1956 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
| All-Ireland Champions | |
|---|---|
| Winning team | Galway (4th win) |
| Captain | Jack Mangan |
| Manager | John "Tull" Dunne |
| All-Ireland Finalists | |
| Losing team | Cork |
| Captain | Donal O'Sullivan |
| Manager | Éamonn Young |
| Provincial Champions | |
| Munster | Cork |
| Leinster | Kildare |
| Ulster | Tyrone |
| Connacht | Galway |
| Championship statistics | |
| Top Scorer | Frank Stockwell |
| Player of the Year | Seán Purcell |
← 1955 1957 → | |
The 1956 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was played from May to October, 1956. Kerry entered the championship as the defending champions, however, they were defeated by Cork in a Munster final replay. Galway were the winners, defeating Cork in the final.
Results
| Kildare | 1-9 – 0-9 | Louth |
|---|---|---|
| E.Treacy 1-3, L.McCormack, R.Swan 0-2, D.Dalton, S.Harrison 0-1. | K. Beahan (0-4, 1f), A. Monk (0-2), S. White (0-1), J. Reynolds (0-1), Jim McArdle (0-1, 1'45) |
| Kildare | 1-8 – 0-7 | Offaly |
|---|---|---|
| S.Harison 0-3, D.Dalton 1-0, P.Mooney 0-2, P.Loughlin, R. Swann, E.Treacy 0-1 |
| Kildare | 2-11 – 1-8 | Wexford |
|---|---|---|
| Seamus Harrison 0-7f, Paddy Loughlin 1-2, Ned Treacy 1-1, Ned Loughlin 0-1 | Mick Byrne 1-1, Paddy Kehoe (0-2f) and Frank Morris 0-2 each, Padge Kehoe, Pako Sheehan, Jack Goff 0-1 each |
| Cork | 0-12 – 0-1 | Waterford |
|---|---|---|
| S. Moore (0-1), E. Goulding (0-1), N. Collins (0-4), J. Creedon (0-3) & P. Murphy-sub (0-1). |
| Kerry | 3-7 – 3-2 | Tipperary |
|---|---|---|
| J. Dowling (0-1), M. O'Connell (0-1), P. Sheehy (0-1), T. Long (0-1), J. Brosnan (0-1), J. Cronin (2-1) & T. Lyne (1-1) |
Referee: P. O'Grady ( C )
| Cork | 2-2 – 2-2 | Kerry |
|---|---|---|
| N. Fitzgerald (0-2), T. Furlong (0-4) & N. Duggan (0-2). | J. Dowling (0-1), T. Lyne (0-1), J. Brosnan (1-0) & D. O'Shea (1-0). |
| Cork | 1-8 – 1-7 | Kerry |
|---|---|---|
| D. Kelleher (0-1), N. Fitzgerald (0-5), T. Furlong (1-0) & N. Duggan (0-2). | J. Dowling (0-1), T. Lyne (0-2),J. Brosnan (0-1), J. Cronin (1-0) & P.Sheehy (0-3) |
| Cork | 0-9 - 0-5 | Kildare |
|---|---|---|
| D. Kellaher (0-1), N. Fitzgerald (0-3), P. Murphy (0-1), T. Furlong (1-0) & N. Duggan (0-2). | S.Harrison (4f) 0-4, E.Treacy 0-1 |
| Galway | 2-13 - 3-7 | Cork |
|---|---|---|
| F. Stockwell (2-5), S. Purcell (0-3), G. Kirwan & J. Coyle (0-2) & F. Evers (0-1). | D. Gallagher (0-1), N. Fitzgerald (0-5), T. Furlong (1-0) & N. Duggan (0-2). |
Championship statistics
Miscellaneous
- Munster final ends in a draw and goes to a replay for the first time since 1909 when Cork took Kerry's All Ireland title.
- Kildare win their first Leinster title since 1935 and was their last until 1998.
- Tyrone win their first Ulster title.
- The All Ireland semi-final between Galway and Tyrone was their first meeting between the two teams.
- The All Ireland final between Galway and Cork gave Galway won their 4th All Ireland title on the day after three successive defeats between 1940 and 1942.
- An outbreak of polio in Cork and the fear of a spread of the disease to Dublin due to an influx of Cork supporters lead to the postponement of the All-Ireland final until 7 October 1956.