The Niall Smullen Cup was a

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 ...

competition organised by Kildare Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland. Founded in 1925, it was named after Niall Smullen, who played for

Sallins GAA Sallins is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in Sallins, County Kildare, Ireland, winner of Kildare club of the year in 2001. Honours * Kildare Intermediate Football Championship: (2) 1968, 2003 * Kildare Junior Football Championship: ...

throughout the 1890s and early 1900s. Smullen holds the record for the most points scored in the

Kildare Senior Football Championship The Kildare Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition organised by Kildare GAA between the top clubs in County Kildare, Ireland. The winners of the Championship qualify to represent their county in the Leinster Club ...

final. He scored 1-10, and the game ended with

Sallins Sallins () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway (Ireland), M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of ''Na Solláin'' which means "the wil ...

winning 2–15 to

Celbridge Celbridge (; ) is a town and townland on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is west of Dublin. Both a local centre and a commuter town within the Greater Dublin Area, it is located at the intersection of the ...

's 1-14. Smullen later went on to play wing-forward for Kildare when they won the 1903 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Smullen died in 1921, aged 52. The first ever winner of the cup was Sallins in 1925, they beat

Timahoe Timahoe (: 'House of Mochua') is a village in County Laois, Ireland, south of Portlaoise on the R426 regional road. The population of Timahoe in 2002 was 517, a 2.6% increase since 1996. It increased to 527 in 2006. Retrieved dead link with ...

to claim the cup. The competition was cancelled in 1995 because of lack of funds.

Participants

The winners of the competition came from throughout

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

but the most successful teams were

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

, Allenwood and Sarsfields. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, teams from

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 ...

, Meath,

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

also competed in the competition. {{DEFAULTSORT:Niall Smullen Cup Defunct Gaelic football competitions Gaelic football competitions in County Kildare 1925 establishments in Ireland