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Probably should have asked this a month or two back before all the county finals started getting played, but anyway. What's the format of your county's football/hurling championship? Every county does it their own way so it's interesting to see the difference.
I'll kick off with Leitrim, and I've hacked this off their own website. Our senior championship has 8 teams. Each team plays a total of 4 games at the round-robin stage, with a draw deciding that. Each team has two home and two away games. After the round-robin games are complete the top 2 teams with the highest number of points automatically qualify for the semi-finals with the teams that finish 3rd to 6th playing off in the quarter-finals. (3rd plays 6th, 4th plays 5th). At semi-final stage the 2 top ranked teams, after the group stages, are placed on opposite sides of the draw. The teams finishing 7th and 8th to play in the relegation final with the defeated team to be relegated to intermediate.
Intermediate: ditto.
Junior: two groups of five teams, round robin. At the end of that, the group winners go into the semifinals, and the 2nd and 3rd placed teams go into the quarter finals. The bottom team in each group plays in the relegation final. The fourth place teams are finished for the year
Hurling: just one match, the final between our only two active hurling clubs.
Tacaí Liatroma (Leitrim) - Posts: 1315 - 13/10/2026 00:54:13
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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Probably should have asked this a month or two back before all the county finals started getting played, but anyway. What's the format of your county's football/hurling championship? Every county does it their own way so it's interesting to see the difference.
I'll kick off with Leitrim, and I've hacked this off their own website. Our senior championship has 8 teams. Each team plays a total of 4 games at the round-robin stage, with a draw deciding that. Each team has two home and two away games. After the round-robin games are complete the top 2 teams with the highest number of points automatically qualify for the semi-finals with the teams that finish 3rd to 6th playing off in the quarter-finals. (3rd plays 6th, 4th plays 5th). At semi-final stage the 2 top ranked teams, after the group stages, are placed on opposite sides of the draw. The teams finishing 7th and 8th to play in the relegation final with the defeated team to be relegated to intermediate.
Intermediate: ditto.
Junior: two groups of five teams, round robin. At the end of that, the group winners go into the semifinals, and the 2nd and 3rd placed teams go into the quarter finals. The bottom team in each group plays in the relegation final. The fourth place teams are finished for the year
Hurling: just one match, the final between our only two active hurling clubs." Most Counties have Group games followed by knockout closing stages including our good selves.
I think Cavan and Donegal have similar to Leitrim.
Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 966 - 13/10/2026 11:02:01
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Never apply logic to what the GAA does! There are some bizarre formats but those counties have there reasons from down through the years.
legendzxix (Kerry) - Posts: 10096 - 13/10/2026 13:50:38
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Our format is a little untidy. We had a system - 2 groups of six - top 4 in each playing off in knockouts. Bottom 2 in each battle out to avoid relegation. Them we moved to 3 groups of 4, top 2 in each into quarters an 2 os the best 3rd placed teams go through. Bottom 3 play off to avoid relegation. Some teams qualify after first 2 games so their last one is a dead rubber for them, but not for a team trying to stay out of the relegation dogfight. Calculators became very important. The 2 groups of 6 was a much better format, in my opinion. Every team guaranteed at least 5 championship games.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 2363 - 13/10/2026 14:32:03
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Meath hurling championships have followed westmeath structure and it has been a huge success, there are actually 6 clubs in meath that are hurling only and no football. these places have decent populations and are proper full villages also, kilmessan, kildalkey and Rathmolyon all 700-900 size populations with villages
dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 995 - 13/10/2026 14:44:15
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Replying To Seanfan: " Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Probably should have asked this a month or two back before all the county finals started getting played, but anyway. What's the format of your county's football/hurling championship? Every county does it their own way so it's interesting to see the difference.
I'll kick off with Leitrim, and I've hacked this off their own website. Our senior championship has 8 teams. Each team plays a total of 4 games at the round-robin stage, with a draw deciding that. Each team has two home and two away games. After the round-robin games are complete the top 2 teams with the highest number of points automatically qualify for the semi-finals with the teams that finish 3rd to 6th playing off in the quarter-finals. (3rd plays 6th, 4th plays 5th). At semi-final stage the 2 top ranked teams, after the group stages, are placed on opposite sides of the draw. The teams finishing 7th and 8th to play in the relegation final with the defeated team to be relegated to intermediate.
Intermediate: ditto.
Junior: two groups of five teams, round robin. At the end of that, the group winners go into the semifinals, and the 2nd and 3rd placed teams go into the quarter finals. The bottom team in each group plays in the relegation final. The fourth place teams are finished for the year
Hurling: just one match, the final between our only two active hurling clubs." Most Counties have Group games followed by knockout closing stages including our good selves. I think Cavan and Donegal have similar to Leitrim."
What's good for the goose, is....
omahant (USA) - Posts: 3595 - 13/10/2026 15:21:39
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Replying To legendzxix: "Never apply logic to what the GAA does! There are some bizarre formats but those counties have there reasons from down through the years." I think the Tyrone KO, in bucking the trend, is bizarre in itself.
omahant (USA) - Posts: 3595 - 13/10/2026 15:24:10
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Replying To legendzxix: "Never apply logic to what the GAA does! There are some bizarre formats but those counties have there reasons from down through the years." Proposal B, Team 6 issue anyone?
omahant (USA) - Posts: 3595 - 13/10/2026 15:36:33
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Wexford hurling - Two groups of 6, top three go straight through to the QFs after 5 round robin games each, 4th then plays 5th from the other group in the Preliminary QFs, 6th plays 6th from the other group in a relegation final
Wexford football - Two groups of 6, top four all go to the QFs after 5 round robin games, 5th are done for the year, 6th plays 6th from the other group in a relegation final
Hurling structure is silly IMO, needs to be more cut-throat because there's not enough jeopardy as things stand
ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1579 - 13/10/2026 15:47:59
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Replying To omahant: "I think the Tyrone KO, in bucking the trend, is bizarre in itself." They have a League, which they call a League. What's strange about that? Surely its stranger calling a League a Championship?
Kilkennys Championship is knockout still too. Ours used to be knockout too.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20813 - 13/10/2026 16:01:41
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Replying To Freethinker: "Our format is a little untidy. We had a system - 2 groups of six - top 4 in each playing off in knockouts. Bottom 2 in each battle out to avoid relegation. Them we moved to 3 groups of 4, top 2 in each into quarters an 2 os the best 3rd placed teams go through. Bottom 3 play off to avoid relegation. Some teams qualify after first 2 games so their last one is a dead rubber for them, but not for a team trying to stay out of the relegation dogfight. Calculators became very important. The 2 groups of 6 was a much better format, in my opinion. Every team guaranteed at least 5 championship games." We continue to use two groups of six in both codes in Wexford, in all of our top five grades (Senior, Intermediate, Intermediate A, Junior, and Junior A).
Five group games each, and then:
Football - top four through to quarter-finals, with 1st in Group A playing 4th in Group B, 2nd in Group A playing 3rd in Group B, etc.
Hurling - Five go through. First there are preliminary quarter-finals, where 4th in Group A plays 5th in Group B, and vice versa. Then quarter-finals where 1st in each group plays a preliminary quarter-final winner, with repeat pairings avoided where possible, and 2nd in one group playing 3rd in the other group.
Semi-finals are open draw in all grades in both codes. And bottom of each group of six goes straight to a relegation final.
There are occasional calls to switch to three groups of four, like you have now, but I don't like it myself.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 4138 - 13/10/2026 16:02:39
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Replying To omahant: "I think the Tyrone KO, in bucking the trend, is bizarre in itself." Ah, but Tyrone people will try convince you that gives them the best championship in Ireland. "Hardest to win" and "no back-to-back winners in the last 20 years", etc.
As I've pointed out before, by that yardstick, the Wexford Senior Football Championship must be the second best. Until Castletown last year retained the title they'd won in 2024, we'd had no back-to-back winners in 20 years either!
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 4138 - 13/10/2026 16:05:27
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