2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final

The 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final was played at Croke Park in Dublin on 21 November 2020. It was contested by Dublin and Meath. Dublin won a tenth consecutive title.[1]

2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final
Event2020 Leinster Senior Championship
Dublin Meath
3–21 0–9
Date21 November 2020
VenueCroke Park, Dublin
RefereeDerek O'Mahoney (Tipperary)
Attendance0[note 1]

Background

The game was held on a date originally intended for the second test of the 2020 International Rules Series. That event was cancelled in April 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland, which also led to the delayed championship.[2][3] The GAA had proposed to hold a memorial ahead of the second test in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday massacre, which saw fourteen civilians killed at a football match at Croke Park during the Irish War of Independence.[4] This was instead held ahead of the 2020 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final.

As originally announced, the GAA intended the game to occur after a ceremonial "finishing of the match" featuring Dublin and Tipperary teams consisting of "available county or club players".[5] However, Dublin were playing in this game and Tipperary qualified for the 2020 Munster Senior Football Championship Final which was held the following day, limiting player availability.

Match details
Dublin3–21 – 0–9Meath
Report
Referee: Derek O'Mahoney (Tipperary)
Dublin
Meath
1Stephen Cluxton (c)
2M. Fitzsimons
3Jonny Cooper
4Eoin Murchan
5J. McCarthy
6J. Small
7R. McDaid
8Brian Fenton
9D. Byrne
10N. Scully
11C. Kilkenny
12S. Bugler
13P. Small
14C. O'Callaghan
15Dean Rock
Substitutes:
?B. Howard for Cooper
?P. Mannion for P. Small
?E. Lowndes for J. Small
?C. Costello for O'Callaghan
?K. McManamon for Kilkenny

Manager:
Dessie Farrell
1M. Brennan
2S. Lavin
3C. McGill
4D. Toner
5Donal Keogan
6Shane McEntee
7M. Costello
8B. Menton
9R. Jones
10C. O'Sullivan
11B. McMahon
12R. Ryan
13J. Morris
14S. Walsh
15T. O'Reilly
Substitutes:
?C. Hickey for Toner
?E. Harkin for McGill
?E. Devine for Costello
?J. Scully for McMahon
?J. Wallace for O'Reilly


Manager:
Andy McEntee

Man of the Match:

Post-match

Dublin captain Stephen Cluxton laid a wreath for the centenary.[6]

Former Dublin player Ciarán Whelan said the result was "worrying" for the sport and that his former team "have their opponents psychologically smashed".[7]

The result, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, meant Dublin directly qualified for an All-Ireland semi-final against Cavan. Dublin won, easily, to qualify for the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, the eighth time in ten years that Dublin reached the decider.[8]

Notes
  1. The game was played behind closed doors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.

References
  1. "Dublin secure perfect 10 on emotional night at Croke Park". irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  2. "Future of International Rules series up in the air as 2020 games cancelled due to coronavirus crisis". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  3. McFarlane, Glenn (5 April 2020). "AFL calls off International Rules series this year, with doubts on its future viability". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  4. "Rules return to feature Bloody Sunday memorial". Independent.ie. 19 November 2019.
  5. "GAA launch series of tributes to the Croke Park Bloody Sunday victims". Hogan Stand. 2 September 2020.
  6. "Ten-in-a-row Dublin have mastered the art of evolution". irishexaminer.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  7. "Whelan: Rest of Leinster is 'psychologically smashed'". rte.ie. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  8. "Dublin beat Cavan at a canter to reach another final". RTÉ. 5 December 2012.
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