Two decades of Faithful supremacy

EVEN though Offaly have won seven of the last eight meetings with Dublin, the Metropolitan hurlers can point to an over-all record that is far superior to that of the Midlanders as they meet in the Leinster Championship for the first time in seven years.

The counties were first drawn together in 1896 -a tie that Offaly conceded by default. Offaly did the same thing the following year at the semi-final stage and so the first meeting did not take place until 1903 when Dublin recorded a 3-5 to 1-3 win, at Jones’ Road.

That was the first of 30 championship meetings spread between Croke Park, Kilkenny, Portlaoise, Tullamore, Birr and Mullingar and embracing first and second round ties, semi-finals and finals in 1924, 1928 and 1990 and it was the first of twenty Dublin victories.

Since the late forties the championship paths of Offaly and Dublin have crossed less frequently ten times to be precise with the Faithful County chalking up wins in 1974, 1980, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990, 2004 and Dublin prevailing just twice in 1977, at Mullingar and in 1991 at Croke Park.

The full record of the past 32 Leinster Championship meetings is as follows

1896: Dublin w/o Offaly scr

1897: Dublin w/o Offaly scr

1903: Dublin 3-5 Offaly 1-3

1906: Dublin 4-13 Offaly 2-4

1909: Offaly 2-11 Dublin 1-12

1911: Dublin 7-4 Offaly 2-2

1913: Dublin 6-5 Offaly 4-1

1914: Dublin 4-4 Offaly 2-1

1915: Dublin 7-2 Offaly 3-2

1917: Dublin 3-6 Offaly 3-1

1919: Dublin 2-5 Offaly 0-5

1920: Dublin 8-6 Offaly 2-3

1922: Dublin 3-5 Offaly 3-3

1924: Dublin 4-4 Offaly 3-1

1925: Dublin 4-7 Offaly 0-0

1928: Dublin 9-7 Offaly 4-3

1933: Dublin 2-3 Offaly 1-3

1941: Dublin 5-11 Offaly 2-4

1942: Dublin 4-7 Offaly 1-4

1944: Dublin 10-7 Offaly 1-4

1946: Dublin 4-6 Offaly 3-4

1947: Dublin 5-6 Offaly 0-3

1974: Offaly 2-11 Dublin 1-6

1977: Dublin 3-10 Offaly 2-8

1980: Offaly 0-18 Dublin 0-10

1983: Offaly 1-20 Dublin 0-11

1984: Offaly 2-11 Dublin 1-11

1987: Offaly 2-18 Dublin 1-13

1988: Offaly 2-13 Dublin 2-10

1990: Offaly 1-19 Dublin 2-11

1991: Dublin 0-19 Offaly 1-14

2004: Offaly 2-25 Dublin 1-13

All-Ireland qualifiers

OFFALY and Dublin have met on four other occasions in the Championship, all in the qualifier series, with Offaly coming out on top on all four occasions. 2003: Offaly 1-20 Dublin 1-14

2005: Offaly 2-15 Dublin 2-14

2006: Offaly 1-17 Dublin 0-17

2007: Offaly 2-25 Dublin 2-13