It is contested by those county teams who do not qualify for the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and the winner is awarded the Tailteann Cup.

Following ongoing one-sided matches in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship between counties of differing standards, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) began considering the addition of a tournament for so-called weaker counties who were usually eliminated in the early stages of their respective provincial championship.

At a national conference in November 2018, the GAA found broad support for the introduction of a second-tier championship and canvassed options for its potential structure and future inclusion within the annual calendar.

[1] One year later at a specially convened congress, 76% of delegates formally approved of the second-tier tournament.

[2] The tournament was named the Tailteann Cup in February 2020 and it was intended it would hold its inaugural season that year,[3] though its introduction was ultimately delayed until 2022 due the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games over that period.

The teams are drawn from the bottom 16 rankings from that season's National Football League, plus New York.

[6] For the inaugural 2022 Tailteann Cup, the format was altered to a straight-knockout competition with Round 1 and the Quarter Finals organised on a geographical basis with Northern and Southern Sections.

Fixtures in the three group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams.

Legend after 2024 final The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Tailteann Cup titles, is as follows: On four occasions a team was defeated twice but have remained in the knockout championship: Only two counties have appeared in the final, being victorious on all occasions: On the opposite end of the scale, only two counties has appeared in the final, losing on each occasion: 14 counties have the record number of consecutive participations in the Tailteann Cup, taking part in the all 3 seasons.

Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.

These are: The record for the longest unbeaten run stands at 6 games held by Meath (2023-) and Down (2024-)