2024 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final

Armagh were aiming to win their second All-Ireland; their first was in 2002. They were also beaten finalists in 1953, 1977 and 2003. Galway were aiming to win a tenth All-Ireland; this would have made them only the third county to reach double figures in the all-time rankings. Their last All-Ireland was in 2001; they were beaten finalists in 2022.^[13]

This final was the sixth to be contested by county teams from Connacht and Ulster: the others were 1925 (Galway beat Cavan), 1943 (Roscommon beat Cavan), 1948 (Cavan beat Mayo), 2012 (Donegal beat Mayo) and 2021 (Tyrone beat Mayo).^[14]

Galway were favourites to win ahead of the game.^[5] Former RTÉ match analysts Pat Spillane and Colm O'Rourke both tipped Galway to win.^[16][17]

Members of the Meath team that won the 1999 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final were honoured on the pitch before the game, 25 years later.^[18]

Demand for tickets was extremely high, far exceeding supply.^[19][20]

Additional allocations of tickets were released, with many intending to travel from abroad to see the game.^[21]

Shops in Armagh were said to be struggling to meet demand for replica jerseys, flags and other items ahead of the game. McKeever's Sports was forced to suspend all other activities to reach its target of producing an additional 500 jerseys per day; the company was also supplying kits for several 2024 Summer Olympics participants at the time, including boxing, rowing and rugby.^[22] Armagh fans made Sam the Bear from bales of hay.^[23]

Pearse Stadium held a free, ticketed "fanzone" to allow Galway supporters who did not have tickets to watch the game on a fully high-definition television screen.^[24] One Galway "superfan" was interviewed about his intention to drive his 1953 Ford Popular motor vehicle to the game.^[25][26]

The build-up to the game also coincided with the annual Galway Races, where Galway's team colours and flags were on display.^[27]

Translink provided two extra trains and an additional bus service from Armagh to Dublin, all of which sold out; it added another bus from Newry, which saw similar demand. Translink also operated with improved capacity of its Enterprise train service.^[21]

On 18 July, Tyrone's Sean Hurson was named as referee for the decider, his second All-Ireland SFC final.^[28] Hurson refereed the earlier meeting between the sides at Markievicz Park in the group stage, and also refereed the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, Galway's previous appearance in the decider.^[29]

Former player turned pundit Peter Canavan suggested Stefan Campbell might start the game for Armagh.^[30] Ultimately, Armagh's only change to the starting team from the semi-final victory over Kerry was Connaire Mackin in place of Peter McGrane, so Campbell began the game on the bench.^[31][32] Barry McCambridge switched to corner-back to accommodate Mackin in the left-half-back position.^[33]

Galway named a team that was unchanged from their semi-final.^[34] However, Cein Darcy began the game instead of Galway captain Seán Kelly.^[35] This was a late change, coming just before the game began.^[36]

If the game was a draw after 70 minutes, 20 minutes of extra time would have been played. If the game was still level, the final would have been replayed on 3 August 2024.^[37]

During the game, Armagh players wore jerseys with the team crest above the words "All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final 2024".^[22]

A herring gull was seen on the pitch throughout the first half, before an official intervened and brought it away to be treated for a minor injury unrelated to play.^[38] The bird spent the opening moments of play at the Canal End of the stadium, just inside the Armagh half, before wandering into the other half of the pitch, spending much time close to the sideline near Armagh's right corner-forward; at one stage, the gull left the pitch; however, the bird made a return before being brought to safety.^[39] The gull's rescue prompted applause from spectators in Hill 16.^[40] Many spectators (and publications) erroneously referred to the bird as a "sea gull".^[41] The gull was given pain relief and fluids and was soon able to eat its meals.^[42][43][44] Galway forward Robert Finnerty also came off injured after ten minutes.^[36] Cein Darcy scored the finest point of the first half after twenty minutes, to give Galway a lead of 0–4 to 0–3.^[35] The teams were level on five occasions in the first half.^[45] Ben Crealey equalized for Armagh with the half's concluding score.^[45] The teams were tied, with 0–6 each, at half-time.^[35]

Galway's Paul Conroy scored his third point of the game in the second half.^[45] Then Cillian McDaid gave the Tribesmen a two-point lead in the 38th minute.^[45] Oisín Conaty and Rian O'Neill then scored the points that brought Armagh level once more.^[45] Armagh's Tiernan Kelly scored a point either side of two points by Galway's Shane Walsh.^[45] Armagh introduced Stefan Campbell as a substitute and, almost immediately, he set up Aaron McKay for a goal in the 47th minute, punching to the net after a pass from the left.^[36][46] Galway's Cein Darcy scored the next point eight minutes later.^[45] Niall Grimley, then Oisín O'Neill each scored a point for Armagh, to leave McKay's goal (i.e. three points) as the difference between the teams four minutes from the end of normal time.^[45] Points from Darcy and Cillian McDaid reduced the deficit to one.^[45] Then Galway's Dylan McHugh struck the post with his shot and the ball dropped wide.^[45] Armagh's Joe McElroy performed a crucial block against an attempt by Paul Conroy to level the game in the seventh minute of injury-time.^[45][47] This proved critical to Armagh's eventual one-point victory, as otherwise the game would have gone to extra-time.^[45]

The result meant that, in 2024, teams representing Ulster GAA, had won each of the available major titles in the sport. Down won the 2024 Tailteann Cup, defeating Laois in the final. Derry won the All-Ireland MFC, retaining the title by beating Armagh in a game held three weeks previous to the All-Ireland SFC final. Tyrone won the All-Ireland U20FC title in May, defeating Kerry in the final. Donegal and Derry won the 2024 National Football League Division 1 and Division 2 titles respectively (with Donegal having defeated Armagh). Glen won the All-Ireland Club SFC, Cullyhanna won the All-Ireland Club IFC and Arva won the All-Ireland Club JFC. In college football, UU won the 2024 Sigerson Cup, while Omagh CBS won the 2024 Hogan Cup.^[48]

Armagh captain Aidan Forker accepted the Sam Maguire Cup from GAA president Jarlath Burns, also from Armagh, in the Hogan Stand. In his post-match speech, Forker summed up the Armagh journey, stating: "With faith and belief and hard work, anything is possible".^[49]

Armagh midfielder Niall Grimley dedicated his team's victory to his brother, who had died in a road accident less than a year before.^[50][51]

Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney paid tribute to his "special bunch" of players after the final. Speaking to RTÉ, he said: "At times we weren't playing at our best but you have to hand it to them, they never stopped, they never quit."^[52]

Galway manager Pádraic Joyce spoke of how disappointed he was with his team's performance in the second half. Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the game, he said: "We have no one to blame but ourselves".^[36]

Highlights of the final were shown on The Sunday Game programme which aired at 9:30pm that night on RTÉ2 and was presented by Jacqui Hurley.^[53]

The Sunday Game named eight players from the winners on its Team of the Year, as well as five Galway players and two from Donegal. The TV programme gave Barry McCambridge its Footballer of the Year.^[54]

At Armagh's banquet, which was held in The Carrickdale Hotel on the night of the game, GAA President Jarlath Burns presented the Man of the Match trophy to Oisín Conaty, after RTÉ announced him as the winner on The Sunday Game. No other nominations for the award were mentioned.^[1][2] Conaty was also voted Footballer of the Week on the GAA.ie website on 30 July, two days after the final.^[55]

The Armagh team had a homecoming celebration the day after the final at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh where thousands of fans gathered and lined the streets which started at 3:30 pm, with the team arriving at 5 pm.^[56] The Armagh team paid a visit to Craigavon Area Hospital earlier in the day, meeting some of the young fans who were unable to make it to Croke Park.^[57]

Celebrations were despised by some members in the Unionist community when members of the PSNI were seen on social media flying flags from police patrol cars and celebrating with Armagh supporters.^[58]

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in St Jarlath's Park, Tuam and Pearse Stadium, Galway the day after the final to welcome home the Galway team, the runners-up.^[59]

When swimmer Daniel Wiffen, from Armagh, won the 800 metre freestyle final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, two days after the game, several British and Irish publications linked the gold medal performance with Armagh's All-Ireland SFC title.^[60][61] After qualifying from the heats in first place, Wiffen referenced Armagh's victory and, after the final, he stated "we're All-Ireland champions and Olympic gold medallists".^[62][63] There was also some debate as to whether Wiffen was from County Armagh or the neighbouring County Down, but Wiffen's father explained that the family home's postcode was in County Armagh and that he had gone to school in the city (at St Pat's).^[64] The Wiffen family also watched the game in Paris.^[65]

• Armagh v Galway (2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship)

• Murray, Eavan (27 July 2024). "Armagh granny Kathy doesn't mind who lifts Sam as long as her Galway husband and grandkids are happy". Independent.ie.