Armagh GAA says it will never charge for the use or appearance of the Sam Maguire trophy, which the county won in July for the first time since 2002.
Armagh GAA said on Tuesday, September 3 that it has been "made aware of a counterfeit Sam Maguire trophy being taken around a number of pubs, event venues and schools in exchange for substantial amounts of money."
The statement continued: "Armagh GAA have clearly established guidelines and methods for requesting the use/appearance of the Sam Maguire and will NEVER charge for this."
Finbar Burns, the PRO at Armagh GAA, further said on X that the people peddling the fake Sam Maguire cup are "absolute losers."
"If it’s really shiny and looks brand new, you can bet it’s fake," Burns said on X on Tuesday. "Give me a shout if you see it about."
Absolute losers doing this. If it’s really shiny and looks brand new, you can bet it’s fake. Give me a shout if you see it about ? https://t.co/mSst0aPitp
— Finbar Burns (@FinbarBurns) September 3, 2024
The winners of the Sam Maguire trophy typically bring it for visits to local hospitals and community events. This year, the Armagh panel took it to Craigavon Area Hospital after their big win.
? ? Craigavon Area Hospital Visit
Our players and our manager were delighted to be able to bring our ol’ friend Sam to visit the children and staff of the Craigavon Area Hospital paediatric unit yesterday (Monday) morning!
It was such a delight to be able to bring smiles to… pic.twitter.com/HGNMfhgxfr
— Armagh_GAA (@Armagh_GAA) July 30, 2024
In 2019, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) destroyed a replica Sam Maguire cup that was being "used to illegally raise money for private gain."
At the time, Tom Ryan, Director-General of the GAA, explained: "In actual fact, there are two Sam Maguire trophies.
"The first one was presented in 1928 and it was retired in recent years, maybe five or six years ago, and that's on permanent display in the GAA Museum.
"So the trophy that everybody is familiar with and that gets presented to the All-Ireland champions every September time, that's the official trophy that's in circulation at the moment and there should be only two trophies.
"Unfortunately, it came to our attention in recent months that there were counterfeit, if you like, versions of the Sam in circulation and that people were using them for their own commercial purposes and what we're doing today is we're destroying that trophy."
Ryan continued: "It's an iconic trophy and part of the reason why it's valued is because there's mystique around it.
"If it were the case that it was easy to come by or easy to lay your hands on, it would be a pity and that would dilute some of the mystique.
"Also, of course, we don't want people to be using the GAA brand, or to be using the GAA named or the name Sam Maguire for commercial purposes. I think that's not really fitting, either."
Ryan encouraged anyone with knowledge of other counterfeit trophies to let the GAA know.
What is the Sam Maguire trophy?
The Sam Maguire Cup is awarded annually to the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.
The cup is named after Cork man, Sam Maguire, who was instrumental in the GAA scene in London at the turn of the 20th century. After Maguire’s death in 1927, a group of Sam Maguire’s friends commissioned a cup to commemorate the dedicated Gael, who had given a lifetime of service to the GAA.
The cup, which is modeled on the early Christian Ardagh Chalice, was crafted by silversmith Matthew Staunton on behalf of Hopkins and Hopkins of Dublin and cost £300.
The Sam Maguire Cup was presented to the GAA in 1928. Kildare was the first county to win the Sam Maguire Cup and captain William ‘Bill’ Gannon was the first man to ever lift it.
One of the most beloved treasures we have in the #GAAMuseum is the original Sam Maguire Cup in our Treasury of Trophies. Until you can see it with your own eyes again, here's an in-depth look at Sam Maguire - the man & the trophy https://t.co/jvaXXNiVmB #OurNationalTreasures pic.twitter.com/1Ds9pzRJ3J
— Croke Park (@CrokePark) May 30, 2020
In 1987, the original Sam Maguire Cup was retired - Meath’s Mick Lyons was the last Captain to receive it on All-Ireland Football Final day. Meath was also the first team to win the new replica Sam Maguire in 1988 when it was presented to their captain, Joe Cassells.
The replica Sam Maguire was hand-crafted by Silversmith Desmond Byrne and took 500 hours to make and continues to be awarded annually to the All-Ireland Football champions.
The original Sam Maguire Cup resides permanently at the GAA Museum at Dublin's Croke Park.
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