GAA Betting: What Are The All-Ireland Football Championship Odds?

Daire Walsh

Following an epic National Football League Division One final at Croke Park on Easter weekend, anticipation has increased amongst the best betting sites on the market for the start of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

Inseparable at the end of both normal time and extra-time, penalties were eventually required to determine a winner between Dublin and Derry in a gripping NFL decider last Sunday.

While Derry ultimately progressed by a score of 3-1 in the shootout and were regarded as worthy victors in the end, their Sky Blue counterparts proved to be typically stubborn opponents throughout the action.

This victory represented a first national top-tier title for the Ulster men since their NFL Division One success back in 2008.

They have also secured provincial titles in the past two seasons.

But even though they claimed a major scalp against Dublin, is this enough to make them the favourites for Sam Maguire Cup glory? Not quite yet, is the answer.

Dublin The Current All-Ireland Favourites

Champions last year with a 1-15 to 1-13 triumph at the expense of Kerry, Dublin remain the most likely winners of the All-Ireland senior championship in the eyes of bookmakers.

Considering they have won seven of the last nine showpieces at the grade – or nine of the last 13, if you like – it comes as little surprise that Dessie Farrell’s charges are expected to come out on top.

Though a lot of their big guns did see action in the league final, Dublin could still potentially welcome experienced figures like Stephen Cluxton, Michael Fitzsimons, James McCarthy, Jack McCaffrey, Cormac Costello and Lee Gannon back into their side in the weeks to come.

At the time of writing, five betting apps – including Quinn Bet and BoyleSports – are rating Dublin as 13/8 favourites to keep their hands on the Sam Maguire Cup.

Five additional bookmakers are also rating their chances at 13/8 and given you have to go back to 2009 for the last time they failed to reach an All-Ireland semi-final, it seems almost certain that the capital men will feature at the business end of the competition.

Kerry Very Much In The Reckoning 

Having just missed out on a league final place due to their head-to-head record with Dublin, Kerry have another couple of weeks to prepare for a Munster semi-final duel against either Cork or Limerick – who meet at Pairc Ui Chaoimh this weekend.

Like Dublin, The Kingdom are expected to come through the provincial series with flying colours and thus establish themselves as top seeds for the group stages of the All-Ireland championship.

Kerry had a difficult start to the latter as they lost out on home soil to Mayo, but Jack O’Connor’s men subsequently recovered and were in the hunt for a second successive All-Ireland crown until Dublin conjured stoppage-time points through Paul Mannion and Dean Rock in their final meeting.

It remains a very formidable Kerry side, and while there is a tendency to rely too much on the outrageous talents of David Clifford, his brother Paudie and Sean O’Shea are more than capable of carrying the scoring burden.

With odds of 11/4 available on them with 10 different betting sites – such as Bet365 and Ladbrokes – The Kingdom are well up there as second favourites for an All-Ireland title.

Derry Slightly Behind Top-Two, But In With A Shout

Though their league success has secured further plaudits for a side that were already highly-rated, Derry have to be content with being third favourites for the Sam Maguire.

This won’t bother team manager Mickey Harte too much, however, as his experience of guiding his native Tyrone to three All-Ireland SFC crowns in the past, means his latest crop of players wouldn’t be getting carried away even if they were viewed as potential champions-in-waiting.

Their Ulster quarter-final clash at home to Donegal on April 20 will be a compelling watch, and while it won’t be the end of the world if their provincial campaign comes to an earlier end this year, he might want to keep that winning feeling going after already accruing the Dr McKenna Cup and the NFL Division One in 2024.

All-Ireland semi-finalists in the past two years, Derry will hope that Harte can help push them onto the next level. While they are behind Dublin and Kerry in the running for Sam, the Oak Leaf are available at 11/2 with 13 different betting apps– including 888sport and Betway.

After the above mentioned top-three – who are currently seen as the main contenders for All-Ireland glory – there are a handful of other counties that are viewed as dark horses for the championship on new betting sites.

Mayo And Galway Possible Dark Horses

While the 2022 and 2023 championships saw them suffering tame quarter-final exits under two different managers, it would be foolish to rule Mayo out of contention – even if their search for a fourth All-Ireland senior football title has now stretched into a 73rd year.

Ahead of their Connacht championship opener away to New York this weekend, GAA betting sites are offering odds of between 10/1 and 14/1 on Kevin McStay’s charges ending a long-running hoodoo.

A day earlier in Ruislip, Galway will kick-start their own Connacht odyssey against London. While 888sport and Coral are offering 9/1 on the Tribesmen, their chances are also generally rated somewhere between 10/1 and 14/1.

They just managed to survive relegation from Division Two of the NFL this year, but will be a much-improved side if they can welcome back the likes of Shane Walsh, Damien Comer, Cillian McDaid, Matthew Tierney and Sean Kelly from their recent injury lay-offs.

Donegal, Armagh And Tyrone Also In The Mix

Competitors in the NFL Division Two league final last Sunday in Croke Park, Donegal and Armagh are two more teams to keep an eye on.

Although they enjoyed an unbeaten march to the second-tier title in Jim McGuinness’ second stint as manager, we will start to learn more about Donegal in the weeks to come as they lock horns with the very best teams in the country.

The shortest odds available on them winning a second All-Ireland under McGuinness is 20/1, while the longest is 28/1 with BoyleSports.

The chances of Armagh winning the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time since 2002 are generally the same, which comes as little surprise when you consider just a single point separated them at GAA HQ last weekend.

All-Ireland champions as recently as 2021, Tyrone have struggled to build on that particular success in the past couple of years. Whilst they retained their Division One league status with a round to spare, they did suffer a heavy defeat to Dublin at the very end of the competition’s group stages.

Yet any county that has the likes of Darragh Canavan in their ranks shouldn’t be dismissed lightly and with odds also ranging from 20/1 to 28/1, the Red Hand could have a big say in the destination of this year’s Sam Maguire.