A-Z of the 2025 county season

All-Ireland winners

After losing last year’s All-Ireland Intermediate final to Leitrim, the Tyrone ladies bounced back this season to earn the spoils. They used the hurt from 2024 to fuel their charge and a league campaign spent in Division One, playing the top teams week in, week out, helped push them on towards All-Ireland glory this year.

Blown away

The All-Ireland final didn’t really live up to expectations. The semi-finals were pretty quiet, with Kerry always holding Tyrone at arm’s length while Donegal eased past Meath, but the final failed to raise the pulse at all. From the off, Kerry were sharper, faster and looked more up for the battle. There was a short spell when Donegal offered a challenge, but the Kingdom weren’t for stopping and won Sam at a canter.

Comeback kid

Michael Murphy hit the headlines this year for so many reason. His introduction against Armagh in the league gained an incredible reception from the Donegal fanbase and he was exceptional all season. His 2025 form was arguably better than the last few years he had before retirement, and he came back into the Donegal fold in phenomenal shape. His performances this season will have guaranteed him an All-Star, but the ultimate prize of a second Celtic Cross eluded him. Maybe he’ll give it one more year.

Departures

Monaghan’s loss is Mayo’s gain by the looks of things as Andy Moran is going to be the new Mayo manager. The former Footballer of the Year earned a lot of credit for Monaghan’s attacking displays in 2025, and he’ll hope to bring his native county to a new level. Paddy Tally is part of his backroom team and Tally departed the Derry job after just one season in charge, leaving the door open for Ciarán Meenagh, who stepped aside from Conor Laverty’s Down management ticket to take over the Oak Leaf County.

Extra-time

For the fourth year in a row, the Ulster final dragged into extra-time. Surprisingly for Armagh however, penalties weren’t required this time around. If anything, the fact that the destination of the Anglo Celt can’t be decided inside 70 minutes just shows the complete competitiveness of the Ulster Championship. It was Donegal who got their hands on the trophy this year, for the second successive season, and they just about edged out their fiercest opponents Armagh, with one point to separate the sides after over 100 minutes of action.

Fifteen-minute spell

Armagh’s grip on the Sam Maguire ended in a ferocious 15-minute spell. Just after half time, the Orchard County led the All-Ireland quarter-final by five points and looked well on their way to reaching the last four, but Kerry had other ideas. They dominated the kickouts but also seemed to score every time they entered the attacking half of the pitch, with David Clifford and Seánie O’Shea immense throughout. Kerry won at a canter in the end, and it was a horrible way for Armagh’s rein as All-Ireland champions to end.

Goals

There were ten more goals in the 2025 All-Ireland Football Championship compared to 2024 and most supporters will be delighted with that stat. Is that down to the new rules? Possibly. There were 123 green flags raised throughout the championship and that number may only increase if the FRC decide to award four points for a major.

Hooter

The new rules brought an uncertainty to the 2025 season, and the hooter rule took some getting used to. It wasn’t without it’s controversy, with Meath bagging a goal in their league clash with Westmeath after the hooter had sounded, with Westmeath ultimately dropping out of Division Two. There was also the Monaghan and Donegal Ulster Championship clash, where the Farney men were denied of a final shot at an equaliser because the ball had gone over the sideline after the hooter sounded, bringing an end to the game.

Inconsistent

Mayo could well fill this spot every season. In the group stages of the All-Ireland series, they once again showed that inconsistent streak that has held them back for so long. They pushed Galway all the way in the Connacht final, but lost out to Cavan, in Castlebar, on the opening day of the round-robin. They bounced back to beat Tyrone, in Omagh, and dragged their Donegal contest right down to the wire but Ciarán Moore’s late strike saw Jim McGuinness’ men top the group and Mayo limp out of the championship.

James Naughton

Naughton racked up an incredible personal tally of 4-12 as Limerick defeated Waterford in the league, 4-24 to 1-17, and secured promotion to Division Three. Naughton’s tally was one point more than the previous record for highest individual score in an inter-county match, which was held by Frankie Donnelly of Tyrone, who kicked 4-11 against Fermanagh in the 1957 Dr. Lagan Cup.

Kildare

The Tailteann Cup headed to Kildare this year and, in truth, they were probably the favourites for the competition right from the off. Armagh’s Aidan O’Rourke was involved in Brian Flanagan’s management team and the Lilywhites also defeated Fermanagh in the semi-final at Croke Park on their way to sealing a spot in the race for Sam next season.

League champions

Monaghan’s spell outside of Division One didn’t last very long and Gabriel Bannigan’s men returned to top-flight football after just one season in Division Two. They latched onto the new rules and scored heavily throughout the league, losing twice to Meath and Down, but that was enough for them to reach Croke Park and the Division Two decider. They played some awesome football that night and proved too strong for Roscommon, winning by 10 points in the end and returning to the top tier as Division Two champions.

Mickey Harte

Mickey Harte’s golden touch rubbed off on Offaly this season and the Errigal Ciaran clubman collected another National League medal. He has now tasted league success with four different counties. He’d already won Division One titles with both Tyrone and Derry while he also led Louth to successive Division Three and Division Four triumphs. This year, managing Offaly alongside Declan Kelly, Harte added another piece of silverware to his packed trophy cabinet as Offaly saw off Leinster foes Kildare by two points in the showpiece.

New rules

The big talking point of 2025. Have they been a success? The majority of people would say they have been after a thrilling All-Ireland Championship. Unfortunately, the semi-finals and finals failed to excite the crowd as other games did before them but all in all, the game does seem to be in a better place. The FRC did a good job, but they’re not finished yet and we could see another new rule or tow added to the game of Gaelic football for the 2026 season.

Out of nowhere

There wouldn’t have been too many people at the start of the year that would have confidently said that Tipperary were going to get their hands on the Liam MacCarthy Cup. As far as the All-Ireland Hurling Championship goes, Tipperary pretty much came from nowhere to capture the ultimate crown and completely blitzed Cork in the decider, with a second-half performance for the ages

.

Portlaoise

The scene of one of the biggest upsets in recent GAA history. Looking back, it may not seem that shocking, but the prospect of Meath finally toppling Dublin wasn’t predicted by too many before the game. The big wind at Portlaoise helped the Royal County build up ahead of steam and it was just about staying ahead during the second half, which they were able to do. They didn’t get their hands on the Delaney Cup, but Robbie Brennan’s men were one of the good news stories of 2025.

Quality

It was unfortunate for Conor Laverty’s Down to be relegated to Division Three after battling so hard over the last few years to get out of that tier. But come championship, they showed their quality, and they have some unbelievably talented footballers in their ranks, and their age profile is fantastic as well. However, it seems that unless they reach a provincial final next season, they will once again be competing in the Tailteann Cup, which is an awful shame because they showed they’re at a level where they can compete for Sam.

Relegation

Antrim are still on the lookout for a new manager, with Paddy Bradley recently pulling out of the running to replace Andy McEntee in the hot seat. Whoever eventually takes the job will immediately be faced with the task of lifting the Saffrons out of Division Four. Antrim were relegated from the league this season, and had a poor Tailteann Cup run as well, so things can only get better in 2026.

Seventeen wides

Armagh’s All-Ireland title defence was probably at its strongest when they defeated Dublin at Croke Park in round two of the group stages, securing their place in the quarter-finals with one game remaining. Dublin’s wide count definitely aided Kieran McGeeney’s men that day as Dessie Farrell’s side kicked 17 of them, with some really uncharacteristic attempts on goal.

Teenager

Still just a teenager, Finbarr Roarty was one of the stories of 2025. He’s standout performances for Donegal makes him a shoo-in for Young Footballer of the Year and he certainly deserves it. The Naomh Conaill clubman probably didn’t have the best All-Ireland final, but he showed enough throughout the campaign that’s he’s going to lead the line in the green and yellow of Donegal for the next decade or more. At just 18 years of age, he’s only getting started.

Unmarked

The big question coming out of the 2025 All-Ireland final wasn’t the one-sided nature of the game or the new rules, but why did Donegal leave Paudie Clifford free? In Donegal’s zonal defence, they decided to just man-mark David Clifford, which meant that Paudie had the freedom of the park and controlled the tempo of the game from centre half-forward. He had 76 touches of the ball throughout and didn’t give away possession once.

Victory speeches

Are they a thing of the past? Pat Spillane has been fairly critical of the victory speeches from both the football and hurling All-Ireland finals and maybe he has a point, they do tend to drag on a wee bit. We’ll probably not see the back of them anytime soon as it feels quite traditional at this stage and maybe they’ll shake things up a bit next year.

Wee County

Even for neutrals, one of the highlights of the campaign was seeing Sam Mulroy climb the steps of the Hogan Stand and collect Louth’s first piece of provincial silverware since 1957. It was their third Leinster final in a row but their first where Dublin didn’t stand between them and the trophy and they took full advantage of that fact, slamming home three goals to defeat Meath. Ger Brennan will wear the Dublin bainisteoir bib next year but will forever be remembered as a legend in Louth.

X-rays

Diarmuid O’Connor had a brutal year for Kerry as he just couldn’t get fit. He was constantly sidelined through injury, although he did make a substitute appearance in the All-Ireland final. His absence certainly didn’t hinder their midfield options however as Sean O’Brien, Mark O’Shea and Joe O’Connor all came to the fore.

Youth

Tyrone are a team to watch for the future. The production line in the Red Hand County has been producing plenty of talented footballers at underage level for a few years now and it’s only a matter of time before they earn success at senior level. Tyrone won All-Ireland titles at minor and u-20 grade this year and Malachy O’Rourke will surely have his eyes on a few of those players for the season ahead.

Zzzz

With the O’Duffy Cup now safely stored away in Galway, it brings a close to the inter-county season. The subject of next year’s various All-Ireland campaigns, the favourites, the runners and rides, can all wait until January. For now, the club action will dominate our thoughts, but it won’t be long until the National Leagues kicks into gear again.