The All-Ireland SFC was preceded by four provincial championships – knock-out competitions contested by county teams in the same province.

[3] Previously, the All-Ireland SFC was only contested by the four winners of the provincial championships, so a final between two counties from the same province was impossible.

[8] Tyrone progressed directly to the All-Ireland SFC quarter finals as they won the 2003 Ulster Senior Football Championship, through victories against Derry,[9] Antrim[10] and Down.

Sides that had played each other in the provincial championships could not be drawn together in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals[16] but this restriction did not affect Armagh or Tyrone.

[18] Even before Donegal's win over Galway, which meant three of the four semi-finalists were from the province of Ulster, there was intense media speculation about the possibility of an all-Ulster final.

[2] Declan Martin, policy director for Dublin Chamber of Commerce, expected the revenue generated in the city as a result of the final to double because two sides from Ulster were involved.

[33] Ulster Unionist Party councillor for the town, Derek Hussey, responded by saying: "I know it is a unique sporting occasion, an all-British All-Ireland final, but the hysteria that has developed around the whole event is intimidatory to some people.

[36] Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin and Ian Pearson of the Northern Ireland Office were at the match,[37] as were eight family members of victims of the Omagh bombing, who sat in the Hogan Stand as guests of the GAA.

[37] Donegal musician Mickey Joe Harte sang Ireland's national anthem, "Amhrán na bhFiann", before the match.

[38] In the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship final, held just before the senior game, Laois and Dublin drew, each side scoring 1–11 (14 points).

[44] Numerous goal opportunities were missed, most notably by Tyrone,[44] although only a block from Conor Gormley prevented Steven McDonnell from equalising for Armagh in the 68th minute.

[45] He was replaced during the interval due to a relapse of his ankle injury during training,[44] although he did return to the pitch for the final few minutes.

[52] Joe Kernan, manager of Armagh, also praised the opposition fans: "...when the final whistle went and all the Tyrone supporters came running past me there wasn't one bad word said.

[55] In the early hours of the Tuesday after the final, Tyrone footballers sought refuge in Donegal, a town in a neighbouring county across the border.

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte had planned this in advance of the final to give his players a reprieve from the fuss that would occur in the event of a victory.

[56] Armagh manager Joe Kernan claimed he would have resigned had his side won,[53] but defeat encouraged him to continue.

[57] The Belfast Telegraph dedicated several pages to the match the following day, including the front and back covers,[57] whereas The News Letter, a largely unionist publication,[57] had sparse coverage,[57] highlighting traditional attitudes to Gaelic games in Northern Ireland.

[57] About a week after the final, a family in Coleraine were targeted in an allegedly sectarian attack, thought to be because they were flying a Tyrone GAA flag from their home.

[58] Two years later, Peter Canavan's return from injury as a substitute in the final ten minutes finished 14th in RTÉ's 2005 series Top 20 GAA Moments.

"[53] Kernan and Marsden contested the decision and subsequent ban, but the GAA's Games Administration Committee upheld the penalty.