Connacht Senior Football Championship
Current season or competition: 2025 Connacht Senior Football Championship
Irish	Craobh Sinsir Peile Connachta
Code	Gaelic football
Founded	1888; 137 years ago (1888)
Region	Connacht (GAA)
No. of teams	7
Title holders	Galway (50th title)
Most titles	Galway (50 titles)
Sponsors	SuperValu,Allianz,AIB
TV partner	RTÉ
Motto	Experience The Unforgettable
Official website	Official website

TheConnacht Senior Football Championship, known simply as theConnacht Championship and shortened toConnacht SFC, is an annualGaelic football competition for the senior county teams ofConnacht GAA. All of thecounty teams ofConnacht participate in the championship, as well asLondon andNew York. The winning team receives the Nestor Cup.^[1]

The Connacht SFC is run on a knock-out basis through which teams are eliminated from the competition. A series of games are played during the summer months and the final is played in June or July. The winner and runner-up progresses directly to theAll-Ireland SFC Group Stage. Before 2020, all losing teams progressed to the All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers, while, prior to 2001, the All-Ireland SFC was a straight knock-out format, which meant all losing teams were eliminated after a single defeat.

Galway are the three-time title holder, having defeatedMayo by 0–16 to 0–15 in the2024 final.^[2]

Galway are Connacht's most successful county, with 50 Connacht SFC titles and 9 All-Ireland SFC titles. Mayo are next, with 47 Connacht SFC titles and 3 All-Ireland SFC titles.Roscommon have won the Connacht SFC title 24 times, most recently in2019, as well having won 2 All-Ireland SFC titles. Apart from those three, no other team competing in Connacht has won an All-Ireland SFC title.

Sligo have won the Nestor Cup three times, most recently in2007.Leitrim have won the competition twice, most recently in1994.

London have competed in the Connacht SFC since 1975, whileNew York joined in 1999. In this time London have managed three victories: one in 1977 and two in2013, against Sligo and Leitrim.^[3][4][5] New York recorded their first, and, so far, only, victory in the championship over Leitrim in2023.^[6]

The competing counties play for the JJ Nestor Cup, which is presented to the winningcaptain on Connacht Final Day.

• Leitrim 0–12 – 2–4 Mayo (24 July1994):
• Sligo 1–10 – 0–12 Galway (8 July2007):
• Mayo 5–11 – 0–10 London (21 July2013):
• New York 0–15 pen – 0–15 Leitrim (8 April2023):

Seven counties will compete in the2026 Connacht Senior Football Championship: the five counties in the Irish province ofConnacht and the two foreign-based teams ofLondon andNew York.

County team	Location	Stadium	Province	Pos. 2024	Champ. titles	Last champ. title	All-Ire. titles	Last All-Ire. title
Galway	Galway	Pearse Stadium	Connacht	Winner	51	2025	9	2001
Leitrim	Carrick-on-Shannon	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada	Connacht	Semi-finalist	2	1994	0	—
London	South Ruislip	McGovern Park	Britain	Quarter-finalist	0	—	0	—
Mayo	Castlebar	MacHale Park	Connacht	Finalist	47	2021	3	1951
New York	Bronx	Gaelic Park	North America	Quarter-finalist	0	—	0	—
Roscommon	Roscommon	Dr Hyde Park	Connacht	Semi-finalist	24	2019	2	1944
Sligo	Sligo	Markievicz Park	Connacht	Quarter-finalist	3	2007	0	—

The following teams have competed in the Connacht SFC for at least one season.

County team	Manager	Captain(s)	Sponsors
Galway	Pádraic Joyce	Seán Kelly	Supermac's
Leitrim	Micheal Grahame[7]	Donal Wrynn	J. P. Clarke's Saloon, New York
London	Michael Maher	Liam Gavaghan	Clayton Hotel
Mayo	Andy Moran	Paddy Durcan	Intersport Elverys
New York	Johnny McGeeney	Johnny Glynn	Navillus
Roscommon	Vacant	Brian Stack	Ballymore
Sligo	Dessie Sloyan &Eamonn O'Hara[8]		AbbVie

• 1888–1891: No Connacht representative in All-Ireland series
• 1892:Roscommon represented the province
• 1893–1899: No Connacht representative in All-Ireland series
• 1900:Galway unopposed
• 1902:Galway unopposed
• 1922: Objection – refixed
• 1939: Game unfinished – awarded toMayo
• 1934:Leitrim withdrew until 1941.
• 1938:Roscommon until 1940.
• 1946: Objection and counter-objection –replay ordered
• 1950:Leitrim withdrew until 1952.
• 1975:London join the championship.
• 1999:New York join the championship.
• 2001:London withdrew due toFoot and Mouth disease.
• 2025-2017: Preliminary round forNew York fixture originally a Quarter-final revert to in 2018.
• 2020:Sligo withdrew for 1 year whileLondon andNew York for 2 years due toCOVID-19.

• Golden background – Connacht SFC winner or runner-up also won the All-Ireland SFC that year.

County team	Title(s)	Runner-up	Championships won	Championships runner-up
Galway	51	34	1900, 1902, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919, 1922,1925, 1926, 1933,1934,1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1945, 1954,1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963,1964,1965,1966, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1995,1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005,2008,2016,2018,2022,2023,2024, 2025	1901, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1912, 1918, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1943, 1948, 1951, 1961, 1962, 1969, 1977, 1978, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2006, 2007,2009,2014,2017,2019,2020,2021
Mayo	47	36	1901, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1935,1936, 1937, 1939, 1948, 1949,1950,1951, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2006,2009,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2020,2021	1903, 1905, 1913, 1917, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1940, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1952, 1953, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2003, 2005,2008, 2024, 2025
Roscommon	24	25	1892, 1903, 1905, 1912, 1914,1943,1944, 1946, 1947, 1952, 1953, 1961, 1962, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1990, 1991, 2001,2010,2017,2019	1906, 1911, 1915, 1916, 1919, 1925, 1931, 1941, 1942, 1950, 1955, 1970, 1974, 1976, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1998,2011,2016,2018,2022
Sligo	3	16	1928, 1975, 2007	1920, 1922, 1930, 1932, 1947, 1954, 1956, 1965, 1971, 1981, 1997, 2002,2010,2012,2015, 2023
Leitrim	2	9	1927,1994	1914, 1949, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1967, 2000
London	0	1	—	2013

Province	Titles	Runner-up	Total
Connacht	126	119	245
Britain	0	1	1

Legend

• 1st – Winner
• 2nd – Runner-up
• SF/QF/PR – Semi-finalist / Quarter-finalist / Preliminary round exit

For each year, the number of competing teams is shown (in brackets).

Team	2013 (7)	2014 (7)	2015 (7)	2016 (7)	2017 (7)	2018 (7)	2019 (7)	2020 (4)	2021 (5)	2022 (7)	2023 (7)	2024 (7)	2025 (7)	Years
Galway	QF	2nd	SF	1st	2nd	1st	2nd	2nd	2nd	1st	1st	1st	1st	13
Leitrim	SF	QF	QF	QF	SF	SF	QF	QF	SF	SF	QF	QF	SF	13
London	2nd	QF	QF	QF	QF	QF	QF	—	—	QF	QF	QF	QF	11
Mayo	1st	1st	1st	SF	SF	QF	SF	1st	1st	QF	QF	2nd	2nd	13
New York	QF	QF	PR	PR	PR	QF	QF	—	—	QF	SF	QF	QF	11
Roscommon	SF	SF	SF	2nd	1st	2nd	1st	SF	SF	2nd	SF	SF	SF	13
Sligo	QF	SF	2nd	SF	QF	SF	SF	—	QF	SF	2nd	SF	QF	12

+ = Rescheduled for 2026, after being absent in 2021 due toCOVID-19 are Mayo v London and Roscommon v New York, for their first fixtures since 2016 (in rotation). London and New York withdrew for 2 years during the outbreak and Sligo for 1 year.

In 2027, Sligo v New York, Leitrim v London are lined up. In 2028, Sligo v London, Leitrim v New York if London and New York don't win before that in 2029 Galway v London and Mayo v New York like in 2030 Roscommon vs London and Galway vs New York like in 2025.

• Mayo (1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910)
• Galway (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960)
• Mayo (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)

• Mayo (1929, 1930, 1931, 1932)
• Mayo (1948, 1949, 1950, 1951)
• Galway (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966)
• Roscommon (1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
• Galway (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

• Mayo (1935, 1936, 1937)
• Galway (1940, 1941, 1942)
• Galway (1982, 1983, 1984)

• Mayo (1915, 1916)
• Mayo (1920, 1921)
• Mayo (1923, 1924)
• Galway (1925, 1926)
• Galway (1933, 1934)
• Roscommon (1943, 1944)
• Roscommon (1946, 1947)
• Roscommon (1952, 1953)
• Roscommon (1961, 1962)
• Galway (1970, 1971)
• Galway (1973, 1974)
• Galway (1986, 1987)
• Mayo (1988, 1989)
• Roscommon (1990, 1991)
• Mayo (1992, 1993)
• Mayo (1996, 1997)
• Galway (2002, 2003)
• Mayo (2020, 2021)

• Galway (1900, 1902, 1911, 1913, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1938, 1945, 1954, 1968, 1976, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2008, 2016, 2018)
• Mayo (1901, 1904, 1918, 1939, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1981, 1985, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2009)
• Roscommon (1892, 1903, 1905, 1912, 1914, 1972, 2001, 2010, 2017, 2019)
• Sligo (1928, 1975, 2007)
• Leitrim (1927, 1994)

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Connacht SFC titles, is as follows:

• 1900s: 6 forMayo (1901, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909)
• 1910s: 4 each forMayo (1910, 1915, 1916, 1918) andGalway (1911, 1913, 1917, 1919)
• 1920s: 5 forMayo (1920, 1921, 1923, 1924, 1929)
• 1930s: 7 forMayo (1930, 1931, 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939)
• 1940s: 4 each forMayo (1940, 1941, 1942, 1945) andRoscommon (1943, 1944, 1946, 1947)
• 1950s: 5 forGalway (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
• 1960s: 6 forGalway (1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968)
• 1970s: 5 forGalway (1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1976)
• 1980s: 5 forGalway (1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987)
• 1990s: 5 forMayo (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999)
• 2000s: 5 forGalway (2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008)
• 2010s: 5 forMayo (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015)
• 2020s: 4 forGalway (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025)

Year	Debutants	Total
1900	Galway	1
1901	Mayo,Roscommon	2
1902–04	None	0
1905	Sligo	1
1906	Leitrim	1
1907–74	None	0
1975	London	1
1976–98	None	0
1999	New York	1
2000–	None	0
Total		7

No county teamss have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions.

On the opposite end of the scale, one team has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion:

• London (2013)

• Longest gaps between successive Connacht SFC titles:
  • 67 years:Leitrim (1927–1994)
  • 47 years:Sligo (1928–1975)
  • 32 years:Sligo (1975–2007)
  • 29 years:Roscommon (1914–1943)
  • 12 years:Mayo (1955–1967)
  • 12 years:Mayo (1969–1981)
  • 11 years:Roscommon (1892–1903)
  • 10 years:Roscommon (1962–1972)
  • 10 years:Roscommon (1980–1990)
  • 10 years:Roscommon (1991–2001)
• Longest gaps between successive Connacht SFC finals:
  • 27 years:Leitrim (1967–1994)
  • 22 years:Leitrim (1927–1949)
  • 16 years:Sligo (1981–1997)
  • 15 years:Sligo (1932–1947)
  • 13 years:Leitrim (1914–1927)
  • 11 years:Roscommon (1892–1903)
  • 10 years:Roscommon (1931–1941)

• Longest active gaps since a Connacht SFC title:
  • 31 years:Leitrim (1994–)
  • 18 years:Sligo (2007–)
  • 6 years:Roscommon (2019–)
  • 4 years:Mayo (2021–)
• Longest active gap since a Connacht SFC final appearance:
  • 25 years:Leitrim (2000–)
  • 12 years:London (2013–)
  • 3 years:Roscommon (2022–)
  • 2 years:Sligo (2023–)

• Galway:Seán Kelly (2023)
• Leitrim:Declan Darcy (1994)
• Mayo:Aidan O'Shea (2021)
• Roscommon:Enda Smith (2019)
• Sligo:Noel McGuire (2007)

Managers in the Connacht SFC are involved in the day-to-day running of the team, including the training, team selection, and sourcing of players from the club championships. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the individual county boards. From 2018, all inter-county head coaches must be Award 2 qualified. The manager is assisted by a team of two or three selectors and an extensive backroom team consisting of various coaches. Prior to the development of the concept of a manager in the 1970s, teams were usually managed by a team of selectors with one member acting as chairman.

#	Manager(s)	Winning team(s)	Titles(s)	Winning years
1	John O'Mahony	Mayo Leitrim Galway	8	1988, 1989, 2009 1994 1998, 2000, 2002, 2003
2	James Horan	Mayo	6	2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020, 2021
3	John Maughan	Mayo	4	1996, 1997, 1999, 2004
4	Pádraic Joyce	Galway	3	2022, 2023, 2024
5	Mattie McDonagh	Galway	2	1982, 1983
	Martin McDermott	Roscommon	2	1990, 1991
	Jack O'Shea	Mayo	2	1992, 1993
	Kevin Walsh	Galway	2	2016, 2018
9	Brian McEniff	Sligo	1	1975
	Tony Regan	Galway	1	1984
	Liam O'Neill	Mayo	1	1985
	Cyril Dunne	Galway	1	1986
	Willie Joyce	Galway	1	1987
	Bosco McDermott	Galway	1	1995
	John Tobin	Roscommon	1	2001
	Peter Ford	Galway	1	2005
	Mickey Moran	Mayo	1	2006
	Tommy Breheny	Sligo	1	2007
	Liam Sammon	Galway	1	2008
	Fergal O'Donnell	Roscommon	1	2010
	Noel Connelly	Mayo	1	2015
	Pat Holmes
	Kevin McStay	Roscommon	1	2017
	Anthony Cunningham	Roscommon	1	2019

County team	Location	Province	Stadium	Capacity
Galway	Galway	Connacht	Pearse Stadium	26,197
Leitrim	Carrick-on-Shannon	Connacht	Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada	9,331
London	South Ruislip	Britain	McGovern Park	3,000
Mayo	Castlebar	Connacht	MacHale Park	25,369
New York	Bronx	North America	Gaelic Park	2,000
Roscommon	Roscommon	Connacht	Dr Hyde Park	25,000
Sligo	Sligo	Connacht	Markievicz Park	18,558

• Connacht Senior Club Football Championship
• Connacht Senior Hurling Championship
• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
  • Leinster Senior Football Championship
  • Munster Senior Football Championship
  • Ulster Senior Football Championship

• Connacht Senior Football Championship
• Connacht GAA inter-county football competitions
• Senior inter-county Gaelic football competitions
• 1888 establishments in Ireland
• Recurring sporting events established in 1888

• All articles with dead external links
• Articles with dead external links from June 2017
• Articles with permanently dead external links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Articles containing Irish-language text