The 2012

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

was the 126th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

tournament, played between 31 counties of Ireland (excluding Kilkenny who only take part in the hurling championship),

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The

2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final The 2012 All-Ireland Football Final, the 125th event of its kind and the culmination of the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, was played at Croke Park, Dublin, on 23 September 2012. Donegal and Mayo, widely considered "one of the mos ...

took place at

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

on 23 September 2012, with

Donegal Donegal may refer to: County Donegal, Ireland * County Donegal, a county in the Republic of Ireland, part of the province of Ulster * Donegal (town), a town in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland * Donegal Bay, an inlet in the northwest of Ireland b ...

emerging victorious. Having reclaimed the

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

with wins over

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, Tyrone and Down, they met and bet

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

in the All-Ireland quarter-final, in what was widely considered the game of the Championship. They then overcame

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in the semi-final and

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the final in

Jim McGuinness Jim McGuinness (born 16 November 1972) is an association football coach and former Gaelic footballer, coach and Manager (Gaelic games), manager, who won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship as both player and manager with the Donegal ...

's second season in charge, allowing team captain

Michael Murphy Michael, Mick, or Mike Murphy may refer to: Artists and entertainers * Michael Murphy (actor) (born 1938), American actor * Mike Murphy (musician) (1946–2006), American drummer for the Bee Gees and Chicago * Michael Bryan Murphy, lead singer ...

to hold the

Sam Maguire Cup The Sam Maguire Cup ( ga, Chorn Sam Mhic Uidhir), often referred to as Sam or The Sam , is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the main competiti ...

aloft.

Colm McFadden Colm Anthony McFadden ( ga, Colm Antóin Mac Pháidín; born 1982/3) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays at full forward for St Michael's and, from 2002 to 2016, for the Donegal county team. McFadden is Donegal's most-capped Championship ...

finished as the competition's top scorer and

Karl Lacey Karl Lacey (born 10 September 1984) is an Irish Gaelic football coach who plays for Four Masters and also, formerly, for the Donegal county team. His county's most decorated individual, his personal achievements include four All Star awards� ...

was named the competition's best player.

Teams

A total of 33 teams contested the championship. These included 31 teams from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

as well as

and

. As in previous years,

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

decided not to field a team.

Referees

Ahead of the 2012 Championship, three referees joined the panel:

Conor Lane Conor Lane is a Gaelic football referee. He is a member of the Banteer/Lyre club in County Cork and has refereed three All-Ireland SFC finals. Career Conor Lane was appointed to the national panel of referees for the senior championship panel ...

Banteer Banteer () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland located in the Civic Parish of Clonmeen in the Barony of Duhallow. It is near the town of Mallow. Banteer is within the Cork North-West Dáil constituency. History In 1651, the Battle of Kn ...

, Martin Higgins of

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh ( ga, Fir Manach), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of al ...

and Barry Cassidy of

. ;2012 Championship referees' panel * Barry Cassidy (Derry) *

David Coldrick David Coldrick is a Gaelic football referee from County Meath. A member of the Blackhall Gaels club, he has refereed four finals of the All-Ireland SFC. Seán Moran, writing in ''The Irish Times'' in 2015, described Coldrick as "one of the l ...

(Meath) *

Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to: * Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician * Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...

(Cork) *

Maurice Deegan Maurice Deegan (born 1972) is a former inter-county referee from County Laois. A member of the Stradbally club, he refereed three finals of the All-Ireland SFC. Career Deegan began refereeing when the Stradbally club secretary asked if he would ...

(Laois) * Syl Doyle (Wexford) * Marty Duffy (Sligo) * Michael Duffy (Sligo) * Derek Fahy (Longford) * Rory Hickey (Clare) * Martin Higgins (Fermanagh) *

Pádraig Hughes Pádraig Hughes is a Gaelic football referee from Armagh. He is a regular member of the Gaelic Athletic Association's Championship Panels for inter-county games. Hughes injured himself against Eamonn Doherty when he was officiating the Dublin ...

(Armagh) *

Eddie Kinsella Eddie Kinsella is a former Gaelic football referee from County Laois. He is a member of the Courtwood club. Kinsella refereed the 2014 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final between Donegal and Kerry at Croke Park. Before this he had re ...

(Laois) *

(Cork) *

Joe McQuillan Joe McQuillan is a Gaelic football referee. He is a member of the Kill Shamrocks club in County Cavan. McQuillan has refereed four All-Ireland finals: the 2011 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, 2011 decider between Dublin county fo ...

(Cavan) * Pádraig O'Sullivan (Kerry) * Cormac Reilly (Meath)

Stadia and locations

Personnel and kits

Team summaries

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

record their easiest ever championship win over

Format

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship of 2012 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a

knockout tournament A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking ...

with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces – there was no

seeds A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosperm pl ...

. Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If that match ended in a draw a period of

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

was played; however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay would have taken place. ;Connacht Championship ''Quarter-finals:'' (3 matches) These were three matches between six of the Connacht teams drawn first. The three winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the three losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Semi-finals:'' (4 matches) The winners of the three quarter-final games joined the other two Connacht teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ;Leinster Championship ''Preliminary Round:'' (3 matches) These were three matches between six of the Leinster teams drawn first. The three winning teams advanced to the quarter-finals, while the three losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Quarter-finals:'' (4 matches) The winners of the three preliminary round games joined the other five Leinster teams to make up four quarter-final pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the four losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals made up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ;Munster Championship ''Quarter-finals:'' (2 matches) These were to be two matches between four of the Munster teams drawn first. The two winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Semi-finals:'' (4 matches) The winners of the two quarter-final games joined the other two Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ;Ulster Championship ''Preliminary Round:'' (1 match) This was a lone match between two of the Ulster teams drawn first. The winning team advanced to the quarter-finals, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Quarter-finals:'' (4 matches) The winners of the lone preliminary round game joined the other seven Ulster teams to make up four quarter-final pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the four losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals made up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers. ;Qualifiers The qualifiers gave teams defeated in the provincial championships another chance at winning the All-Ireland title. ''Round 1'' (8 matches): the sixteen teams who failed to reach a provincial semi-final entered the qualifiers at this stage (

do not compete). An open draw was made to determine the eight match pairings. ''Round 2'' (8 matches): the eight teams who failed to progress from their provincial semi-finals entered the qualifiers at this stage. They were paired with the eight winners from round 1 of the qualifiers. An open draw was made to determine the eight match pairings. ''Round 3'' (4 matches): the eight teams from round 2 of the qualifiers were paired against each other. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings. ''Round 4'' (4 matches): the four teams who lost their provincial finals entered the qualifiers at this stage. They were paired with the four winners from round 3 of the qualifiers. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings. The four winners advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-finals. ;All-Ireland Series ''Quarter-finals'': (4 matches) the four teams from round 4 of the qualifiers were paired against the four provincial winners. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the two losing teams were eliminated from the championship. ''Semi-finals:'' (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams were eliminated from the championship. ''Final:'' (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game.

Fixtures and results

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It i ...

----

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

----

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

----

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

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All-Ireland qualifiers

Round 1

On 18 June 2012, the draw was made for the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. This draw contained all the teams who had been knocked out of their provincial competitions prior to the semi final stage, apart from

. It was broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1's ''

Morning Ireland ''Morning Ireland'' is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and alternate items are normall ...

'' for the first time.

Round 2

On 2 July 2012, the draw was made for the second round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. This draw contained all the teams who had been knocked out of their provincial competitions at the semi final stage in one pot and the winners of the first round of the qualifiers in the second pot.

Round 3

Round 4

All-Ireland series

Quarter-finals

---- ---- ---- ----

Semi-finals

---- ----

Final

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

* Clare beat Limerick for the first time since 1984. * Cork played Clare in the Munster final for the first time since 1949. * Donegal won their first All Ireland since 1992.

Scoring

*First goal of the championship: Stephen Coen for

against

(Connacht Quarter Final) *Widest winning margin: 24 points **

3-21 – 0-06

(Connacht Quarter Final) *Most goals in a match: 5 **

3-18 – 2-09 Down (All Ireland Quarter Final) *Most points in a match: 35 **

0-19 – 0-16

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

(All Ireland Semi Final) *Most goals by one team in a match: 4 **

4-20 – 0-10 Leitrim (Connacht Semi Final) * Highest aggregate score: 42 points **

4-20 – 0-10 Leitrim (Connacht Semi Final) *Lowest aggregate score: 17 points **

0-04 – 0-13

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

(Fourth Round) *Most goals scored by a losing team: 2 **

2-09 – 2-11 Antrim (First Round) **

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

0-17 – 2-8

(First Round) **

3-18 – 2-9 Down (All Ireland Quarter Final)

Top scorers

;Season ;Single game

Awards

;Monthly ;Sunday Game Team of the Year ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 197 ...

'' team of the year was picked on 23 September, the night of the final and included 8 of Donegal's winning team. ; GAA/GPA All Stars Player has previously been selected. ;County breakdown * Donegal = 8 * Mayo = 4 * Cork = 2 * Dublin = 1
List of nominees

References

{{GAA 2012

Teams

Referees

Stadia and locations

Personnel and kits

Team summaries

Format

Fixtures and results

Munster Senior Football Championship The Munster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Munster Championship and shortened to Munster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It i ...

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

Connacht Senior Football Championship The Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London and New York. The winning ...

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

All-Ireland qualifiers

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

All-Ireland series

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

Final

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

Scoring

Top scorers

Awards

See also

References