Above – The Under 12 Hurling team, who won the Brendan McGarry Cup received their medals at the Glenarm Shane Ui Neill’s awards dinner in the Harbourview Hotel, Carnlough.
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Antrim senior ladies 4-10
Fermanagh senior ladies 2-10
A superb second half display from Antrim senior ladies was a massive help in this 6 point victory over Fermanagh which keeps them joint top after 4 games
Antrim were also dominant in the first half but quite a few chances went the wrong side of the uprights but to their credit they kept plugging away and eventually they started to get the scoreboard moving.
Fermanagh though after 20 minutes of the half raced into a four point lead but this never say die Antrim team got it back to two just before the interval.
Antrim had faced a strong wind in the first half and would have been happy at half time knowing they had the elements in the second period.
As both teams took the pitch for the final 30 minutes the heavens opened and it was the Antrim girls who adapted better.
Antrim’s football in the second half was nothing short of brilliant.
Fast attacking football yielded its reward and the girls were now finding their range from every angle of the pitch.
The team hit 4 goals and 5 points in the second half to cap of a brilliant performance.
Scorers …
Maria O Neill 2-4
Bronagh Devlin 1-1
Laura Agnew 1-1
Theresa Mellon 0-2
Caitlin Taggart 0-1
Lara Dahunsi 0-1
Antrim now head to Louth next Sunday for a top of the table clash with the hosts…
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“Rock Stars & Divas” took to the dance floor in Tullyglass House Hotel at Friday night’s Saints & Slimmers Finale event as this year’s teams came together for the final time to complete their programme.
The eight teams spent the evening celebrating with family and friends at the conclusion of another successful Saints & Slimmers programme.
Held in the wonderful setting of Tullyglass House Hotel the participants, arranged in teams named after the solar system, rounded their seven week challenge off in some style.
Having spent the past 2 months exercising every muscle they have it was time to hit the dance floor and show off their Lip Snyc and dancing skills to over 300 friends, supporters and club members.
With 8 routines in all from Queens “Another One Bites The Dust” through to Beyonce’s “Texas Hold’ Em” there was plenty to keep everyone entertained. And that’s just what they did. Each team put on show the final results of their seven week dance preparation to rapturous applause from those attending. But of course there were also points on offer and champions to be crowned.
First up on the night was the naming of the Biggest Male & Female Loser. Competitors waited with bated breath for the overall winners to be announced. Crowned 2026 female winner was Orlagh McKenna while crowned male winner alongside her was Barry McCallion.
Next up we had the Slimmers Queen & King reveal. Picked from across the teams the worthy winners were Anne McCann and Eamon McKillop.
Then it was on to the Dance winners. The judges had an unenviable task in choosing their winners but choose they did and announced in 1st place were the Par-Tee Golf Plutos dancing to Nicki Minaj “Star Ships”. 2nd place went to Flamingo Fitness Apollos with Christina Aguilera’s Candy Man” with McKillop’s Spar Saturns placed in 3rd dancing to “Another One Bites The Dust by Queen.
Celebrations had barely receded when we were introduced to the overall champions of the seven week programme. A combination of points awarded for attendance, weight loss and team activitiy challenges had brought us to this point.
Deserving winners and Saints & Slimmers Champions 2026 were the Par-Tee Golf Plutos making it a double win on the night for the team. Announced in 2nd place were Bert’s Cafe Lunas while in 3rd place were McKillop’s Spar Saturns.
Saints & Slimmers has community at heart and this was very much in evidence during Friday night’s event when a cheque was presented to local charity Cancer Focus NI. Jamie McCann, representative of the organisation, received the donation on their behalf and shared information on the work of the charity. The charity was selected as a result of the personal journey one of the participants in this year’s programme has been on. Anne McCann told all assembled about her experience and the support Cancer Focus NI had provided her with along the way.
The money was raised as a result of a day long Spin Cycle Spinathon at the Ballymena Harmony Hub in the centre of town. Thanks to the generosity of the participants, their families and the Ballymena public a grand total of over £3.6k was realised. As well as supporting Cancer Focus NI the funds raised will go towards the purchase and placement of a community defibrillator at Slemish Park, home of All Saints GAC.
A fitting way to pay tribute to the spirit of community which is at the heart of the All Saints club and bring this year’s programme to a conclusion.
The evening raised £3600 for charity
Special thanks to all of our team and event sponsors:
Galgorm Resort & Spa (Overall Sponsor?
Par Tee Golf (Plutos)
Charlie’s Bar (Cosmos)
Bert’s Cafe (Lunas)
McKillops Spar (Saturns)
Teamkit (Jupiters)
ECO Flame (Neptunes)
Knockdene Healthcare (Supernovas)
Flamingo Fitness (Apollos)
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NFL Division 4
Leitrim 1-15 Antrim 2-20
A resurgent Antrim, showing a number of changes from the team named on Saturday night, found their shooting boots in Carrick on Shannon on Sunday as they swept aside the challenge of a fancied Leitrim.
A Paul Honeyford goal, three minutes into first half injury time handed Leitrim a lifeline as Antrim dominated in a wind assisted opening half to lead 1-11 to 1-3 at the interval at Pairc MacDiarmada.
It failed to materialise however as a hungry Antrim fired over the first five points of the second half as a team who have found scores hard to come by in recent weeks, scored at will.
Despite kicking seven wides early in the game the visitors recovered from a Mark Diffley 2 pointer with one of their own from Dominic McEnhill to finally get themselves on the scoreboard after 11 minutes.
Eoghan McCabe added a point to give Antrim the lead before McEnhill kicked his second of the game to move the Saffrons 0-5 to 0-2 ahead as they began to grow in confidence.
As the Antrim confidence grew Conor Hand struck the game’s opening goal for the visitors as he got on the end of a flowing move orchestrated by Marc Jordan but it appeared at this stage that it would take a substantial lead at half time, given the strength of the breeze favouring of the visitors.
Antrim continued to dominate possession as they won dirty ball around mid-field and Pat Shivers added a point before his Erin’s Own colleague, John McNabb came forward from goals to fire over and raise the Orange flag to move his side 8 ahead by the 25th minute.
Leitrim, who had started the season well with 2 wins from three starts finally got their third point of the half when Paul Honeyford split the posts in the 26th minute but it provided only temporary relief for his side.
Antrim hit back over the next seven minutes with points each from Eunan Walsh, Joseph Finnegan and Paddy McAleer as a rejuvenated Antrim continued to turn the screw.
Exchanges were becoming increasingly fractious as frustration began to creep into the Leitrim play but the hosts finally breeched the visitors defence and Paul Honeford got in for a goal on the stroke of half time to give them some hope for the second half.
There was further hostility between the sides on the way to the dressing room at half time with Antrim’s Sean Og O’Neill and Leitrim’s Ryan O’Rourke shown Yellow prior to the second half throw-in.
The hosts needed a good start to the new half if they were to claw back the Antrim lead but for the first time this season fortune appeared to have favoured Mark Doran’s side when a heavy shower during the half time interval abated and the breeze died as a consequence.
Indeed it was Antrim who set down another marker on the restart as they kicked the first five points of the new half with Dominic McEnhill, John McNabb (2pt free) and two more from the on song McEnhill moving them 1-16 to 1-3 ahead by the 10th minute.
Ben Guckian and Paul Honeyford replied with 2 pointers to close the gap to 9 as the home support dared to believe and another Orange flag raised by the highly rated Barry McNulty had it back to seven with still 16 minutes of normal time remaining.
The visitors were in no mood to relinquish what they had earned however and another creative build up saw Ryan McQuillan’s shot on goal charged down with Paddy McAleer on hand to finish to the net.
Both keepers then pulled off saves as the intensity increased with Killian Gaffney denying Pat Shivers at one end and John McNabb performing similar heroics as Barry McNulty threatened.
A Ryan McQuillan point in the 24th minute got Antrim going again with Barry McNulty raising Orange again to keep Leitrim’s fading hopes alive with 7 minutes remaining.
Back came the visitors and Dominic McEnhill raced clear to fist over before his side received a setback when Joe Finnegan was shown straight Red following an overzealous challenge on Barry McNulty.
McNulty punished the foul with a 2 pointer from the resulting free and he would exchange the game’s final points with Antrim’s Ryan McQuillan as Mark Doran’s side collected their first win of the season.
A great win for Antrim and while the promotion ship appears to have sailed it will hopefully set the Saffrons up for a strong finish to the season in preparation for the their Ulster championship opener against Derry.
Leitrim: Killian Gaffey; Eoin McLoughlin, Kieran Clancy, Conor Reynolds; Oisin McLoughlin, Mark Diffley (0-02p) , Éanna McNamara; Conor Quinn, Keith Keegan; Fergal McLoughlin, Riordan O’Rourke, Michael McKiernan; Ben Guckian (0-2 2p), Ryan O’Rourke, Paul Honeyman (1-03 2p).
Subs: Barry McNulty 0 – 7 2pf (0 2p for O McLoughlin (HT); Tom Prior for F McLoughlin (43); Gavin Reynolds for McKiernan (51); Seán Harkin for Reynolds (58); Jack Kelly 0 – 1 for Honeyman (64).
Antrim: John McNabb (0-05 2p, 2pf f); Sean O’Neill, Joseph Finnegan, Kavan Keenan; Eoghan McCabe 0 – 1, Ronan Boyle, Mark Jordan; Paddy McAleer (1-01), Tomas McFerran; Conor Hand (1-00), Pat Shivers (0-1), Eunan Walsh (0 -01) Ryan McQuillan (0-02); Adam Loughran, Dominic McEnhill (0 –08)
Subs: Ryan Murray for Loughran (61); Cathal Hynds for Boyle (67); Tiernan McCormack for Walsh (69); James McAuley for Keenan (72).
Referee: Pat Clarke (Cavan).
DIVISION 1B
Antrim 0-25 Carlow 0-12
Sunday 22 February
Brendan McTaggart reports from Corrigan Park, Belfast
Antrim recorded their first win of the season on Sunday afternoon as they swept aside the challenge of Carlow at Corrigan Park. 13 points was the difference between the sides, in truth the final score flattered the Barrowsiders as the Saffrons produced the goods.
With this game being billed as a ‘must win’, Antrim answered plenty of the questions being posed of this side and after a disappointing display against Kildare, there were plenty of questions. But the longer this contest continued, Davy Fitzgerald’s side played with fluency and a confidence that has been missing in the opening three games. Carlow were chasing Saffron shadows in the final quarter with Antrim relentless.
Seaan Elliott top scored with six of his eight points coming from placed ball while captain Conal Cunning finished the hour with six white flags. Keelan Molloy marked his return to the county starting 15 with a man of the match display from midfield and split the uprights on three occasions – making it 17 points in total from the Dunloy clubmen.
This was a performance that overshadowed any individual displays, however. With the three named, Joe Maskey and Ryan McCambridge also put in top performances while the work rate all over the pitch in and out of possession was outstanding and fast becoming what this side are being known for.
Carlow competed for long periods and with Marty Kavanagh at his clinical best from placed ball, they always had an outlet. But, they rarely looked like they were capable of pinning Antrim back. Six points coming in open play is a paltry return from the visitors and just three in the second half.
The foundations to the victory were laid in the first half, however. Antrim played with a more attacking shape and despite a slow start, they controlled the first half with Seaan Elliott catching the eye. The delivery of ball into the forward line was excellent throughout as the Saffrons made light of playing into the wind blowing into the far goals at Corrigan Park.
Antrim would have been content with the one point lead they held in the first half. The elements were substantial and largely in their favour for the second half and they were quickest out of the blocks after the restart. Elliot and Molloy started off with two big scores as they extend their lead to three points inside the opening four minutes of the second half.
Kavanagh’s fifth free of the contest left three between the sides in the 45th minute but Carlow wouldn’t register another score for 11 minutes as Antrim turned the screw, scoring seven points unanswered from five different players. Ruairi Donaghy’s pointed effort in the 48th minute a particular highlight as the Naomh Éanna man rose highest to catch a side line from Molloy before splitting the uprights.
It took the Antrim lead to double figures going into the final minutes of the game as the Saffrons continued to add gloss and finish the game strongly. A long range free from James McNaughton coupled with scores from Cunning, Stephen Rooney and substitute Eoin O’Neill put further daylight between the sides at the death.
The Saffrons face Dublin in seven days’
time with their fate still in their hands. It will take a massive performance to get anything from the Dubs but this 70 plus minutes will help confidence going into that game. It was exactly what was needed after the disappointment of the Kildare game and just rewards for the efforts being put in by all concerned.
ANTRIM: Cormac McFadden; Stephen Rooney, Niall O’Conner, Paddy Burke; Eoin McFerran, Joe Maskey, Gerard Walsh; Ryan McCambridge, Keelan Molloy; Paul Boyle, Conor Johnston, Ruairi Donaghy; Seaan Elliot, James McNaughton, Conal Cunning
Subs: Scott Walsh on for Eoin McFerran (51’), Eoin O’Neill on for Paul Boyle (59’), Joseph McLaughlin on for Ruairi Donaghy (63’), Morgan Nelson on for Conor Johnston (69’), Ryan McNulty on for Gerard Walsh (71’)
Scorers: Seaan Elliot 0-8 (0-5f, 0-1 65’), Conal Cunning 0-6, Keelan Molloy 0-3, James McNaughton 0-2 (0-1f), Conor Johnston 0-1, Niall O’Connor 0-1, Ruairi Donaghy 0-1, Stephen Rooney 0-1, Morgan Nelson 0-1, Paul Boyle 0-1
CARLOW: Brian Tracey; Niall Bolger, Dion Wall, Paul Doyle; Fiach O’Toole, Kevin McDonald, Paidi O’Shea; Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Paddy Boland; Chris Nolan, Donagh Murphy, Jon Nolan; Jack Treacy, John Michael Nolan, Martin Kavanagh
Subs: Ted Joyce on for John Michael Nolan (43’), Richard Coady on for Paddy Boland (59’), Kevin Kavanagh on for Donagh Murphy (59’), Eric English on for Paidi O’Shea (67’)
Scorers: Martin Kavanagh 0-5 (0-5f), Kevin McDonald 0-2 (0-1f), Paddy Boland 0-1, Jon Nolan 0-1, Chris Nolan 0-1, Jack Treacy 0-1, John Michael Nolan 0-1
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