Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Tier 3 Football Championship (Quarter-Final) |

Inniskeen | Saturday, 16 May 2026

Antrim 2-22 (28) v Carlow 2-08 (14)

A second half exhibition of attacking football saw Antrim comfortably advance to the All-Ireland Minor Tier 3 semi-finals with a dominant 14-point victory over a resilient Carlow. Played at a neutral venue in Inniskeen, there was little to separate the sides in the first half with Antrim holding a slender 1-5 to 1-4 lead at the break.

Dara Campbell got the young Saffrons on their way with a point in Iniskeen and Colm Kane put them in a strong position when he fired home the game’s opening goal.

A point from centre half, Conor McArt put Antrim in a strong position but Carlow replied with 1-2 of their own and suddenly the Saffrons found themselves under a bit of pressure.

Tom Convery and Joey Griffith (2 pointer) ensured that Antrim held a slender one point lead going into the break but there was still a lot to play for in the second half.

The Saffrons asserted control on the restart however and punished defensive errors by the opposition and any hopes of a Carlow resurgence were dashed as the second half progressed. Fatigue set in, and defensive lapses allowed Antrim to systematically exploit open spaces.

Shea McFerran struck a couple of early points and a Dara Campbell goal put the Saffrons into a commanding 2-9 to 1-4 lead and looking good.

Shea McFerran added a further point but a lapse of concentration in the Antrim defence saw Carlow break for a soft goal, their second of the game. Another Carlow point had it back to five as Nathan Burns replaced Sean McPeake in the Antrim side.

Suddenly the young Saffrons found another gear, and it was their white-flag efficiency—hitting 22 points over the course of the game—that ultimately buried the tie.

Colm Kane, Dara Campbell 0-3, Sionan McCormack, Shea McFerran, Nathan Burns and Colm Kane were amongst the scorers as the Antrim youngsters gave an exhibition of point taking to run out convincing winners,highlighting the depth and energy brought by the Saffrons’ bench.

For the victors, Shea McFerran once again proved a pivotal point at the edge of the square while Dara Campbell, Conor McArt, Tom Convery, Joey Griffin and Colm Kane caught the eye in what was an excellent all round Antrim performance and Nathan Burns may have done enough when introduced to earn a starting place in the semi-final.

This victory sees Antrim face Laois in this weekend’s semi-final but at the time of writing no venue has been announced but a Dublin venue would appear to be the most likely choice.