Cork and Kerry did not seek earlier All-Ireland SFC draw

Mayo/Leitrim error was a printing issue.

Tue, 05 May, 2026 - 11:48

John Fogarty

Cork and Kerry were not among counties who sought an earlier All-Ireland SFC first round draw.

The 16 counties in this year’s Sam Maguire Cup learned their fate on Monday. Half of them will compete in the four provincial finals over the next two weekends.

For a variety of reasons such as accommodation and players’ work schedules, some counties had expressed a preference for this year’s opening round draw being staged prior to the provincial finals.

The Munster finalists were not among them, however. Kerry chairman Patrick O’Sullivan confirmed they did not request the event take place prior to Sunday’s showdown with Cork in Fitzgerald Stadium but said there were pluses and minuses to the draw’s scheduling.

“You can look at it both ways,” said O’Sullivan. “It’s good to know who you’re playing and to be organised for it. You know the type of team you’re playing down the line, the fellas you will have back and the fellas you’ll be trying to get back.

“At the same time, Kerry and Donegal is a massive draw two weeks after what is a big Munster final against Cork at home, the first without crowd restrictions in nearly 10 years.

“The draw was a bit of a distraction. If it were a lesser county, would it be as much of an issue, I wonder. But that’s how it has happened.” Reacting to the draw, Kerry manager Jack O’Connor on Monday questioned the timing of it ahead of their date with Cork. Describing it as “a disconnect”, he said: “I think it just probably takes from the provincial final, to be honest. Munster Council this week will be trying to promote the Munster final and then you have this draw, which will get people talking about the All-Ireland series.” Meanwhile, a printing error was the reason behind Leitrim’s name appearing on Mayo’s when the county was pulled out in Monday’s All-Ireland SFC Round 1 draw.

After Monaghan as provincial finalists were drawn by Central Competitions Control Committee chairman Brian Carroll, GAA director general Tom Ryan revealed from the league qualifiers bowl that Mayo would be their opponents at the end of the month.

While Maigh Eo and the county crest were clearly distinguishable, Leitrim was printed in smaller font on the piece of paper. The small discrepancy was due to an inaccurate original file used when printing off the list of counties. The mistake did not impact the draw.