The 2012 O'Byrne Cup was a Gaelic football competition played by the teams of Leinster GAA. The competition differs from the Leinster Senior Football Championship as it also features further education colleges and the winning team does not progress to another tournament at All-Ireland level. The winners of the 2011 O'Byrne Cup were Kildare. The O'Byrne Cup began on 8 January 2012. Prior to the start of the competition, Kilkenny announced that they would not be participating in the competition this year.