National Hurling League – Division 1B

Antrim v Down

Saturday 21 May – Time: 5pm

Venue: Páirc Esler, Newry

Brendan McTaggart looks ahead to Saturday evenings pivotal game for Davy Fitgerald’s Antrim against Down.

It’s Saturday night lights in Newry as Antrim travel to Down with their status in Division One on the line.  As if an old-fashioned Ulster Derby needs any more fuel added to the fire to make it a spicy contest.

While Saturday’s contest stands as a massive contest for Davy Fitzgerald’s men, the same can’t be said for our hosts whose fate has been settled already.  Having secured promotion in the 2025 season to play in Division One for the first time in 19 years, defeating Kerry 1-23 to 0-28 in the last game, Ronan Sheehan’s men will make an immediate return to 2A.  No points on the board but they have shown at times the quality they have and what they are capable off.  Wexford putting on a late, late show to come away with the league points from Ballycran.  Sounds familiar?

The last three games have come with a certain amount of pressure for the Saffrons.  They dealt with that superbly against a dangerous Carlow side before finding the Dubs a different kettle of fish to deal with.  A 15 point defeat to last years beaten All-Ireland semi-finalists with Dublin scoring an eye watering 1-26 from open play of their 1-31 tally.  Fitzy and his backroom team will be expecting and demanding better on Saturday evening.

It’s four years since the Saffrons faced their neighbours, that contest coming in the McDonagh Cup with Antrim coming away with a 6-22 to 3-16 win and a game notable for Antrim scoring a goal right from the throw in.  Joe Maskey with the marauding run before finding Ciaran Clarke and he did what Clarkey did best.

Similar again on Saturday wouldn’t go a miss for those who make the journey to the Marshes.

In the recent past, Antrim have mixed fortunes when it comes to contests like these.  Last season, we needed a win against Laois to maintain our status and the Saffrons duly delivered while an agonising defeat to Offaly in O’Connor Park meant relegation from the Leinster Championship.

Down aren’t Offaly, but they will know Antrim better than any other county in Ireland given all their players ply their trade in the Antrim hurling leagues.  There is no such thing an unknown quantity in the GAA these days given the amount of coverage there is across different platforms but this is a contest that you would imagine will feel different.

Off course, when it comes to contests with Down, we can cast our minds back to famous contests in Casement Park from yester-year.  Down’s first Ulster title coming in 1992 with Noel Sands memorably lifting the Seamus McFerran Cup, the Ardsmen coming out on top in ’95 and ’97 also but mostly and overwhelmingly, the Saffrons have always had the upperhand in these contests.

I can remember sitting in the press box at Owenbeg after taking in the 2015 Ulster Final.  Antrim somehow clawed their way back into the game and won 1-15 to 1-14 and a million thoughts were going through my head.  Sitting to my right was former Irish News journalist and all-round great guy Paddy Heaney.  He summed it up perfectly by saying: “These contests are full of guts and thunder but the class of Antrim always seems to bring them through in the end.  They always seem to have that small bit extra when it’s needed.”

A small bit extra is all that’s needed on Saturday but two league points is a must for Antrim hurling.  Staying in this division is pivotal for our growth and don’t let anyone tell you any different, this is as big as it gets.

Down would love to put the final nail in the Antrim Division 1B coffin and you know that Carlow are capable of producing the goods when needed, especially in their own backyard.  While our attention is obviously on our game with Down, we may need a favour from the Dubs in the midlands.

But it’s a must to look after our own house first of all.  A win on Saturday and nothing else matters.

NFL Division 4

Antrim v London

Sunday 1-00pm

When Antrim lost their first three games of this year’s NFL Division 4 campaign any thoughts of a quick return to the higher grade were quickly dismissed by most punters but ironically, as they face London this Sunday, promotion is still a possibility.

The turnaround to that opening day loss to Carlow in Portglenone and subsequent defeats to Tipperary away and Longford at home has been remarkable and will surely have brought many disillusioned Antrim supporters back on board.

So what has brought about the turn around? Like most new management teams Mark Doran and his backroom staff probably didn’t have the time to properly assess their squad before the league campaign got underway.

Those losses at the start of this year’s campaign would have been a bitter pill to swallow never the less and already there would have been some who were questioning the Down man’s appointment.

It was going to take a win to get Antrim up and running and that win came away to Leitrim in Round 4 in Carrick on Shannon.

A few tweaks to the side and a never say die attitude saw Antrim produce their best performance of the season to date as they overcame the challenge of the Connaught men who had been going well prior to that game.

Meanwhile Carlow and Wicklow had been setting the pace in the race for the league title but Antrim’s campaign continued to gain momentum when they toppled league leaders Wicklow in Round 5.

Wicklow lost to Carlow in Round 2 but Carlow themselves have stuttered lately with Longford and Antrim’s opponents on Sunday London lowering the Carlow colours.

Things couldn’t be tighter going into this weekend’s final round of games. Only two points separate the top 2, Wicklow and Carlow and 7^th placed Leitrim so, arguably the pressure will be on the top two on the final day of the league campaign.

So what do Antrim need to do and what needs to happen to give Antrim any hope of promotion?

Firstly and most importantly they need to defeat Sunday’s opponents London and that certainly won’t be an easy task. The Exiles have been excellent this years and will travel to South West Antrim, a point ahead of the Saffrons in the table and harbouring promotion hopes of their own.

They produced their best performance of the season to defeat Carlow by five points at Netwatch Cullen Park last day out and a win against Antrim would move them onto 9 points and a promotion spot themselves should any of the top two slip.

So here’s how I see it! Leitrim need to beat Carlow in Carlow and Wicklow need to beat or at least draw with Longford in Longford. That would leave Wicklow on 9 or 10 points and Carlow on 7 or 8 points so the race then would be for second place.

Carlow’s score difference is +14 points while Antrim’s is +13. A win for Antrim and defeat for Carlow would leave the Saffrons with a superior score difference.

It’s all if’s and but’s but the bottom line is Antrim have to beat London and that’s what they need to focus on. The other business will take care of itself and the Saffrons certainly face a formidable challenge against an Exiles side who have defeated Longford, Waterford and Carlow and drew with Tipperary.

Both the Longford and Carlow wins were away from home so the visit to Cargin will hold no fear for London as they seek to make their own little bit of history.

A well-prepared London side put Carlow’s hopes of promotion on hold when they deservedly came away from Netwatch Cullen Park with an excellent 1-20 to 0-18 Allianz Football League Division 4 victory.

Eleven minutes in, the visitors led 0-08 to 0-01 and were good value for their lead. Midfielder Liam Gallagher scored four points in the opening half, including an excellent two-pointer.

Carlow got within two points of their rivals with eight minutes to go, but it was to no avail as a London attack saw Liam Murphy ghost in behind the defence and he made no mistake from close range.

Andrew Walsh pulled off a great point blank save as Carlow briefly threatened but Liam Gallagher, Liam Murphy, Ciaran Diver, Shay Rafter were prominent in seeing London home.

Just what side Antrim will field this weekend is unknown. John McNabb has been an ever present between the sticks and weighed in with some important scores.

The return of Peter Healey to the side last Sunday in Dungarven has come as a timely boost to Antrim and he marked his return with a goal while Marc Jordan, Ryan McQuillan and Adam Loughran all rattled the Waterford net.

Captain, Eoghan McCabe, Kavan Keenan, Eunan Walsh, Pat Shivers, Dominic McEnhill, Ryan McQuillan, Marc Jordan, Paddy McAleer and Joe Finnegan are likely to get the nod for a starting place as Antrim aim to put themselves in the frame for what would be a sensational promotion spot.

Division 4

team	P	W	D	L	+/-	Pts
1 Carlow	6	4	0	2	14	8
2 Wicklow	6	4	0	2	27	8
3 London	6	3	1	2	-1	7
4 Longford	6	3	1	2	4	7
5 Antrim	6	3	0	3	13	6
6 Tipperary	6	2	2	2	-1	6
7 Leitrim	6	3	0	3	-5	6
8 Waterford	6	0	0	6	-51	0

Antrim Football League Previews: Sunday, March 22nd

All divisions are in action for the next phase of the football leagues this Sunday. Last week saw a full list of Division One fixtures completed despite poor weather, and teams will be hoping for better conditions this weekend.

Division One

• All Saint’s Ballymena v St Mary’s Aghagallon Aghagallon travel with momentum after securing a six-point away victory over Randalstown last week in tough conditions, sealed by a late point from Jonny Hannon. Expect Aghagallon to bring that same intensity this weekend.
• Erin’s Own Cargin v Tir na Nog Cargin suffered a tough opening loss to Kickham’s Creggan last week while missing key players to county duty. Despite an early goal from Creggan’s Ben McLernon, Cargin led at the half but ultimately fell short. Cargin returns home to face Tir na Nog this week and will start as favorites, even with players still away on county duty.

• Cuchullian’s Dunloy v Con Magee’s Glenravel Reigning county champions Dunloy lost their opener to St Brigid’s 4-09 to 1-10 while missing regulars like Degalan Smith. Glenravel are also looking to bounce back after a narrow one-point defeat to Hannahstown last week. Both teams will be hungry for their first points of the season.

• St Brigid’s v O’Donovan Rossa St Brigid’s look formidable after beating the reigning champions on the road last week and will be favourites here. Rossa are also coming off a win, having edged out Moneyglass 2-12 to 0-09 thanks to a late score from Ruairi McDonagh. This promises to be a competitive clash.

• Lamh Dhearg v Roger Casement’s Casement’s opened their season with a strong victory over St John’s and will travel to Hannahstown full of confidence. Lamh Dhearg also secured an opening win and are notoriously tough to beat at home. While Lamh Dhearg will look to hold down their home turf, Casement’s are more than capable of pulling off an away win.
• St Paul’s v St John’s St John’s will be looking to regain their footing after losing their opener to Portglenone. They travel to face a St Paul’s side that beat Sarsfields last week. With home advantage on their side, St Paul’s gets the slight nod in what should be a tight contest.
• St Galls v Patrick Sarsfields Sarsfields face a tough away test at Milltown after narrowly losing to St Paul’s last week. St Gall’s ended last season with strong momentum and look to have carried it into 2026. A home win for St Gall’s is the most likely outcome.
• St Ergnat’s Moneyglass v Kickham’s Creggan Creggan secured a gritty win against Cargin last week and brings plenty of experience into this matchup. They face a newly promoted Moneyglass side eager to cement their spot in the top flight. Creggan’s experience makes them the favourites.

Division Two

• St Teresas v St Patrick’s St Teresa’s are one of a number of sides aiming for promotion to the top flight. They host a St Patrick’s side that has climbed all the way up from Division Four. St Teresa’s are slight favourites to win this at home.
• Davitts v St Mary’s Ahoghill Ahoghill, another team recently relegated from Division One, have been struggling with player numbers but maintains strong team character. They face a well-established Division Two side in Davitts. Ahoghill’s top-flight experience should give them the edge to win this on the road.
• St James Aldergrove v St Enda’s Both of these teams are former Division One residents eager to move back up. Aldergrove enter as the favourites primarily due to home advantage, but St Enda’s are perfectly capable of making this a very close game.
• St Agnes v St Joseph’s Glenavy Newly promoted St Agnes welcomes Glenavy, a team aiming to return to Division One. Glenavy are widely expected to secure victory as they start their push for promotion but the ‘Aggies’ should not be ruled out.
• Gort na Mona v St Comgall’s St Comgall’s continues their impressive climb from the basement divisions, but they face a tough test here. Gort na Mona have experience in higher grades and are firm favorites to get a win on the board.

Division Three

• Kickham’s Ardoyne v Laochra Loch Lao Ardoyne narrowly missed out on promotion last year and will be highly motivated. Laochra have been gaining confidence, but Ardoyne’s experience should tip the balance in their favor.
• Cardinal O’ Donnell’s v St Mary’s Rasharkin O’Donnell’s were highly competitive last season, but they face a Rasharkin side that came very close to promotion. Rasharkin gets the slight nod as the favorites in this opener.
• Eire Og v Padraig Pearses This looks to be a very evenly matched game as Pearses travel across the city to face Eire Og. Pearses are slight favorites to take the points.
• St Malachy’s v St Brigid Gaels, Cloughmills St Malachy’s are a highly experienced team in this division with clear promotion goals. They face the division’s newest addition, as the Biddies field a football team for the first time. While the new club is an unknown quantity and could cause an upset, St Malachy’s should have the edge.