The 2019 Dr McKenna Cup, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup, was a Gaelic football competition in the province of Ulster for county and university teams. It was held at the beginning of the GAA season. Twelve teams took part – the nine Ulster county teams and three university teams, i.e. St Mary's University College, Belfast, Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University at Jordanstown (UUJ). The draw was made on 5 December 2018 with the fixtures confirmed following a meeting of Comhairle Uladh CCC later in the month. Donegal were the defending champions having defeated Tyrone in the 2018 decider. Tyrone were the 2019 champions beating Armagh in the final. Tyrone also won all five of their games. Competition format Group Stage The twelve teams are drawn into three sections of four teams, with each section containing three county teams and one university team. Each team plays the other teams in their section once, either home or away. Two points are awarded for a win and one for a draw. The points-ratio method (points for divided by points against) is used to determine the ranking of teams who are level on section points (as opposed to the more typical scoring differential). Knock-out Stage The winners of the three sections and the best of the runners-up in the three sections compete in the semi-finals with the two winners meeting in the final. Experimental rules On 24 November 2018 the GAA Central Council approved five experimental changes to the football playing rules which were amended slightly and trialled in the 2018–19 early season competitions organised by the four provincial councils (FBD League - Connacht, O'Byrne Cup - Leinster, McGrath Cup - Munster and McKenna Cup - Ulster). The rules trialled were – The maximum number of consecutive handpasses allowed is three. A sideline free must be kicked forward except when it is inside the opposing team's 20 metre line. An advanced mark (sometimes also referred to as an attacking mark, inside mark or offensive mark) may be taken where the ball is kicked in the area outside the opposing team's 45 metre line, travels more than 20 metres, and is caught cleanly without touching the ground in the area inside the opposing team's 45 metre line by an attacker or a defender. Up to fifteen seconds are allowed for the free resulting from the mark to