2019 O'Byrne Cup

The 2019 O'Byrne Cup was played by county teams of Leinster GAA in December 2018 and January 2019.^[1]

Tournament details
Province	Leinster
Year	2019
Trophy	O'Byrne Cup
Winners
Champions	Westmeath (4th win)
Manager	Jack Cooney
Runners-up
Runners-up	Dublin
Manager	Paul Clarke
Other
Matches played	18
← 2018 2020 →

The draw took place on 26 September 2018.^[2]

Several new rules are being trialled in the competition:

• four consecutive handpasses were forbidden
• the "advanced mark" was introduced
• sideline kicks must go forward (unless inside the attacking 20-metre line)
• all kickouts are from the 20-metre line
• a "sin bin" for a black card offence.^[3][4]

It was won by Westmeath.^[5]

Competition format

One team (Dublin) received a bye to the semi-finals. The remaining ten teams were drawn to play in one group of four teams and two groups of three teams.

In the four-team group, each team plays the other teams in their group once. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw.

In the two three-team groups, each team played the other teams in their group once. Each team also played one game against a team from the other three-team group. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw.

The three group winners advanced to the semi-finals.

Group stage

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Westmeath	3	2	1	0	39	29	+10	5	Advance to semi-final
2	Kildare	3	2	0	1	49	36	+13	4
3	Carlow	3	1	0	2	38	48	−10	2
4	Offaly	3	0	1	2	42	55	−13	1

Updated to match(es) played on 6 January 2019. Source: Leinster GAA

Carlow v Westmeath

9 December 2018 (2018-12-09) Round 1	Carlow	0-08 (08) – (12) 0-12	Westmeath	Carlow
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Dr. Cullen Park
		Report

Kildare v Carlow

15 December 2018 (2018-12-15) Round 2	Kildare	0-16 (16) – (09) 1-06	Carlow	Newbridge
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: St. Conleth's Park
		Report		Referee: G Hurley (Westmeath)

Offaly v Kildare

20 December 2018 (2018-12-20) Round 1	Offaly	0-11 (11) – (23) 1-20	Kildare	Kilcormac
19:45 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Faithful Fields
		Report

Westmeath v Offaly

29 December 2018 (2018-12-29) Round 2	Westmeath	0-11 (11) – (11) 0-11	Offaly	Mullingar
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: St. Loman's Sports Ground
		Report

Carlow v Offaly

5 January 2019 (2019-01-05) Round 3	Carlow	3-12 (21) – (20) 2-14	Offaly	Carlow
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Dr. Cullen Park

Westmeath v Kildare

6 January 2019 (2019-01-06) Round 3	Westmeath	1-13 (16) – (10) 1-07	Kildare	Mullingar
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: The Downs

Three-team groups

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Longford	3	2	1	0	38	36	+2	5	Advance to semi-final
2	Louth	3	1	1	1	48	47	+1	3
3	Wicklow	3	0	0	3	37	47	−10	0

Updated to match(es) played on 5 January 2019. Source: Leinster GAA

Longford v Wicklow

8 December 2018 (2018-12-08) Round 1	Longford	1-07 (10) – (09) 1-06	Wicklow	Newtownforbes
19:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Bertie Allen Park
		Report		Referee: Niall Ward (Westmeath)

Wicklow v Louth

29 December 2018 (2018-12-29) Round 2	Wicklow	1-09 (12) – (20) 1-17	Louth	Bray
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Bray Emmets Ground
		Report

Longford v Louth

5 January 2019 (2019-01-05) Round 3	Longford	1-16 (19) – (19) 1-16	Louth	Longford
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Pearse Park
		Report

Group 3

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Meath	3	2	0	1	51	31	+20	4	Advance to semi-final
2	Wexford	3	2	0	1	51	46	+5	4
3	Laois	3	1	0	2	37	55	−18	2

Updated to match(es) played on 5 January 2019. Source: Leinster GAA

Laois v Meath

8 December 2018 (2018-12-08) Round 1	Laois	0-06 (06) – (20) 3-11	Meath	Portlaoise
18:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: O'Moore Park
		Report		Referee: Fintan Pierce (Offaly)

Wexford v Laois

20 December 2018 (2018-12-20) Round 2	Wexford	2-13 (19) – (14) 1-11	Laois	Enniscorthy
20:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: St. Patrick's Park
		Report

Wexford v Meath

5 January 2019 (2019-01-05) Round 3	Wexford	1-13 (16) – (23) 1-20	Meath	New Ross
14:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: O'Kennedy Park
		Report

Cross-group games

The three teams in Group 2 play the three teams in Group 3 with each team having a single game.

Louth v Wexford

8 December 2018 (2018-12-08) Round 1	Louth	1-06 (09) – (16) 0-16	Wexford	Readypenny
17:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Darver Centre of Excellence
		Report		Referee: David O’Connor (Dublin) Attendance: 100

Meath v Longford

15 December 2018 (2018-12-15) Round 2	Meath	1-05 (08) – (09) 0-09	Longford	Ashbourne
17:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA
		Report		Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath)

Wicklow v Laois

5 January 2019 (2019-01-05) Round 3	Wicklow	2-10 (16) – (17) 2-11	Laois	Bray
18:00 GMT (UTC±0)				Venue: Bray Emmets Ground

Knockout stage

Semi-finals

The three group winners plus the team given a bye (Dublin) compete in the semi-finals. The two winners advance to the final.

Westmeath v Longford

12 January 2019 (2019-01-12) 14:00 GMT (UTC±0) Semi-Final

Report

Westmeath	2-10 (16) – (04) 0-04	Longford
(HT: 1-05 – 0-01)

The Downs, Mullingar Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)

Dublin v Meath

12 January 2019 (2019-01-12) 19:00 GMT (UTC±0) Semi-Final

Report

Dublin	1-12 (15) – (15) 1-12 (3–1 pen)	Meath
(HT: 1-07 – 1-07)
Penalty kicks
Aaron Byrne Y Oisín Lynch Y Conor McHugh Y		N Mickey Newman N Thomas O'Reilly Y Seán Tobin N Barry Dardis

Parnell Park, Donnycarney Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford)

Final

Dublin v Westmeath

TG4

18 January 2019 (2019-01-18) 20:00 GMT (UTC±0) Final

Report

Dublin	0-10 (10) – (15) 1-12	Westmeath
(HT: 0-04 – 0-05)
Pts: Aaron Byrne 3, Conor McHugh 3 (2f), Sean Bugler 3, Stephen Smith 1 (f)		Gls: Ger Egan 1 Pts: Ger Egan 5 (1f), Tommy McDaniel 3, Ronan O’Toole 2, Kieran Martin 1, Ger Leech 1

Parnell Park, Donnycarney Referee: David Hickey (Carlow)