Antrim have been drawn against Carlow in round one of theTailteann Cup in the draw which took place on Monday afternoon.
The Leinster side, who beat the Saffrons by 2-16 to 1-15 on the opening day of the National Football League Division 4 in Portglenone, went on to win the title when they beat Longford after extra time in the final in Croke Park in late March to claim the county’s first national silverware since 1944. Antrim have to travel to Dr Cullen Park for the game which will be played on the weekend of 9th or 10th of May.
Antrim and Fermanagh are the only Ulster teams in the competition to date, but they could still be joined by Down, who shocked Donegal in the Ulster Championship on Sunday, should they lose out to Armagh in the Ulster semi-final in Clones this weekend.
Electric Ireland Ulster Minor Football Championship Round One
Monaghan 3-14 Antrim 1-10
The start of this game in Iniskeen was delayed for 45 minutes after the Antrim bus got stuck under a bridge in the village with the Antrim players having to be relayed by car to the ground.
It failed to unsettle the young Saffrons however when play got underway as they set about putting an early stamp on proceedings.
Antrim took the game to a Monaghan team, who had defeated them earlier in the league by 12 points at Dunsilly and raced into a 0-6 to 0-2 early in the game and their ability to overturn the Monaghan attack and hit on the counter suggested that a major upset was on the cards.
The Antrim defence at this point was dealing with everything the ‘Farney’ could throw at them but an excellent 2 pointer from Cillian McKenna seemed to settle the home side and they gradually began to eat into the Antrim lead.
Roger Casements’ duo Dara Campbell and Tom Convery had dominated at midfield for much of the game, the latter striking a superb 45 and a two-point free early on, while Joey Griffin palmed home their goal, the smallest man on the pitch rising highest to pull it back to 2-9 to 1-8 at one stage in the second half.
The Monaghan defence, led by full-back Darragh Feeney finally got to grips with a lively Antrim attack and he got forward for an excellent point in the first half as the momentum of the game started to change.
Adam Borsje had the home crowd on their feet with a superb individual goal as he placed his shot in the corner of the Antrim net and another from Mickey Dooher-Burke finally killed the game off.
Malachy Treanor had lashed home Monaghan’s second goal just moments beforehand and the hosts emptied their bench with Mantas Palauskas making an instant impact to point, and Caoilte Kelly following with a two-pointer.
Despite this defeat there was much to be positive about in this Antrim performance with Niall Quinn excellent in goals and his kick-outs were pin point at times, while the St Ergnat’s Moneyglass man also made an excellent save to deny Noah Hughes.
Darragh Feeney, Cillian McKenna Malachy Treanor, Adam Botsje and Noah Hughes were excellent in a Monaghan team with an Ulster league title behind them and they will now fancy their chances to complete a league and championship double.
Antrim have struggled at times this season but their performance in Iniskeen suggest that they didn’t quite fulfil their obvious potential and in Niall Quinn, Tom Convery, Daire Thornbury, Sean McCormack Darra Campbell and Joe Griffin they have players who look to have a bright future.
Monaghan: R Quigley; C Farrelly, D Feeney 0-1, N Fanthorpe (C); M Doogan-Burke 1-1, A Lawless, M Treanor 1-0; J O’Loan, P Gilmartin; C McKenna 0-3 (tp), A Borsje 1-0, P Brady; A McGinnity 0-4 (3f), S McKenna, N Hughes
Subs used: C MacCionnaith 0-1 for A Lawless (inj), C McCluskey for P Brady (38), C Kelly 0-3 (tp) for J O’Loan (45), M Palauskas 0-1 for M Treanor (50), G Collins for S Mac Cinna (56)
Antrim: N Quinn; C McKenna, B O’Donnell, C McArt; S McCormack 0-1, T Douthart, C Wilson; D Campbell 0-4 (4f), T Convery 0-3 (45, tpf); A O’Hanlon, J Higgins, J Griffin 1-0; T Lee, S McFerran, D Thornbury 0-1.
Subs used: C McKeever 0-1 for T Lee (HT), S McMullan for A O’Hanlon (40), S McLernon for D Thornbury (45’), N Burns for J Higgins (53), S McPeake for B O’Donnell (58).
Antrim enter their Ulster Minor Championship clash with Monaghan carrying a quiet sense of momentum and growing belief. After a promising run through their league fixtures, this is a side that looks more settled and confident than in recent years
Much of Antrim’s optimism centres on a hard-working midfield and a forward line that has shown it can take scores under pressure. Discipline and decision-making, however, will be crucial—turnovers in key areas have hurt them before, and against seasoned opposition, those mistakes tend to be punished.
Defensively, Antrim will need to stay compact and organised, with communication across the back line likely to play a big role in limiting Monaghan’s scoring chances. If they can strike the right balance between patience and attacking intent, there’s a genuine opportunity to make this a competitive contest.
For Antrim, this fixture represents more than just a championship opener—it’s a chance for a young group to show their progress and lay down a marker for the future.
Antrim Minors make the trip to Inniskeen, mid-day Saturday to face Monaghan in the first round of the Ulster Minor Football Championship.
The young Saffrons will go into Saturday’s encounter with the Farney as rank outsiders but the underdog tag will probably suit Antrim and it’s something that Antrim teams have become accustomed to in recent years.
They face a Monaghan team who recently beat Tyrone in the Ulster Minor League final and will be amongst the favourites to lift Ulster and beyond.
This is not an Antrim team without hope however and while they suffered a number of defeats in the Ulster league they showed against Donegal just what they are capable of if they can put their best game together.
The Saffrons producing a solid performance but in the end they were forced to share the points with the Tir Connaill outfit in a game they should have won.
Dara Campbell, who had a fine game at mid-field for the hosts, responded for Antrim with Danny Og Cooney and Darragh O’Hare 2pt on target for the visitors and Tom Convery punishing a breech at the other end to leave Donegal 0-10 to 0-6 ahead at the break but with the breeze to face in the second half.
Antrim looked in a bit of trouble when Tadhd McDaid from play and then from a free extended the visitors lead at the start of the second half but they replied through Joey Griffin 2 pointer and another from Thomas Douthert to get their second half up and running.
The Saffrons were then punished as the ball was moved forward after a disputed free which O’Hare converted but they responded in the best possible way with Mark McFerran, Daire Thornbury and Aodhan O’Hanlon on target at the other end.
Indiscipline began to creep into the Antrim play though it has to be said that a number of the frees against them were of the soft variety and ace free taker, Darragh O’Hare took advantage with four on the bounce with Dara Campbell hitting a 2 pointer and a single from play to keep the home side in touch.
A great point from Sean McCormack had the side’s level going into injury time but again they were punished for an indiscretion, much to the annoyance of the home support, which O’Hare converted.
It looked as good as over at this stage but the young Saffrons showed tremendous fighting spirit and Daire Thornbury became their hero as he split the posts in the 34th minute to give them a share of the spoils.
Antrim make their bow in this year’s Ulster Championship when they travel to Celtic Park in Derry on Saturday evening to face a Derry Side who will be cast in the role of red hot favourites and rightly so.
Derry played their football in division 2 of the National league this year and turned in some great performances, winning five of their seven games and missing out narrowly on promotion to division 1.
They were pipped for a promotion place by Cork and Meath despite recording a big win over Cork in early March but an opening round defeat to Meath on day one and a loss to Louth on 14th March would eventually cost them a promotion place.
Left to Right: Niall Burns, Peter Healey and Pat Shivers
A solid league campaign never the less under Ciaran Meenagh, who appears to have got all of Derry’s top players back on board after a short reign by Mickey Harte which produced a National league title.
Former Tyrone manager Harte was never fully accepted by the Oak Leaf support despite that title in 2024 and following a poor 2025 campaign Derry turned to former coach, Meenagh.
And while Meenagh was taking up the reigns in Derry, Antrim had a new man in charge themselves. Mark Doran was to endure a less than spectacular start in charge of the Saffrons when they lost their opening three games in Division 4.
Like Meenagh with Derry, Doran has steadied the Antrim ship however and the Saffrons won their final four games in the lower division and just lost out narrowly on a promotion place.
The Derry side to face Antrim at Celtic Park will be littered with household names like Padraig McGrogan, Gareth McKinless, the Doherty’s, Matthew Downey, Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan to name but a few.
McGuigan scored 0-11 in their final league game against Cavan while Conor Glass is often the driving force in the Derry engine room.
Conor Glass reckons a good Ulster Championship campaign would see Derry’s confidence spiral and could act as a springboard for their summer.
Glass says Derry still see themselves as “one of the top teams in Ireland” and if they aren’t striving to compete at that level they have no business playing football.
The Glen All Star can tell by the confidence of his team mates that they have recovered from a 2025 campaign where they didn’t win a League or Championship game.
Antrim have their own stars however and they won’t be going to Celtic Park just to make up the numbers.
The Saffrons will take great heart from their performance against Armagh in their opening championship game last year when they took the game to the Orchard and led by one at half time.
The return of Marc Jordan will give the Antrim challenge a major boost
Kieran McGeeney’s side stepped it up after the break to win comfortably enough in the end but Antrim can be well satisfied with their performance for 40 plus minutes of that game.
John McNabb has been excellent for Antrim since taking over the goalkeeper’s jersey from Mick Byrne and the return of Eunan Walsh at full-back has added a bit of composure to their defence.
Marc Jordan has been outstanding for Antrim this year but missed the final game of the season against London with a hand injury but has been included in the side named on Thursdasy night and will be a big boost for the Saffrons.
Kavan Keenan, Eoghan McCabe, Paddy McAleer, Dominic McEnhill, Pat Shivers, Joe Finnegan and Adam Loughran have been regulars in a team that has had a more predictable look to it as the season has progressed.
In fact Jordan and Conor Hand are the only changes from the side who finished their league campaign with a win over London and the Saffrons are as near full strength as they could be.
Ryan McQuillan can be a match winner on his day and whether he starts, or is introduced will be hoping to play his part as underdogs Antrim go for broke in the Maiden City.
Ahead of Saturday’s highly anticipated Ulster Senior Football Championship showdown at Celtic Park, the Saffron Gael’s Paddy McIlwaine sat down with Antrim Senior Football manager Mark Doran.
Coming off a strong finish to their league campaign, Doran reflects on the season’s turning points, the impact of key returning players, and the monumental task of facing a heavily decorated Derry side.
League Reflections & The Cost of Discipline
Paddy McIlwaine: Mark, Antrim ended the league campaign strongly with four wins on the bounce. Am I right in saying that it was the loss to Tipperary in Round 3 that ultimately cost us promotion, even though we were still in the fight on the final day?
Mark Doran: Yes, Paddy, though I’d say it was our defeat to Tipperary in Round 2 that probably cost us promotion. It was a game we were in total control of after 30 minutes, but a lack of discipline cost us. We ended up going down to 14 men while we were two points up. It’s incredibly hard with the new rules to win a game when you’re a man down, essentially defending 10 versus 11. To be fair to the boys, they battled away, and with four minutes left, we were only a point down before we lost another man. Finishing with 13 men was just too big a hurdle.
Paddy McIlwaine: We certainly showed improvement as the campaign progressed. Do you think it just took a new management team some time to assess our best starting fifteen, or would a longer preparation period have put us in a better position?
Mark Doran: There might be a wee bit of that to it, but the reality is we were down a lot of bodies for the first three league games. No matter what team you are or what division you’re in, you need your best players on the field. We had guys like Conor Hand, Peter Healy, Ronan Boyle, John Morgan, Adam Loughran, Tiernan McCormick, Dominic McEhill, and Ryan McQuillian all missing the start of our league.
Injury Updates & Key Returns
Paddy McIlwaine: Speaking of missing players, I spoke to Marc Jordan at the final league game against London in Toome. He was carrying an injury that kept him out. How has that progressed, and will he be available to start against Derry?
Mark Doran: Yes, Marc picked up a knock during the Waterford game which forced him to sit out against London. Thankfully, he returned to full training last week and is available for selection.
Paddy McIlwaine: Having Peter Healy back for the final two league games felt like a massive boost to the squad. I’ve watched him for years in a Saffron shirt, and he’s a born leader. What has his return brought to the side?
Mark Doran: It’s a massive boost having a fully fit Peter Healy back. Everyone can see the sheer quality he brings. The same can be said for getting Conor Hand back. I go back to my earlier point: to compete, everyone needs their best players on the pitch.
Facing the Oak Leafers
Paddy McIlwaine: I was at the McKenna Cup game against Derry at Eoghan Ruadh. It was early days, and both sides were missing players. We did okay in the opening half, but Derry seemed to find another gear and finished strong. What did you learn from that encounter?
Mark Doran: I’m a big believer in the phrase “you win or you learn.” In that regard, there were definitely learnings for us to take from that McKenna Cup game, particularly regarding the sheer pace they bring to their transitions and general play.
Paddy McIlwaine: Last year, we met Armagh in the opening championship game at Corrigan Park and were brilliant for over 40 minutes before they pulled away at the end. Can the squad take inspiration from that performance?
Mark Doran: You’d certainly hope so. While it is a new team and a new management setup this year, we absolutely hope the boys who were involved last year will take that bit of championship experience into Saturday.
Paddy McIlwaine: Are there specific Derry players we need to keep a special eye on—though you’ll probably say all of them! Or is the approach to simply focus on our own game, play without fear against a higher-division opponent, and see where it takes us?
Mark Doran: There is no doubt that Derry is a serious outfit. They are still one of the top five teams in Ireland. You’re looking at a squad where probably 13 of their starting 15 have two Ulster Championship medals in their pockets, Division 1 and Division 2 league medals, and seven or eight All-Stars among them. It’s a massive challenge, but it’s one we are really looking forward to.
At the end of the day, we have to focus on our own game and control the controllables. Hopefully, we can produce a massive performance for the full 70-odd minutes. All we can ask of the boys is that they give absolutely everything they have for that duration and see where it takes us.
Squad News for Saturday
Paddy McIlwaine: You know your panel inside out now, and the team has been on a steady upward trajectory since week three of the league. Can you give us an idea of the starting team for Saturday, and your final thoughts on facing the odds-on favorites?
Mark Doran: Unfortunately, we have picked up a few injuries during the league. As it stands, Kevin McCann, Sean O’Neill, Ronan Quinn, and Conor Johnston won’t be available for the Derry game. That’s four really good young players out.
However, it’s a massive opportunity for the boys who do step up and start on Saturday. These are the exact challenges you want in sport. Days like Saturday in Celtic Park are the very reason the players put in the hard slog through the dark nights of December and January. Our full focus will be entirely on us—what we can bring to the game, bringing a serious level of energy, and putting our best foot forward.
The Antrim team to face Derry in the Ulster Senior Football Championship on Saturday
