The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the main All-Ireland. The series of games, organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association, were played during the summer months with the final being played in August at Croke Park. The Cup was named after Tommy Murphy, a footballer from County Laois who was, appropriately for the competition, the only member of the Team of the Millennium from a county which had not won an All-Ireland.

Tommy Murphy Cup
IrishCorn Tomáis Uí Mhurchú
CodeGaelic football
Founded2004
Abolished2008
TrophyTommy Murphy Cup
Last Title holdersAntrim (1st title)
First winnerClare
Most titles5 teams (1 titles)
TV partner(s)TG4

Later changes to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship meant that the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup featured the eight lowest-ranking teams in National Football League, unless the teams reached the final of their respective provincial championships. Antrim beat holders Wicklow in the final.[1] The cup was cancelled after the 2008 tournament.[2]

Format

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The Tommy Murphy Cup is a single elimination tournament. Each team is afforded only one defeat before being eliminated from the championship. Pairings for matches are drawn at random and there is currently no seeding. Each match is played as a single leg. If a match is drawn there is a period of extra time, however, if both sides are still level at the end of extra time a replay takes place and so on until a winner is found.

Teams

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Debut of counties

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Year Debutants Total
2004   Antrim,   Clare,   London,   Louth,   Sligo 5
2005   Carlow,   Fermanagh,   Kilkenny,   Leitrim,   Longford,   Roscommon,   Tipperary,   Waterford,   Wexford,   Wicklow 10
2006   Cavan,   Monaghan 2
2007   Offaly 1
2008 None 0
Total 18

List of Tommy Murphy Cup counties

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County Total years First year in Championship Most recent year in Championship Championship titles Last championship title Best Tommy Murphy Cup finish
  Antrim 5 2004 2008 1 2008 1st
  Carlow 4 2005 2008 0 Semi-finals
  Cavan 1 2006 2006 0 Quarter-finals
  Clare 4 2004 2008 1 2004 1st
  Fermanagh 1 2005 2005 0 Quarter-finals
  Kilkenny 4 2005 2008 0 Preliminary round
  Leitrim 3 2005 2008 0 2nd
  London 5 2004 2008 0 Semi-finals
  Longford 1 2005 2005 0 Semi-finals
  Louth 2 2004 2006 1 2006 1st
  Monaghan 1 2006 2006 0 Quarter-finals
  Offaly 1 2007 2007 0 Quarter-finals
  Roscommon 2 2005 2006 0 Semi-finals
  Sligo 2 2004 2008 0 2nd
  Tipperary 3 2005 2007 1 2005 1st
  Waterford 4 2005 2008 0 Semi-finals
  Wexford 1 2005 2005 0 2nd
  Wicklow 4 2005 2008 1 2007 1st

Seasons in Tommy Murphy Cup

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The number of years that each county has played in the Tommy Murphy Cup between 2004 and 2008. A total of 18 counties have competed in at least one season of the Tommy Murphy Cup. Antrim and London have participated in the most championships. The counties in bold participated in the 2008 Tommy Murphy Cup.

Years Counties
5 Antrim, London
4 Carlow, Clare, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wicklow
3 Leitrim, Tipperary
2 Louth, Roscommon, Sligo
1 Cavan, Fermanagh, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Wexford

List of Finals

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Year Date Winners Runners-up Venue Winning captain Winning margin Referee No. of Teams
County Score County Score
2008 2 August Antrim 3–12 (21) Wicklow 1–15 (18) Croke Park 3 9
2007 4 August Wicklow 3–13 (22) Antrim 1–17 (20) Croke Park 2 9
2006 27 August Louth 3–14 (23) Leitrim 1–11 (14) Croke Park Martin Farrelly 9 Jimmy McKee 13
2005 4 September Tipperary 3–10 (19) Wexford 0–15 (15) Croke Park 4 J White (Donegal) 9
2004 22 August Clare 1–11 (14) Sligo 0–11 (11) Croke Park 3 4

Roll of honour

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Performances in the Tommy Murphy Cup by county
County Title(s) Runners-up Years won Years runner-up
  Wicklow 1 1 2007 2008
  Antrim 1 1 2008 2007
  Clare 1 0 2004
  Tipperary 1 0 2005
  Louth 1 0 2006
  Sligo 0 1 2004
  Wexford 0 1 2005
  Leitrim 0 1 2006
Performances in the Tommy Murphy Cup final by province
Province Winners Runners-up Total
  Leinster 2 2 4
  Munster 2 0 2
  Ulster 1 1 2
  Connacht 0 2 2

Team records and statistics

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Team results

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Legend

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For each year, the number of teams in each championship (in brackets) are shown.

Team 2004 (5) 2005 (12) 2006 (13) 2007 (9) 2008 (9) Years
  Antrim SF QF SF 2nd 1st 5
  Carlow AI PR SF QF QF 4
  Cavan AI AI QF AI AI 1
  Clare 1st AI PR SF QF 4
  Fermanagh AI QF AI AI AI 1
  Kilkenny PR PR PR PR 4
  Leitrim AI PR 2nd AI SF 3
  London QF QF QF QF SF 5
  Longford AI SF AI AI AI 1
  Louth SF AI 1st AI AI 2
  Monaghan AI AI QF AI AI 1
  Offaly AI AI AI QF AI 1
  Roscommon AI SF PR AI AI 2
  Sligo 2nd AI AI AI QF 2
  Tipperary AI 1st QF QF AI 3
  Waterford AI QF PR SF QF 4
  Wexford AI 2nd AI AI AI 1
  Wicklow AI PR PR 1st 2nd 4

Semi-final appearances

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# County No. Semi-final appearance years
1   Antrim 4 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
2   Wicklow 2 2007, 2008
  Louth 2 2004, 2006
  Clare 2 2004, 2007
  Leitrim 2 2006, 2008
6   Sligo 1 2004
  Tipperary 1 2005
  Wexford 1 2005
  Roscommon 1 2005
  Longford 1 2005
  Carlow 1 2006
  Waterford 1 2007
  London 1 2008

All time table

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Legend

Colours
Currently competing in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
Currently competing in the Tailteann Cup
Currently competing in the All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
# Team Pld W D L Points
1   Antrim 12 8 0 4 16
2   Tipperary 7 5 0 2 10
=   Wicklow 8 5 0 3 10
4   Louth 5 4 0 1 8
=   Clare 7 4 0 3 8
6   Leitrim 6 3 0 3 6
=   London 8 3 0 5 6
8   Longford 3 2 0 1 4
=   Wexford 3 2 0 1 4
=   Carlow 6 2 0 4 4
11   Cavan 2 1 0 1 2
=   Fermanagh 2 1 0 1 2
=   Roscommon 3 1 0 2 2
=   Sligo 3 1 0 2 2
=   Waterford 5 1 0 4 2
16   Monaghan 1 0 0 1 0
=   Offaly 1 0 0 1 0
=   Kilkenny 4 0 0 4 0

Other records

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Finishing positions

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Unbeaten sides

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Beaten sides

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The knockout format of the cup has resulted in 0 'back-door' Tommy Murphy Cup champions.

Final success rate

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Only 3 counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions:

On the opposite end of the scale, only 3 counties has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:

Consecutive participations

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Antrim and London have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tommy Murphy Cup, taking part in all 5 seasons.

Winning other trophies

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Although not an officially recognised achievement, one team has achieved the distinction of winning the Tommy Murphy Cup and their respective Division in the National Football League:

Biggest wins

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Scoring Events

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  • Most goals in a match:
    • 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most points in a match:
    • 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most goals by one team in a match:
    • 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Most points by one team in a match:
    • 00 – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Highest aggregate score:
    • 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000
  • Lowest aggregate score:
    • 00 points – 0000: 000 vs 000

Successful defending

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Some defending champions have a chance to retain their title. None have achieved this. These are:

Gaps

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Provinces

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  • The Tommy Murphy Cup final has never involved two teams from the same province.
  • The province providing the highest number of different winning teams is Leinster and Munster, with 2:

Longest undefeated run

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The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 00 games held by 000 (0000–0000).

Miscellaneous

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  • Best finish by a debuting team
  • Best finish by a debuting team (after 2004)
  • Highest winning record
    • 80%,   Louth (4 wins in 5 matches)
  • Lowest winning record
  • Most played match
    • 00, 000 vs 000 (0000)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ News | Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Official Website - GAA.ie Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Dempsey: Bring back Murphy Cup". 12 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009.