FOOTBALL
As 2024 fades into the distance and the 2025 season ready to kick into action before the end of the month we take a look back at events in 2024. As always there were winners and losers with Cargin retaining their Senior Football Championship title with a victory over an excellent Portglenone to complete the league and championship double.
At Intermediate level and an All Saints side, who had been handed promotion to Division 1 owing to the restructuring of the football leagues, finally got over the line with a convincing win over St. Teresa’s in their first Intermediate championship win since 2011 and confounded the critics with a top four finish in Division 1. Their Ulster opener was one of the best game of the season with Baker Bradley’s side hitting 6-12 in Toome but still suffering defeat after extra time and a penalty shoot-out against
The Ballymena side were seven ahead in the second half of normal time and led by two with only minutes remaining in extra time with Derrylaugan kicking a late equaliser.
At Junior level St. Comgall’s Antrim returned to the top of the pile with a convincing bang, under the management of former St. Paul’s player Barry Burns, with an unbeaten run to a league and championship double. In the Junior final the Antrim men were totally dominant in the first half, but St Agnes staged a late fightback, but came up short in the end.
St Gall’s captured the Under 21 Football title when they beat Con Magees in the final in The Minor Football league title went to St. Paul’s who pipped St. Brigid’s by a point in a tight league race with the Musgrave Park side gaining revenge in the championship with a win over the Shaw’s Road side in the championship final.
At U16 level an excellent Gort na Mona collected the league title with an emerging Casement’s Portglenone in second place with the Bannsider’s producing a great finish in the championship final to pip St. Brigid’s in an exciting final at Dunsilly.
HURLING
Ruairi Og Cushendall mirrored the performance of Erin’s Own in the football when they edged Shamrock’s Loughgiel on score difference to take the league title before going on to defeat Dunloy in a gale force wind in the championship final in Ballycastle.
Carey Faughs emerged as the hurling team of 2024 in Antrim with an ACH league division 2 and Intermediate Championship double. The Ballyvoy side were pushed all the way in the league by Shane O’Neill’s, Glenarm but added to their league success with a good win over a fancied Oisin Glenariffe in the Intermediate hurling final. In a year of high emotion where the club was devestated by the tragic death of Wee Joe Heggarty, the Faughs went on to add the Ulster title as well, beat Carrickmore of Tyrone in the quarter final, Castleblaney of Monaghan in the semis, before holding out for a one point victory over Derry champions Swatragh in thrilling final in Loughgiel.
In Division 3 Bredagh edged out St. Brigid’s Cloughmills to claim the league title while St. Mary’s Rasharkin produced a great final performance to beat Glen Rovers Armoy in the Junior Hurling final.
Gort na Mona topped the ACHL Division 4 to make a quick return to division 3 with an improving Davitt’s in second place. The Davitt’s would miss out on promotion to division 3 after losing narrowly to Na Magha for the second promotion spot.
Glenariffe-Glenravel were the team that set the pace at Minor level and the combination side would go on to add an Ulster title to add to their Antrim success with a win over Lavey in the final in Balinascreen.
In Under 16 Hurling Dunloy won the Championship and looked like the strongest team for most of the year, but Loughgiel caused a bit of an upset when they beat the Cuchullains in the McMullan Cup final at Feis na nGleann in Glenarife.
CAMOGIE
Cuchullian’s Dunloy collected a rare Division 1 league title when they edged Shamrock’s Loughgiel for the title, their 3-23 to 4-11 win over Cushendall in the final game sealing the league crown. However there was no stopping the Shamrocks in the championship, the Loughgiel girls making it 11 in a row when they recorded a 3-11 to 2-9 win over Dunloy in a terrific final in Cushendall. The went on to add another Ulster title by beating Swatragh convincingly in final before coming within a poc of a ball against All Ireland champions Sarsfields of Galway in the All Ireland semi-final at Breffni Park.
Dunloy took the division 2 title while the division 3 title going to Ruairi Og while Naomh Muire Ahoghill claimed the Intermediate Championship and last year’s beaten finalists, St. Paul’s claimed the Junior Championship with victory over Ballycastle in the final.
LADIES FOOTBALL
St. Ergnat’s Moneyglass continued to dominate the scene in ladies senior football as they added to their ever increasing league and championship doubles and there is little sign that a serious challenger is about to emerge though St. Paul’s and St. Brigid’s look their likelier challengers.
St. Ergnat’s Moneyglass second string also topped Division 2 with Rossa in second place and All Saints in third while their Minors made it four in a row in Antrim before going on to contest an Ulster final where they lost to Clann Eireann in Ulster.
St Gall’s were winners of the Intermediate Championship when they defeated St. John’s in the final but fell heavily to a strong Mullahoran of Cavan in the Ulster Championship.
An emerging Lamh Dhearg set the pace in division 3 and they defeated Rossa in a one sided Junior Championship decider with Clann Erin collecting the Junior B title and were unlucky to lose to Warrenpoint of Down in Ulster by a single point
