All County Football League

The following cups are presented to ACFL winners (per 2024 season):

• 🏆 Division 1 (Top 4): Leader Cup (SFL)
• 🏆 Division 1 (Top): Johnny Skelly Cup
• 🏆 Division 2 (Top 4): Patsy Reilly Cup
• 🏆 Division 2 (Top): Michael Moran Cup
• 🏆 Division 3 (Top 4): John Gilmore Cup
• 🏆 Division 3 (Top): Jimmy Flynn Cup
• 🏆 Division 4 (Top 4): Bertie Allen Cup
• 🏆 Division 4 (Top): Unnamed Cup
• 🏆 Division 5 (Top 2): John Drake Cup

Cup Changes:

When ACFL was introduced in 1980 the cups presented were as follows:

• 🏆 Senior League: Leader Cup (SFL)
• 🏆 Division 2: Michael Moran Cup
• 🏆 Division 3: Patsy Reilly Cup
• 🏆 Division 1A: Hugh Devine Cup
• 🏆 Division 2A: John Ralph Cup
• 🏆 Division 3A: Paddy Keenan Cup

Prior to the introduction of the ACFL in 1980, the Leader Cup had been awarded for the Senior League (Divisions 1 and 2), the Patsy Reilly Cup was awarded for Intermediate League and the Hugh Devine Cup was awarded for the Junior League. At this time it was possible to win both the Michael Moran Cup for topping Division 2 and win the Leader Cup (Senior League) title which was decided by the top two teams in Divisions 1 & 2 meeting in a ‘Top 4’ playoff. There was no trophy for the team topping Division 1 until one was introduced in 1990.

In 1990 a new cup was introduced for the team finishing top of Division 1 (Bertie Allen Cup). At the same time the Leader Cup was changed to a Super League involving the top 2 teams in Divisions 1 & 2 and winners of Divisions 3 & 4. That structure ended after 1994 and Leader Cup was played for exclusively by Division 1 teams thereafter.

During the 1990’s the John Ralph Cup was switched from Division 2A to Division 3A.

In 2002 the Division 1 trophy changed from Bertie Allen Cup to Johnny Skelly Cup.

Three new ‘Special League’ competitions were introduced and played from 2002 to 2008 without any County (Senior, U21 or Minor) players. The Special League trophies were Bertie Allen Cup, Patsy Reilly Cup and John Gilmore Cup and they were not part of the ACFL structure, hence their winners are not listed on this page. Those Special competitions ended in 2008 and the cups were repurposed.

In 2010 the Bertie Allen Cup was presented to the winner of Division 2 (had previously been Michael Moran Cup), while the Michael Moran Cup was used instead for the Top 2 Competition in that Division.

In 2012 the Patsy Reilly Cup was presented to the winner of Division 2, with the Michael Moran Cup presented to winner of the Top 5 in that Division and Bertie Allen Cup presented to the winner of Bottom 4 in that Division.

From 2012 the John Gilmore Cup was presented to the winner of the Top 4 Competition in Division 3.

In 2014 the Michael Moran Cup returned to it’s original position for winner of Division 2, while the Patsy Reilly Cup was presented to the winner of the Top 6 in that Division. Since 2017 the Patsy Reilly Cup has been played for by the Top 4 in Division 2.

In 2018 there were two titles for Division 3 (3A/3B) with the Jimmy Flynn Cup presented for Division 3A. The 2010’s also saw the Padraig Gearty Cup introduced for winner of Division 6 (called Reserve League 3 at the time).

In 2024 a title was introduced for the team finishing top of the Division 4 table. No cup was actually available so an alternative temporary cup was presented on the day while a new cup for topping the division first appeared in 2025, presented to then winners Young Grattans. The team topping Division 4 in 2024 (Fr. Manning Gaels) are not cited in the list of winners in the 2024 Convention Book, however on the assumption that the title existed in 2024 (albeit with no cup), we include that title win on this page.

Leader Cup began in 1936 when a new cup was presented to the County Board by Mr. A. M. Farrell, Managing Director of the Longford Leader newspaper. His father had founded the newspaper and was the first Chair of the Longford County Board (📷 Source). The County Board invited suggestions as to “the manner in which it should be competed for”. Mr. J Mannix (who was County Board Vice Chairman from 1928 to 1938) proposed that it should be a perpetual trophy and, after further discussion in July 1936, it was agreed that it would be presented on an annual basis for a Senior Football League competition “between parish clubs to be played on the single league system on neutral venues”. It was also agreed that gate receipts from Leader Cup games would be pooled and allocated evenly between competing clubs. While the name of the competition is the ‘Leader Cup’ or ‘Longford Leader Cup’, over the decades it also became known as the Senior League (and as the Super League for a short period too). The format of the Leader Cup changed a number of times over the years. In 1952 Clonguish won the title as a Junior team and in 1960 Ballymahon won the title after having just won the Junior Football Championship.

With the introduction of the All-County Football Leagues in 1980, the Leader Cup became the knockout finale for top teams in Divisions 1 & 2 of ACFL. In 1990 a decision was made to introduce a separate cup for the team finishing top of Division 1. This meant that the top two teams in Divisions 1 & 2 along with the winners of Divisions 3 & 4 progressed to a ‘Super League‘ with the winner receiving the Leader Cup. This resulted in a ACFL Division 2 team winning the Leader Cup in 1992 (Mostrim) and 1993 (Ardagh St. Patricks), the only times this has happened. The Super League structure was discontinued in 1995 and the structure reverted back to Leader Cup being played for by the top teams in Division 1 only. With the exception of just five years (1938, 1967, 2018, 2020 & 2022), the Leader Cup has been won annually since 1937 and is the oldest Gaelic Games trophy still being presented in Longford. Eight clubs have won the Leader Cup and ACFL Division 1 double in the same season: Mullinalaghta (4 times), Clonguish (3), Fr. Manning Gaels (2), Killoe Young Emmets (2), Abbeylara (1), Colmcille (1), Dromard (1) and Longford Slashers (1). Read more on Leader Cup here.

When the All-County Football League began in 1980 there was no cup for the team finishing top of Division 1, with the top two teams in Divisions 1 and 2 competing for the Leader Cup (Senior Football League) at the end of all games in Divisions 1 and 2. The winner of Division 2 did actually receive a cup for finishing top of that division (Michael Moran Cup). In 1990 a decision was made to introduce an equivalent cup for the team finishing top of Division 1 and the Bertie Allen Cup was presented to the ACFL Division 1 winner from that point. From 2002 the Division 1 cup changed to the Johnny Skelly Cup.

Fr. Manning Gaels and Mullinalaghta St. Columbas are the only clubs to have achieved three-in-a-row of ACFL Division 1 titles, with Fr. Manning Gaels the only club to have completed five-in-a-row of Division 1 titles. Eight clubs have won the ACFL Division 1 and Leader Cup double in the same season: Mullinalaghta (4 times), Clonguish (3), Fr. Manning Gaels (2), Killoe Young Emmets (2), Abbeylara (1), Colmcille (1), Dromard (1) and Longford Slashers (1). ACFL Division 1 has expanded and contracted over the years, from as small as 6 teams in the early 1990’s to as large as 16 teams in 2010 & 2011. Division 1 was split into two groups in 2011 (1A & 1B), 2020 (A & B), 2022 (1 & 2) and 2023 (1 & 2), and in those years the Division 1 title was decided between the top team in each group. In 2023 the ACFL Division 1 and Leader Cup finals were combined together into one game with Mullinalaghta beating Killoe on penalties to take both titles. The Division 1 title is distinct and different from the Senior Football League (Leader Cup) in the same way that the team topping Division 1 of the National Football League is different from the National Football League winner.

Prior to 1980 the Senior Football League was comprised of Divisions 1 & 2. In 1979 Mostrim beat Killoe Young Emmets in the Division 2 final and became the first team to be presented with the new Michael Moran Cup. The following year the league was restructured and following the introduction of the ACFL the Michael Moran Cup was used for the winner of ACFL Division 2, while the top two teams in Division 2 continued to compete against the top two teams from Division 1 for the Leader Cup (Senior Football League). Across the history of the ACFL, the Leader Cup has been won by Division 2 teams twice – Mostrim in 1992 and Ardagh St. Patricks in 1993. Only once has the winner of Division 2 also won the Leader Cup – Ardagh St. Patricks in 1993. Typically the team winning ACFL Division 2 gets promoted to Division 1. In some years there were promotion/relegation playoffs between the top team in Division 2 and bottom team in Division 1 to decide promotion, and on some occasions the team winning Division 2 therefore didn’t go up to Division 1. In today’s ACFL structure the winner of ACFL Division 2 automatically gets promoted to Division 1.

Typically the winner of Division 2 was presented with the Michael Moran Cup which was first presented to Mostrim in 1979 and became the trophy for the winner of ACFL Division 2 when the ACFL was first introduced in 1980. However from 2020 to 2014 different cups were presented to the Division 2 winner (Bertie Allen Cup in 2010 & 2011 and Patsy Reilly Cup in 2012 & 2013), and in those years the Michael Moran Cup was instead presented to the winner of the Top teams in the Division. From 2014 order was restored with the Michael Moran Cup presented to the Division 2 winner while the top teams at the end of the league competed for the Patsy Reilly Cup.

Division 2 Cup (Top 4): In 2001 an additional knockout competition was introduced for the Top 4 teams in Division 2 at the end of the league campaign. A restructure in 2003 meant that the Top 4 competition was abolished and didn’t return until 2009. Today the winner of the Division 2 Cup (Top 4) receives the Patsy Reilly Cup which was previously used for the winner of the Special Division 2 competition (played without County players) from 2002 to 2008. This Division 2 Cup competition involved Top 2 teams from 2009 to 2011, Top 5 teams in 2012 & 2013, Top 6 teams in 2014 & 2015, Top 5 teams in 2016 and since 2017 has involved Top 4 teams at the end of the league campaign.

Division 3 started out as the ‘Junior’ division, however pretty quickly we see second teams competing in the Division and by the late 1980’s it had swelled to 18 teams, half of which were second teams of clubs in Divisions 1 & 2. In 1990 the league was restricted such that all 24 first teams were split evenly across Divisions 1-4 and so Division 3 was back to just first teams. By 1997 the second teams were re-appearing once again in Division 3 and by 2000 the division was solely comprised of second teams. From 2004 to 2009 Division 3 was split into A and B, with separate titles for each. The Division swelled to 19 teams by 2006 (10 in 3A and 9 in 3B). From 2010 Division 3 was back to one group with no A/B split, and was solely second teams at this stage and would continue to be so for most of the 2010’s. Due to restructuring in 2011, there was no ACFL Division 3. The League was split into Divisions 1, 2, R1, R2, R3, R4 that year (R for Reserve). Since 2020 Division 3 continues to be dominated by second teams of clubs in Divisions 1 & 2. In today’s ACFL structure the winner of ACFL Division 3 automatically gets promoted to Division 2.

Division 3 Cup (Top 4): In 2001 an additional knockout competition was introduced for the Top 4 teams in Division 3 at the end of the league campaign. A restructure in 2003 meant that the Top 4 competition was abolished and didn’t return until 2012. Today the winner of the Division 3 Cup (Top 4) receives the John Gilmore Cup which was previously used for the winner of the Special Division 3 competition (played without County players) from 2002 to 2008.

Divisions 4, 5 & 6 were previously Reserve 1, 2 & 3 and before that were Divisions 1A, 2A & 3A. When ACFL was introduced in 1980, all first teams played in Divisions 1, 2 & 3, while regraded players joined second/third teams in competing in Divisions 1A, 2A & 3A. This structure remained in place throughout the 1980’s. From 1990 to 1994 the league was restructured such that the first teams were spread evenly across four divisions (1-4) and Divisions 1A, 2A & 3A were reduced to 1A & 2A. Hence during these five years the teams in Division 4 were first teams, whereas for all other years Division 4 was for second teams.

From 1991 the ACFL expanded to include 3A once again, bringing the total count of divisions to seven (1, 2, 3, 4, 1A, 2A, 3A). In 1995 Division 4 was discontinued and the first teams spread between Divisions 1-3. This reduced the overall number of divisions to six. In 1996 an additional Division 4A was added but was scrapped the following year. In 1999 Divisions 1A, 2A & 3A became Divisions 4, 5 & 6 and this structure remained in place until the end of 2010. It is worth noting that Division 5 was split into A and B (with cup for each) in 2010. In 2011 Division 3 was abolished and Reserve 1, 2, 3 & 4 were introduced alongside Divisions 1 & 2. In 2012 Division 3 was reinstated and Reserve 4 was abolished, keeping the total number of divisions at six. This structure of 6 Divisions was maintained until 2020. In 2021 the Reserve Leagues were replaced by Divisions 4 and 5 as the league reduced to five Divisions.

• Division 4 / Reserve 1 / Division 1A are equivalent.
• Division 5 / Reserve 2 / Division 2A are equivalent.
• Division 6 / Reserve 3 / Division 3A are equivalent.

It is worth noting that there is no promotion or relegation in Division 4 and no promotion in Division 5.

Divisions 4 & 5 – Cups Clarified: In 2021 the ACFL structure was changed to replace Reserve Leagues with Divisions 4 & 5 instead. Thereafter the Division 4 title was played for by the top 4 teams in the table at the end of all rounds, with the winner receiving the Bertie Allen Cup. In 2024 a title was introduced for the team finishing top of the Division 4 table. No cup was actually available so an alternative temporary cup was presented on the day while a new cup for topping the division first appeared in 2025. The team topping Division 4 in 2024 (Fr. Manning Gaels) are not cited in the list of winners in the 2024 Convention Book, however on the assumption that the title existed in 2024 (albeit with no cup), we include it in our list of titles won. A new cup appears in 2025 and is presented to Young Grattans who topped Division 4 in 2025. This was in addition to the Bertie Allen Cup which is played for by the top 4 teams in Division 4. The Division 5 title is played for by the top teams (Top 4 from 2021 to 2023, Top 2 since 2024), with the winner receiving the John Drake Cup.

Special Junior League was introduced in 1957 and Special Intermediate League was introduced in 1973. Both competitions ran separate and distinct from the respective Intermediate League and Junior League competitions up to 1979 when All County Football League (ACFL) was introduced and replaced both the Intermediate and Junior Leagues. The Special Leagues continued until the start of the 21st Century and were then replaced with three Special League competitions which are outlined below.

From 2002 to 2008 there were three ‘Special League’ competitions existed:

• 🏆 Special Division 1 (Bertie Allen Cup)
• 🏆 Special Division 2 (Patsy Reilly Cup)
• 🏆 Special Division 3 (John Gilmore Cup)

These competitions were played without County Senior, U-21 or Minor players and also referred to as ‘Special’ Division competitions. In some cases their final was between the top 2 at the end of the rounds of games, while in other instances it was top 4 through to semi-finals. These competitions were separate and distinct from the ACFL and in some cases had different teams than those in the ACFL Divisions, hence those titles are not included on this page. These Special competitions were discontinued after 2008 and the cups were later repurposed.

It is worth noting that Special Intermediate League and Special Junior League competitions had been held since the 1970’s prior to the introduction of the ACFL structure in 1980. These were separate to ACFL competition and their winners are therefore not shown on this page.

🏆 Special Division 1 (Allen Cup)

The Bertie Allen Cup was repurposed in 2002 and used for a new competition which ran from 2002 to 2008 and excluded any County Senior, U-21 or Minor players. The winners of that Special Division 1 or Allen Cup competition in those years were:

2002: Rathcline
2003: Colmcille
2004: Cashel
2005: Fr. Manning Gaels
2006: Rathcline
2007: Killoe Young Emmets
2008: Ballymahon

This was not part of ACFL, hence these titles are not captured in the various tables above. The competition was discontinued after 2008 and the Bertie Allen Cup was later repurposed, initially for use in ACFL Division 2 and currently for the winner of ACFL Division 4.

🏆 Special Division 2 (Reilly Cup)

The Patsy Reilly Cup was repurposed in 2002 and used for a new competition which ran from 2002 to 2008 and excluded any County Senior, U-21 or Minor players. The winners of that Special Division 2 or Reilly Cup competition in those years were:

2002: Seán Connollys
2003: St. Brigids Killashee
2004: Longford Slashers
2005: St. Marys Granard
2006: Mostrim or Kenagh?
2007: Mostrim
2008: Mullinalaghta St. Columbas

This was not part of ACFL, hence these titles are not captured in the various tables above. The competition was discontinued after 2008 and the Patsy Reilly Cup was later repurposed, initially for use in ACFL Division 2 and currently for the winner of the Top 4 competition in Division 2.

🏆 Special Division 3 (Gilmore Cup)

The John Gilmore Cup was repurposed in 2002 and used for a new competition which ran from 2002 to 2008 and excluded any County Senior, U-21 or Minor players. The winners of that Special Division 3 or Gilmore Cup competition in those years were:

2002: No Record
2003: Young Grattans
2004: Ballymore
2005: St. Brigids Killashee
2006: Legan Sarsfields
2007: Legan Sarsfields
2008: Carrickedmond

This was not part of ACFL, hence these titles are not captured in the various tables above (i.e. The winners of Special Division 3 from 2004 to 2007 did not have any team in ACFL Division 3). The competition was discontinued after 2008 and the John Gilmore Cup was later repurposed and used for the winner of Top 4 competition in Division 3.

The Ardagh Moydow club was formed in 2019 with the amalgamation of Ardagh St. Patricks and Moydow Harpers to form a new combined club in the parish. Prior to 2016 titles were won by the individual clubs of Ardagh St. Patricks and Moydow Harpers respectively. From 2016 to 2018 the two clubs competed together in a Group Team called Ardagh/Moydow. The two clubs then formally amalgamated to create the Ardagh Moydow club in 2019. The Roll of Honour shows titles won from 2016 to 2018 as ‘Ardagh/Moydow’ because they were won by the group team of that name. Titles won from 2019 onward are shown as Ardagh Moydow because they were won by the new club. In the table of winners, titles won by Ardagh/Moydow from 2016 to 2018 and titles won by Ardagh Moydow from 2019 onward are both combined into the same title count as ‘Ardagh Moydow’.