The year of Ulster's football domination
Armagh added to Ulster's domination of men's Gaelic football in 2024
- Published
The Sam Maguire, the Tailteann Cup, the Hogan Cup, the Andy Merrigan Cup, the Sigerson Cup, plus the rest.
All in the hands of Ulster's teams and counties.
Ulster's domination of men's Gaelic football culminated on 28 July as Armagh clinched the All-Ireland in a tightly contested final against Galway.
Armagh's triumph was their first All-Ireland since 2002.
Earlier in the month, Down had won the GAA's second-tier Gaelic football competition for county teams, the Tailteann Cup.
Away from county football, Glen from Derry won the Senior Club Football Championship back in January and Ulster University added to the celebrations for the province with their victory over University College Dublin in the Sigerson Cup.
Ulster counties topped Division One, Two and Three in the National League but not Division Four as no Ulster county was competing.
And there could be more provincial success in the ladies game with Fermanagh (junior) and Tyrone (intermediate) both in All-Ireland finals on Sunday.
'Many years in the making'
Brian McAvoy is Ulster GAA CEO
For Ulster GAA chief executive, Brian McAvoy, the sweep of trophies is "unprecedented".
"It has been an amazing year," he told BBC News NI.
"Armagh's All-Ireland win was the icing on the cake and put Ulster on the top of the tree."
He credits the work of grassroots coaches and volunteers for the dominance men's Gaelic football has seen from Ulster this year.
"There is a lot of work that goes into it all from the grassroots," he added.
"These players are well nurtured and when they make it to senior level they are ready to go. This was years in the making.
"These victories are for them," he added.
Ulster momentum
Glen All-Ireland winning captain, Connor Carville says other provinces will be looking at Ulster's success
Glen's senior club All-Ireland winning captain Connor Carville says there is a "momentum in Ulster" at the minute but with the new season starting soon "nothing is guaranteed."
He told BBC News NI: "Other counites and provinces will be looking at this success and wanting to end it.
"They will want to shoot us down. But we are very proud of what we have achieved.
"There could be new champions and that's the beauty of sport".
He also credits the work of grassroots volunteers for the dominance.
"It shows the passion and attitude of people who give up their time," he added.
'All connected'
It is not just clubs and counties doing well but the Ulster University team is also joined in on the success.
In February of this year, they beat University College Dublin to win the Sigerson Cup.
The win shows a "correlation" in college success and county success, according to Ulster University manager Barry Dillon.
He told BBC News NI: "It's all connected. When you look at the Dublin team that won six All-Ireland's in a row, the Sigerson Cup stayed almost exclusively in Dublin bar a few years.
"The dominance is similar to the early 90s for Ulster but I've never seen a time just as good as this.
"It's just amazing."
What competitions are currently held by teams in Ulster?
Derry won the National League Division One title in March
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship - Armagh
All-Ireland Under 20s - Tyrone
All-Ireland Minor - Derry
Tailteann Cup - Down
National League Division One - Derry
National League Division Two - Donegal
All-Ireland Senior Club - Glen (Derry)
All-Ireland Intermediate Club - St Patrick's (Armagh)
All-Ireland Junior Club - Arva (Cavan)
Sigerson Cup - Ulster University
Hogan Cup - Omagh CBS (Tyrone)