Centra League Div 1a Antrim 0-09 Tipperary 2-19 14th February 2026

Report and pics from Michael Corcoran in Cushendun

As the song goes ‘It’s a long way to Tipperary’, equally as long up to Antrim but the visitors to Cushendun made it all the worthwhile as they drove back down the road with their first Centra div 1a league win under their belt from 2026.

It was a healthy margin for the Premier County but that was expected as Antrim slip into a new league consisting of Camogie Behemoths, Cork, Galway, Waterford, Kilkenny and Tipperary. For now, Antrim has defined their league encounter as the bed for building performance and taking that into more realistic venues such as Ulster and the Intermediate Championships.

Antrim started well with only three points the difference after twenty minutes gone. The pitch held up well to the torment delivered underfoot and both squads managed to display a number of first touches off the pacy roll, but Tipperary seemed able to offload the sliotar better under pressure to a blue and gold jersey whilst Antrim under similar pressure occasionally spilled the sliotar to a waiting Tipp player. Those opportunities were rarely waisted as they carved up the middle of the pitch to deliver a volley of points and the drift began around twenty eight minutes when Tipp went four ahead and from a simple left flank move down towards the sea end, a running Caoimhe Stakelum teased Antrim’s goalkeeper to come off her line and look big but a rifled sliotar to the back of the net elevated Tipperary’s score to a goal and eight points before adding a further two points short of the whistle. There could have been a second goal for Tipp if not for the sharp action from Antrim’s Caitriona Graham who would continue to spoil more attempts to goal in the second half.

Antrim rallied at the restart with a constant drip of points to keep momentum going. Katie Molloy embarked on one of her solo runs, out striding her marker but dropped the sliotar off the stick. Such was the tenacity of the forward, roll lifting out of a mini ruck to continue her solo run finishing with a fine point.

Well into the second half, and making her debut on the senior squad, Eobha McAllister showing no fear went on a solo run charging down the metres for a fine strike at Aine Slattery’s net but sensing the following pack of defenders opted to ‘underarm’ flick it over the bar for her first county senior point. McAllister would get a second chance at Slattery’s net but directed the sliotar towards her from a narrow angle, unfortunately Slattery was able to raise the stick and diffuse the threat.

It was one of those games, where every point from Antrim was matched by two from Tipperary and a goal but Niamh Treacy was going to change that when Caoimhe Maher offloaded to Aoife Dwyer and finding Treacy for a short tap in over Antrim’s line to hear the long whistle ending Antrim’s first league opener Antrim 0-09 Tipperary 2-19.

All in all much the expected outcome in terms of score but a decent game for Antrim, taking the opportunity to run out Laura Black, Aimee Ferris and Eobha McAllister for first appearances in the senior Saffron jersey. Fine performances came in from Clare McKillop, Nicole McAtamney, Lucia McNaughton, who clutched an awkward ball out of the air that fed McAllister on her goal effort and stalwarts like Maeve Kelly, Shannagh Heggarty, Erin Coulter, Amy Boyle, Katie Molloy and Janey McIntosh to name a few and a great opening game for returning players like Colleen Patterson, Niamh Cosgrove, Katie McKillop and Elen McIntosh.

Antrim’s next game is against Cork on Saturday 21st February, weather permitting.

You can see more pics from Saturday’s game against Tipperary here…

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Antrim Starting Panel and Scorers

Caitrin Graham, Colleen Patterson, Shannagh Heggarty, Clare McKillop, Laura Black, Niamh Cosgrove, Erin Coulter, Amy Boyle 0-01, Nicole McAtamney 0-05f, Maeve Kelly 0-02, Lucia McNaughton, Katie McKillop, Elen McIntosh, Janey McIntosh, Katie Molloy, Eobha McAllister 0-01

Tipperary Starting Panel and Scorers

Aine Slattery, Isobel O’Donnel, Celine Guinan, Eimer Loughman, Sarah Corcoran, Caoimhe McCarthy 0-02, Emma Carey, Kate Ralph 0-02, Karen Kennedy 0-01, Amy Quinlisk, Roisin Howard 0-01, Clodagh McIntyre 0-03, Caoimhe Stakelum 1-04, Eimear McGrath 0-04 (1w), Lucy Purcell 0-01, Aoife Dwyer 0-01, Niamh Teacy 1-00

Antrim v Tipperary Centra National League Division 1a Cushendun Saturday 14th February 2026

Preview and photos from Michael Corcoran

Antrim will get their division 1a campaign off to a start when they meet Tipperary up in Cushendun on Saturday. This is what the Antrim squad have longed for after winning the division 1b league final against Clare back in March of last year. The natural ebb and flow of players taking their place in the squad will be nothing new to this year’s new management team primarily comprising Elaine Dowds and Conor Gillan. Stalwarts that are taking a break will open up opportunities for others and several players that weren’t firing on all cylinders due to injury have an opportunity to fulfil their hopes again of delivering quality camogie for the county.

Tipperary, of sorts, have had early success in Antrim when Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles played Cross and Passion in an All Ireland semi final but the stage is set for a more senior encounter between the Saffrons and the Premier County. Last year, Tipperary came running out of the blocks with a draw against Dublin followed by wins against Kilkenny and Galway before Cork altered their trajectory with an eight point win over the ‘Blue and Gold’, Tipperary 0-07 Cork 1-12. Cork dominated the league and went on to have a comfortable win over Galway, Cork 0-21 Galway 0-10.

Antrim in contrast got off to a flying start with a win against Wexford in Ahoghill by a marginal one point but that fuelled the squad to dominate the league and the rest as they say is history.

This has been a challenging year for GAA activities, where grass training and playing have been at a premium due to consistent inclement weather, though working off a 3G surface might feel like altitude training for a runner, looking for that performance edge. Whatever the case, Antrim’s new Captain, Caitriona Graham will be keen to see Tipperary’s compendium of forwards, Caoimhe Stakelum, Eimear McGrath and Lucy Purcell (all replacing last year’s forward line) as far out as possible. At the other end, Tipp’s Laura Leenane (or Aine Slattery) will likely taste a smörgåsbord of Antrim forwards as Antrim’s manager, Elaine Dowds, flexes options around possible full forwards such as Lucia McNaughton, Katie McKillop, Maeve Kelly, Ellen McIntosh, Janey McIntosh and Katie Molloy. This will be about exposure for experience and game time for some of the newer players.

Dowds is realistic about the ’26 road ahead and recognises the gap between promoters from division 1b and the division 1a five of Kilkenny, Galway, Cork, Tipperary and Waterford. Speaking to the Saffron Gael, Dowds explains “We know our objectives for this year and it won’t be about focussing on scorelines, instead this is an opportunity to improve our performance and return with that experience to the Ulster and Intermediate campaigns.”

This league will be a win-win for Saff supporters as we see top camogie on our doorsteps and mindful of keeping the performance plan to the forefront, make your own assessment on who you think has travelled well on that journey and delivers into the Ulster and Intermediate championships. It will be Valentine’s Day on Saturday, but you can be certain there will be no love lost over the sixty minutes or so of competitive camogie, but here’s hoping it’s Antrim coming out smelling of roses.

Get your tickets for the game here… https://www.universe.com/users/camogie-association-0LQ93P