2022 Tailteann Cup
# 2022 Tailteann Cup

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.

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.

## Format

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. 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. 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. 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.

### Team allocation

| Entry round | Counties | Counties | Counties | Counties |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Quarter-finals | New York | New York | New York | New York |
| First round | Antrim | Down | Leitrim | Sligo |
| First round | Carlow | Fermanagh | London | Tipperary |
| First round | Cavan | Laois | Longford | Westmeath |
| Preliminary round | Offaly | Waterford | Wexford | Wicklow |

## Teams

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 |

## Bracket

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 Mayvte | Preliminary round 21/22 Mayvte | Preliminary round 21/22 Mayvte | Round 1 28/29 May | Round 1 28/29 May | Round 1 28/29 May | Quarter-finals 4/5 June | Quarter-finals 4/5 June | Quarter-finals 4/5 June | Semi-finals 19 June | Semi-finals 19 June | Semi-finals 19 June | Final 9 July | Final 9 July | Final 9 July |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | | Leitrim | Leitrim | 2–14 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Antrim | Antrim | 1–12 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Leitrim | Leitrim | 2–16 (3) | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Sligo | Sligo | 1–19 (4) | | | | | | |
| | | | Sligo | Sligo | 3–15 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | London | London | 2–16 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Sligo | Sligo | 1–14 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 0–20 | | | |
| | | | Longford | Longford | 0–12 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Fermanagh | Fermanagh | 1–12 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Fermanagh | Fermanagh | 0–13 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 2–16 | | | | | | |
| | | | Cavan | Cavan | 0–24 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Down | Down | 1–12 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | Cavan | Cavan | 1–13 |
| Wexford | Wexford | 2–13 | | | | | | | | | | Westmeath | Westmeath | 2–14 |
| Offaly | Offaly | 3–11 | Offaly | Offaly | 0–18 | | | | | | | | | |
| Wicklow | Wicklow | 3–16 | Wicklow | Wicklow | 0–10 | | | | | | | | | |
| Waterford | Waterford | 1–10 | | | | Offaly | Offaly | 3–17 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | New York | New York | 0–11 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Offaly | Offaly | 2–16 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Westmeath | Westmeath | 3–22 | | | |
| | | | Carlow | Carlow | 1–12 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Tipperary | Tipperary | 1–10 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Carlow | Carlow | 2–13 | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Westmeath | Westmeath | 1–21 | | | | | | |
| | | | Laois | Laois | 0–13 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Westmeath | Westmeath | 1–13 | | | | | | | | | |

## Preliminary round

New York were granted a bye to the quarter-finals. Fourteen teams competed in round one to complete the quarter-final line-up. A preliminary round was held to reduce the number of eligible teams from sixteen to fourteen.

## Quarter-finals

New York joined the seven Round 1 winners:

## Championship statistics

### Top scorer: overall

| 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 |

### Top scorer: single game

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

### Scoring events

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)

## Miscellaneous

* 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.
