The 2016 Carlow Senior Football Championship is the 116th edition of the Carlow GAA's premier club

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 for senior graded clubs in

County Carlow, Ireland County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow ...

. The tournament consists of 8 teams, with the winner going on to represent Carlow in the

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship The Leinster Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament played on a knockout basis between the senior club championship winners of the competing counties in Leinster. The current holders of the Leinster title are Ba ...

. The championship starts with a group stage and then progresses to a knock out stage. Palatine were the defending champions after they defeated Old Leighlin in the previous years final, and they successfully defended their title when they defeated

Rathvilly Rathvilly () is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow and 8 km from Baltinglass. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. Rathvill ...

2-13 to 0-12 at

Dr Cullen Park Dr Cullen Park, known for sponsorship reasons as Netwatch Cullen Park, is a GAA stadium in Carlow, County Carlow, Ireland. It is the home of the Carlow Gaelic football and hurling teams. It has a capacity of 21,000. History The ground's establ ...

on 9 October 2016 to claim a "2-in-a-row" of titles. This was the O'Hanrahans' return to the senior grade after claiming the 2015 Carlow Intermediate Football Championship title, thus ending a 4-year exodus since being relegated in 2011. Kildavan/Clonegal were relegated to the 2017 I.F.C. after spending 18 seasons in the top flight.

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2015 championship season.

To S.F.C.

Promoted from I.F.C. * O'Hanrahans - (Intermediate Champions)

From S.F.C.

Relegated to I.F.C. * Ballinabranna

Group stage

There are two groups of four teams. The top two teams in each group compete in the semi-finals. The bottom team in each group compete in the relegation Final.

Group A

Round 1 * Éire Óg 2-18, 0-8 Kildavan/Clonegal, 29/7/2016, * Rathvilly 1-11, 0-10 Old Leighlin, 30/7/2016, Round 2 * Old Leighlin 2-11, 0-4 Kildavan/Clonegal, 19/8/2016, * Rathvilly 0-19, 2-13 Éire Óg, 20/8/2016, Round 3 * Rathvilly 3-12, 0-4 Kildavan/Clonegal, 9/9/2016, * Éire Óg 4-14, 0-10 Old Leighlin, 10/9/2016,

Group B

Round 1 * Tinryland 2-13, 3-8 Mt. Leinster Rangers, 31/7/2016, * Palatine 5-13, 3-11 O'Hanrahans, 31/7/2016, Round 2 * Mt. Leinster Rangers 2-12, 0-12 O'Hanrahans, 20/8/2016, * Palatine 3-10, 0-10 Tinryland, 21/8/2016, Round 3 * Tinryland 1-17, 0-9 O'Hanrahans, 11/9/2016, * Palatine 2-13, 2-8 Mt. Leinster Rangers, 11/9/2016,

Knock-out stages

Finals

The winners and runners up of each group qualify for the quarter finals. Quarter-Finals: * Mt. Leinster Rangers 1-10, 1-9 Éire Óg,

, 17/9/2016

* Old Leighlin 1-10, 1-9 Tinryland,

, 17/9/2016

Semi-Finals: * Palatine 2-10, 1-11 Mt. Leinster Rangers,

, 24/9/2016

* Rathvilly 0-15, 1-10 Old Leighlin,

, 25/9/2016

Relegation play off

The bottom team in each group compete in the relegation final. The team to lose will be relegated to the 2017 Senior 'B' Championship. Relegation Final: * O'Hanrahans 3-11, 2-6 Kildavan/Clonegal,

, 25/9/2016,

Leinster Senior Club Football Championship

References

{{Carlow Senior Football Championship 2016 senior Gaelic football county championships, Carlow Senior Football Championship Carlow Senior Football Championship