Homeland & Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship

Club championship football in Sligo is serious business. The Homeland and Connacht Gold Senior Football Championship has been running since 1888, making it one of the oldest sporting competitions in the country, and it remains the centrepiece of the Sligo GAA season. From the first round in August through to the county final in October, local clubs go at it in a knockout competition that draws real, partisan crowds. If you want to watch Gaelic football played with genuine stakes - not the professional polish of inter-county but the intensity of neighbours competing for something that matters in their townland - this is where to find it.

What to expect

The championship follows a knockout format: quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final, spread across the summer and autumn months. Matches are played at club grounds around the county rather than at a single venue, which means you get to see corners of Sligo you might not otherwise reach. The competition carries the joint sponsorship of Homeland and Connacht Gold, both brands belonging to Aurivo, the Irish agribusiness cooperative rooted in the west of Ireland. The winner claims the Owen B. Hunt Cup and earns the right to represent Sligo in the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship - a pathway that can lead all the way to the All-Ireland Club series. Past champions read like a county history lesson: Tubbercurry with 20 titles, Tourlestrane with 18, Shamrock Gaels current holders after winning in 2025. Entry to all matches is free.

Getting there

Sligo town is well connected. The Dublin to Sligo train runs multiple times daily and takes just under three hours; Bus Eireann also serves the town from Dublin, Galway and other major centres. By road, Sligo sits at the junction of the N4 and N15. Because matches take place at club grounds across the county - from Tubbercurry in the south to Enniscrone in the north - you will generally need a car to reach individual venues. Check the Sligo GAA website before you travel to confirm the venue for each round.

While you’re in Sligo

A club match is a good reason to arrive early and explore. Sligo town has Yeats associations on every corner, and the county coastline - Strandhill, Rosses Point, Mullaghmore - is worth any detour. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.

Good to know

• Championship runs from approximately early August through to mid-October 2026
• Entry is free to all matches
• Fixtures and venues are published on the Sligo GAA website - check there for each round’s location and time
• Matches take place at various club grounds around the county; a car is usually needed
• The final is typically held in October and often draws a large county-wide attendance