Review of the Antrim Football Championships in 2021

The Antrim football championships got under way in all three grades with the Senior Championship divided into four qualifying groups and the Intermediate and Junior into two. Holders Cargin were going for four in a row and when they recorded a facile victory over neighbours Moneyglass in the opening game in Toome all appeared to be going to plan.

Cargin were unbeaten going into the last day of the qualifiers in a group that included Rossa, St. John’s and St. Ergnat’s but lost their final game of the series to the Johnnies in Toome, a result that saw the Whiterock men pip Rossa for second place in the group.

In group 2 Casement’s Poretglenone looked to have put themselves in a strong position with a resounding victory over St. Brigid’s in Portglenone on day one but in a group of just three teams, which included St. Mary’s Ahoghill, there would be a few twists and turns.

The Cloney men threw the group wide open when they defeated their deadliest rivals in the home leg in Ahoghill with St. Brigid’s recovering to top the group with home wins over Portglenone and Ahoghill and Casement’s joining them in the knockout stages when they gained revenge over Ahoghill at Kelly Park on the final day of the qualifiers.

Group 3 contained four sides, Lamh Dhearg, St. Mary’s Aghagallon, St. Enda’s and St. James Aldergrove and produced some excellent contests with the Hannastown side toping the table and St. Mary’s Aghagallon recovering from an indifferent league campaign to join them in second place with home and away wins over St. Enda’s.

Kickham’s Creggan hadn’t won a senior championship for 67 years but under the management of Gerard McNulty they were determined to put recent final defeats behind them and they breezed through a group 4 that included St. Gall’s and Gort na Mona unbeaten with the Enright Park men unable to field for the final game due to Covid.

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And so it was on to the quarter-finals and holders Cargin continued to set the pace when they brushed aside the challenge of former All Ireland club champions St Gall’s to reach the semi-finals at Hightown.

The Toome men dominated from start to finish and opened account through a Jamie Gribbin point and when Paudie McLaughlin added a goal a minute later they never looked back. The impressive Paudie McLaughlin grabbed a second major before the first water break to aid Cargin to a 2-04 to 0-02 lead as they dominated the central zone with Kevin McShane and Pat Shivers on top and they moved well clear 2-08 to 0-04 at the short whistle.

A third goal from the impressive Tomas McCann saw the Toome side run out convincing 3-9 to 0-4 winners over a St. Gall’s side who had no answer to the power and pace of the reigning champions and it would take something special to deny them a fourth title in a row.

Their opponents in the semi-final would come from Creggan’s meeting with St. John’s at St. Enda’s and the Kickham’s were pushed all the way by a determined ‘Johnnies’ side. In the end Oisin Kerr’s save from Conor Johnston’s goal bound shot in the 59^th minute helped Creggan set up a semi-final meeting with holders and neighbours Cargin in the semi-final.

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Kerr got down to his right to keep out Johnston’s powerful drive as the Johnnies threw their lot at the Creggan goal as time ticked away, and from the rebound, the Kickham’s managed to clear the ball to safety and hold on to fight another day.

Goal chances were at a premium throughout the contest and the game was ultimately decided by Jamie McCann’s effort in the 42^nd minute.

Earlier in the day Portglenone had produced a splendid performance to beat a fancied Lamh Dhearg at Dunsilly. Portglenone overturned a four-point deficit at half-time to claim a place in the semi-final with a 5-08-3-08 win over the Hannastown men. 

Michael Hagan’s second goal of the game had levelled for the Bannsiders midway through the second half and they kicked on with further strikes through Paddy Kelly and Aidan McAleese to return to the county semi-final for a third year running.

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The fourth quarter-final featured St. Mary’s Aghagallon and St. Brigid’s at Dunsilly with St. Brigid’s favourites in some punters eyes by virtue of topping their qualifying group but they came up against a St. Mary’s side who appeared to have peaked just at the right time.

Goals from Ruairi McCann in the 1st minute of the second half and another from Eunan Walsh, six minutes from the end proved the difference as Aghagallon’s more direct approach proved the difference.

Ruairi McCann struck the game’s opening goal when he palmed to the net just 30 seconds after the restart and then Eunan Walsh hammered home a superb second six minutes from time and it was to prove the killer blow.

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SFC Semi-Final

Kickham’s Creggan 0-16 Erin’s Own Cargin 2-07

Kickham’s Creggan defied the odds when they came from off the pace to gain a place in the final of the senior championship to end the three year reign of their near neighbours and defending champions, Erin’s Own Cargin before a big attendance at Hightown.

Title holders Cargin were on a mission to gain a fourth successive title and nipped smartly out of the start traps and a 4^th minute Pat Shivers goal and a couple of points from Tomas McCann gave them the best possible start to proceedings.

The Kickham’s open their account through Conor McCann after nine minutes and although they had closed the gap on their neighbours at the first water break, a 17^th minute Tomas Mc Cann goal ensured a 2-05 to 0-07 interval lead for the Toome men and they looked in charge at this stage.

Creggan began to take control as the second half got under way however with Kevin Small and Conor McCann on top at mid-field and providing service to a hungry attack in which Tiaran McAteer excelled and awarded frees proved food and drink for marksmen Ruairi and Jamie McCann.

The Creggan approach was positive in the extreme while Cargin struggled and a meagre two point return for the second half speaks volumes and at conclusion Creggan had sprinted away to a three point advantage and a place in the championship decider 2021.

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St. Mary’s, Aghagallon 1-19 Portglenone 1-18

Ruairi McCann proved to be the hero for Aghagallon as his point two minutes into the final period of extra-time in Dunsilly saw Aghagallon reach their first ever Senior Football decider after defeating Portglenone 1-19-1-18 in an epic semi-final tussle this afternoon. 

There were plenty of tricks and treats on show as the sides were drawn level ten times throughout a dramatic 90 minutes. 

It took two periods of extra time to separate the sides and there was speculation about the validity of the second period being allocated but the result stood and it was the men from Aghagallon were on their way to a first Senior Championship final

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Creggan Kickhams 1-12-0-07 Aghagallon

Kevin Herron reports from Corrigan Park  

Creggan Kickhams bridged a 67-year gap, lifting the Padraig McNamee Cup for the first time since 1954 with a 1-12-0-07 win over Aghagallon at Corrigan Park in Sunday afternoons Northern Switchgear decider. 

The Staffordstown Road side were in control at the break with Matthews Rodgers, Kevin Small, Ruairi and Jamie McCann all chipping in to see them 0-07-0-02 ahead. 

Aghagallon were always chasing, relying on the placed ball to keep them in contention and only scoring their first from play with 10 minutes remaining. 

However, they did keep the game alive until second half injury-time when the man with the most famous name in Gaelic Football, Sam Maguire, capped his introduction with a goal to end Creggan’s long wait for Championship glory. 

Tir na nOg complete League and Intermediate championship double

Tir na nOg made it an Intermediate championship and division 2 league double when they beat All Saints in the final at Portglenone.

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Tír Na nÓg Randalstown 2-14 All Saints Ballymena 1-10

At a pristine Kelly Park in Portglenone, Tír Na nÓg Randalstown deservedly claimed this year’s Intermediate Championship title after seeing off All Saints Ballymena with seven points to spare.

 After claiming the Division Two title earlier in the season, Michael O’Kane’s side had too much for their neighbours and bar a five minute spell in the third quarter, the Ógs were more than comfortable with anything that the All Saints threw at them.

An early Daniel Martin goal helped favourites Randalstown settle quicker into the contest and in half forward Darragh Fagan, they had the games stand out player.

Fagan contributed seven points to his cause, but the Randalstown bench also made a telling contribution.

Ciaran Dobbin was introduced after 41 minutes. His goal six minutes after being introduced put paid to any idea of an All Saints comeback after the Slemish Park side cut the arrears from seven to just two.

Dobbin also added a point as the Randalstown men saw the game out in convincing fashion to book an Ulster championship date on the 5^th December against the champions of Armagh.

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Naomh Comhghall lift Junior Crown

St Comgalls, Antrim 0–18 Rasharkin 0-18 (aet)

St Comgalls win 3-2 on penalties

St Comgall’s and Rasharkin played out a classic final on Sunday afternoon with the junior crown on the line. In the end, it was the men from Antrim town who held their nerve form the penalty spot, substitute Peter McAuley with the decisive spot kick.

It was an epic final between two evenly matched sides with momentum swinging like the proverbial gate and both sides looking like they had it won at the end of the hour.  The sides were tied incredibly on 10 occasions over the 80 minutes with two points the biggest lead either side held at any stage.  The fate of the junior championship was decided by the lottery of penalties but that will matter little to the St Comgall’s.

Penalties to decide who would be junior champions and it was St Comgall’s who blinked first.  James McCabe’s penalty was saved superbly from Tiarnan O’Boyle after Andrew Hasson fired home the opening penalty.  Ruairi O’Boyle’s penalty fired wide of the left post as Miles Devine’s penalty made sure it was ‘as you were’ on the score line after two penalties each.  Shane Hasson’s spot kick cannoned back off the crossbar before Caolan O’Loan’s converted his spot kick to make it advantage to St Comgall’s.  Tiarnan O’Boyle found the top corner with his spot kick before Tom Pratchett’s penalty sailed over the bar to leave the sides tied on two successful spot kicks each after four penalties.

Anto Watson saved Seamus Ellis’ diving to his right hand side paving the way for Peter McAuley to fire the winning spot kick and send the St Comgall’s faithful into delirium.  A cruel way to end a final but Rasharkin more than played their part in a hugely entertaining final.  Scant consolation for the men from Dreen who will ply their trade in Division 2 in 2022.  

NFL Div.4 Round Up

By Paddy McIlwaine

If success and the glory that comes with it were the motivation for following your team then Antrim football fans would have been disappointed over recent years so when it does come it is great to be there to embrace that success.

This year Antrim finally gained promotion from division 4 of the NFL under new manager, Enda McGinley and with my brother John I was privileged to be in Dungarven to see the Saffrons outplay Waterford in the division 4 league final back in June.

Covid once again raised its head and forced the powers that be to opt for a reduced league programme with Antrim drawn away to Mickey Harte’s Louth in a difficult opener before taking on Sligo and Leitrim at Corrigan in a group that allowed no margin for error.

St. Geraldine’s GAC in Haggardstown provided the venue for Antrim’s opener against the ‘Wee County’ as McGinley pitted his wits against his former mentor Harte, though the new Saffron supremo insisted that this was not about the managers but about the players.

It looked a difficult opener and so it proved to be but a piece of Ryan Murray magic sealed it for the Saffrons on day one of the campaign.

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Allianz National Football League

Louth v Antrim

Div. 4 North

This is a game that Antrim’s Ryan Murray won’t forget in a hurry but while he will rightly be annoyed by his sin-binning in the 28^th minute of the first half and his sending off following a yellow late in the game it was the time that he was on the field that mattered and the Lamh Dhearg man certainly made his presence felt as Enda McGinley’s side opened their National League campaign with a win over Louth in Haggardstown.

Murray hit two early points, his second tying the contest after seven minutes and a Dermot McAleese goal had the Saffrons four ahead but a somewhat soft penalty award converted by Sam Mulroy and a second goal from play by Sean Murray saw the home side lead by 2-5 to 1-6 at the short whistle.

Murray returned from his sin-bin to convert a couple of frees and give his side a one point lead and in a great end to end contest he struck again in the 57^th minute and again in injury time with the sides level to give a battling Antrim a deserved win and a massive psychological boost going into their next game against Sligo at Corrigan Park.

Antrim had got off to a great start to their league campaign in Haggardstown and they then welcomed Sligo to Corrigan Park in round 2 knowing they needed another win to keep their promotion hopes alive.

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NFL Division 4

Antrim v Sligo

For those of us who were fortunate enough to have been at Corrigan Park for the Antrim v Louth Division 4 North game the experience was something of a roller coaster ride.

The game and some of the refereeing decisions saw Antrim supporters (and probably Sligo supporters) go through the ups and downs of the rollercoaster and when referee Conor Dourneen from Cavan blew the full-time whistle it was as much with relief as elation that we greeted the long blast.

I rarely remember a game with so many twists and turns. The Saffron’s conceded three penalties, were four down playing into a second half wind and came back to take the lead through a Eunan Walsh goal with time almost up and then conceded the third of their penalties.

Their refusal to bend the knee when everything seemed to be going against them and that remarkable comeback when trailing by four points into the breeze suggested that Antrim were going in the right direction under their new management and they had now qualified for the league semi-final with one round of games still to play.

Leitrim were Antrim’s final opponent in the group stages and the Saffron’s continued to do things the hard way before overcoming the spirited Connaught side.

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Allianz National Football League Division Four North

Antrim 2-17-1-19 Leitrim

Antrim topped the Division Four North section of the Allianz National Football League with a slender 2-17-1-19 win over Leitrim – but were perhaps fortunate after seeing an eleven-point second half lead wilt on a blazing hot afternoon in Corrigan Park.  

The Saffrons were in control through Conor Stewart’s first half goal and Conor Murray added a second after the break.

But Leitrim substitute Evan Sweeney landed three points on the spin and then found the net to give his side renewed hope.

Terry Hyland’s side would restore parity twice late-on and it took the trusted boots of veterans Paddy Cunningham and Tomas McCann to seal a late win for the hosts, and in the process protect their winning League run.

This win saw Antrim top their group with full points from three games and set up a meeting with Waterford who finished top of a group containing only three sides with Carlow and Wexford making up the group

And so it was on to Dungarven for a league final against the Deise, the Munster minnows were awarded home advantage by virtue of the fact that Antrim had played two home games in their qualifying group.

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Antrim completed their division 4 campaign with a convincing win over Waterford at Faher’s Field in Dungarven.

As the adrenalin rush at the full time whistle faded into aching bones and tired eyes on the journey home from Fraher’s Field in Dungarven, my mind raced for a time on what I had witnessed a few hours earlier.

The Saffron Gael were privileged to watch and record for posterity Antrim footballer’s victory over Waterford in a division 4 game which would ultimately mean we would be playing our football in division 3 next year.

A Conor Eastwood goal late in the game settled jangling Antrim nerves and certainly settled mine even though it never looked likely that the result would end any other way. Antrim had dominated from throw in to final whistle but missed at least four goal chances to settle the issue much earlier.

They led 0-6 to 0-00 and then 0-8 to 0-1 during the opening half that they largely controlled but a late rally from Waterford left the score at 0-8 to 0-4 at the break. It was like that for a good deal of the second half with Waterford battling to get back into it but never quite threatening a turn around with the Antrim defence competently doing their job.

As Waterford keeper Paudie Hunt pulled off two superb second half saves to deny Antrim the goal that their overall play deserved I decided, stool and camera in hand, to make my way to the other end of the field.

Surely with all the goal chances we had created one would come and like all photographers I wanted to capture the shot that would have everyone talking in awe. These shots don’t come very often but to be fair, Curly captures quite a number more of them than me.

As fate would have it, it arrived but when Odhran Eastwood got on the end of a great movement I was too busy out there kicking every ball to compose myself and my photograph of what turned out to be the winning goal was a lot less spectacular than the goal itself.

I got the next best thing, as you can see in the featured photograph at the top of the article, Odhran Eastwood’s celebration. It sums up everything about the day, Eastwood’s jubilation which was being reciprocated by the Antrim fans lucky enough to be there and the despair on Waterford pair, Hunt and Kiely who knew the game was finally over. So its division 3 football in 2022 and this punter is certainly looking forward to it and I believe Antrim can hold their own in the higher grade and, who knows, given a good start could be vying for another promotion come season’s end.

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2021 was a good year for Antrim Gaels with a reduced season still providing plenty of football, hurling and camogie for clubs throughout the county.

The decision to do away with relegation meant that some clubs, particularly those struggling at the bottom end of the table were not under the same pressure for results but the leagues still threw up a lot of excellent games.

Today we take a look back at the football leagues and championships in Antrim and the neighbouring clubs of Creggan, Cargin and Tir na nOg figured prominently when the honours were handed out at the end of the season.

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ACFL Division 1

1	Clann na hÉireann Carraigin	11	10	1	0	217	125	92	20
2	Kickhams GAC Creggan	11	6	1	4	165	119	46	16
3	Roger Casements Portglenone	11	7	3	1	177	128	49	15
4	Naomh Bríd	11	7	4	0	168	135	33	14
5	O`Donovan Rossa	11	5	3	3	138	140	-2	13
6	Lamh Dhearg	10	6	4	0	136	120	16	12
7	Naomh Eoin	9	4	5	0	117	116	1	8
8	Naomh Gall	11	3	6	2	167	159	8	8
9	Naomh Éanna	11	3	7	1	128	150	-22	7
10	St. Mary’s Aghagallon	11	3	8	0	119	194	-75	6
11	Gort na Móna CLG	11	2	8	1	112	200	-88	5
12	Naomh Muire Achadh Eochaille	10	2	8	0	126	184	-58	4

Not for the first time it was championship holders, Erin’s Own Cargin who led the way as the league’s got under way and the serial league winners were there at the top when the Division 1 league honours were handed out at the end of the season.

Sunday the 16^th of May saw the Toome side open their league campaign with a win away to Lamh Dhearg and three days later they followed it up with a win at home to Ahoghill. Cargin’s bright opening start was halted when they travelled to Rossa Park on the 30^th and suffered defeat to Hugh McGettigan’s Rossa.

Meanwhile Creggan, who were to finish runners up to their nearest rivals, had dropped a point the round before to Rossa on the Staffordstown Road, kept in touch with another draw away to Portglenone and at this stage there seemed to be a number of contenders for the league title.

That loss at Rossa Park was to prove to be Cargin’s only defeat in the campaign however as they got back to winning ways with a home win over Casements on the Wednesday 2^nd June and they would follow it up a week later with a narrow 0-16 to 0-15 win away to St. Gall’s at Milltown.

Cargin’s winning run continued unabated as St. Mary’s Aghagallon and Gort na Mona suffered heavy defeats before St. Brigid’s fell to a narrow defeat in Toome on the 23d June. Creggan, meantime were keeping in touch with a win over Gort na Mona and narrow wins away to St. Brigid’s and at home to St. John’s.

The leagues continued at some pace with Damian Cassidy’s side recording another good win away to St. John’s on the 30^th June and Creggan dropping a point to St. Enda’s at Hightown on the same night.

The crunch game of the campaign would come on Friday the 2^nd of July when Cargin and Creggan met in Toome with the Erin’s Own edging out the Kickham’s in a tight game that finished 1-10 to 1-8 and would ultimately decide the title.

Both sides finished their league campaigns with victories as Cargin recorded a resounding win over St. Enda’s in Toome on Wednesday the 7^th of July while the Kickham’s had three points to spare over visitors Lamh Dhearg on the same night.

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ACFL Division 2

1	Tír na nÓg Randalstown	11	11	0	0	205	121	84	22
2	All Saints Ballymena	11	9	1	1	193	119	74	19
3	Con Magee’s Glenravel	11	6	4	1	166	140	26	13
4	Naomh Pól CLG /St Pauls GAC	11	6	4	1	158	144	14	13
5	Naomh Séamas	10	6	4	0	167	152	15	12
6	Naomh Treasa CLG /St Teresa’s GAC	11	5	5	1	148	150	-2	11
7	Naomh Eargnait, Muine Glás	10	4	4	2	124	124	0	10
8	Ciceam Ard Eoin	11	4	6	1	135	150	-15	9
9	CLG MacDaibhéid	10	4	5	1	126	142	-16	9
10	Naomh Seosamh/St Joseph’s	11	1	7	3	147	193	-46	5
11	Cuchullains Dun Lathaí	11	2	9	0	122	188	-66	4
12	Pádraig Sáirseil CLG	10	0	9	1	107	175	-68	1

2021 was to turn out a great season for Tir na nOg Randalstown in Division 2 of the football league and they were to repeat their success by completing a league and Intermediate championship double to follow up their Intermediate Hurling championship success, a year earlier.

All Saints, Ballymena were their nearest rivals in both competitions and the Ballymena side would live to regret an opening day league defeat at Quinn Park where they led by six at half time but were overrun by Mickey O’Kane’s side in the second half to lose by eight.

Tir na nOg went on to complete their division two campaign without dropping a point and finish with 22 points from 11 starts while All Saints put that opening day defeat behind them with a solid league run to finish on 19 points in second place.

The Slemish Park side’s only other point dropped was away to St. Paul’s and they looked like the Randalstown side’s greatest challenge going into the Intermediate championship which we will take a look at later in the week.

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ACFL Division 3

1	Naomh Comhghall CLG	9	9	0	0	202	96	106	18
2	Naomh Padraig	9	7	2	0	153	97	56	14
3	Na Piarsaigh	9	6	3	0	163	153	10	12
4	St Mary’s Rasharkin	9	6	3	0	154	138	16	12
5	Naomh Úna CLG/St Agnes’ GAC	9	5	3	1	124	128	-4	11
6	CLG Uí Dhonaill	9	4	4	1	146	137	9	9
7	Mac Uílín CLG	8	3	5	0	92	98	-6	6
8	Laochra Loch Lao	9	2	7	0	98	154	-56	4
9	St Malachy’s	8	0	7	1	98	163	-65	1
10	Éire Óg	9	0	8	1	92	158	-66	1

Naomh Comhghall, Antrim were the side that set the pace in division 3 of the ACFL and the Antrim town side set the pace from early on and in a normal season would have gained promotion but the division three competition was decided by a top four play-off and was to end in disappointment for the Antrim side.

18 points from nine league starts suggested that Naomh Comhghall would go onto take the title but they were defeated by Na Piarsaigh in the semi-final in Rasharkin. The North Belfast side finished third in the league stages but turned in a battling semi-final performance to beat the favourites.

The second semi-final paired second place Naomh Padraig Lisburn with St. Mary’s Rasharkin, who finished fourth, at Dunsilly and again it was the underdogs who came out on top to book a place in the league final against Pearses.

And it was Rasharkin who completed the job when they beat Na Piarsaigh in the league final in Ahoghill and the Dreen men will play their football in division 2 next season but Naomh Comhghall would gain some consolation when the championship came around.

We will look at that championship and the other championships later in the week.

Three generation of the Higgins family who won Under 20/21 Football titles with Glenravel. Gerard was on the Con Magees team who won the first ever Under 21 title when they beat St John’s in Casement Park in 1964, Fergal (left) was a member of the team who beat Sarsfields in the 1998 Under 21 final at Corrigan Park along with brothers Conor and Niall, while grandson Calum was on the team who beat St Gall’s in the first ever Under 20 final at Davitt Park a few weeks ago.