Derry Intermediate Football Championship

For the Senior Championship, see Derry Senior Football Championship.

The Derry Intermediate Football Championship (currently also known for sponsorship reasons as the M&L Contracts Derry Intermediate Football Championship) is an annual competition between the mid-tier Gaelic football clubs affiliated to Derry GAA.

Derry Intermediate Football Championship
Irish	Craobh Idirmheánach Peile Dhoire
Founded	1971
Trophy	Sheridan, Bateson and Lee Cup[1]
First winner	Ballymaguigan
Most titles	Craigbane (7 titles)
Sponsors	M&L Contracts

Format

The competition traditionally took the structure of an open-draw knock-out.

In 2007 and 2008, the championship was altered to include a round robin, group structure with the 16 teams divided into four groups. Each club in a group played each other once with the top two in each group advancing to the quarter-finals. From the quarter-finals onwards the competition took the format of a knock-out.

The format was changed once again for the 2009 Championship.^[2] The Derry Competitions Control Committee accepted a proposal to scrap the group stage and introduce a "backdoor" system.^[2] The 16 clubs play in the first round. In the second round the eight first round winners are drawn against each other, with the four winners going into bowl A for the quarter-finals.^[2] The eight first round losers are also drawn against each other and the four winners advance to the quarter-finals (in bowl B).^[2] Teams in bowl A are drawn out against teams from bowl B to make up the quarter-final draw.^[2] Thereafter the competition is an open-draw knock-out.^[2]

Honours

The trophy awarded to the Derry IFC winning team is named after John Bateson (aged 19), James Sheridan (20) and Martin Lee (18), all members of the South Derry Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who died in an explosion in Magherafelt on 18 December 1971.^[3] All three men came from Ballymaguigan and played for the St Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan.

The winners of the Derry Intermediate Championship qualify to represent their county in the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship. It is the only team from the county to qualify for this competition. The Derry IFC winner may enter the Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championship at either the preliminary round or the quarter-final stage. They often do well there, with Steelstown (January 2022, following 2021 Derry IFC win), Craigbane (2000 and 2011) and Eoghan Rua, Coleraine (2006) all winning Ulster titles since the turn of the century, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship.^[4] The winners can, in turn, go on to play in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship, at which it would enter at the semi-final stage, providing it hasn't been drawn to face the British champions in the quarter-finals. Steelstown, for instance, won the 2022 All-Ireland title, after winning the Derry Intermediate Football Championship of the previous year.^[5]

List of finals

Year	Winner	Score	Opponent	Score
1971	Ballymaguigan[6]	1-05	Greenlough	1-02
1972	Swatragh[7]		Dungiven
1973	Ballinascreen III[8]
1974	Glack[9]		Drum
1975	Kilrea[10]
1976	Greenlough[11]		Drum
1977	Glenullin[12]		Desertmartin
1978	Faughanvale[13]
1979	Swatragh[7]
1980	Glen[14]		Drumsurn
1981	Faughanvale[15]
1982	Slaughtneil[16]
1983	Glen[17]		Drum
1984	Moneymore[18]		Drum
1985	Foreglen[19]	1–10	Desertmartin	1-06
1986	Craigbane[20]		An Lúb
1987	Craigbane[21]		Claudy
1988	Slaughtmanus[22]
1989	Limavady[23]		Faughanvale
1990	Bellaghy[24]
1991	Drumsurn[25]
1992	Craigbane[26]		Magilligan
1993	Ballymaguigan[27]	0-09	Dungiven	1-05
1994	An Lúb[28]
1995	Craigbane[29]	1-08	Banagher	1-07
1996	Faughanvale[30]		Craigbane
1997	Craigbane[31]		Claudy
1998	Faughanvale[32]
1999	Faughanvale[33]
2000	Craigbane[34]		Newbridge
2001	Ballymaguigan[35]	1–12	Moneymore	0-06
2002	Newbridge[36]
2003	Ballymaguigan[37]	0–13	Desertmartin	0–12
2004	Foreglen*[38]
2005	Claudy[39]		Eoghan Rua
2006	Eoghan Rua[40]		Foreglen
2007	Newbridge[41]		Foreglen
2008[42]	Greenlough[43]	1–10	Ballymaguigan	0-09
2009	Ballymaguigan[44]	2-08	Greenlough	0–12
2010	Castledawson[45]	0–11	Steelstown	0–10
2011	Craigbane	0-09	Swatragh	0-08
2012	Swatragh[46]		Foreglen
2013	Foreglen	3-09	Glen Maghera	1–11
2014[47]	Castledawson	0-07	Slaughtmanus	0-06
2015[48]	Greenlough	2–17	Craigbane	0-09
2016	Castledawson	0–15	Steelstown	1–11
2017	Newbridge	1-09	Faughanvale	1-04
2018	Banagher[49]	1–12	Ballymaguigan	1-08
2019[50]	Foreglen	0–15	Claudy	0-09
2020	Greenlough	1–12	Steelstown	1-08
2021	Steelstown	0-09	Greenlough	0-08
2022[51][52][53]	Glenullin	0–15	Drumsurn	1–11

• The 2004 final went unplayed, Foreglen were awarded that year's title.^[54]

References

1. "Latest Club News". Official St. Trea's GFC Ballymaguigan website. 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008. Retrieved 30 October 2008.
2. "New championships format". The Irish News. 6 February 2009. p. 49.
3. Corry, Eoghan (1993). Oakboys - Derry's Football Dream Come True. Dublin, Ireland: Torc Books Ltd. p. 5. ISBN 1-898142-10-6.
4. "Derry city's men of Steel edge out Moortown". The Irish News. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
5. "Second half goals see Steelstown crowned All-Ireland champions". Irish Examiner. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
6. "Intermediate Championship 1971". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
7. "Michael Davitt's, Swatragh all set to celebrate their 70th birthday in style". The Irish News. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2022. The Davitt's, playing in the green-and-white hoops associated with a number of Davitt's teams around Ireland, were successful in the intermediate championship ranks in 1972 and '79 and rose to the senior ranks in the 1980s.
8. "Intermediate Championship 1973". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
9. "Intermediate Championship 1974". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
10. "Intermediate Championship 1975". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
11. "Intermediate Championship 1976". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
12. "Intermediate Championship 1977". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
13. "Intermediate Championship 1978". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
14. "Intermediate Championship 1980". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
15. "Intermediate Championship 1981". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
16. "Intermediate Championship 1982". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
17. "Intermediate Championship 1983". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
18. "Intermediate Championship 1984". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
19. "Intermediate Championship 1985". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
20. "Intermediate Championship 1986". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
21. "Intermediate Championship 1987". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
22. "Intermediate Championship 1988". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
23. "Intermediate Championship 1989". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
24. "Intermediate Championship 1990". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
25. "Intermediate Championship 1991". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
26. "Intermediate Championship 1992". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
27. "Intermediate Championship 1993". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
28. "Intermediate Championship 1994". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
29. "Intermediate Championship 1995". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
30. "Intermediate Championship 1996". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
31. "Intermediate Championship 1997". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
32. "Intermediate Championship 1998". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
33. "Intermediate Championship 1999". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
34. "Intermediate Championship 2000". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
35. "Intermediate Championship 2001". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
36. "Intermediate Championship 2002". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
37. "Intermediate Championship 2003". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
38. "Intermediate Championship 2004". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
39. "Intermediate Championship 2005". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
40. "Intermediate Championship 2006". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
41. "Intermediate Championship 2007". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
42. "Greenlough bridge 32-year gap". Hogan Stand. 10 February 2009. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
43. "Intermediate Championship 2008". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
44. "Intermediate Championship 2009". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
45. "Intermediate Championship 2010". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.
46. "Michael Davitt's, Swatragh all set to celebrate their 70th birthday in style". The Irish News. 11 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2022. Success continued for Swatragh with another intermediate football championship in 2012...
47. "Castledawson crowned Derry Intermediate champions". "Northern Ireland World". 6 October 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
48. "Greenlough Derry Intermediate Champions". Highland Radio. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
49. McNulty, Chris; Collins, Charlie (4 November 2018). "Banagher too strong for Glenfin in Ulster Intermediate Championship". Donegal Daily. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
50. Scott, Ronan (25 July 2020). "Foreglen aiming to build on Intermediate success". Gaelic Life. Retrieved 16 November 2022. They will be confident though after they beat Claudy to win the 2019 Intermediate Championship.
51. Watters, Andy (9 November 2022). "Ambition meets opportunity as Paddy Bradley leads Glenullin back into Ulster competition". The Irish News. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
52. "Meet the squad: Glenullin prepare for intermediate football final". Ireland Live. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
53. "Glenullin win Derry Intermediate Football Championship". Highland Radio. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
54. "Intermediate Championship 2004". Archived from the original on 17 February 2012.