1)
* London (32)
Connacht (1)
* Leitrim (29)
Leinster (7)
* Carlow (30)
* Laois (27)
* Longford (25)
* Meath (14) (debut)
* Offaly (21)
* Wexford (28)
* Wicklow (24)
Munster (3)
* Limerick (18) (debut)
* Tipperary (26)
* Waterford (31)
Ulster (4)
* Antrim (22)
* Cavan (15)
* Down (19)
* Fermanagh (16)
America (1)
* New York (DNE)

## Team changes
### To Championship

Relegated from the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
* Limerick
* Meath

### From Championship

Promoted to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
* Sligo
* Westmeath

## Teams
### General information

Seventeen county teams competed in the Tailteann Cup:
| County | Last Cup title | Last Provincial Title | Last All-Ireland Title | Position in 2022 | Appearance |
| Antrim | — | 1951 | — | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Down | — | 1994 | 1994 | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Carlow | — | 1944 | — | Quarter-finals | 2nd |
| Cavan | — | 2020 | 1952 | Runners-up | 2nd |
| Fermanagh | — | — | — | Quarter-finals | 2nd |
| Laois | — | 2003 | — | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Leitrim | — | 1994 | — | Quarter-finals | 2nd |
| Limerick | — | 1896 | 1896 | Round 2 (All-Ireland Senior Football Championship) | 1st |
| London | — | — | — | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Longford | — | 1968 | — | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Meath | — | 2010 | 1999 | Round 1 (All-Ireland Senior Football Championship) | 1st |
| Offaly | — | 1997 | 1982 | Semi-finals | 2nd |
| New York | — | — | — | Quarter-finals | 2nd |
| Tipperary | — | 2020 | 1920 | Round 1 | 2nd |
| Waterford | — | 1898 | — | Preliminary round | 2nd |
| Wexford | — | 1945 | 1918 | Preliminary round | 2nd |
| Wicklow | — | — | — | Round 1 | 2nd |

### Personnel and kits

| County | Manager | Captain(s) | Sponsor |
| Antrim | Andy McEntee | Peter Healy | Fibrus |
| Carlow | Niall Carew | Sean Gannon | SETU |
| Cavan | Mickey Graham | Raymond Galligan | Kingspan Group |
| Down | Conor Laverty | Pierce Laverty | EOS IT Solutions |
| Fermanagh | Kieran Donnelly | Declan McCusker | Tracey Concrete |
| Laois | Billy Sheehan | Trevor Collins and Evan O’Carroll | MW Hire Group |
| Leitrim | Andy Moran | Donal Wrynn | J. P. Clarke's Saloon, New York |
| Limerick | Mark Fitzgerald | Iain Corbett and Donal O’Sullivan | JP McManus |
| London | Michael Maher | Liam Gavaghan | Clayton Hotel |
| Longford | Paddy Christie | Patrick Fox | Glennon Brothers |
| Meath | Colm O'Rourke | Donal Keogan | Bective Stud, Tea Rooms and Apartments |
| New York | Johnny McGeeney | Johnny Glynn | Navillus |
| Offaly | Martin Murphy | Declan Hogan | Glenisk |
| Tipperary | David Power | Conor Sweeney | Fiserv |
| Waterford | Ephie Fitzgerald | Dermot Ryan | Cognizant |
| Wexford | John Hegarty | Liam Coleman | Zurich Insurance Group |
| Wicklow | Oisín McConville | Padraig O’Toole | Renault |

## Draws
### Group stage seeding

Numbers in brackets indicate ranking in the 2023 NFL.
Pot 1
* Meath (14)
* Cavan (15)
* Fermanagh (16)
* Limerick (18)
Pot 2
* Down (19)
* Offaly (21)
* Antrim (22)
* Wicklow (24)
Pot 3
* Longford (25)
* Tipperary (26)
* Laois (27)
* Wexford (28)
Pot 4
* Leitrim (29)
* Carlow (30)
* Waterford (31)
* London (32)
New York (33) enter the Tailteann Cup at the preliminary quarter-final stage.

### Knockout stage seeding

The preliminary quarter-final draw took place on 4 June 2023 on RTÉ Radio 1.
Seeded into quarter-finals
* Cavan (1st Group 1)
* Limerick (1st Group 2)
* Meath (1st Group 3)
* Antrim (1st Group 4)
Seeded into preliminary quarter-finals
* Offaly (2nd Group 1)
* Down (2nd Group 2)
* Carlow (2nd Group 3)
* Fermanagh (2nd Group 4)
Unseeded in preliminary quarter-finals
* Laois (3rd Group 1)
* Longford (3rd Group 3)
* Wexford (3rd Group 4)
* New York (automatically placed in preliminary quarter-finals)

## Group stage
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Cavan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 44 | +31 | 6 | Advance to quarter-final |
| 2 | Offaly | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 56 | −7 | 3 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 3 | Laois | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 2 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 4 | London | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 43 | 58 | −15 | 1 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Meath | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 62 | 40 | +22 | 6 | Advance to quarter-final |
| 2 | Down | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 56 | 29 | +27 | 4 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 3 | Tipperary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 2 | |
| 4 | Waterford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 63 | −21 | 0 | |

### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Limerick | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 57 | 53 | +4 | 4 | Advance to quarter-final |
| 2 | Carlow | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 50 | 55 | −5 | 4 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 3 | Longford | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 2 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 4 | Wicklow | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 2 | |
* 1 2 Limerick are ranked ahead of Carlow as they won the head-to-head game between the teams
* 1 2 Longford are ranked ahead of Wicklow as they won the head-to-head game between the teams

### Group 4

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Antrim | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 47 | +23 | 6 | Advance to quarter-final |
| 2 | Fermanagh | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 53 | 51 | +2 | 3 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 3 | Wexford | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 3 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 4 | Leitrim | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 46 | 68 | −22 | 0 | |
* 1 2 Fermanagh and Wexford are ranked by points difference as the head-to-head game between the teams was a draw.

### Ranking of third-placed teams

| Pos | Grp | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | 4 | Wexford | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 52 | −3 | 3 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 2 | 3 | Longford | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 62 | 56 | +6 | 2 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 3 | 1 | Laois | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 51 | 60 | −9 | 2 | Advance to preliminary quarter-final |
| 4 | 2 | Tipperary | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 62 | −28 | 2 | |

## Knockout stage

| Preliminary quarter-finals | Preliminary quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| | | Cavan | 0–15 | | | | |
| Down | 1–20 | Down | 1–17 | | | | |
| Longford | 1–12 | | | Down | 8–16 | | |
| | | | | Laois | 2–12 | | |
| | | Limerick | 0–14 | | | | |
| Fermanagh | 1–9 | Laois | 1–14 | | | | |
| Laois | 1–11 | | | | | Down | 0–14 |
| | | | | | | Meath | 2–13 |
| | | Meath | 2–23 | | | | |
| Offaly | 2–14 | Wexford | 0–12 | | | | |
| Wexford | 1–22 | | | Meath | 2–16 | | |
| | | | | Antrim | 2–14 | | |
| | | Antrim | 1–19 | | | | |
| Carlow | 0–15 | Carlow | 1–15 | | | | |
| New York | 0–10 | | | | | | |

### Final
## Stadia and locations

| County | Location | Province | Stadium | Capacity |
| Antrim | Belfast | Ulster | Corrigan Park | 3,700 |
| Carlow | Carlow | Leinster | Dr Cullen Park | 21,000 |
| Cavan | Cavan | Ulster | Breffni Park | 32,000 |
| Down | Newry | Ulster | Páirc Esler | |
| Fermanagh | Enniskillen | Ulster | Brewster Park | 20,000 |
| Laois | Portlaoise | Leinster | O'Moore Park | 27,000 |
| Leitrim | Carrick-on-Shannon | Connacht | Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada | 9,331 |
| Limerick | Limerick | Munster | Gaelic Grounds | |
| London | South Ruislip | Britain | McGovern Park | 3,000 |
| Longford | Longford | Leinster | Pearse Park | 10,000 |
| Meath | Navan | Leinster | Páirc Tailteann | |
| New York | Bronx | North America | Gaelic Park | 2,000 |
| Offaly | Tullamore | Leinster | O'Connor Park | 20,000 |
| Tipperary | Thurles | Munster | Semple Stadium | 45,690 |
| Waterford | Waterford | Munster | Fraher Field | 15,000 |
| Wexford | Wexford | Leinster | Chadwicks Wexford Park | 20,000 |
| Wicklow | Aughrim | Leinster | Aughrim County Ground | 7,000 |

## Championship statistics
### Scoring events

* Widest winning margin: 22 points
** Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois (Semi Final)
* Most goals in a match: 10
** Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois (Semi Final)
* Most points in a match: 35
** Meath 2-23 – 0-12 Wexford (quarter-final)
* Most goals by one team in a match: 8
** Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois (Semi Final)
* Most points by one team in a match: 25
** Cavan 2-25 - 2-09 Offaly (Round 3)
* Highest aggregate score: 58 points
** Down 8-16 - 2-12 Laois (Semi Final)
* Lowest aggregate score: 25 points
** Carlow 0-15 — 0-10 New York (preliminary quarter final)

## Miscellaneous

* Meath win their 1st championship in 13 years, last winning the 2010 Leinster Senior Football Championship.
* Limerick and Meath make their debuts in the Tailteann Cup.
* Carlow and New York meet in championship football for the first time.