2018 Louth Senior Football Championship

2018 Louth Senior Football Championship

Tournament details
County	Louth
Year	2018
Trophy	Joe Ward Cup
Sponsor	Anchor Tours
Date	July – October 2018
Teams	12
Defending champions	Newtown Blues
Winners
Champions	Newtown Blues (22nd win)
Qualify for	Leinster Club SFC
Runners-up
Runners-up	Naomh Máirtín
Promotion/Relegation
Relegated team(s)	Kilkerley Emmets
Other
Matches played	24
←  2017 2019  →

The 2018 Louth Senior Football Championship was the 125th edition of the Louth GAA's premier club Gaelic football tournament for senior graded teams in County Louth, Ireland. The tournament consisted of 12 teams, with the winner going on to represent Louth in the Leinster Senior Club Football Championship. The championship started with a group stage and then progressed to a knock out stage. The draw for the group stages of the championship was made on 8 March 2018.

Newtown Blues were the defending champions after they defeated the Dundalk Gaels in the previous year's final. This was O'Connell's return to the senior grade after claiming the 2017 Louth Intermediate Football Championship title, making a straight bounce back to the top flight after they were relegated to the I.F.C. in 2016.

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2017 championship season. ^{[1] [2]}

To S.F.C. Promoted from 2017 Louth Intermediate Football Championship O'Connell's - (Intermediate Champions)

From S.F.C. Relegated to 2018 Louth Intermediate Football Championship Cooley Kickhams

Group stage

The top two finishers in each group (A, B, C, and D) qualified for the quarter-finals. The bottom finishers of each group qualified for the Relegation Play-off. The draw for the group stages of the championship was made on 8 March 2018.

Group A

Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts Dreadnots 2 2 0 0 35 27 +8 4 Seán O'Mahonys 2 1 1 0 33 36 -3 2 St. Mary's Ardee 2 0 2 0 39 44 -5 0

Round 1 Dreadnots 1-17, 2-12 St. Mary's Ardee, Dunleer, 8/7/2018, Round 2 Dreadnots 2-9, 0-9 Seán O'Mahonys, Castlebellingham, 15/7/2018, Round 3 Seán O'Mahonys 3-15, 3-12 St. Mary's Ardee, Ecco Road, 21/7/2018,

Group B

Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts Newtown Blues 2 2 0 0 39 22 +17 4 Naomh Máirtín 2 1 1 0 30 31 -1 2 Kilkerley Emmets 2 0 2 0 24 40 -16 0

Round 1 Newtown Blues 1-16, 1-7 Naomh Máirtín, Dunleer, 8/7/2018, Round 2 Newtown Blues 1-17, 1-9 Kilkerley Emmets, Castlebellingham, 15/7/2018, Round 3 Naomh Máirtín 3-11, 1-9 Kilkerley Emmets, Dunleer, 22/7/2018,

Group C

Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts St. Patrick's 2 1 1 0 25 22 +2 2 Dundalk Gaels 2 1 1 0 27 28 -1 2 Geraldines 2 1 1 0 22 24 -2 2

Round 1 Geraldines 0-10, 0-9 St. Patrick's, Dowdallshill, 8/7/2018, Round 2 Dundalk Gaels 1-12, 0-12 Geraldines, Ecco Road, 15/7/2018, Round 3 St. Patrick's 1-13, 0-12 Dundalk Gaels, Ecco Road, 21/7/2018,

Group D

Team Pld W L D PF PA PD Pts O'Connell's 2 1 1 0 40 36 +4 2 St. Joseph's Dromisken 2 1 1 0 29 28 +1 2 O'Raghallaighs 2 1 1 0 35 40 -5 2

Round 1 O'Raghallaighs 1-12, 0-13 St. Joseph's, Castlebellingham, 7/7/2018, Round 2 O'Connell's 3-18, 3-11 O'Raghallaighs, Dunleer, 14/7/2018, Round 3 St. Joseph's 0-16, 1-10 O'Connell's, Dunleer, 22/7/2018,

Knock-out Stages

Relegation play-off

The four bottom finishers from each group qualified for the relegation play off. The team to lose both matches was relegated to the 2018 Intermediate Championship.

26 August 2018 11:30am Relegation Semi-Final	O'Raghallaighs	1-21 - 1-20 (a.e.t.)	Kilkerley Emmets	Castlebellingham Referee: David Fedigan

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26 August 2018 1:00pm Relegation Semi-Final	Ardee St. Mary's	0-20 - 1-7	Geraldines	Castlebellingham Referee: Stephen Murphy

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14 September 2018 Relegation Final	Geraldines	3-7 0-6	Kilkerley Emmets	Darver

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Finals

The winners and runners up of each group qualified for the quarter-finals.

	Quarter-Finals					Semi-Finals					Final
	Newtown Blues		1-18
	St. Joseph's Dromisken		0-9			Newtown Blues		0-14
	Dreadknots		5-9			Dredknots		0-7
	Dundalk Gaels		0-9								Newtown Blues		1-11
	Naomh Máirtín		5-16								Naomh Máirtín		1-10
	O'Connells		1-9			Naomh Máirtín		3-13
	St. Patrick's Lordship		0-12			St.Patrick's Lordship		1-8
	Sean O'Mahonys		1-8

Quarter-finals

15 September 2018 4:45pm	Naomh Máirtín	5-16 - 1-9	O'Connells	Dunleer

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15 September 2018 6:15pm	Newtown Blues	1-18 - 0-9	St. Joseph's Dromisken	Dunleer

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16 September 2018 4:30pm	Dreadnots	5-9 - 0-11	Dundalk Gaels	Castlebellingham

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16 September 2018 7:00pm	St. Patrick's Lordship	0-12 - 1-8	Seán O'Mahonys	Ecco Road

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Semi-finals

30 September 2018	Newtown Blues	0-14 - 0-7	Dreadnots	Gaelic Grounds

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29 September 2018	Naomh Mairtin	3-13 - 1-8	St. Patrick's Lordship	Ardee St Marys

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Final

21 October 2018	Newtwon Blues	1-11 - 1-10	Naomh Mairtin	Drogheda Park, Louth
		Report

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Leinster Senior Club Football Championship

Main article: 2018–19 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship

References

1. "Dundalk Democrat Archives". Irishnewsarchive.com. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
2. "Louth Gaelic Football Champions Roll of Honor". Hoganstand.com. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.