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1925 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

1925 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
All-Ireland Champions
Winning teamGalway (1st win)
CaptainMichael Walsh (St Grellan's, Ballinasloe)
All-Ireland Finalists
Losing teamCavan
Provincial Champions
MunsterKerry
LeinsterWexford
UlsterCavan
ConnachtGalway
Championship statistics
1924
1926

The 1925 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 39th staging of Ireland's premier Gaelic football knock-out competition. Galway were the winners.[1][2][3]

In 1924 Kerry won the All Ireland title.

The championship has become known for the farcical manner in which the title was awarded. There was no 1925 All-Ireland Football Final.

The Connacht final had not been held by the time the semi-finals were played; Mayo were nominated to represent the province. In the semi-finals, Mayo beat Wexford and Kerry beat Cavan. However, both Kerry and Cavan were disqualified for fielding illegal players. This meant that Mayo were declared champions without the need for a final. Following this, however, Galway defeated Mayo in the Connacht final. Galway were therefore proclaimed All-Ireland champions.[4]

Following protests from Galway, Kerry and Mayo, the GAA Central Council organised a substitute competition between the four provincial champions, with Galway as Connacht champions. However, Kerry complained that their semi-final victory over Cavan should stand in this new competition. When the GAA insisted that it should not stand, Kerry withdrew, leaving Cavan to automatically proceed to the final. Galway defeated Cavan in the final of that tournament, which was played on 10 January 1926.[4]

Results

Roscommon2-4 – 2-2Sligo

An objection was made and a replay ordered.


Galway1-1 – 1-1Leitrim

Roscommon1-5 – 1-5
A.E.T.
Sligo

Roscommon1-3 – 0-6
A.E.T.
Sligo

Roscommon2-0 – 0-6
A.E.T.
Sligo

Roscommon1-5 – 1-3Sligo

An objection was made and a replay ordered.


Galway1-4 – 2-1
A.E.T.
Leitrim

Roscommon0-2 – 2-3Sligo

Galway1-4 – 0-5Leitrim

Mayo2-6 – 1-6Sligo

Galway1-5 – 1-3Mayo
Attendance: 26,000
Kilkenny2-4 – 0-3Longford
Referee: Seán O'Neill

Kildare5-8 – 1-0Carlow

Louth4-2 – 3-3Laois
Referee: Sean O'Neill (Dublin)

Wexford4-9 – 0-2Meath

Louth0-7 – 0-3Kilkenny

Dublin0-6 – 2-4Wexford
Referee: T. Walsh (Kilkenny)

Louth0-5 – 3-3Kildare
Referee: J. Delaney (Laois)

Wexford2-7 – 0-3Kildare
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Tom Burke (Louth)
Kerry1-2 – 0-4Tipperary
Referee: A. Quillinan (Limerick)

An objection was made and a replay ordered.


Kerry3-1 – 0-4Tipperary
Referee: W. P. Aherne ( C )

Cork1-3 – 1-1Limerick

Clare2-2 – 0-1Waterford

Kerry3-8 – 1-0Cork

Kerry5-5 – 0-0Clare
Monaghan1-3 – 0-5Armagh

An objection was made and a replay ordered.


Antrim0-16 – 0-1Down

Cavan1-5 – 1-3Tyrone

Fermanagh3-6 – 0-1Donegal

Monaghan2-2 – 1-4Armagh

Antrim2-5 – 0-4Monaghan

Cavan0-18 – 0-2Donegal

Cavan2-3 – 3-0Antrim
Attendance: 6,000

Cavan3-6 – 0-1Antrim
Attendance: 6,000

The Connacht championship was not finished in time, so Mayo were nominated to play in the All-Ireland semi-final.


Kerry1-7 – 2-3Cavan
Attendance: 5000

Both teams lodged objections against each other, and both were disqualified.


Mayo2-4 – 1-4Wexford

With both Kerry and Cavan disqualified, Mayo now had no opponent to play in the All-Ireland final. And when Galway defeated Mayo in the Connacht final, the GAA decided to award the All-Ireland title to Galway.[5]

Galway were declared All-Ireland Champions on 5 December 1925. The All-Ireland Championship of 1925 was declared to be finished.[6]

A substitute competition was organised by Central Council. Kerry, Cavan, Wexford and Galway were invited to participate. Kerry wanted their victory over Cavan to stand, but when they were ordered to replay it, they withdrew in protest.[7][8]

Galway won the substitute competition, but this game had no bearing on their status as All-Ireland Champions. They entered the final game as All-Ireland Champions and the match had no bearing on the destination of the title.


Central Council Tournament

Cavanw/o – scr.Kerry

Galway3-4 – 1-1Wexford

Galway3-2 – 1-2Cavan

Championship statistics

Miscellaneous

  • There were a number of replays, mostly due to draws, but on some occasions resulting from objections: in the Connacht championship Galway met Leitrim three times and Sligo met Roscommon six times (once after a disputed result); in the Munster championship the Kerry vs Tipperary match went to a replay due to a disputed result; and in the Ulster championship Monaghan vs Armagh was also replayed following an objection.
  • Galway became the first Connacht county to win the All Ireland title and first not from Munster or Leinster.

References

  1. ^ "Football Results 1911 - 1940". GAA. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  2. ^ "All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Results 1887-2010". HoganStand.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Leinster Senior Football Champions" (PDF). Leinster GAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  4. ^ a b McElligott, Richard (10 December 2013). "Mayo's 'lost' All-Ireland". Mayo News.
  5. ^ "Ar 'Cuala' Tú an Scéal Faoi?…". An Fear Rua. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Why Galway are Champions", Irish Independent, 7 December 1925, p.9
  7. ^ "Bulletin: All-Ireland SFC, July 5". Hill16.ie. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  8. ^ "1925 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final". GAAinfo.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2011.