1963 O'Byrne Cup

The 1963 O'Byrne Cup was a Gaelic football tournament contested by the county teams of Leinster GAA. It was the 10th staging of the competition that was first held in 1954, with the aim of starting a fund for injured footballers.^[1]

1963 O'Byrne Cup

Tournament details
Province	Leinster
Year	1963
Trophy	O'Byrne Cup
Date	24 March — 8 December
Teams	12
Winners
Champions	Louth (1st win)
Captain	Jimmy Mulroy
Runners-up
Runners-up	Longford
← 1962 1964 →

Louth won the competition after defeating Longford in the final, played at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda.^[2]

Format

The tournament was contested on a knockout basis. First-round byes were awarded to Dublin, Louth, Meath and Westmeath.

Matches

Preliminary Round

Wicklow v Kilkenny

24 March[3]

Wicklow

3-08 - 1-01

Kilkenny

Ashford

Kildare v Carlow

24 March[4]

Kildare

1-02 - 1-01

Carlow

St Conleth's Park

Longford v Offaly

24 March[5]

Longford

0-09 - 1-02

Offaly

Pearse Park

Wexford v Laois

21 April[6]

Wexford

0-06 - 1-02

Laois

St Patrick's Park, Enniscorthy

Quarter-Finals

Louth v Dublin

24 March[7]

Louth

3-08 - 0-02

Dublin

Gaelic Grounds

Meath v Westmeath

24 March[8]

Meath

1-05 - 0-07

Westmeath

Páirc Tailteann

Kildare v Wexford

29 September[9]

Kildare

2-07 - 2-07

Wexford

St Conleth's Park

Longford v Wicklow

13 October[10]

Longford

2-09 - 0-07

Wicklow

Baltinglass

Wexford v Kildare

27 October (Replay)[11]

Wexford

0-11 - 0-02

Kildare

Bellefield

Semi-Finals

Louth v Meath

11 August[12]

Louth

2-10 - 0-10

Meath

Páirc Tailteann

Longford v Kildare

1 December[13]

Longford

0-06 - 0-04

Kildare

Pearse Park

Final

Louth v Longford

8 December[14][15]	Louth	1-10 - 0-10	Longford	Gaelic Grounds
	Lennon 0-3, Dawe 0-2, McDermott 0-1, Jimmy McDonnell 0-1, O'Kane 0-1			Referee: K. Kenworthy (Dublin)

GK 1 Andy Kieran (Naomh Mhuire) RCB 2 Donal Matthews (Mattock Rangers) FB 3 Leslie Toal (Clan na Gael) LCB 4 Paddy Leech (Newtown Blues) RHB 5 John Doyle (Dundalk Young Irelands) CHB 6 Frank Lynch (Geraldines) LHB 7 Val Murphy (Newtown Blues) MF 8 Mick Gartlan (Roche Emmets) MF 9 Jimmy Mulroy (Newtown Blues) (c) RHF 10 Jim Sheelan (St Patrick's) CHF 11 Jim Judge (Newtown Blues) LHF 12 Liam Leech (Newtown Blues) RCF 13 Eamonn Burgess (Newtown Blues) FF 14 Alfie Monk (Naomh Mhuire) LCF 15 Muckle McKeown (O'Raghallaighs) Substitutes: 16 Kevin Beahan (St Mary's) for McKeown 17 Frank Clarke (Newtown Blues) for Sheelan 18 John Woods (Cooley Kickhams) for Matthews

GK 1 L. Flynn RCB 2 S. Flynn FB 3 L. Gillen LCB 4 W. Morgan RHB 5 B. Barden CHB 6 J. Donlon LHB 7 P. M. Gillen MF 8 L. Higgins MF 9 P. Moriarty RHF 10 R. Carter CHF 11 B. Burns LHF 12 B. Gilmore RCF 13 M. Burns FF 14 S. Donnelly LCF 15 M. Hopkins (c)

References

1. "O'Byrne Cup in need of instant overhaul as Kildare and others announce exit". Leinster Leader. 17 January 2023.
2. "Louth and Longford stats ahead of O'Byrne Cup final". Drogheda Independent. 20 January 2023.
3. "Easy Victory For Wicklow". Wicklow People. 30 March 1963.
4. "Kildare Still Too Strong". The Nationalist and Leinster Times. 29 March 1963.
5. "It Was Victory Day For Longford". Longford Leader. 30 March 1963.
6. "Best Display In Years". New Ross Standard. 26 April 1963.
7. "Louth Had It Easy Against Dublin". The Argus. 30 March 1963.
8. "Unconvincing Win For Meath". The Argus. 30 March 1963.
9. "Wexford Should Have Won". New Ross Standard. 4 October 1963.
10. "Longford Too Good For Wicklow". Wicklow People. 19 October 1963.
11. "O'Byrne Cup Defeat For Wexford". New Ross Standard. 1 November 1963.
12. "Louth Win Through To O'Byrne Decider". Drogheda Independent. 14 December 1963.
13. "Terrifc Performance By Longford". Longford Leader. 7 December 1963.
14. "Louth Capture The O'Byrne Cup For The First Time". Drogheda Independent. 14 December 1963.
15. "Louth and Longford stats ahead of O'Byrne Cup final". Drogheda Independent. 20 January 2023.