A fake Sam Maguire – dubbed Scam Maguire – has been doing the rounds for approximately four weeks and has been involved in a paid-for visit to a children’s hospital, it has been claimed.
It is understood the trophy first made an appearance at a function in south Armagh and has appeared across the border at venues in Omeath and Carlingford over the weekend.
On Tuesday, Armagh GAA issued a warning over the counterfeit trophy being used in exchange for “substantial amounts of money”.
“Armagh GAA have 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,” a statement, released on Tuesday afternoon, read.
“Armagh GAA have clearly established guidelines and methods for requesting the use/appearance of the Sam Maguire and will never charge for this.”
There are only three ‘legitimate’ versions of the All-Ireland football trophy.
The original, which was decommissioned after Meath’s All-Ireland triumph against Cork in 1987, takes pride of place in the GAA museum at Croke Park.
There is the trophy which goes out to the winners – this year, of course, that was Armagh. And there is a third, which is also kept at Croke Park for official visits, as and when it is required.
Reports that a fake Sam Maguire is being used to exploit unsuspecting fans, schools and even hospitals is not a first for the GAA.
According to the GAA’s director of communications Alan Milton counterfeit Sam Maguires have been used in a similar fashion in Tyrone and Dublin in recent years.
“A fake Sam Maguire Cup emerged after one of Dublin’s All-Ireland Final wins a number of years ago and it had to be taken out of circulation and destroyed and there was a similar situation in Tyrone as one occasion,” Mr Milton told BBC Sport NI.
“It doesn’t happen every year. It’s happened on a couple of occasions in the 15 years that I’ve been working in my role.”
He added: “The most pertinent line in Armagh’s statement was how the GAA would never ever change for the Sam Maguire Cup being taken around schools or hospitals or wherever.
“When you get a perfect storm and a county that hasn’t won the All-Ireland title in a long time and there’s crazy demand to get access to the trophy, opportunities might present themselves to people who see a chance to make money.”
Mr Milton stressed that any keen GAA watcher would be able to spot that the trophy was not the real Sam Maguire Cup.
“There’s a passing resemblance yes but on close examination it’s very, very easy to tell that this trophy is not the real deal,” he said.
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