The 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final was played 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 ...
in
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 ...
on 21 November 2020. It was contested by
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 ...
and
Meath. Dublin won a tenth consecutive title.
Background
The game was
held on a date originally intended for the second test of the
2020 International Rules Series
The 2020 International Rules Series was to be the 21st International Rules Series contested by Gaelic footballers from Ireland international rules football team, Ireland and Australian rules football, Australian footballers from Australia interna ...
. That event was cancelled in April 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, which also led to the delayed championship.
The GAA had proposed to hold a memorial ahead of the second test in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday may refer to:
Historical events Canada
* Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia
* Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence agai ...
massacre, which saw fourteen civilians killed at a football match at Croke Park during the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
. This was instead held ahead of the 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final.
As originally announced, the GAA intended the game to occur after a ceremonial "finishing of the match" featuring Dublin and Tipperary teams consisting of "available county or club players". However, Dublin were playing in this game and Tipperary qualified for the
2020 Munster Senior Football Championship Final
The 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship Final was played at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork on 22 November 2020. It was contested by Tipperary and Cork. Tipperary won a first title since 1935, doing so in the home ground of their opponent. This ...
which was held the following day, limiting player availability.
Match details
Post-match
Dublin captain
Stephen Cluxton
Stephen Cluxton (born 17 December 1981) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played as a goalkeeper at senior level for the Dublin county team.
Cluxton made his senior debut for Dublin during the 2001 Championship. Since then he has established ...
laid a wreath for the centenary.
Former Dublin player
Ciarán Whelan
Ciarán Whelan (born 28 February 1976 in Raheny, County Dublin) is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Raheny club and, formerly, for the Dublin county team. He is right-footed but can kick with both feet and usually plays in midfield. He wa ...
said the result was "worrying" for the sport and that his former team "have their opponents psychologically smashed".
The result, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, meant Dublin directly qualified for an All-Ireland semi-final against
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 ...
. Dublin won, easily, to qualify for the
2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
The 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was the 133rd final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the culmination of the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Reigning All-Ireland SFC and Leinster champions ...
, the eighth time in ten years that Dublin reached the decider.
Notes
References
{{GAA 2020
2L Final
Leinster Championship
Leinster Senior Football Championship Finals
Dublin county football team matches
Meath county football team matches