Rivalries in Gaelic Football

There is nothing quite like a good old rivalry in sport, and that goes for any type of sport.

Whether you’re watching Manchester City vs Manchester United in English Football, or Saracens vs Harlequins in Rugby – you’ll no doubt witness the blood, sweat and tears put into a rival match. Gaelic football is no different and has plenty of rivalries running through the sport; some are within the same province, some are across the country but, each meeting is guaranteed to provide one thing, entertainment.

Gaelic football can be followed back to the 1800s before English football was even invented in 1888. A lot of the teams for Gaelic football teams are over 100 years old and so are the rivalries, meaning that not only do these rivalries run deeper than most, but emerging victorious is an absolute must.

Dublin-Mayo Rivalry

This specific rivalry between Dublin and Mayo is spanned over 100 years after they first met in 1906. In the past, the teams have only met sporadically, but since the 21stcentury the two have found themselves playing against one another more often and the rivalry has intensified. Both teams are fairly notorious in Gaelic football and more often than not will meet in the latter stages of the Championship, with huge crowds flocking to the match to see who comes out on top. If you fancy betting on this year’s Championship, check out the odds on Paddy Power:  https://www.paddypower.com/gaelic-games/all-ireland-football

The two teams haven’t met since the All-Ireland final back in 2017 so it will be interesting to see how the two teams have changed since then. Although Mayo have always been a great contender against Dublin – they have only ever beaten them twice, in 2006 and 2012, with Dublin winning four out of the last six meetings in more recent years. Dublin have managed to win the Leinster title 28 times whilst Mayo have only won 3, although they have been in 18 finals, the four most recent, you guessed it, against Dublin.

Cork-Kerry Rivalry

Spanning back a little further than the previous rivalry, the Cork-Kerry rivalry began when they first met in 1889 allowing it to stake claim as one of the oldest rivalries in Gaelic Football. The two, originate from different counties but are neighbours making their rivalry very fierce. Cork dominated the first decade in which the two teams met, but since Kerry found their niche, they have gone from strength to strength and are now regarded as the most successful team in the history of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Combined, the two teams have managed to win a staggering 173 titles from the All-Ireland, Munster and National League however 127 of them – came from Kerry. In the last ten years, the two have met a total of 14 times, with Cork only winning once – and even that victory was way back in 2012! As much of a one-sided rivalry as this might seem, the two face each other every time with the expectation that anything could happen and that both are in with a chance of winning.

Dublin-Kerry Rivalry

Putting aside location and old flames – Dublin and Kerry are considered as the two top teams in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and both are constantly fighting for that top spot. These two teams have always had their audiences on the edges of their seats; especially in 1975 when the current champions Dublin were defeated by an inexperienced Kerry side, and Kerry captain Mickey O’Sullivan was hospitalised.

Since 1893, the teams have met twenty-nine times, and in those meets, every single one was in either the final, semi-final or quarter-final of the All-Ireland championship. Kerry hold 37 All-Ireland championship titles whilst Dublin hold only 28. Alongside Cork, these two teams are constantly battling it out to see who can prevail year-on-year. We highly suspect the final this year will yet again be fought out between these two, but only time will tell.

Related Articles

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please support our website by disabling your ad-blocker, our site is always free and we don't allow pop-ups or any annoying ads on nilesports.com