2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Championship details
Dates	1 May – 1 October 2016
Teams	33
All-Ireland Champions
Winning team	Jim Gavin
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing team	Mayo
Captain	Cillian O'Connor
Manager	Stephen Rochford
Provincial Champions
Munster	Kerry
Leinster	Dublin
Ulster	Tyrone
Connacht	Galway
Championship statistics
No. matches played	65
Top Scorer	Dean Rock (1-58)
Player of the Year	Lee Keegan
← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 129th edition of the GAA's premier inter-county gaelic football tournament since its establishment in 1887.

33 teams took part. 31 of the 32 Counties of Ireland participated, with Kilkenny, as in previous years, declining to take part. London and New York again competed.^[1]

The winning team,

Format

Provincial Championships format

Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster each organise a provincial championship. All provincial matches are knock-out. All teams eliminated from their provincial championships with the exception of New York, for logistical reasons, enter the All-Ireland qualifiers.^[4][5][6][7]

Qualifiers format

Twenty eight of the twenty nine teams beaten in the provincial championships enter the All-Ireland qualifiers, which are knockout. The sixteen teams eliminated before their provincial semi-finals play eight matches in round 1, with the winners of these games playing the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2. The eight winning teams from round 2 play-off against each other in round 3, with the four winning teams facing the four beaten provincial finalists in round 4 to complete the double-elimination format. Further details of the format are included with each qualifier round listed below.^[8]

All-Ireland format

The four provincial champions play the four winners of round 4 of the qualifiers in the quarter-finals. Two semi-finals and a final follow. All matches are knock-out. Any game that ends in a draw is replayed. If a replay ends in a draw, extra time is played.^{[citation needed]}

Changes from 2015 championship

Referees were instructed to add on 20 seconds for the introduction of a substitute and 20 seconds for each instance of a goalkeeper or defender going upfield for a placed ball attempt. Previously there was no specific provision for these two events which led to instances of deliberate time-wasting by teams who were leading. 30 seconds were also to be added each time the Hawk-Eye score detection system was utilised.^{[citation needed]}

Broadcast rights

RTÉ, the national broadcaster in Ireland, provided the majority of the live television coverage of the championship in the third year of a deal running from 2014 until 2016. A number of matches were also broadcast by Sky Sports, with Sky having exclusive rights to some games.^[9][10]

Live broadcast matches

The broadcast schedule for matches shown live on television in Ireland follows -

Broadcast Schedule
Date	Teams & Match Details	RTÉ Sky Sports
Provincial and Qualifier Matches
22 May	Derry v Tyrone Ulster Quarter-final	RTÉ
29 May	Cavan v Armagh Ulster Quarter-final	RTÉ
4 June	Laois v Dublin Leinster Quarter-final	Sky Sports
5 June	Monaghan v Down Ulster Quarter-final	RTÉ
12 June	Roscommon v Sligo Connacht Semi-final	RTÉ
12 June	Donegal v Fermanagh Ulster Quarter-final	RTÉ
18 June	Laois v Armagh Qualifier Round 1A	RTÉ
18 June	Mayo v Galway Connacht Semi-final	Sky Sports
19 June	Tyrone v Cavan Ulster Semi-final	RTÉ
25 June	Monaghan v Donegal Ulster Semi-final	Sky Sports
26 June	Westmeath v Kildare Leinster Semi-final	RTÉ
26 June	Dublin v Meath Leinster Semi-final	RTÉ
3 July	Kerry v Tipperary Munster Final	RTÉ
9 July	Mayo v Fermanagh Qualifier Round 2B	RTÉ
10 July	Galway v Roscommon Connacht Final	RTÉ
16 July	Mayo v Kildare Qualifier Round 3B	Sky Sports
17 July	Dublin v Westmeath Leinster Final	RTÉ
17 July	Tyrone v Donegal Ulster Final	RTÉ BBC NI
23 July	Clare v Roscommon Qualifier Round 4A	Sky Sports
23 July	Derry v Tipperary Qualifier Round 4A	Sky Sports
30 July	Cork v Donegal Qualifier Round 4B	Sky Sports
30 July	Mayo v Westmeath Qualifier Round 4B	Sky Sports
All-Ireland Quarter-finals
31 July	Galway v Tipperary	RTÉ
31 July	Kerry v Clare	RTÉ
6 August	Tyrone v Mayo	Sky Sports
6 August	Dublin v Donegal	Sky Sports
All-Ireland Semi-finals
21 August	Mayo v Tipperary	RTÉ Sky Sports
28 August	Dublin v Kerry	RTÉ Sky Sports
All-Ireland Final
18 September	Mayo v Dublin	RTÉ Sky Sports
1 October	Replay Mayo v Dublin	RTÉ Sky Sports

Provincial championships

Connacht Senior Football Championship

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	New York		0-17
	Roscommon		1-15			Roscommon		1-21
						Leitrim		0-11
											Roscommon		4-16
											Sligo		2-13
																Roscommon (R)		1-10 0-14
																Galway (R)		0-13 3-16
						London		0-9
						Mayo		2-16
											Mayo		0-12
											Galway		1-12

Leinster Senior Football Championship

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	Laois		3-16
	Wicklow		0-18			Laois		2-10
						Dublin		2-21
											Dublin		0-21
	Louth		2-24								Meath		0-11
	Carlow		3-11			Louth		1-13
						Meath		0-20
																Dublin		2-19
	Longford		2-13													Westmeath		0-10
	Offaly		2-21			Offaly		0-12
						Westmeath		0-13
											Westmeath		1-12
											Kildare		1-11
						Wexford		0-8
						Kildare		0-9

Munster Senior Football Championship

	Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
	Clare		0-16
	Limerick		0-13			Clare		0-17
						Kerry		2-23
											Kerry		3-17
											Tipperary		2-10
						Cork		2-16
	Waterford		1-07			Tipperary		3-15
	Tipperary		1-15

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Ulster Senior Football Championship

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
						Derry		0-12
						Tyrone		3-14
											Tyrone (R)		0-16 5-18
											Cavan (R)		3-07 2-17
						Cavan		2-16
						Armagh		0-14
																Tyrone		0-13
																Donegal		0-11
						Monaghan		2-22
						Down		0-09
											Monaghan (R)		0-14 2-10
											Donegal (R)		1-11 0-17
						Donegal		2-12
	Fermanagh		1-12			Fermanagh		0-11
	Antrim		0-9

All-Ireland Series

Qualifiers

A and B teams

An A and B system for the qualifier draws was introduced in 2014 and was retained. The teams were designated as A or B depending on which half of their provincial championships they played in. Although some teams receive byes in the early provincial rounds, their position in the round in which they entered the competition was usually determined by the provincial draw, resulting in most teams being designated as A or B randomly. For example, each of the four provinces had two semi-finals – one between two teams designated A and one between two teams designated B. The beaten semi-finalists in each province were always one A team and one B team.

In all qualifier rounds A teams played A teams and B teams played B teams. Usually the A teams played their provincial games before the B teams, which allowed the A qualifier games to be scheduled a week before the B qualifier games.

Round 1

In the first round of the qualifiers sixteen of the seventeen teams beaten in the preliminary rounds or quarter-finals of the provincial championships competed. New York did not enter the qualifiers. Four A teams played four A teams, while four B teams played four B teams. The round 1 draw was unrestricted − if two teams had played each other in a provincial match they could be drawn to meet again, with the winner of the provincial match receiving home advantage. The eight round 1 winners played the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists in round 2 of the qualifiers.

The following teams were entered into round 1.

*During the match Laois made seven substitutions, one more than the permitted six. On 21 June 2016 the CCCC declared the match void and scheduled a replay for 2 July.^[11]

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Round 2

In the second round of the qualifiers the eight winning teams from Round 1A and Round 1B played the eight beaten provincial semi-finalists. The round 2 draw was unrestricted − if two teams had played each other in a provincial match they could be drawn to meet again, with the winner of the provincial match receiving home advantage. The eight winners of these matches played each other in Round 3.

The following teams took part in this round -

Round 1A Winners (4) Carlow Derry Laois Leitrim

Beaten Provincial Semi-finalists – A Cavan Clare Meath Sligo

Round 1B Winners (4) Fermanagh Limerick Longford Offaly

Beaten Provincial Semi-finalists – B Cork Kildare Mayo Monaghan

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Round 3

In the third round of the qualifiers winning teams from round 2A played against winning teams from round 2A, while winning teams from round 2B played against winning teams from round 2B. Round 3 rules did not allow two teams that had played each other in a provincial match to meet again. The four winners of these matches played the four beaten provincial finalists in Round 4.

The following teams took part in this round -

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Round 4

In the fourth round of the qualifiers, the four winning teams of Round 3A and Round 3B played the four beaten provincial finalists. Round 4 rules did not allow two teams that had played each other in a provincial match to meet again if such a pairing could be avoided. The four winners of these matches played the provincial champions in the All-Ireland Quarter-finals.

The following teams took part in this round -

23 July 2016 3.00 PM Round 4A	Clare	2-12 – 1-09	Roscommon	Pearse Stadium Attendance: 4,100 Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)
	E Cleary (0-6, 2 frees); D Tubridy (1-2, 0-1 free); J Malone (1-0); D Ryan, G Brennan, S McGrath and S Malone (all 0-1).	Report	E Smith (1-1); C Murtagh (0-3 frees); S Mullooly and C Devaney (both 0-1); N Kilroy, D Shine and D Murtagh (all 0-1 frees).

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23 July 2016 5.00 PM Round 4A	Derry	2-17 – 1-21	Tipperary	Breffni Park Attendance: 2,795 Referee: M. Duffy (Sligo)
	M. Lynch (1-4, 0-3 frees); D. Heavron (0-4); N. Loughlin (0-3); E. Brown (1-0); J. Kielt (0-2, 1 free); E. Lynn, E. Bradley, L. McGoldrick, C. Bradley (0-1 each).	Report	K. O’Halloran (1-5, 0-4 frees, 0-1 45); M. Quinlivan (0-6, 4 frees); C. Sweeney (0-5); J. Keane (0-2); P. Austin, P. Acheson, B. Maher (0-1 each).

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30 July 2016 4.00 PM Round 4B	Cork	1-15 – 0-21	Donegal	Croke Park Attendance: 27,615 Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)
	Paul Kerrigan 1-1, Colm O’Driscoll, Tom Clancy (Clonakilty), Kevin O’Driscoll, Colm O’Neill (0-1f), Donncha O’Connor 0-2 each, Mark Collins, Tomás Clancy (Fermoy), Seán Powter, Aidan Walsh 0-1 each	Report	Patrick McBrearty 0-11 (0-4f), Ryan McHugh 0-3, Eoin McHugh, Michael Murphy (0-1f) 0-2 each, Karl Lacey, Frank McGlynn, Odhrán MacNiallais 0-1 each.

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30 July 2016 6.00 PM Round 4B	Mayo	3-15 – 1-14	Westmeath	Croke Park Attendance: 27,615 Referee: R Hickey (Clare) Man of the Match: Donal Vaughan (Ballinrobe)
	Cillian O’Connor (1-5, 0-2 frees), Jason Doherty (1-1), Aidan O’Shea (1-0), Evan Regan 0-3 (0-2f), Andy Moran (0-2), Keith Higgins, Patrick Durcan, Donal Vaughan and Kevin McLoughlin 0-1 each	Report	John Heslin (0-10, 0-7 frees); Kieran Martin (0-2); James Dolan (1-1); Frank Boyle (0-1)

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	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	6 August, Croke Park
	Tyrone	0-12
					21 August, Croke Park
	Mayo	0-13
					Mayo	2-13
	31 July, Croke Park
					Tipperary	0-14
	Galway	1-10
									18 September & 1 October Croke Park
	Tipperary	3-13
									Mayo (R)	0-15 1-14
	6 August, Croke Park
									Dublin (R)	2-9 1-15
	Dublin	1-15
					28 August, Croke Park
	Donegal	1-10
					Dublin	0-22
	31 July, Croke Park
					Kerry	2-14
	Kerry	2-16
	Clare	0-11

Quarter-finals

The four provincial champions played the winners from Round 4 of the qualifiers. Draw rules – 1) Two teams who met in a provincial final could not meet again 2) If one of the provincial champions had already met one of the qualifiers in an earlier match then those two teams could not be drawn together if such a pairing could be avoided.

31 July 2.00 PM	Kerry	2-16 – 0-11	Clare	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 29,251 Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)
	D O'Sullivan 1-2, J O'Donoghue 0-5 (3fs), BJ Keane 0-3, P Geaney 0-3 (0-1f), D Walsh 1-1, B Sheehan 0-1 (0-1f), S O'Brien 0-1	[1]	D Tubridy 0-4 (2fs, 145), E Cleary 0-4 (4fs), P Lillis 0-1, J Malone 0-1, P Burke 0-1

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31 July 4.00 PM	Galway	1-10 – 3-13	Tipperary	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 29,251 Referee: Conor Lane (Cork) Man of the Match: Michael Quinlivan (Clonmel Commercials)
	S Walsh 0-4 (4fs), D Comer 1-0, D Cummins 0-3, E Brannigan 0-1, P Conroy 0-1, P Varley 0-1	Report	C Sweeney 2-2, M Quinlivan 1-4 (1f), K O'Halloran 0-4 (2fs, 145), B Fox 0-1, R Kiely 0-1, P Acheson 0-1

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6 August 4.00 PM	Tyrone	0-12 – 0-13	Mayo	Croke Park, Dublin Referee: David Gough (Meath) Man of the Match: Lee Keegan (Westport)
	P Harte (0-4, 2f), M Donnelly (0-3), C McAliskey (0-2, 2f) R O'Neill (0-1, 1f), N Sludden (0-1), D McCurry (0-1)	Report	C O'Connor (0-7, 4f), L Keegan (0-2), C Boyle, A Moran, A O'Shea, T Parsons (0-1 each)

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6 August 6.00 PM	Dublin	1-15 – 1-10	Donegal	Croke Park, Dublin Referee: C Branagan (Down) Man of the Match: Ciarán Kilkenny (Castleknock)
	D Rock (0-5f), P Mannion (1-1), D Connolly, K McManamon, P McMahon (0-2 each), P Andrews, C Kilkenny, J Cooper (0-1 each)	Report [2]	M Murphy (0-6 5f, 1 45), R McHugh (1-0), P McBrearty (0-3, 2f), A Thompson (0-1)

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Semi-finals

There was no draw for the semi-finals as the fixtures were pre-determined on a three yearly rotation. This rotation ensured that a province's champions played the champions of all the other provinces once every three years in the semi-finals if they each won their quarter-finals and prevented two provincial champions meeting in the semi-finals in successive years. If a qualifier team defeated a provincial winner in a quarter-final, the qualifier team took that provincial winner's place in the semi-final.

21 August 3:30 pm	Mayo	2-13 – 0-14	Tipperary	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 53,212 Referee: David Coldrick (Meath) Man of the Match: Keith Higgins (Ballyhaunis)
	Andy Moran 0-4, Jason Doherty and Conor O’Shea 1-0 each, Cillian O’Connor 0-3f, Diarmuid O’Connor 0-2, Lee Keegan, Colm Boyle, Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O’Shea 0-1 each	Report	Michael Quinlivan 0-7f, Conor Sweeney 0-3 (0-1f), Kevin O’Halloran 0-2 (0-1f), Bill Maher and Philip Austin 0-1 each

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28 August 3:30 pm	Dublin	0-22 – 2-14	Kerry	Croke Park Referee: David Gough (Meath)
	Dean Rock 0-12 (8f, 2 ’45), Diarmuid Connolly 0-3, Kevin McManamon 0-2, Bernard Brogan 0-2, Philly McMahon 0-1, Eoghan O’Gara 0-1, Brian Fenton 0-1.	Report [3]	Paul Geaney 1-4, Colm Cooper 0-5 (4f), Darran O’Sullivan 1-0, David Moran 0-1, Stephen O’Brien 0-1, Paul Murphy 0-1, James O’Donoghue 0-1, Barry John Keane 0-1.

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Final

18 September 3:30 pm Final	Mayo	0-15 – 2-09	Dublin	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 82,257 Referee: Conor Lane (Cork) Man of the Match: John Small (Ballymun Kickhams)
	Cillian O'Connor (0-7 5f), Donal Voughan, Andy Moran (0-2 each), Patrick Durcan, Tom Parsons, Alan Dillon, Jason Doherty (0-1)	Report	Dean Rock (0-4 3f), Paddy Andrews (0-2), John Small, Brian Fenton, Diarmuid Connolly (0-1 each) (Kevin McLoughlin, Colm Boyle 1-0 own goal each)

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Final Replay

1 October 5:00 pm Replay	Mayo	1-14 – 1-15	Dublin	Croke Park, Dublin Attendance: 82,249 Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois) Man of the Match: Michael Fitzsimons (Cuala)
	Cillian O'Connor 0-9 (0-9f), Lee Keegan 1-0, Patrick Durcan 0-2, Kevin Mcloughlin, Andy Moran, Diarmuid O'Connor 0-1 each	Report	Dean Rock 0-9 (0-7f), Diarmuid Connolly 1-1 (1-0 pen), Cormac Costello 0-3, Kevin McManamon, Bernard Brogan 0-1 each

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Championship statistics

• All scores correct as of 1 October 2016^[12]

Top scorer overall

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	Dean Rock	Dublin	1-58	61	7	8.7
2	Cillian O'Connor	Mayo	2-44	50	8	6.3
3	Michael Quinlivan	Tipperary	2-27	33	6	5.5
4	Patrick McBrearty	Donegal	0-29	29	6	4.8
	Tomás Corrigan	Fermanagh	0-29	29	4	7.2
6	Conor McManus	Monaghan	1-24	27	4	6.8
	Kevin O'Halloran	Tipperary	1-24	27	5	5.4
8	David Tubridy	Clare	2-20	26	6	4.3
	Ciarán Murtagh	Roscommon	3-17	26	6	4.3
10	John Heslin	Westmeath	0-25	25	4	6.2
11	Eoin Cleary	Clare	0-24	24	6	4
	James Kielt	Derry	1-21	24	5	4.8
13	Nigel Dunne	Offaly	1-20	23	3	7.7
14	Mark Lynch	Derry	1-19	22	4	5.5
15	Robbie Smyth	Longford	2-14	20	4	5

Top scorer in a single game

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	Donal O'Hare	Down	2-09	15	Longford
2	Dean Rock	Dublin	1-10	13	Laois
3	Dean Rock	Dublin	0-12	12	Kerry
	James Kielt	Derry	1-09	12	Louth
5	Patrick McBrearty	Donegal	0-11	11	Cork
6	Dean Rock	Dublin	0-10	10	Meath
	John Heslin	Westmeath	0-10	10	Mayo
	Ryan Burns	Louth	1-07	10	Carlow
	Nigel Dunne	Offaly	1-07	10	Kildare
	Peter Harte	Tyrone	2-04	10	Cavan
11	Dean Rock	Dublin	0-09	9	Mayo
	Cillian O'Connor	Mayo	0-09	9	Dublin
	Tomás Corrigan	Fermanagh	0-09	9	Antrim
	Tomás Corrigan	Fermanagh	0-09	9	Wexford
	Donal Kingston	Laois	1-06	9	Wicklow
	Paul Cunningham	Wicklow	1-06	9	Carlow
	Paul Geaney	Kerry	2-03	9	Tipperary

Miscellaneous

• Tipperary beat Cork for the first time since 1944.
• Kerry were the first team since Cork (1987–1990) to win a 4th Munster title in a row.
• In the old system All Ireland series we would have had a Galway vs Tyrone All Ireland semi-final.
• The All-Ireland final ends in a draw and goes to a replay for the first time since 2000.

Scoring events

Widest winning margin: 19

• Monaghan 2-22 – 0-9 Down (Ulster SFC quarter-final)

Most goals in a match: 7

• Tyrone 5-18 – 2-17 Cavan (Ulster SFC semi-final replay)

Most points in a match: 41

• Down 3-17 – 2-24 Longford (Round 1B qualifier – A.E.T.)

Most goals by one team in a match: 5

• Tyrone 5-18 – 2-17 Cavan (Ulster SFC semi-final replay)

Highest aggregate score: 56 points

• Down 3-17 – 2-24 Longford (Round 1B qualifier – A.E.T.)
• Tyrone 5-18 – 2-17 Cavan (Ulster SFC semi-final replay)

Lowest aggregate score: 17 points

• Wexford 0-08 – 0-09 Kildare (Leinster SFC quarter-final)

Stadia and locations