County Rankings 2001-2015

[Feckitt]

I have drawn up my own rankings of the counties since the beginning of the qualifiers and quarter finals in 2001.  I have decided to only award credit to counties who have reached the quarter finals.  I considered giving credit to those who reached the last 12, but this skews the results unfairly towards Munster and Connacht counties who can occasionally reach the last 12 by default. (Example, this year Leitrim will reach the last 12 if they beat New York and London).

20 Counties have reached the last 8 since the inception of the qualifiers in 2001.  I have ranked the counties by stats, not opinion.  The 4 columns are for All Ireland, Runners Up, Semi Finalist, Quarter Finalist.  I do not give additional credit for winning a provincial title except where the results throw up a draw.  In the only case where this was relevant I have placed Roscommon above Westmeath beacuse Roscommon won 2 provincial titles to Westmeaths 1.

The most recent counties to be added to this list where Limerick in 2011.  Down in 2010( who in typical Down fashion went straight from nowhere to an All-Ireland Final), and Wexford and Kildare in 2008, and Kildare have reached at least the QF every year since then.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has a better way of ranking the counties.


1.  Kerry          4-4-2-2
2.  Tyrone       3-0-1-5
3.  Cork           1-2-5-1
4.  Armagh      1-1-1-3
5.  Dublin         1-0-5-5
6.  Donegal     1-0-2-3
7.  Galway       1-0-0-4
8.  Mayo           0-3-1-3
9.  Meath         0-1-2-1
10. Down         0-1-0-1
11. Derry          0-0-2-1
12. Kildare        0-0-1-4
13. Fermanagh 0-0-1-1
14. Wexford     0-0-1-0
15. Laois           0-0-0-4
16. Roscommon 0-0-0-3
17. Westmeath  0-0-0-3
18. Sligo            0-0-0-2
=19. Monaghan 0-0-0-1
=19. Limerick     0-0-0-1

[AZOffaly]

Armagh seem very high there, but I know that's because of their early successes. I think it's fair enough as a historical view of how well teams have done since the arrival of the backdoor. Another slant on it, to give a more current picture would be to give more recent achievements a heavier weighting.

[Feckitt]

It is not meant to reflect the current state of teams.  It is entirely an historical picture, but one that is maybe a lot more relevant than the roll of honour which appears in your All Ireland Final Programme which shows Wexford and Cavan away up the list with 5 All-Irelands each.
I think the Armagh position is fair enough because for the first half of the period covered they were a very serious team.

If I had put this up at the end of the 2010 season, Down would have been positioned above Dublin because of their AIF appearance, but I think with every year that goes by a more accurate picture is emerging. 
Who will be the next county to break onto this list, Cavan? Offaly?, Louth?

[southdown]

Seems like a true enough reflection

[BennyHarp]

I have drawn up my own rankings of the counties since the beginning of the qualifiers and quarter finals in 2001.  I have decided to only award credit to counties who have reached the quarter finals.  I considered giving credit to those who reached the last 12, but this skews the results unfairly towards Munster and Connacht counties who can occasionally reach the last 12 by default. (Example, this year Leitrim will reach the last 12 if they beat New York and London).

20 Counties have reached the last 8 since the inception of the qualifiers in 2001.  I have ranked the counties by stats, not opinion.  The 4 columns are for All Ireland, Runners Up, Semi Finalist, Quarter Finalist.  I do not give additional credit for winning a provincial title except where the results throw up a draw.  In the only case where this was relevant I have placed Roscommon above Westmeath beacuse Roscommon won 2 provincial titles to Westmeaths 1.

The most recent counties to be added to this list where Limerick in 2011.  Down in 2010( who in typical Down fashion went straight from nowhere to an All-Ireland Final), and Wexford and Kildare in 2008, and Kildare have reached at least the QF every year since then.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has a better way of ranking the counties.


1.  Kerry          4-4-2-1
2.  Tyrone       3-0-1-5
3.  Cork           1-2-5-1
4.  Armagh      1-1-1-3
5.  Dublin         1-0-5-5
6.  Donegal     1-0-2-3
7.  Galway       1-0-0-4
8.  Mayo           0-3-1-3
9.  Meath         0-1-2-1
10. Down         0-1-0-1
11. Derry          0-0-2-2
12. Kildare        0-0-1-4
13. Fermanagh 0-0-1-1
14. Wexford     0-0-1-0
15. Laois           0-0-0-4
16. Roscommon 0-0-0-3
17. Westmeath  0-0-0-3
18. Sligo            0-0-0-2
=19. Monaghan 0-0-0-1
=19. Limerick     0-0-0-1

Thats quite interesting to see how successful the various teams have been. I've quickly tried to do a bit of (pointless) analysis based on points for each level of success to try and give a picture of consistency over the period rather than ranking based on titles won. I just randomly thought of gaving 5 points for an AI win, 3 points for a beaten finalist, 2 points for a semi final and 1 for a quarter. Those on equal points i ranked the using Feckitt method of most AI wins or highest finishes. Threw up a few differences in ranking - most notably Mayo moving to 5th.

1.Kerry 4-4-2-1      (37)
2.Tyrone 3-0-1-5      (22)
3.Cork 1-2-5-1      (22)
4.Dublin 1-0-5-5      (15)
5. Mayo 0-3-1-3      (14)
6. Armagh 1-1-1-3      (13)
7. Donegal 1-0-2-3      (12)
8. Galway 1-0-0-4      (9)
9. Meath 0-1-2-1      (8 )
10. Derry 0-0-2-2      (6)
11. Kildare 0-0-1-4      (6)
12. Down 0-1-0-1      (4)
13. Laois 0-0-0-4      (4)
14. Fermanagh 0-0-1-1   (3)
15. Roscommon 0-0-0-3   (3)
16. Westmeath 0-0-0-3   (3)
17. Wexford 0-0-1-0   (2)
18. Sligo 0-0-0-2      (2)
=19. Monaghan 0-0-0-1   (1)
=19. Limerick 0-0-0-1   (1)

[seafoid]

Kildare are mediocre no matter how you slice it .

Deciding on the points for AI runner up is a bit like grading Olympic medal hauls.

[Feckitt]

BennyHarp, I also tried it out with a points total.  The problem is that you end up with situations like Mayo being ranked above Armagh, Donegal and Galway.  Yes they have consistently been a top team for the past 12 years, but would they swap it all for 1 All-Ireland?  Of course they would.  So in reality they are further down the list.
When you start giving out points for an All-Ireland defeat you have to think how many All Ireland finals is worth a victory?  No amount of days in Croke Park will ever compare to winning the top prize, so Galway's 1 All -Ireland appearance tops Mayo's 3 appearances.  That's the way it should be.

[seafoid]

BennyHarp, I also tried it out with a points total.  The problem is that you end up with situations like Mayo being ranked above Armagh, Donegal and Galway.  Yes they have consistently been a top team for the past 12 years, but would they swap it all for 1 All-Ireland?  Of course they would.  So in reality they are further down the list.
When you start giving out points for an All-Ireland defeat you have to think how many All Ireland finals is worth a victory?   No amount of days in Croke Park will ever compare to winning the top prize, so Galway's 1 All -Ireland appearance tops Mayo's 3 appearances.  That's the way it should be.

All Irelands are priceless . I am thinking about Stew watching the 02 final once a month or whatever it is . No semifinal or lost final gets anywhere near that.
Winning an all Ireland is like converting hope into something tangible and timeless.

[AZOffaly]

You're right about that seafoid. I think awarding points based on performance does give a nice view of consistency, or competitiveness, but nothing compares with even 1 All Ireland win. I can still remember vividly all of Offaly's hurling and football All Irelands from the 80s and 90s. The unbelievable feeling after 1994 was phenomonal, as was the feeling of satisfaction in 1998. Oh for another day like that.

[BennyHarp]

BennyHarp, I also tried it out with a points total.  The problem is that you end up with situations like Mayo being ranked above Armagh, Donegal and Galway.  Yes they have consistently been a top team for the past 12 years, but would they swap it all for 1 All-Ireland?  Of course they would.  So in reality they are further down the list.
When you start giving out points for an All-Ireland defeat you have to think how many All Ireland finals is worth a victory? No amount of days in Croke Park will ever compare to winning the top prize, so Galway's 1 All -Ireland appearance tops Mayo's 3 appearances.   That's the way it should be.

Yes, i totally agree - what i was suggesting was who are the more consistent teams of the decade - i.e. been there or thereabouts year in year out, so perhaps my focus was a bit different to yours.

[seafoid]

You're right about that seafoid. I think awarding points based on performance does give a nice view of consistency, or competitiveness, but nothing compares with even 1 All Ireland win. I can still remember vividly all of Offaly's hurling and football All Irelands from the 80s and 90s. The unbelievable feeling after 1994 was phenomonal, as was the feeling of satisfaction in 1998. Oh for another day like that.

I can name the all Ireland teams off by heart but don't ask me to remember any of the others .
That Sunday evening 5 o'clock September feeling with the muintir  - nothing like it . And better than x club all Irelands, I would add.

[PAULD123]

How about this for a better way to rank it. Firstly you rank the teams by All-ireland victory alone. Then you award points for a loss, semi, quarter final appearance?

The only issue is then how much is each level worth. I would argue a semi is marginally more exciting than a quarterfinal. But getting the showpiece final, even losing it, is far higher prized over a semi, than a semi is prized over a quarter. So lets say 5 for a runner up, 2 for a semi and 1 for a quarter final. If you did that then the table would look exactly the same as you had it before except that Laois move up ahead of Wexford and Fermanagh (which I think is fair comment really). After that you pretty much have the same table. So I think it is a fair reflection of how teams have performed in the last decade.

I think cutting it down to the last five years would show a decent reflection of where teams are placed now. Fancy doing it and printing the results?

[Feckitt]

Ok Paul, last 5 years 2008-2012

1.  Kerry            1-2-0-2
2.  Cork             1-1-2-1
3.  Dublin           1-0-2-1
4.  Tyrone          1-0-1-2
5.  Donegal        1-0-1-1
6.  Mayo             0-1-1-1
7.  Down            0-1-0-1
8.  Kildare          0-0-1-3
9.  Meath           0-0-1-1
10.Wexford        0-0-1-0
=11. Galway       0-0-0-1
=11. Armagh       0-0-0-1
=11. Roscommon 0-0-0-1
=14. Limerick       0-0-0-1
=14. Laois           0-0-0-1

I don't think the shorter timescale works as well.  It doesnt give as full a picture.  Donegal being 3 places behind Cork just doesnt feel right.  Armagh and Galway are the big losers by switching to the last 5 years.

[Farrandeelin]

Mayo have to win an All Ireland if we want to climb up any sort of rankings it seems. 'Mon ta fcuk and let's do it!!!

[mayogodhelpus@gmail.com]

Any ranking that puts Galway above Mayo has no value, Galway have done nothing in a very long time.

Why choose 2001?

Why not start in the year 2000 or ten years ago in 2003 season - 2012 season?

Does Mayo leap frog to third if we win just 1 All-Ireland?