1997 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
The 1997 Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship was the 111th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county Gaelic football tournament. The championship began on 11 May 1997 and ended on 28 September 1997.
Meath entered the championship as the defending champions; however, they were defeated by Offaly in the Leinster final.
On 28 September 1997 Kerry, the most successful county in Gaelic football history, claimed their 31st All-Ireland title - and their first since 1986 - with a 0-13 to 1-7 victory over Mayo.
This year also saw Ulster's most successful county, Cavan, win their first provincial title since 1969.A new 2 year system was introduced in Munster meaning that Kerry, Cork & Clare would have straight access to the Munster semi-finals for Limerick, Tipperary & Waterford would play in a Preliminary Round and the bye team in a lone Quarter final involved.Fixtures and results
Preliminary round
Quarter-final
Semi-finals
FinalFirst round
Second round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
FinalQuarter-finals
Semi-finals
FinalPreliminary round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
FinalSemi-finals
FinalTop scorers
;Overall
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Matches | Average |
| 1 | Maurice Fitzgerald | Kerry | 0-28 | 28 | 4 | 7.00 |
| 2 | Maurice Sheridan | Mayo | 0-27 | 27 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 2 | David Reynolds | Offaly | 0-27 | 27 | 5 | 5.20 |
| 4 | Declan Darcy | Leitrim | 2-19 | 25 | 2 | 12.50 |
| 5 | Trevor Giles | Meath | 2-18 | 24 | 5 | 4.80 |
| 6 | Joe Brolly | Derry | 3-14 | 23 | 4 | 5.75 |
| 7 | Vinny Claffey | Offaly | 2-15 | 21 | 7 | 3.00 |
| 7 | Ronan Carolan | Cavan | 1-18 | 21 | 5 | 4.25 |
| 9 | Peter Brady | Offaly | 2-14 | 20 | 7 | 2.83 |
| 9 | Pádraig Graven | Kildare | 0-20 | 20 | 4 | 5.00 |
;Single game
| Rank | Player | County | Tally | Total | Opposition |
| 1 | Declan Darcy | Leitrim | 2-11 | 17 | London |
| 2 | Trevor Giles | Meath | 2-8 | 14 | Kildare |
| 3 | Raymond Gallagher | Fermanagh | 1-7 | 10 | Cavan |
| 3 | Ronan Carolan | Cavan | 1-7 | 10 | Fermanagh |
| 5 | Niall Finnegan | Galway | 0-9 | 9 | Mayo |
| 5 | Maurice Fitzgerald | Kerry | 0-9 | 9 | Mayo |
| 7 | Vinny Claffey | Offaly | 1-5 | 8 | Meath |
| 7 | Brendan Cummins | Tipperary | 0-8 | 8 | Limerick |
| 7 | Ger Keane | Clare | 0-8 | 8 | Cork |
| 7 | Jim Byrne | Wexford | 0-8 | 8 | Westmeath |
| 7 | Pádraig Graven | Kildare | 0-8 | 8 | Laois |
| 7 | Maurice Sheridan | Mayo | 0-8 | 8 | Galway |
| 7 | Paul Taylor | Sligo | 0-8 | 8 | Roscommon |
| 7 | Declan Darcy | Leitrim | 0-8 | 8 | Mayo |
| 7 | Oisín McConville | Armagh | 0-8 | 8 | Tyrone |
Miscellaneous
- On 11 May 1997, O'Kennedy Park, New Ross hosted its 1st game for 54 years it was the drawn game between Wexford vs Westmeath.
- Clare record their first win over Cork since 1941.
- Cavan win their first Ulster title since 1969.
- Offaly won their first Leinster title since 1982.
- All Ireland semi-final Mayo vs Offaly was the first championship meeting between them.
- Kerry end their longest drought as All Ireland Champions of 11 years.
