2026 O'Byrne Cup

2026 O'Byrne Cup

Tournament details
Province	Leinster
Year	2026
Trophy	O'Byrne Cup
Date	3–16 January 2026
Teams	11
Defending champions	Longford
Other
Matches played	10 (Cup) 4 (Shield)
←  2024 2027  →

The 2026 O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition for county teams in the province of Leinster. ^[1]

The draw was announced in November 2025, with the competition starting on 3 January. ^[2] Features expected include penalties to decide matches instead of extra time, any number of substitutions permitted, matches being reduced to 60 minutes, and "a Shield competition" intended to guarantee every team is involved in more than one match (except for Louth). ^{[3] [4]} The final is scheduled for 17 January. ^[5]

Competition format

The eleven teams are drawn to play in a knockout system. Ten of them play in the first round, while one goes straight to the quarter-final. The five winners progress. Three of the first round winners go into the quarter-finals, and two of them go straight to the semi-finals.

The five losers in the first round are transferred to the O'Byrne Shield, which is also a straight knockout. This structure means that every team, except for Louth, is guaranteed at least two games.

Drawn games go to penalty shootout. Games which cannot be played due to weather conditions are decided by coin toss.

O'Byrne Cup

Round 1

Laois v Dublin

3 January 2026 (2026-01-03) 13:30 IWT (UTC±0) Match 1

Report

Laois	1-17 (20)–(23) 4-14	Dublin
(HT: 0-10 - 3-3)
Pts: Evan O'Carroll 0-6 (5f), Killian Byrne 1-0, Killian Roche 0-3 (1tpf, 1f), Matthew Byron 0-2 (tpf), Brian Byrne 0-2, Cian Doyle 0-1 (f), Paddy O'Sullivan 0-1, Colin Dunne 0-1, Ben O'Connor 0-1		Pts: Niall O'Callaghan 1-6 (3tp), Tim Deering 1-0, Robert Shaw 1-0, Eoin Kennedy 1-0, Clyde Burke 0-3 (1tp), Sean Guiden 0-3 (2f), Kevin Stephenson 0-1, Jack Lundy 0-1

Park–Ratheniska GAA , Ratheniska Referee: James Foley (Meath)

Wexford v Kildare

3 January 2026 (2026-01-03) 13:30 IWT (UTC±0) Match 2

Report

Wexford	0-09 (9)–(18) 2-12	Kildare
(HT: 0-2 - 1-8)
Pts: Colum Feeney 0-3 (1tp), Niall Hughes 0-2 (tp), Pairi Hughes 0-2, Liam Coleman 0-1		Pts: Darragh Swords 1-2, Sam Doran 1-1, Brian McLoughlin 0-2 (1f), Ben Loakman 0-2, Niall Dolan 0-2 (tp), Liam Kelly 0-1, Dara Crowley 0-1, Aaron Browne 0-1 (f)

St Patrick's Park, Enniscorthy Referee: Darragh Byrne (Wicklow)

Carlow v Offaly

3 January 2026 (2026-01-03) 13:30 IWT (UTC±0) Match 3

Report

Carlow	3-09 (18)–(23) 3-14	Offaly
(HT: 1-6 - 1-7)
Pts: Adam McCarron 2-3, Paddy McDonnell 1-0, Colm Hulton 0-3, Darragh Foley 0-2 (2f), Mark Foley 0-1		Pts: Rory Egan 1-4 (1tp), Harry Plunkett 0-4 (3f), Aaron Leavy 1-0, Cormac Egan 1-0, Ciaran Murphy 0-2 (tp), Darragh Flynn 0-2, Keith O'Neill 0-2

Páirc Uí Bhriain , Carlow Referee: Ryan Moran (Kildare)

Wicklow v Meath

3 January 2026 (2026-01-03) 13:30 IWT (UTC±0) Match 4

Report

Wicklow	1-12 (15)–(17) 2-11	Meath
(HT: 0-4 - 2-7)
Pts: Padraig O'Toole 1-1, Mark Jackson 0-4 (2tpf), Dean Healy 0-2, Jack Hardy 0-1, Oisin McGraynor 0-1, Chris O'Brien 0-1, Paidi Kavanagh 0-1, Eoin Darcy 0-1		Pts: Diarmuid Moriarty 1-4 (2f), Killian Smyth 1-0, Niall Finnerty 0-3 (1tp), Conor Gray 0-2 (tp), Oisin Martin 0-2

Echelon Park , Aughrim Referee: Paddy McDermott

Longford v Westmeath

3 January 2026 (2026-01-03) 13:30 IWT (UTC±0) Match 5

Longford	scr. – w/o	Westmeath

Glennon Bros Pearse Park , Longford

Match 5 not played due to frozen pitch. Match was decided via coin toss. ^{[6] [7]}

Quarter-finals

Offaly v Meath

7 January 2026 (2026-01-07) 19:30 IWT (UTC±0) Quarter-final 1

Offaly	2-13 (19)–(15) 0-15	Meath
(HT: 2-9 - 0-6)
Pts: Jordan Hayes 1-4 (1tpf), Ciaran Murphy 0-3, Cormac Egan 1-0, Keith O'Neill 0-2 (1f), Daire McDaid 0-1, Ryan Egan 0-1, Eoin Sawyer 0-1, Jack Bryant 0-1 (f)		Pts: Daithi McGowan 0-6 (1tpf, 3f), Diarmuid Moriarty 0-4 (1tpf), Oisin Martin 0-2 (tp), Darragh Campion 0-2, Rian Stafford 0-1

Gracefield GAA , Gracefield Referee: Enda Kelly (Westmeath)

Westmeath v Louth

7 January 2026 (2026-01-07) 19:30 IWT (UTC±0) Quarter-final 2

Report

Westmeath	2-15 (21)–(15) 0-15	Louth
(HT: 2-5 - 0-9)
Pts: Luke Loughlin 0-5 (1tpf), Brandon Kelly 1-1, Brian Guerin 1-0, Robbie Forde 0-3 (2f), Kevin O'Sullivan 0-2, Tom Molloy 0-2, Tadhg Baker 0-1, Kealan Connell 0-1		Pts: Ryan Burns 0-8 (2tpf, 2f, 1'45), Dylan McKeown 0-4 (1tpf, 1f), Conall McCaul 0-2, Eoghan Callaghan 0-1

St Loman's Park , Mullingar Referee: Lar Murphy

Semi-finals

Offaly v Westmeath

10 January 2026 (2026-01-10) 14:00 IWT (UTC±0) Semi-final 2

Report

Offaly	2-08 (14)–(27) 5-12	Westmeath
(HT: 1-3 — 2-7)
Pts: Ciaran Murphy 2-0, Darragh Flynn 0-2 (2f), Jack Bryant 0-2 (1f), Diarmuid Egan 0-1, Cormac Egan 0-1, Eoin Sawyer 0-1, Harry Plunkett 0-1 (f)		Pts: Brandon Kelly 2-1, Danny McCartan 2-0, Senan Baker 1-0, Ronan Wallace 0-3, Luke Loughlin 0-3 (2f), Matthew Whittaker 0-1, Brian Cooney 0-1, Robbie Forde 0-1

TEG Cusack Park , Mullingar

Kildare v Dublin

10 January 2026 (2026-01-10) 17:00 IWT (UTC±0) Semi-final 1

Report

Kildare	1-22 (25)–(16) 1-13	Dublin
(HT: 0-10 — 1-10)
Pts: Alex Beirne 0-7 (1'45, 1f), Harry O'Neill 1-0, James Harris 0-3 (1tp), Sam Doran 0-3, Brian McLoughlin 0-2, Darragh Swords 0-2, Eoin Cully 0-2, Ben Loakman 0-1, Kevin Feely 0-1, Aaron Browne 0-1 (f)		Pts: Clyde Burke 0-5 (2tp), James McCarville 1-0, Dylan Kettle 0-2, Eoin Kennedy 0-1, Sam Moloney 0-1 ('45), Niall O'Callaghan 0-1, Luke Gifford 0-1

St Conleth's Park , Newbridge Referee: Eamonn O'Connor (Offaly)

Final

Kildare v Westmeath

16 January 2026 (2026-01-16) O'Byrne Cup Final

Kildare	v	Westmeath

O'Byrne Shield

Quarter-final

Carlow v Wexford

7 January 2026 (2026-01-07) 19:30 IWT (UTC±0)

Report

Carlow	1-13 (16)–(13) 0-13	Wexford
(HT: 0-5 - 0-7)
Pts: Colm Hulton 1-3 (1f), Shane Clarke 0-2, Conor Crowley 0-2 (1f), Tadhg Roche 0-1, Conor Doyle 0-1 (f), Sean Murphy 0-1, Ross Dunphy 0-1, Paddy McDonnell 0-1, Patrick Doyle 0-1		Pts: Sean Nolan 0-6 (1tp), Cathal Kehoe 0-2, Eoghan Nolan 0-1, Shane Doyle 0-1, James Lawless 0-1, Mark Rossiter 0-1, Pairic Hughes 0-1

Tullow GAA , Tullow Referee: Stephen Fagan (Wicklow)

Semi-finals

Carlow v Laois

10 January 2026 (2026-01-10) 14:00 IWT (UTC±0)

Report

Carlow	2-15 (21)–(18) 3-09	Laois
(HT: 1-8 - 1-6)
Pts: Conor Doyle 0-5 (2tp), Colm Hulton 1-2, Ross Dunphy 1-1, Paddy McDonnell 0-2, Tadhg Roche 0-1, Sean Murphy 0-1, Conor Crowley 0-1 (f), Mikey Bambrick 0-1, Shane Clarke 0-1		Pts: Alan Kinsella 2-0, Paul Kingston 1-1 (1f, 1pen), Matthew Byron 0-3 (1'45, 1tpf), Cian Nolan 0-3, Niall Corbet 0-1, Jake Darcy 0-1

Fr Ryan Park , Rathvilly Referee: Darragh Byrne (Wicklow)

Wicklow v Longford

10 January 2026 (2026-01-10) 14:00 IWT (UTC±0)

Report

Wicklow	3-15 (24)–(14) 1-11	Longford
(HT: 2-6 - 0-5)
Pts: Eoin Darcy 1-3 (1f, 1tpf), Mark Jackson 0-5 (1tp, 1tpf), Sean Murphy 1-0, Conor Fee 1-0, Chris O'Brien 0-2 (tp), Liam O'Neill 0-2, John Paul Nolan 0-1, Tom Moran 0-1, Oisin McGraynor 0-1 (f), Padraig O'Toole 0-1		Pts: Dessie Reynolds 0-5 (1tp), Matthew Carey 0-4 (1f), Cathal McCabe 1-0, Jayson Matthews 0-1, Paddy Mollaghan 0-1

Bray Emmets GAA , Bray

Shield Final

Carlow v Wicklow

16 January 2026 (2026-01-16) O'Byrne Shield Final

Carlow	v	Wicklow

References

1. "2026 O'Byrne Cup & Walsh Cup | Dublin GAA | Latest News, Fixtures & Results". Dublin GAA Board.
2. Ryan, Clem (4 November 2025). "2026 O'Byrne Cup Draw". KFM.
3. "Louth drawn against Longford or Offaly in O'Byrne Cup Quarter-final". Irish Independent. November 5, 2025.
4. "2026 O'Byrne and Walsh Cup fixtures revealed". Hogan Stand. 5 November 2025.
5. Hartnett, Alan (5 November 2025). "Laois footballers and hurlers learn their fate as O'Byrne and Walsh Cups return for 2026". Laois Today.
6. O'Brien, Padraic (January 3, 2026). "FROZEN out of the O'Byrne Cup as Longford v Westmeath is postponed". www.longfordleader.ie.
7. "GAA: Clare edge Treaty, Longford lose out via coin toss". rte.ie. January 3, 2026.