2026 Dr McKenna Cup

2026 Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup
Tournament details
ProvinceUlster
Year2026
TrophyDr McKenna Cup
SponsorBank of Ireland
Date2–17 January 2026
Teams9
Defending championsDerry
Winners
ChampionsDonegal (12th win)
ManagerJim McGuinness
CaptainCaolan McGonagle
Runners-up
Runners-upMonaghan
ManagerGabriel Bannigan
CaptainMícheál Bannigan
Other
Matches played11
WebsiteUlster GAA

The 2026 Dr McKenna Cup is a Gaelic football competition for county teams in the province of Ulster.[1]

In September 2025, a unanimous vote of Ulster GAA's Competition Controls Committee favoured the holding of a 2026 edition of the competition.[2] The draw, for what is the centenary edition of the competition, took place in November 2025.[3] The first fixture, between Armagh and Tyrone, was played on a Friday evening, 2 January.[4] The group stages saw one game cancelled due to bad weather, and two results reversed due to ineligible players.[5] Donegal emerged as winners with wins over Antrim, Derry and Monaghan.[6]

Competition format

Group stage The nine teams are drawn into three sections of three teams. Each team plays the other teams in their section once, either home or away. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. The tie-break for teams level on points is points average (total scored ÷ total conceded), instead of the usual points difference.[7]

Knockout stage The winners of the three sections and the best of the runners-up in the three sections compete in the semi-finals with the two winners meeting in the final. Drawn games go to penalty shootouts without extra time being played.[8]

Group stage

Section A

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Tyrone 2 2 0 0 37 31 1.194 4 Advance to semi-final
2 Down[a] 2 1 0 1 14 18 0.778 2
3 Armagh[a] 2 0 0 2 17 19 0.895 0
Source: Ulster GAA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Armagh defeated Down by 3-10 to 1-10, but the result was reversed due to the fielding of ineligible players.[5]

Section B

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Monaghan 2 2 0 0 36 30 1.200 4 Advance to semi-final
2 Fermanagh[a] 2 0 0 2 17 20 0.850 0
3 Cavan[a] 2 0 0 2 13 16 0.813 0
Source: Ulster GAA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Fermanagh defeated Cavan by 1-12 to 1-10, but the result was made null and void due to the fielding of ineligible players by both sides; both teams received 0 points.[5]

Section C

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 Derry[a] 2 1 1 0 22 7 3.143 3 Advance to semi-final
2 Donegal[a] 2 1 1 0 18 7 2.571 3
3 Antrim 2 0 0 2 14 40 0.350 0
Source: Ulster GAA
Notes:
  1. ^ a b The Donegal–Derry game was not played due to harsh weather making roads dangerous. The game was declared a draw and both teams received one point.[9]

Ranking of section runners-up

Pos Grp Team Pld W D L PF PA PR Pts Qualification
1 C Donegal 2 1 1 0 18 7 2.571 3 Advance to semi-final
2 A Down 2 1 0 1 14 18 0.778 2
3 B Fermanagh 2 0 0 2 17 20 0.850 0
Source: Ulster GAA

Knock-out stage

Semi-finals

14 January 2026 Semi-final Derry 1-16 (18) – (21) 1-18 Donegal Derry  
19:30 GMT (UTC±0) (HT: 0-10 – 0-07) Venue: Celtic Park
Report TV: YouTube


14 January 2026 Semi-final Monaghan 1-15 (18) – (16) 2-10 Tyrone Inniskeen  
19:30 IWT (UTC±0) (HT: 1-10 – 1-06) Venue: Grattan Park
Report


Final

17 January 2026 Final Donegal 2-17 (23) – (11) 0-11 Monaghan Omagh  
17:00 GMT (UTC±0) (HT: 1-07 – 0-06) Venue: Healy Park
Gls: Shea Malone 2
Pts: Gavin Mulreany 4 (2x2p), Hugh McFadden 2, Conor O’Donnell 2, Jason McGee 2(2p), Turlough Carr 1, Kevin Muldoon 1, Conor McCahill 1, Ryan McHugh 1, Eoin McGeehin 1, Shea Malone 1, Caolan McColgan 1 		Report
Pts: Stephen Mooney 2 (1f), Thomas Hughes 2, Ryan Duffy 1, Jason Irwin 1, David Gartland 1, Andrew Woods 1f, Kian Mulligan 1 ('45'), Louis Kelly 1, Eddie Walsh 1 		Referee: S Murphy (Armagh)


References

  1. ^ "2026 Bank of Ireland Dr. McKenna Cup Groupings". November 28, 2025.
  2. ^ "Ulster GAA confirms Dr McKenna Cup return". BBC. 24 September 2025.
  3. ^ "2026 Dr McKenna Cup draw made". Hogan Stand. 27 November 2025.
  4. ^ Crumley, Odhran (2 December 2025). "Armagh v Tyrone to open returning McKenna Cup". BBC.
  5. ^ a b c "Fermanagh and Armagh docked McKenna Cup points". January 9, 2026 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ Mooney, Francis (January 17, 2026). "Donegal ease past Monaghan to win Dr McKenna Cup" – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ Staff Writer (January 6, 2019). "Here's the permutations of what the Dr McKenna Cup can throw up". Donegal Daily.
  8. ^ Devlin, Michael (December 2, 2025). "2026 Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup fixtures confirmed".
  9. ^ "Dr. McKenna Cup: Donegal and Derry game will not be rescheduled". January 4, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.