Mayo put up a brave fight but Dublin are the undisputed kingpins of gaelic football.

1. DUBLIN (no change)

All-Ireland and Division 1 FL winners, Jim Gavin and his Dublin players have set the bar very high for all the pretenders to their throne. Their Sam Maguire decider win over Mayo may not have been pretty but they got the job done and, on the evidence of this year, look set for a lengthy stay at the top of the gaelic football food chain. Manager Gavin and his selectors have an embarrassment of riches at their disposal. And now with All-Ireland medals in their back-pockets, young players such as Jack McCaffrey, Ciaran Kilkenny and Paul Mannion will only grow in confidence.

2. MAYO (no change)

For the second successive year, Mayo suffered the heartbreak of All-Ireland final defeat. To make matters worse, again it was a game that was there for the taking. It will require an almighty effort from manager James Horan, should he decide to stay on, and his players to get back to gaelic football's blue riband event. Key players such as Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor failed to do themselves justice on the biggest stage of all. They have the raw material but seem to lack the belief when push comes to shove.

3. KERRY (no change)

Kerry gave a more fancied Dublin side one hell of a scare in the last four. You wouldn't expect anything less from a county with such a proud tradition and players of the calibre of the O Se's, the Gooch, Paul Galvin, Declan O'Sullivan and Darran O'Sullivan. The problem now for new manager Eamon Fitzmaurice is that many of the elder statesmen on his panel are in the twilight of their glittering careers. He will be keep his fingers crossed that the Gooch will stick around for another couple of years while James O'Donoghue announced his arrival on the national stage with 2-3 against Dublin.

4. TYRONE (no change)

Mickey Harte and his players scraped over the challenge of Meath and Monaghan thanks to two virtuoso performances by Sean Cavanagh but the former 'Footballer of the Year' was unable to reproduce the goods against Mayo in the semi-final. Their over-reliance on midfielder Cavanagh was their Achilles Heel but the Red Hands showed great spirit this year, no more so when reduced to 14-men against Monaghan. Their style of their play came in for heavy criticism but Mayo had to dig very deep to dispose of their challenge.

5. CORK (no change)

Conor Counihan has called time on his spell as Cork manager and 2013 was a year when the Rebels were not at their fluent best. There have been plenty of changes in personal and dummy teams a plenty, but it is questionable if they knew what their strongest fifteen was. A fresh voice could make a big difference and it will be interesting to see who the Rebels plump for now.

6. MONAGHAN (no change)

The Farney County pulled off the biggest upset of the championship when dethroning Donegal in the Anglo Celt Cup decider and they looked a good bet for an All-Ireland semi-final when they led a Tyrone team with 14-men. However, they blinked first and Mickey Harte's side dug deeper to take the spoils. Perhaps a first Ulster success in 25 years sated their appetite but that shouldn't take away from what was a fantastic year for Malachy O'Rourke's charges.

7. DONEGAL (no change)

What was so surprising about Donegal's demise this year was the manner in which they completely fell apart. There was a total system failure, with the injuries to key players meaning that they were left exposed. We thought that a rematch against Mayo could be just what the doctor ordered to reignite their season but it was just too much for them. They simply didn't have the strength in depth but then what county could afford to have players of the calibre of Karl Lacey and Mark McHugh half fit?

8. CAVAN (no change)

Cavan stood off Kerry for the first half of their All-Ireland quarter-final and paid the price. Once the shackles were thrown off, they put the Kingdom under real pressure. Having gone up against so many Ulster teams the Breffni men were used to playing a defensive system and they need to have a plan B. It has been a hugely promising year for the Breffni County and it should be onwards and upwards for Terry Hyland's charges.

9. MEATH (no change)

Defeat to Tyrone brought the curtain down on Mick O'Dowd's first year as manager. They had their chances against the Red Hand County but a lack of experience cost them. Nonetheless, Royal supporters can look back positively on a year in which they secured promotion to Division 2 and proved that they can compete against top teams like Dublin and Tyrone. If they can unearth a couple of more young players, a la Eamon Wallace and Mickey Newman, they will soon be a force to be reckoned with again.

10. KILDARE (no change)

Kildare was on the brink of civil war after the clubs voted to dispense of Kieran McGeeney's services as manager against the players' wishes. The county is divided over the shock decision and the wounds won't be easily healed. The first qualifier defeat of the Armagh man's tenure against Tyrone will now go down as McGeeney's last game in charge. Coupled with the 16-point Leinster SFC semi-final embarrassment against Dublin and it amounts to a year to forget for the Lilywhites.

11. DERRY (no change)

Played second fiddle to Cavan during extra-time of their round three qualifier. Brian McIver will point to the loss of midfielder PJ McCloskey (cruciate ligament) as a mitigating factor. Gaining revenge over Down in the qualifiers and Division 2 success were the highlights of their year.

12. DOWN (no change)

A combination of injuries and emigration undermined the Mourne County's season and resulted in their relegation from Division 1 and qualifier round two loss to Derry. On the plus side, they opened their Ulster SFC campaign with a win against the Oak Leaf County and produced a spirited display against Donegal in the last four.

13. LAOIS (no change)

Went down fighting against All-Ireland champions Donegal and manager Justin McNulty was rightly proud of the efforts of his players. The Armagh All-Ireland winner has since parted company with the O'Moore County. Who knows what might have been had the likes of Brendan Quigley and Kevin Meaney stuck around following their Leinster SFC exit to Louth.

14. GALWAY (no change)

Came agonisingly close to pulling off one of the upsets of the championship against Cork. They led by three points with five minutes remaining but the Rebel County pipped them at the post. Succeeded in getting the Connacht SFC humiliation at the hands of Mayo out of their system and, all of a sudden, the future doesn't appear to be so bleak.

15. WESTMEATH (no change)

After securing promotion to Division 1 in Spring, Pat Flanagan's charges flopped in the championship. Opened with a victory over Carlow but a heavy defeat against Dublin was followed by a tame qualifier exit against Fermanagh. Ex-Dublin midfielder Paul Bealin has been chosen to take over from Flanagan for 2014.

16. WEXFORD (no change)

Life without Jason Ryan got off to an inauspicious start when the Model County were relegated to Division 3. A championship win over Louth implied better days ahead but defeats against Meath and Laois followed.

17. LOUTH (no change)

After the high of inflicting a 10-point Leinster SFC defeat on Laois, Aidan O'Rourke's charges were brought back down to earth with a bang when losing to Wexford on home soil. Antrim were disposed of in the first round of the qualifiers but Kildare proved to be one bridge too far in round two.

18. ARMAGH (no change)

Orchard County followers won't recall 2013 with any great fondness. They clocked up high scores against the likes of Wicklow and Leitrim but were found wanting against better opposition. Paul Grimley's attacked-minded gameplan has its flaws.

19. LIMERICK (no change)

Despite leading the Shannonsiders to Division 4 league success, Maurice Horan stepped down as manager after three years at the helm. Limerick were beaten by Longford in the qualifiers having lost heavily to Cork in the Munster SFC.

20. FERMANAGH (no change)

The Ernesiders narrowly missed out on back-to-back promotions and next door neighbours Cavan proved to be a thorn in their side in both the Ulster and All-Ireland championship. A qualifier win away to Westmeath proved they are a team to be reckoned with but the resignation of manager Peter Canavan is a big blow to their future prospects.

21. ROSCOMMON (no change)

John Evans has received the thumbs up to continue for a second term as manager of the Rossies and the Kerry native will be looking for a substantial improvement. A heavy defeat to Mayo in the Connacht SFC was followed by a spirited showing against Tyrone in the qualifiers.

22. LONDON (no change)

The Exiles put on a good show against Cavan in round 4 of the qualifiers. Paul Coggins' outfit occupied the wooden spoon position in Division 4 at the end of the league but saved their best form for the championship and claimed the scalps of Sligo and Leitrim to qualify for a first ever Connacht SFC final appearance.

23. LONGFORD (no change)

Declan Rowley has been handed the task of breathing some life back into Longford football. Relegated to Division 3 and beaten by Wicklow in the Leinster SFC, they won just one game all year and that was against Limerick in the qualifiers.

24. OFFALY (no change)

Emmet McDonnell was successful in securing promotion from Division 4 in this first year but the championship draws didn't do him and his side any favours and they suffered defeats at the hands of Kildare and Tyrone.

25. ANTRIM (no change)

There was plenty of opposition to Frank Dawson's reappointment as manager following relegation to Division 4 and championship defeats against Antrim and Louth.

26. TIPPERARY (no change)

Comprehensively outplayed by Kerry in the Munster SFC before finishing four points off the pace against Galway in the qualifiers. The Peter Creedon managed side missed out on promotion to Division 3.

27. WICKLOW (no change)

Harry Murphy's men put the disappointed of dropping down to Division 4 behind them when registering an opening championship win over Longford and put up a good fight against Meath but the year ended on a major downer when suffered a freak 0-2 to 2-21 defeat to Armagh.

28. WATERFORD (no change)

Almost pulled off a memorable qualifier victory over Galway at Pearse Stadium but just came up short by a point - 0-14 to 1-12. Niall Carew was 'gutted' afterwards but it is something to build on in 2014.

29. CLARE (no change)

The Mick O'Dwyer experiment lasted just one year. The Waterville maestro failed to wave his magic wand and the Banner County fell to a 0-10 to 3-17 qualifier defeat to Laois.

30. LEITRIM (no change)

A season that promised so much delivered so little in the end for the Barney Breen/George Dugdale side. The failure to qualify for the provincial decider has taken a good deal of polish off the FBD silverware. Longford native Sean Hagan has been handed the reins for next year.

31. SLIGO (no change)

Knocked out of the Connacht SFC by London. No need to elaborate any further. The Yeats County are in the market for a new manager following Kevin Walsh's departure.

32. CARLOW (no change)

Dr Cullen Park hosted the first ever gaelic football championship game to be staged on a Friday night but Anthony Rainbow's side crashed to a 0-12 to 3-13 loss. Westmeath dumped them out of the provincial championship.

33. NEW YORK (no change)

There is commendable work going on overseas promoting Gaelic Games and while New York are slipping in competitive terms, we need to look at the bigger picture when we review their involvement in the championship. Tweet

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