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Picture the scenario: Dublin, relegated to Division 2 this year, win the All-Ireland this year. But they have a stinker of a league in 2027 and get relegated (happens to good teams more often than you'd think, e.g. Westmeath 2017 and Derry 2018 down to Division 4, Cork 2019 down to Division 3, Dublin 2021 down to Division 2) and don't make the Leinster final. Suddenly they find themselves out of the league places to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup competition even though they're defending champions! Even the Tailteann Cup winners get in but not them. Think it needs a quick fix in Congress.
Tacaí Liatroma (Leitrim) - Posts: 1293 - 14/05/2026 14:05:06
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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Picture the scenario: Dublin, relegated to Division 2 this year, win the All-Ireland this year. But they have a stinker of a league in 2027 and get relegated (happens to good teams more often than you'd think, e.g. Westmeath 2017 and Derry 2018 down to Division 4, Cork 2019 down to Division 3, Dublin 2021 down to Division 2) and don't make the Leinster final. Suddenly they find themselves out of the league places to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup competition even though they're defending champions! Even the Tailteann Cup winners get in but not them. Think it needs a quick fix in Congress." I think Congress have more important issues then worrying about a scenario with 100000/1 odds of happening now in fairness.
mickosarmy (Wicklow) - Posts: 4 - 14/05/2026 15:03:32
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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Picture the scenario: Dublin, relegated to Division 2 this year, win the All-Ireland this year. But they have a stinker of a league in 2027 and get relegated (happens to good teams more often than you'd think, e.g. Westmeath 2017 and Derry 2018 down to Division 4, Cork 2019 down to Division 3, Dublin 2021 down to Division 2) and don't make the Leinster final. Suddenly they find themselves out of the league places to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup competition even though they're defending champions! Even the Tailteann Cup winners get in but not them. Think it needs a quick fix in Congress." You are correct.. in theory it could happen.. but id say there is a less than 0.1% chance. Has it ever happened that the all Ireland champions have been relegated to division 3 in the year immediately following them winning Sam?
Would be no harm to revisit the provisions at congress if it were to put your mind at ease.
indaknownow (Offaly) - Posts: 121 - 14/05/2026 15:09:18
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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Picture the scenario: Dublin, relegated to Division 2 this year, win the All-Ireland this year. But they have a stinker of a league in 2027 and get relegated (happens to good teams more often than you'd think, e.g. Westmeath 2017 and Derry 2018 down to Division 4, Cork 2019 down to Division 3, Dublin 2021 down to Division 2) and don't make the Leinster final. Suddenly they find themselves out of the league places to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup competition even though they're defending champions! Even the Tailteann Cup winners get in but not them. Think it needs a quick fix in Congress." Yeah, you're correct that it could actually happen, even though chances of it actually happening are miniscule.
Still, there's a process there to put it right, if it means that much to you. Put in a motion for your club to send to County Convention at the end of the year, for them to send up along the line to Congress.
All such things have to come from somewhere and one of the great things about the GAA is that every single member has the power to kickstart a change where it's needed, instead of waiting for "the suits up above" to think of it or do it.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3607 - 14/05/2026 17:34:10
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Replying To Tacaí Liatroma: "Picture the scenario: Dublin, relegated to Division 2 this year, win the All-Ireland this year. But they have a stinker of a league in 2027 and get relegated (happens to good teams more often than you'd think, e.g. Westmeath 2017 and Derry 2018 down to Division 4, Cork 2019 down to Division 3, Dublin 2021 down to Division 2) and don't make the Leinster final. Suddenly they find themselves out of the league places to qualify for the Sam Maguire Cup competition even though they're defending champions! Even the Tailteann Cup winners get in but not them. Think it needs a quick fix in Congress." Probably happen to Leitrim.
ORIELMAN85 (Monaghan) - Posts: 1048 - 14/05/2026 17:42:57
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Replying To indaknownow: "You are correct.. in theory it could happen.. but id say there is a less than 0.1% chance. Has it ever happened that the all Ireland champions have been relegated to division 3 in the year immediately following them winning Sam?
Would be no harm to revisit the provisions at congress if it were to put your mind at ease." Simple solution.
Qualifiers for Sam -
-Seeded - AI and TC Champions from last year, Provincial Champions from this year.
-Unseeded - Provincial runners up and NFL placings to make 16.
Seanfan (Roscommon) - Posts: 558 - 14/05/2026 17:47:31
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The new Football Championship setup really seems to be stimulating people's imaginations in making up unlikely scenarios.
Since I've too much time on my hands I actually started looking through the records to see if I could find a time when this would ever have come into play, and since the league began in 1925-26 there have been 0 occasions where the reigning All Ireland champion both failed to make their provincial final and weren't among the top 15 teams in the league.
There's a chance Cork finished low in the 1945-46 league as AI champs, but the league was geographically split instead of by division, and I can't find any finished table so it's impossible to tell.
Next most likely suspect is 1992, when Down lost the Ulster Semi Final, and only finished 5th in their group in a wacky 3 group 18 team Div. 1. Might have still made Sam though.
So in 100 years of NFL play, there's no clear cut cases of this "anomaly" happening. And even less chance today when teams know what's at stake.
CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1730 - 14/05/2026 19:40:06
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Replying To Seanfan: "Simple solution.
Qualifiers for Sam -
-Seeded - AI and TC Champions from last year, Provincial Champions from this year.
-Unseeded - Provincial runners up and NFL placings to make 16." It would be a relatively simple solution all right, to say that the Sam Maguire competition shall feature the reigning Sam Maguire champions, the reigning Tailteann Cup champions, the eight provincial finalists, and whatever number of NFL placings to bring it up to 16.
Your seeding wouldn't work, though. Six seeded teams, and ten unseeded. And possibly only five or even as few as four seeded teams, if either or both the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup winners of one year went on to win their province the following year.
Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3607 - 14/05/2026 22:08:53
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