The 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the 2004 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the premier Gaelic football competition in 2005. It consisted of 33 teams and began on Sunday 2 May 2004. The championship concluded on Sunday 26 September 2004, when Mayo were defeated by Kerry by 1–20 to 2–9.
Format
Since the introduction of the so-called "back-door" system, a number of changes have taken place in the championship format. In 2004 the following system was used:
The provincial championships in Munster, Leinster, Ulster and Connacht ran as usual on a "knock-out" basis. These provincial games were then followed by the "Qualifier" system:
Round 1 of the qualifiers included all the counties (except New York) that do not qualify for the Provincial Semifinals. An open draw was made to give eight pairings.
Round 2 consisted of the eight defeated teams in the Provincial Semifinals playing against the eight winners from Round 1. A draw was made to determine the eight pairings.
Round 3 consisted of the eight winners from Round 2. Another open draw was made to determine the four pairings.
Round 4 consisted of each of the four teams defeated in the Provincial Finals playing against the four winners from Round 3. A draw was made to determine the four pairings.
The All-Ireland Quarterfinals: Each of the four Provincial Champions played one of the four winners from Round 4. The All-Ireland Semifinals were on a Provincial rota basis, initially determined by the Central Council. If a Provincial Championship winning was defeated in its Quarterfinal, the team that defeated it would take its place in the semifinal.
M Harte (1-2, one pen, one free), O Mulligan (0-5, three frees), K Hughes (0-2), B McGuigan (0-1), S O'Neill (0-1); C Gourley (0-1); Sean Cavanagh (0-1).
S Maguire (0-5, five frees), J Sherry (0-2), M McGrath (0-2), M Little (0-1); E Maguire (0-1), D Kelly (0-1).
K O'Connor (1-1), J Killeen (0-3), E Bradley (0-2), K Lilly (0-2).
C Mortimer (1-12, six frees), A O'Malley (1-3), A Moran (0-5), M Moyles (1-1), M McNicholas (0-2), J Gill (0-2), A Dillon (0-1), B Maloney (0-1), F Costello (0-1).
P Taylor 1-4, D Sloyan 0-4, S Davey 0-3; M Breheny 0-2, M McNamara 0-1, J Davey 0-1.
S Curran 1-1; G Henegan 1-1, F Dolan 0-3, F Grehan 0-2, S O'Neill 0-2, K Mannion 0-2, G Cox 0-1, P Noone 0-1, J Dunning 0-1, A McPadden 0-1, J Tiernan 0-1.
Tipperary withdrew from the competition following the resignation of their manager, Andy Shorthall, giving Fermanagh a walkover into Round 2.[1]
Round 2
The winners of round 1 were joined by the semi-final losers of each provincial championship. The matches would be between a round 2 winner and a provincial championship semi final loser.
The winners of round 3 were joined by the losers of each provincial championship final. The matches would be between a round 3 winner and the loser of a provincial championship final.
The provincial champions and the winners of round 4 contested the quarter-finals. The quarter final matches would be between a provincial champion and a round 4 winner.
Paddy Bradley (0-6), E. Muldoon (1-1), C Gilligan (0-2), F Doherty (0-1), P McFlynn (0-1).
C Cooper (0-6), D O'Sullivan (1-0), D O Cinneide (0-2), MF Russell (0-2), T Ó Sé (0-2), E Brosnan (0-1), P Galvin (0-1); D Ó Sé (0-1), P Kelly (0-1), W Kirby (0-1).
