GAA calendar squeeze forces O'Fiaich Cup into hibernation
The GAA calendar is so cramped that popular pre-season competitions such as the O'Fiaich Cup have seemingly become relics of the past, with the competition not being played for some time.
So cramped is the GAA calendar that popular pre-season competitions such as the O’Fiaich Cup have seemingly become relics of the past.
Like the Sam Maguire, the O’Fiaich Cup is modelled on the ancient Ardagh Chalice and was presented to Crossmaglen Rangers back in the 1980s by the late Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich to be contested annually by the four counties that make up the Archdiocese of Armagh—namely Louth, Armagh, Tyrone, and Derry.
The idea behind it was to bring back inter-county football to Crossmaglen, with all games played at St Oliver Plunkett Park.
At that time, Louth was the only one of the four participants to have sampled All-Ireland glory at senior level. The remaining three were to follow: Derry (1993), Armagh (2002), and Tyrone (2003).
In the early days, the competition was keenly contested, with all four counties having their name inscribed on the silverware. There was a gap for a number of years when the tournament was given a miss. Whilst it was reintroduced, problems soon arose finding suitable dates to accommodate all four counties, with the result that it has not been played for in some time.
Armagh last lifted the trophy in 2016, beating neighbours Tyrone in the final. The joint captains were Aidan Forker and Rory Grugan. Little did Aidan Forker know then that eight years later he would be climbing the steps of the Hogan Stand to raise aloft the real thing—the Sam Maguire Cup.