St Comgall’s Antrim
Antrim based St Comgall’s featured prominently in the race for league honours last term but the Dunsilly men were beaten in the semi-final by Pearses. They recovered from that setback to win the Junior Football championship however and will be major contenders again in this division.
Adrian Dougan has gone to pastures new this term, joining up with former school mate Ciaran McCartney at Rasharkin but the St Comgall’s men have worked hard to find a suitable replacement and they are delighted to announce Niall Ward to that post.
The former county star who led St Patrick’s Lisburn to the Junior title a couple of years ago teams up with Collie Mc Menamin again in a management duo and their charges will start as strong contenders in this division.
Eire Og
South Belfast based Eire Og have failed to make much impact on the All County scene for a while and they will look forward to improvement in the season ahead.
They struggled to breast the winning line in front in 2021 but despite efforts aplenty and coming close on occasion they only secured a point with a draw against St. Malachy’s.
They have new men at the helm this term as former players Francis Grimley and Peter McKenna are in charge and better times ahead are anticipated.
St Patrick’s Lisburn
Always there or thereabouts in the race for honours in this grade former Junior champions St Patrick’s Lisburn may well be contenders again this term in division three and have installed, Cormac McKenna, Myles Cahill, and Martin Kennedy as their management team.
The Lisburn men did gain promotion and a Junior championship in the recent past and they will are likely to be contenders again in 2022.
Having fielded in the under 20B Championship this year suggests current well being and the St Pats men will be strong contenders again in 2022.
Patrick Pearses
North Belfast based Patrick Pearses have a proud tradition in Antrim affairs and although they have been struggling to make impact for a while they certainly impressed last year, reaching the league final and the championship semi-final where they lost narrowly in both to Rasharkin.
Pearses step forward again in 2022 using in the words of their secretary Gerard Ross, ‘Using the past season as a platform to come back even stronger’ with the former joining a management team which includes Marty Hill, Sean Mc Donald, and Marcus Kelly holding the reins to begin the first phase of ‘rebuilding’. With a youthful panel the Pearses may well be contenders in 2022.
Cardinal O’ Donnell’s
O’ Donnell’s have struggled the past couple of seasons but hinted at improvement last term and a newly formed management team of Joe Herald, John Laverty, Mick Mc Allister, and Mark Rainey will look to lead them onwards on the positive.
O’ Donnell’s remain a hard grafting club with excellent facilities available and they may well regain the positive in 2022.
Laochra Loch Lao.
Still much in their infancy Laochra Loch Lao have shown steady progress and they have installed Marcus Mac Eochaid, Cillian Breathnach, to lead them on their way in 2022.
They will strive for continued improvement and such is possible in 2022 and will seek to raise their profile further this term.
St Malachy’s
Based in the Markets area of Belfast St Malachy’s are a proud unit of the Association but they do seem to have struggled to make impact of late.
They only claimed a single point with a draw against Eire Og their only reward for plenty of effort.
The Mals who were up there in the upper echelons of the division will look for better this term and they have placed their trust in a new management structure with Stephen Carson, Peter Turley, and Stevie Dobbin installed as a managerial team for 2022.
St Agnes
St. Agnes have stuck with the tried and tested and club stalwart, Roy McLarnon takes the reigns again assisted by Declan Crummey and Declan McLarnon. St. Agnes have lost quite a number of players owing to work commitments abroad but are always competitive but it is a while since they challenged for honours and they will be hoping for improvement from last term.
Wolfe Tones
Wolf Tones were reformed last year and played their football in South Antrim and this year return to ACFL action. The Greencastle club appear to have put the right structures in place for a sustained challenge with Gavin Cumiskey as manager assisted by Enda McAtamney and Kevin Kennedy. It may take them a while to find their feet in the division but Wolfe Tones, with this experienced management team behind them can establish themselves as a force in the coming years.
Mc Quillan’s Ballycastle
I’m informed that McQuillan’s will not compete in the ACFL this year but will take part in the JFC. At the time of writing there had been no management appointment but should that change we will update the article.