The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2004 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the premier Gaelic football competition in 2005. It consisted of 33 teams and began on Sunday 2 May 2004. The championship concluded on Sunday 26 September 2004, when Mayo were defeated by Kerry by 1–20 to 2–9.
Since the introduction of the so-called "back-door" system, a number of changes have taken place in the championship format. In 2004 the following system was used:
The provincial championships in Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht ran as usual on a "knock-out" basis. These provincial games were then followed by the "Qualifier" system:
Round 1 of the qualifiers included all the counties (except New York) that do not qualify for the Provincial Semi-Finals. An open draw was made to give eight pairings.
Round 2 consisted of the eight defeated teams in the Provincial Semi-Finals playing against the eight winners from Round 1. A draw was made to determine the eight pairings.
Round 3 consisted of the eight winners from Round 2. Another open draw was made to determine the four pairings.
Round 4 consisted of each of the four teams defeated in the Provincial Finals playing against the four winners from Round 3. A draw was made to determine the four pairings.
The All-Ireland Quarter-Finals: Each of the four Provincial Champions played one of the four winners from Round 4. The All-Ireland Semi-Finals were on a Provincial rota basis, initially determined by the Central Council. If a Provincial Championship winning was defeated in its Quarter-Final, the team that defeated it would take its place in the Semi-Final.
M Harte (1-2, one pen, one free), O Mulligan (0-5, three frees), K Hughes (0-2), B McGuigan (0-1), S O'Neill (0-1); C Gourley (0-1); Sean Cavanagh (0-1).
S Maguire (0-5, five frees), J Sherry (0-2), M McGrath (0-2), M Little (0-1); E Maguire (0-1), D Kelly (0-1).
K O'Connor (1-1), J Killeen (0-3), E Bradley (0-2), K Lilly (0-2).
C Mortimer (1-12, six frees), A O'Malley (1-3), A Moran (0-5), M Moyles (1-1), M McNicholas (0-2), J Gill (0-2), A Dillon (0-1), B Maloney (0-1), F Costello (0-1).
P Taylor 1-4, D Sloyan 0-4, S Davey 0-3; M Breheny 0-2, M McNamara 0-1, J Davey 0-1.
S Curran 1-1; G Henegan 1-1, F Dolan 0-3, F Grehan 0-2, S O'Neill 0-2, K Mannion 0-2, G Cox 0-1, P Noone 0-1, J Dunning 0-1, A McPadden 0-1, J Tiernan 0-1.
Tipperary withdrew from the competition following the resignation of their manager, Andy Shorthall, giving Fermanagh a walkover into Round 2.[1]
Round 2[]
The winners of round 1 were joined by the semi final losers of each provincial championship. The matches would be between a round 2 winner and a provincial championship semi final loser.
The winners of round 3 were joined by the losers of each provincial championship final. The matches would be between a round 3 winner and the loser of a provincial championship final.
The provincial champions and the winners of round 4 contested the quarter finals. The quarter final matches would be between a provincial champion and a round 4 winner.
Quarter Finals
Semi Finals
Final
Fermanagh
0-12
Armagh
0-11
Fermanagh (R)
0-09 1-08
Mayo (R)
0-09 0-13
Mayo
0-16
Tyrone
1-09
Mayo
2-09
Kerry
1-20
Derry
2-09
Westmeath
0-13
Derry
1-11
Kerry
1-17
Kerry
1-15
Dublin
1-08
Quarter-finals
Fermanagh v Armagh
7 August 2004 Quarter-final
Fermanagh
0-12 - 0-11
Armagh
Croke Park, Dublin
S Maguire 0-5, T Brewster 0-3, C Bradley 0-2, E Maguire 0-1, J Sherry 0-1.
S McDonnell 0-7, K McGeeney 0-1, P McKeever 0-1, D Marsden 0-1, O McConville 0-1.
Referee: J Bannon (Longford)
Mayo v Tyrone
7 August 2004 Quarter-final
Mayo
0-16 - 1-09
Tyrone
Croke Park, Dublin
A Dillon 0-6, D Brady 0-3, C Mortimer 0-3, T Mortimer 0-2, R McGarrity 0-1, K McDonald 0-1.
S O’Neill 1-3, O Mulligan 0-3, M Harte 0-1, G Cavlan 0-1, P Canavan 0-1.
Referee: P Russell (Tipperary)
Derry v Westmeath
14 August 2004 Quarter-final
Derry
2-09 - 0-13
Westmeath
Croke Park, Dublin
E Muldoon (1-6, 4 frees), Paddy Bradley (1-2, 1 free), E Burke (0-1).
D Dolan (0-5, 3 frees, 1 ’45), J Fallon (0-2, 2 frees), F Wilson (0-2, 2 frees), D Glennon (0-2), A Mangan (0-1), G Dolan (0-1).
Referee: M Curley (Galway)
Kerry v Dublin
14 August 2004 Quarter-final
Kerry
1-15 - 1-08
Dublin
Croke Park, Dublin
D Ó Cinnéide (1-5, 3 frees), C Cooper (0-5, 1 free), W Kirby (0-2), D O'Sullivan (0-1), P Galvin (0-1), L Hassett (0-1).
S Connell (0-5, 5 frees), J Sherlock (1-0), D Homan (0-2), C Keaney (0-1, free).
Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan)
Semi-finals
Mayo v Fermanagh
22 August 2004 Semi-final
Mayo
0-09 - 0-09
Fermanagh
Croke Park, Dublin
C Mortimer (0-4), A Dillon (0-2); K McDonald (0-1), D Heaney (0-1), T Mortimer (0-1).
C Bradley (0-3), T Brewster (0-1), J Sherry (0-1), L McBarron (0-1); E Maguire (0-1), S Maguire (0-1), M Little (0-1).
C Mortimer (0-5), T Mortimer (0-3), K McDonald (0-2), R McGarrity (0-1), A O'Malley (0-1), D Brady (0-1).
J Sherry (1-1), C Bradley (0-3), S Maguire (0-2), M Little (0-1); T Brewster (0-1).
Referee: J Bannon (Longford)
Derry v Kerry
29 August 2004 Semi-final
Derry
1-11 - 1-17
Kerry
Croke Park, Dublin
Paddy Bradley (0-6), E Muldoon (1-1), C Gilligan (0-2), F Doherty (0-1), P McFlynn (0-1).
C Cooper (0-6), D O'Sullivan (1-0), D O Cinneide (0-2), MF Russell (0-2), T Ó Sé (0-2), E Brosnan (0-1), P Galvin (0-1); D Ó Sé (0-1), P Kelly (0-1), W Kirby (0-1).
Final
Kerry v Mayo
26 September 2004 Final
Kerry
1-20 - 2-09
Mayo
Croke Park, Dublin
C Cooper (1-5), D Ó Cinnéide (0-8), W Kirby (0-3); P Galvin (0-1); D O'Sullivan (0-1), M Ó Sé (0-1), MF Russell (0-1).
A Dillon (1-2), M Conroy (1-1), K McDonald (0-4), C Mortimer (0-1), B Maloney (0-1).
Attendance: 79,749 Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan)
Main article: 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final
Championship statistics[]
Miscellaneous[]
Carlow defeat Longford in the Leinster Championship for the first time since 1977.
Limerick and Waterford meet in the Munster Championship for the first time since 1991.
The Ulster final was moved from St Tiernach's Park, Clones to Croke Park, Dublin.
Westmeath win the Leinster Championship for the very first time in their history.