2022 Tailteann Cup

2022 Tailteann Cup

Tournament details
Level	Tier 2
Year	2022
Trophy	Tailteann Cup
Date	21 May – 9 July 2022
Teams	17
Winners
Champions	Westmeath (1st win)
Manager	Jack Cooney
Captain	Kevin Maguire
Runners-up
Runners-up	Cavan
Manager	Mickey Graham
Captain	Raymond Galligan
Other
Matches played	16
Player of the Year	Ronan O'Toole
Top Scorer	John Heslin (1–25)
2023 →

The 2022 Tailteann Cup was the inaugural edition of the Tailteann Cup and is the second-tier of Gaelic football for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship is the first-tier trophy). It was contested by up to sixteen teams from Divisions 3 and 4 of the 2022 National Football League plus New York. Division 3 or 4 teams initially competed in their provincial championship and if they reached their provincial final, they continued in the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, progressing to the All-Ireland Qualifiers, whereas if they were beaten in their provincial final, they did not participate in the 2022 Tailteann Cup.^[1]

The final was played on 9 July 2022 at Croke Park in Dublin, between Cavan and Westmeath. Westmeath won after a 2–14 to 1–13 defeat of Cavan.^[2]

The inaugural Tailteann Cup was contested by seventeen teams: the sixteen set to play in Divisions 3 and 4 of the 2023 National Football League, plus New York. These teams could only have qualified for the Tier 1 All-Ireland Championship, the Sam Maguire Cup, if they had reached their provincial final.^[1][3] The Sam Maguire Cup was contested by the sixteen teams set to play in Divisions 1 and 2 of the 2023 National Football League.

Louth and Limerick qualified for the Sam Maguire Cup as a result of winning promotion from Division 3 to Division 2 for 2023, while Down and Offaly competed in the Tailteann Cup as a result of being relegated from Division 2 to Division 3 for 2023.

The 2022 Tailteann Cup was a straight knockout format, with two preliminary-round games and seven first-round games followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.^[1] New York received a bye to the quarter-finals. The seventeen teams were organised on a geographical basis, with eight assigned to a northern section and nine to a southern section (including New York). The eight northern teams were drawn against each other in four of the seven first-round games. Four of the southern teams were drawn in two preliminary-round games, with the two winners then joining the remaining four teams in three first-round games.^[4] All seven first-round winners joined New York (who were assigned to the southern section) in the quarter-finals, with pairings decided via an open draw within each geographic section. The semi-final pairings were then decided via an open draw.

From 2023, the Tailteann Cup is set to be played on a round-robin basis, with the first round consisting of four groups of four teams with no geographical structure.

None of the seventeen teams qualified for their provincial final. Doing so would have resulted in them competing in the Tier 1 Sam Maguire Cup instead.

Team	2022 League result	2022 Championship result	Appearance	Best result	Date of qualification
Fermanagh	5th in Division 3	Lost 2-10 – 2–17 to Tyrone (Ulster preliminary round)	1st	n/a	16 April 2022
New York	Did not compete	Lost 0-15 – 1–16 to Sligo (Connacht quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	17 April 2022
London	5th in Division 4	Lost 2-11 – 3–12 to Leitrim (Connacht quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	17 April 2022
Antrim	4th in Division 3	Lost 1-20 – 0–10 to Cavan (Ulster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	23 April 2022
Carlow	7th in Division 4	Lost 5-10 – 0–10 to Louth (Leinster first round)	1st	n/a	24 April 2022
Laois	7th in Division 3	Lost 5-15 – 4–12 to Wicklow (Leinster first round)	1st	n/a	24 April 2022
Offaly	7th in Division 2	Lost 1-15 – 1–12 to Wexford (Leinster first round)	1st	n/a	24 April 2022
Sligo	3rd in Division 4	Lost 0-11 – 0–23 to Roscommon (Connacht semi-finals)	1st	n/a	30 April 2022
Longford	6th in Division 3	Lost 3-13 – 0–14 to Westmeath (Leinster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	30 April 2022
Waterford	8th in Division 4	Lost 2-13 – 1–8 to Tipperary (Munster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	30 April 2022
Wexford	6th in Division 4	Lost 1-24 – 0–4 to Dublin (Leinster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	30 April 2022
Down	8th in Division 2	Lost 0-23 – 2–7 to Monaghan (Ulster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	30 April 2022
Wicklow	8th in Division 3	Lost 4-13 – 1–12 to Meath (Leinster quarter-finals)	1st	n/a	1 May 2022
Leitrim	4th in Division 4	Lost 4-20 – 0–09 to Galway (Connacht semi-finals)	1st	n/a	8 May 2022
Cavan	1st in Division 4	Lost 2-16 – 0–16 to Donegal (Ulster semi-finals)	1st	n/a	8 May 2022
Tipperary	2nd in Division 4	Lost 2-10 – 0–10 to Limerick (Munster semi-finals)	1st	n/a	14 May 2022
Westmeath	3rd in Division 3	Lost 1-21 – 2–15 to Kildare (Leinster semi-finals)	1st	n/a	15 May 2022

There was an open draw for all rounds, including quarter-finals and semi-finals. It was split into N (north) and S (south) sections until semi finals. Both sections then combined. The first team pulled out received home advantage. The semi-finals and final were played in Croke Park.

Preliminary round 21/22 May v t e

Round 1 28/29 May

Quarter-finals 4/5 June

Semi-finals 19 June

Final 9 July

Leitrim

2–14

Antrim

1–12

Leitrim

2–16 (3)

Sligo

1–19 (4)

Sligo

3–15

London

2–16

Sligo

1–14

Cavan

0–20

Longford

0–12

Fermanagh

1–12

Fermanagh

0–13

Cavan

2–16

Cavan

0–24

Down

1–12

Cavan

1–13

Wexford

2–13

Westmeath

2–14

Offaly

3–11

Offaly

0–18

Wicklow

3–16

Wicklow

0–10

Waterford

1–10

Offaly

3–17

New York

0–11

Offaly

2–16

Westmeath

3–22

Carlow

1–12

Tipperary

1–10

Carlow

2–13

Westmeath

1–21

Laois

0–13

Westmeath

1–13

Four teams competed in the preliminary round.

Wicklow v Waterford

21 May 2022 Preliminary round (S)	Wicklow	3-16 – 1-10	Waterford	County Grounds, Aughrim
	Kevin Quinn 2-1 (1-0 pen), Eoin Darcy 1-3 (0-2f), Mark Jackson 0-4 (0-4f), Mark Kenny 0-4 (0-1m), Dean Healy 0-2, Pádraig O’Toole 0-1, Oisin McGraynor 0-1	Report	Jason Curry 0-4 (0-2f), Brian Looby 1-0, Darragh Corcoran 0-2 (0-2f), Brian Lynch 0-2, Dermot Ryan 0-1, Gareth Duffy 0-1 each.	Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

Wexford v Offaly

22 May 2022 Preliminary Round (S)	Wexford	2-13 – 3-11	Offaly	Bellefield, Enniscorthy
	Niall Hughes 1-1, Ben Brosnan 0-3 (0-1f, 0-1m), Dylan Furlong 1-0, Kevin O'Grady 0-2, Eoghan Nolan 0-2, Donal Shanley 0-1 (0-1f), Eoin Porter 0-1, Dean O'Toole 0-1, Glen Malone 0-1	Report	Niall McNamee 1-5 (0-3f), Diarmuid Egan 1-0, Lee Pearson 1-0, Anton Sullivan 0-2, Niall Darby 0-1 (0-1f), Johnny Moloney 0-1, Bill Carroll 0-1, Keith O'Neill 0-1	Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

The two preliminary round winners were joined by the other twelve teams.

Longford v Fermanagh

28 May 2022 Round 1 (N)	Longford	0-12 – 1-12	Fermanagh	Pearse Park, Longford
	Darren Gallagher 0-5 (0-5f), Keelin McGann 0-2, Mark Hughes 0-2, Kevin Diffley 0-1, Ryan Moffat 0-1, Fergal Sheridan 0-1.	Report	Sean Quigley 0-4 (0-4f), Ryan Jones 0-4, Ultán Kelm 1-1, Ciaran Corrigan 0-1, Darragh McGurn 0-1, Conall Jones 0-1.	Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo)

Leitrim v Antrim

28 May 2022 Round 1 (N)	Leitrim	2-14 – 1-12	Antrim	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon
	Keith Beirne 0-6 (0-3f), Jack Heslin 1-2, Shane Moran 1-0, David Bruen 0-1, Pearce Dolan 0-1, Cillian McGloin 0-1, Evan Sweeney 0-1, Jordan Reynolds 0-1, Mark Plunkett 0-1.	Report	Pat Shivers 0-4, Peter Healy 1-1, Ruairí McCann 0-2 (0-2f), Dermot McAleese 0-2, Odhrán Eastwood 0-1, Patrick McBride 0-1, Jamie Gribbon 0-1.	Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)

Sligo v London

28 May 2022 Round 1 (N)	Sligo	3-15 – 2-16 (a.e.t.)	London	Markievicz Park, Sligo
	Alan Reilly 1-6, Patrick O'Connor 0-4 (0-1f), Pat Hughes 1-1, Brian Egan 1-0, Aidan Devaney 0-1 (0-1 45), Sean Carrabine 0-1 (1f), Pat Spillane 0-1, Donal Conlon 0-1	Report	James Gallagher 1-3, Ferghal McMahon 0-4 (0-4f), Matthew Walsh 1-1, Sean Hickey 0-2, Liam Gavaghan 0-1 (0-1f), Christopher Farley 0-1 (0-1f), James Hynes 0-1, Conal Gallagher 0-1	Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)

Cavan v Down

28 May 2022 Round 1 (N)	Cavan	0-24 – 1-12	Down	Breffni Park, Cavan
	Raymond Galligan 0-7 (0-4f, 0-3 45), Gearóid McKiernan 0-6 (0-4f), Paddy Lynch 0-4 (0-1f), James Smith 0-2, Gerard Smith 0-2, Oisín Kiernan 0-1, Thomas Edward Donohoe 0-1, Niall Carolan 0-1	Report	Liam Kerr 0-3, Ruairi O’Hare 1-0, Andrew Gilmore 0-2 (0-1f), Barry O’Hagan 0-2 (0-1f), Anthony Doherty 0-1, Odhran Murdock 0-1, Ryan Magill 0-1, Ruairi McCormack 0-1	Attendance: 3,616 Referee: David Gough (Meath)

Offaly v Wicklow

29 May 2022 Round 1 (S)	Offaly	0-18 – 0-10	Wicklow	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
	Niall McNamee 0-5 (0-3f, 0-1m), Ruairí McNamee 0-3, Anton Sullivan 0-2, Keith O’Neill 0-2, Jack Bryant 0-1, Jordan Hayes 0-1, Mark Abbott 0-1, Morgan Tynan 0-1, Niall Darby 0-1, Bill Carroll 0-1	Report	Eoin Darcy 0-3 (0-3f), Mark Jackson 0-3 (0-3f), Kevin Quinn 0-2 (0-2m), Mark Kenny 0-2 (0-1m)	Referee: Seán Lonergan (Tipperary)

Carlow v Tipperary

29 May 2022 Round 1 (S)	Carlow	1-12 – 1-10	Tipperary	Dr Cullen Park, Carlow
	Niall Hickey 1-0, Jamie Clarke 0-2, Eoghan Ruth 0-2, Colm Hulton 0-2, Ross Dunphy 0-2, Darragh Foley 0-1 (0-1f), Sean Bambrick 0-1, Conor Doyle 0-1, Conor Crowley 0-1	Report	Conor Sweeney 0-3 (0-1f), Martin Kehoe 1-0, Sean O’Connor 0-2 (0-2f), Liam McGrath 0-2, Shane O'Connell 0-1, Sean O’Connell 0-1, Jack Kennedy 0-1	Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)

Westmeath v Laois

29 May 2022 Round 1 (S)	Westmeath	1-13 – 0-13	Laois	O'Moore Park, Portlaoise
	John Heslin 0-5 (0-4f), Luke Loughlin 0-4 (0-1 45), Sam McCartan 1-1, Ronan O'Toole 0-1, Jonathan Lynam 0-1, Robbie Forde 0-1	Report	Mark Barry 0-5 (0-4f), Evan O’Carroll 0-4 (0-1f), Eoin Lowry 0-2 (0-1m), James Finn 0-1 (0-f), Donie Kingston 0-1	Referee: Derek O'Mahoney (Tipperary)

New York joined the seven Round 1 winners:

Offaly v New York

4 June 2022 Quarter-final (S)	Offaly	3-17 – 0-11	New York	O'Connor Park, Tullamore
	Niall McNamee 0-6 (0-5f), Keith O'Neill 1-1, Cathal Flynn 1-1, Anton Sullivan 1-0, Niall Darby 0-2 (0-1f), Ruairi McNamee 0-2, Jack Bryant 0-2, Paddy Dunican 0-1 (0-1f), Johnny Moloney 0-1, Jack McEvoy 0-1,	Report	Jack Reilly 0-4 (0-2f), Adrian Varley 0-4 (0-1m), Connell Aherne 0-2, Sean Reilly 0-1 (0-1 45)	Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)

Carlow v Westmeath

5 June 2022 Quarter-final (S)	Carlow	2-13 – 1-21	Westmeath	Dr Cullen Park, Carlow
	Darragh Foley 0-5 (0-5f), Niall Hickey 1-0, Josh Moore 1-0, Ross Dunphy 0-2, Colm Hulton 0-2, Jamie Clarke 0-1 (0-1f), Mikey Bambrick 0-1, Shane Clarke 0-1, Conor Doyle 0-1	Report	John Heslin 1-9 (0-7f), Luke Loughlin 0-4 (0-1f), Sam McCartan 0-3, Ronan O'Toole 0-2, Lorcan Dolan 0-1 (0-1m), Jamie Gonoud 0-1, Sam Duncan 0-1	Referee: Conor Lane (Cork)

Fermanagh v Cavan

5 June 2022 Quarter-final (N)	Fermanagh	0-13 – 2-16	Cavan	Brewster Park, Enniskillen
	Sean Quigley 0-8 (0-8f), Darragh McGurn 0-2 (0-1f), Ryan Jones 0-2, James McMahon 0-1	Report	Thomas Galligan 1-4, Gearóid McKiernan 0-5, Paddy Lynch 0-3 (0-2f), Pádraig Faulkner 1-0, Raymond Galligan 0-1 (0-1 45), Jason McLoughlin 0-1, Conor Brady 0-1, Cormac O’Reilly 0-1	Referee: Paul Faloon (Down)

Leitrim v Sligo

5 June 2022 Quarter-final (N)	Leitrim	2-16 – 1-19 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p)	Sligo	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada, Carrick-on-Shannon
	Keith Beirne 1-6 (1m); Ryan O’Rourke 1-2; Evan Sweeney 0-2; Riordan O'Rourke 0-1, Jack Heslin 0-1, Dean McGovern 0-1, Jordan Reynolds 0-1, Mark Plunkett 0-1, Emlyn Mulligan 0-1 each.	Report	Alan Reilly 0-6, Patrick O’Connor 0-5 (0-1f, 0-1m), Sean Carrabine 0-5 (0-1f), Mark Walsh 1-0, Darragh Cummins 0-1, Peter Laffey 0-1, Nathan Rooney 0-1	Attendance: 4,231 Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)
	Penalties
	Ryan O'Rourke N Keith Beirne Jack Heslin Shane Quinn Emlyn Mulligan N		Nathan Rooney Alan Reilly Donal Conlan Brendan Egan

Sligo v Cavan

19 June 2022 Semi-final	Sligo	1-14 – 0-20	Cavan	Croke Park, Dublin
	Patrick O'Connor 1-2 (1-0 pen, 0-1m), Niall Murphy 0-4, Sean Carrabine 0-3 (0-2f), Pat Spillane 0-2, Darragh Cummins 0-1, Alan Reilly 0-1, Pat Hughes 0-1	Report	Gearóid McKiernan 0-4 (3f), Gerard Smith 0-4, James Smith 0-2, Cian Madden 0-2, Raymond Galligan 0-1 (0-1f), Killian Brady 0-1, Killian Clarke 0-1, Conor Brady 0-1, Thomas Galligan 0-1, Oisín Kiernan 0-1, Martin Reilly 0-1, Paddy Lynch 0-1	Referee: Fergal Kely (Longford)

Westmeath v Offaly

19 June 2022 Semi-final	Westmeath	3-22 – 2-16	Offaly	Croke Park, Dublin
	John Heslin 0-8 (0-3f), Lorcan Dolan 2-1, Ronan O'Toole 0-4, Sam McCartan 0-3, Ronan Wallace 1-0, Luke Loughlin 0-2, James Dolan 0-1, Ray Connellan 0-1, Alex Gardiner 0-1, Robbie Forde 0-1	Report	Niall McNamee 0-6 (0-6f), Keith O’Neill 1-2, Cathal Flynn 1-0, Dylan Hyland 0-3, Anton Sullivan 0-2, Jack Bryant 0-1, Jack McEvoy 0-1, Mark Abbott 0-1	Referee: Paul Faloon (Down)

Cavan v Westmeath

9 July 2022 Final	Cavan	1-13 – 2-14	Westmeath	Croke Park, Dublin
15:00	Gearóid McKiernan 0-3 (0-1f), Gerard Smith 0-3, Paddy Lynch 0-3, Pádraig Faulkner 1-0, Jason McLoughlin 0-1, Oisín Kiernan 0-1, James Smith 0-1, Stephen Smith 0-1	Report	Ronan O'Toole 0-5, John Heslin 0-3 (0-2f), Sam McCartan 0-3 (0-1 45), Lorcan Dolan 1-0, Kieran Martin 1-0, Luke Loughlin 0-2, Ronan Wallace 0-1	Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry) Man of the Match: Ronan O'Toole (Westmeath)

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Matches	Average
1	John Heslin	Westmeath	1–25	28	4	7.0
2	Niall McNamee	Offaly	1–22	25	4	6.25
3	Gearóid McKiernan	Cavan	0–18	18	4	4.5

Rank	Player	County	Tally	Total	Opposition
1	John Heslin	Westmeath	1–9	12	Carlow

All records exclude extra-time.

• Widest winning margin: 15 points
  • Offaly 3-17 - 0-11 New York (quarter-final)
• Most goals in a match: 5
  • Wexford 2-13 - 3-11 Offaly (preliminary round)
  • Westmeath 3-22 - 2-16 Offaly (semi-final)
• Most points in a match: 38
  • Westmeath 3-22 - 2-16 Offaly (semi-final)
• Most goals by one team in a match: 3
  • Wicklow 3-16 - 1-10 Waterford (preliminary round)
  • Wexford 2-13 - 3-11 Offaly (preliminary round)
  • Offaly 3-17 - 0-11 New York (quarter-final)
  • Westmeath 3-22 - 2-16 Offaly (semi-final)
• Most points by one team in a match: 24
  • Cavan 0-24 - 1-12 Down (round 1)
• Highest aggregate score: 53 points
  • Westmeath 3-22 - 2-16 Offaly (semi-final)
• Lowest aggregate score: 27 points
  • Longford 0-12 - 1-12 Fermanagh (Round 1)

• First-time championship meetings:
  • Offaly vs New York (Tailteann cup quarter-finals)
• Westmeath won their 1st championship in 19 years, last winning the 2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship.
• The meeting between Wicklow and Waterford was the first ever game in the Tailteann Cup, with the former winning by 3-16 to 1-10.
• This meeting between New York and Offaly was the first meeting of a non-Connacht team for New York since their admission to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1999.
• The meeting of Offaly and New York was New York's first Championship game in Ireland since the 2001 Connacht quarter-final where they lost 3-13 to 1-09 against Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park.

• 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
• Gaelic Athletic Association

• GAA.ie