Colm McFadden finished as the competition's top scorer and Karl Lacey was named the competition's best player.
Teams
A total of 33 teams contested the championship. These included 31 teams from Ireland as well as London and New York. As in previous years, Kilkenny decided not to field a team.
Sligo record their easiest ever championship win over New York.
Format
The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship of 2012 was run on a provincial basis as usual. It was a knockout tournament with pairings drawn at random in the respective provinces – there was no seeds.
Each match was played as a single leg. If a match was drawn there was a replay. If that match ended in a draw a period of extra time was played; however, if both sides were still level at the end of extra time another replay would have taken place.
Connacht Championship
Quarter-finals: (3 matches) These were three matches between six of the Connacht teams drawn first. The three winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the three losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (4 matches) The winners of the three quarter-final games joined the other two Connacht teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Leinster Championship
Preliminary round: (3 matches) These were three matches between six of the Leinster teams drawn first. The three winning teams advanced to the quarter-finals, while the three losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Quarter-finals: (4 matches) The winners of the three preliminary round games joined the other five Leinster teams to make up four quarter-final pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the four losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals made up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Munster Championship
Quarter-finals: (2 matches) These were to be two matches between four of the Munster teams drawn first. The two winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (4 matches) The winners of the two quarter-final games joined the other two Munster teams to make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Ulster Championship
Preliminary round: (1 match) This was a lone match between two of the Ulster teams drawn first. The winning team advanced to the quarter-finals, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Quarter-finals: (4 matches) The winners of the lone preliminary round game joined the other seven Ulster teams to make up four quarter-final pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the four losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals made up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game. The winning team advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-final, while the losing team entered the All-Ireland qualifiers.
Qualifiers
The qualifiers gave teams defeated in the provincial championships another chance at winning the All-Ireland title.
Round 1 (8 matches): the sixteen teams who failed to reach a provincial semi-final entered the qualifiers at this stage (New York do not compete). An open draw was made to determine the eight match pairings.
Round 2 (8 matches): the eight teams who failed to progress from their provincial semi-finals entered the qualifiers at this stage. They were paired with the eight winners from round 1 of the qualifiers. An open draw was made to determine the eight match pairings.
Round 3 (4 matches): the eight teams from round 2 of the qualifiers were paired against each other. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings.
Round 4 (4 matches): the four teams who lost their provincial finals entered the qualifiers at this stage. They were paired with the four winners from round 3 of the qualifiers. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings. The four winners advanced to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
All-Ireland Series
Quarter-finals: (4 matches) the four teams from round 4 of the qualifiers were paired against the four provincial winners. An open draw was made to determine the four match pairings. The four winning teams advanced to the semi-finals, while the two losing teams were eliminated from the championship.
Semi-finals: (2 matches) The four winners of the quarter-finals make up the semi-final pairings. The two winning teams advanced to the final, while the two losing teams were eliminated from the championship.
Final: (1 match) The winners of the two semi-finals contested this game.
L McLoone, F McGlynn 1-0 each, C McFadden (3f) 0-6 , Declan Walsh, R Bradley, M McHugh, M McElhinney 0-2 each, David Walsh, D McLaughlin, P McBrearty, M Murphy 0-1 each
On 18 June 2012, the draw was made for the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. This draw contained all the teams who had been knocked out of their provincial competitions prior to the semi-final stage, apart from New York.[4][5] It was broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland for the first time.[6]
C McGraynor 1-2, J McGrath (1 '45), J Kelly 0-3 each, S Furlong (1f), T Hannon (1f) 0-2 each, A Byrne, D Hayden, N Gaffney, J Stafford, N Mernagh 0-1 each.
On 2 July 2012, the draw was made for the second round of the All-Ireland qualifiers. This draw contained all the teams who had been knocked out of their provincial competitions at the semi-final stage in one pot and the winners of the first round of the qualifiers in the second pot.[7]
D O’Connor 1-02, I Ryan 0-05 (3f), E O’Connor, I Corbett 0-03 each, S Buckley 0-02, S Kelly, S Lucey, B Scanlon (0-01 ‘45’), J McCarthy, M Sheehan, S O’Carroll 0-01 each
J Kavanagh, M Conway (0-02f) 0-03 each, J Doyle (0-02f), M O’Flaherty, S Johnston 0-02 each, E O’Flaherty (0-01f), A Smith, R Kelly, M Foley, E Bolton, P O’Neill, E Doyle 0-01 each.
C Cooper 1-04, J O'Donoghue 1-03, B Sheehan (4f) 0-04 , K Donaghy 0-03, Declan O'Sullivan, K O'Leary 0-02 each, M Ó Sé, D Walsh, A Maher, P Galvin 0-01 each
^Fogarty, John (8 May 2013). "Collins gets marching orders from football championship panel". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2013. They join Banteer's Conor Lane, the referee in last month's Division 2 final, as well as Martin Higgins and Barry Cassidy who were all introduced to the group last season and retain their places.