Sam Maguire Cup

The Sam Maguire Cup, often referred to as Sam or The Sam (Irish: Corn Sam Mhic Uidhir), is the cup awarded to winners of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and are played during the summer months with the All-Ireland Football Final being played on the third or fourth Sunday in September in Croke Park, Dublin. The Sam Maguire Cup was first presented to the Kildare team in 1928 after defeating Cavan.

The Cup is named after Sam Maguire, an influential figure in the London GAA and a former footballer. A group of his friends formed a committee in Dublin under the chairmanship of Dr Pat McCartan from Carrickmore, County Tyrone, to raise funds for a permanent commemoration of his name. They decided on a cup to be presented to the GAA. The Association were proud to accept the Cup. At the time it cost £300. In today's terms that sum is equivalent to €25,392. The cup is modelled on the Ardagh Chalice and the commission to make it was given to Hopkins and Hopkins, a jewellers and watchmakers of O'Connell Bridge, Dublin.

The silver cup was crafted, on behalf of Hopkins and Hopkins, by the silversmith Matthew J. Staunton of D'Olier Street, Dublin. Maitiú Standun, Staunton’s son, confirmed in a letter printed in the Alive! newspaper in October 2003 that his father had indeed made the original Sam Magiure Cup back in 1928.

Matthew J. Staunton (1888–1966) came from a long line of silversmiths going back to the Huguenots, who brought their skills to Ireland in the 1600s. Matt, as he was known to his friends, served his time under the renowned Dublin silversmith, Edmond Johnson, who made the Liam MacCarthy Hurling Cup in 1921. The 1928 Sam Maguire Cup is a faithful copy of the Ardagh Chalice. The bowl was not spun on a spinning lathe but hand-beaten from a single flat piece of silver. Even though it is highly polished, multiple hammer marks are still visible today, indicating the manufacturing process.

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