Armagh county football team
The Armagh county football team represents Armagh in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Armagh GAA, the County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team compete in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Armagh's home ground is the Athletic Grounds, Armagh. The team's manager is Kieran McGeeney.
The team last won the Ulster Senior Championship in 2008, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 2002 and the National League in 2005.
History
Armagh became only the second team to win the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 1890. In the early years of the GAA, a club that won its county championship went on to represent the county and would also wear the county colours. Armagh Harps represented Armagh in the Ulster final, beating Tyrone (Cookstown's Owen Roes), but losing to All-Ireland Champions Cork (Midleton) in the All-Ireland Semi-Final.
Despite early success at provincial level, national success at junior and minor level and All-Ireland final appearances in 1953 and 1977, it took until 2002 for Armagh to win their first and only All-Ireland Senior Football Championship under manager Joe Kernan. The county won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, in 1949 and again in 2009, but lost the 1957 All-Ireland Minor final to Meath.
After a disappointing 2009 campaign which resulted in Armagh being defeated by Tyrone, Peter McDonnell stepped down as Armagh manager. He was replaced by Paddy O'Rourke, who is from the neighbouring county of Down. Paddy O'Rourke was replaced by Paul Grimley who managed Armagh for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In 2015 Kieran McGeeney took over as manager in a five-year contract that was extended by a year in 2019 to 2020.
The Era of the Two Brians (1995 - 2001)
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 38 | 13 | 5 | 56 |
| Games Won | 18 | 7 | 2 | 27 |
| Percentage Won | 47.37% | 53.85% | 40.00% | 48.22% |
Joe Kernan's Golden Era (2002 - 2006)
Joe Kernan is widely regarded as Armagh's most successful manager having won one League title, four Ulster Championships and one All Ireland Championship.
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 38 | 18 | 14 | 70 |
| Games Won | 23 | 14 | 10 | 47 |
| Percentage Won | 60.53% | 77.77% | 71.43% | 67.14% |
Peter McDonnell Era (2007 - 2009)
Peter McDonnell was appointed Armagh managed for the 2007–2009 seasons. During his time as Armagh manager, McDonnell won one Ulster Championship.
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 21 | 6 | 3 | 30 |
| Games Won | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| Percentage Won | 47.62% | 50.0% | 0.0% | 43.33% |
Paddy O'Rourke Era (2010 - 2012)
Paddy O'Rourke was appointed Armagh manager between 2010 and 2012. During this time Paddy O'Rourke won the National Football League Division 2 title.
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 22 | 5 | 7 | 34 |
| Games Won | 10 | 2 | 1 | 13 |
| Percentage Won | 45.45% | 40.00% | 14.29% | 38.23% |
Paul Grimley Era (2013 - 2014)
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 14 | 4 | 7 | 25 |
| Games Won | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| Percentage Won | 28.57% | 25.00% | 71.43% | 40.00% |
Kieran McGeeney Era (2015 - Present)
In 2015 Kieran McGeeney took over as manager of Armagh after Paul Grimley resigned following a 1-point defeat in an All Ireland quarter final to Donegal in 2014. In his first season as Armagh manager, McGeeney secured promotion to division 2 of the National Football League after beating Fermanagh in the final.
In his first Ulster championship game as manager, Armagh were defeated by Donegal on a scoreline of 0–8 to 2-11. Armagh's championship continued through the qualifiers where they managed a win over Wicklow but were then defeated by Galway in round 2.
The 2016 NFL campaign ended with four teams finishing on the same points but by virtue of having a poor scoring difference Armagh were relegated to division 3. In the 2016 Ulster championship, Armagh suffered a defeat at the hands of Cavan forcing Armagh to continue their championship through the backdoor which resulted in a defeat to Laois in round 1.
Armagh's 2017 NFL campaign ended with Tipperary beating Armagh in the last league game, this resulted in Armagh missing out on promotion back to division 2.
In the Ulster championship Armagh went out to neighbours Down. However, Armagh recovered with wins over Fermanagh, Westmeath, Tipperary and Kildare to book a place in the All Ireland quarter finals where they were defeated by rivals Tyrone.
Armagh started the 2018 season with promotion to division 2 but their Ulster championship ended with a loss to Fermanagh in the quarter final. Armagh continued their championship in round 1 of the qualifiers where they beat Westmeath, Sligo and Clare GAA but were unable to overcome Connacht finalists Roscommon.
The 2019 campaign started off with Armagh securing their division 2 status. Armagh's 2019 Ulster championships started off with a quarter final win against neighbours Down which would mark Kieran McGeeney's first win in Ulster as manager of Armagh. In the quarter final Cavan and Armagh were inseparable in the first game but Cavan took the victory in the replay.
In the qualifiers Armagh were pitted against Monaghan winning the game 2–17 to 1-12. In round 3 of the qualifiers Armagh were drawn against Mayo who would eventually defeat the Orchard county by a point.
| NFL | Provincial | All Ireland | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games Played | 40 | 6 | 14 | 61 |
| Games Won | 23 | 1 | 9 | 34 |
| Percentage won | 57.5% | 16.66% | 64.29% | 55.74% |
[As of 8 March 2020]
Honours
All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 1
| Year | Squad[1] | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Benny Tierney, Enda McNulty, Justin McNulty, Francis Bellew, Aidan O'Rourke, Kieran McGeeney, A. McCann, Paul McGrane, J. Toal, P. McKeever, John McEntee, Oisín McConville, Stevie McDonnell, Rónán Clarke, Diarmuid Marsden. Subs: B. O'Hagan for McEntee, T. McEntee for McKeever. | Armagh 1-12 Kerry 0-14 |
All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 1
| Year | Squad | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | G. Wilson, G. Smyth, F. Moriarty, Andy Mallon, Aaron Kernan, Ciaran McKeever, B. McDonald, M. Mackin, G. Swift, G. Loughran, S. Kernan, P. Toal, M. McNamee, R. Austin, B. Mallon. Subs - P. Duffy, B. Toner, J. Murtagh, M. Moore, S. O'Neill. | Armagh 2-08 Mayo 1-09 |
All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 2
| Year | Squad | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | L. McCorry, E. McCann, J. Brattan, J. McKnight, F. Kernan, B. O’Neill, T. McConville, E. Mee, S. Collins, T. Connolly, S. Blaney, J. Cunningham, S. Smith, P.J. McKeever, B. McGrane. Sub - M. McKnight for Collins. | Armagh 1-07 Kerry 1-05 |
| 2009 | S. O’Reilly, K. Downey, R. Finnegan, K. Nugent, D. McKenna, N. Rowland, J. Morgan, P. Carragher (0-1), J. Donnelly, R. Grugan (0-1, 0-1f), A. Murnin (0-1), C. King, R. Tasker (0-3), E. McVerry (0-3, 0-1f), G. McParland. Sub - C. McCafferty for Finnegan ’53, T. McAlinden (0-1) for McVerry ’54. | Armagh 0-10 Mayo 0-07 |
All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 1
| Year | Squad | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| 1926 | C. Morgan, H. Cumiskey, Gene Hanratty, J. Vallely, Joe Harney, J. Maguire, Owen Connolly, J. Corrigan, F. McAvinchey, F. Toner, P. Fearon, J. Kernan, H. Arthurs, J. Donaghy, J. McCusker. Sub - J. McEntee for McAvinchey. | Armagh 4-11 Dublin 0-04 |
| Year | Squad | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | P. Hearty; Andy Mallon, Francis Bellew, P. McCormack 0–1; Aaron Kernan 0–1, Kieran McGeeney, C. McKeever; J. Toal, Paul McGrane; M. O'Rourke, John McEntee 0–1, Oisín McConville 0–2; Stevie McDonnell 0-10, Rónán Clarke 0–2, B. Mallon 0–4. Subs - P. McKeever 1–0, A. McCann, J. McNulty, P. Loughran, A. O'Rourke. | Armagh 1-21 Wexford 1-14 |
- Ulster Senior Football Championships: 14
- 1890, 1903, 1950, 1953, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008
- Ulster Under-21 Football Championships: 3
- 1998, 2004, 2007
- Ulster Minor Football Championships: 11
- 1930, 1949, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1968, 1992, 1994, 2005, 2009
- Ulster Junior Football Championships: 6
- 1925, 1926, 1935, 1948, 1951, 1985
- Dr. McKenna Cup: 9
- 1929, 1931, 1938, 1939, 1949, 1950, 1986, 1990, 1994
- Dr Lagan Cups:
- 1954, 1955, 1956
All Stars
Armagh has a total of 24 All Star awards.
- 1972: P. Moriarty
- 1977: Joe Kernan, J. Smyth, P. Moriarty (2nd All Star)
- 1980: Colm McKinstry
- 1982: Joe Kernan (2nd)
- 1993: Ger Houlahan
- 1999: Kieran McGeeney, Diarmuid Marsden
- 2000: Kieran McGeeney (2nd), Oisín McConville
- 2002: Enda McNulty, Aidan O'Rourke, Kieran McGeeney (3rd), Paul McGrane, Stevie McDonnell, Oisín McConville (2nd)
- 2003: Francie Bellew, Stevie McDonnell (2nd)
- 2005: Andy Mallon, Paul McGrane (2nd), Stevie McDonnell (3rd)
- 2006: Rónán Clarke
- 2008: Rónán Clarke (2nd)
Current squad
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Squad as per Armagh vs Roscommon, 2018 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
2020 results
| Competition | Home Team | Home Team Score | Away Team | Away Team Score | Link to report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NFL 2020 Round 1 | Armagh | 2-18 | Cavan | 1-08 | Match Report |
| NFL 2020 Round 2 | Laois | 0-16 | Armagh | 0-10 | Match Report |
| NFL 2020 Round 3 | Armagh | 0-16 | Kildare | 0-10 | Match Report |
| NFL 2020 Round 4 | Westmeath | 3-12 | Armagh | 2-15 | Match Report |
| NFL 2020 Round 5 | Fermanagh | 0-10 | Armagh | 3-14 | Match Report |
| NFL 2020 Round 6 | Armagh | Score | Roscommon | Score | Enter Link |
| NFL 2020 Round 7 | Clare | Score | Armagh | Score | Enter Link |
| Ulster Quarter Final | Derry | Score | Armagh | Score | Enter Link |