Athy out to defend title but competition is strong in Senior Championship
Athy go into this year's Joe Mallon Motors Senior Football Championship as holders after last year's success Photo: ©INPHO/James Lawlor
With the Junior and Intermediate football championships under way, the big one finally starts this weekend with the opening group games in the Joe Mallon Motors Senior Football Championship throwing in on Friday night with a repeat of the Senior League final between Naas and Moorefield.
As a reminder, the Preliminary Round is no more and only the top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stages with teams finishing third and fourth competing for a Senior B title while trying to avoid relegation at the same time. Defeat this weekend would leave teams with an immediate risk of dropping into the B competition so it’s imperative to hit the ground running.
looks ahead to the opening games in each group and has a look into the crystal ball to predict the final group standings.
Celbridge are the seeds here having reached the semi-finals for a remarkable twelfth successive year in 2025. Getting there has never been the issue. Just on the law of averages, you’d have expected them to win at least one county title in that time, but they’ve only managed to reach three finals, losing out to Moorefield in 2017 and Naas in 2023 and 2024.
It’s not unfair to liken Celbridge to the Mayo footballers so maybe their recent long-awaited All-Ireland success can inspire the North East border side to put aside the pain of recent times and go all the way to a first title since their only previous crown in 2008.
Indeed, to continue that theme, Celbridge have enlisted the services of Alan Costello, a native of Hollymount/Carramore in the Connacht county, in their latest attempt to get over the line. They had the rare advantage throughout the league of not having any players involved with the inter-county set-up and it told as they finished on top of Division 1 in the round robin phase. Unfortunately, though, old habits came back to haunt them, and old foes too, as Moorefield pulled off a surprise semi-final win. Celbridge coughed up a seven-point half-time advantage to lose that one. There’s talent throughout their team and plenty of inter-county experience, and they’ll be roaring hot favourites to win their opener against Allenwood on Saturday. But it’s further down the road when Costello’s psychological and motivational powers will be tested to the full.
Opponents Allenwood join Kilcock as the favourites for relegation if you go by the bookmakers’ odds, having escaped the drop with that dramatic Johnny Doyle-inspired win over Confey in last year’s decider.
Under Mark Murnaghan this year, Allenwood bounced back from league relegation to win Division 2 and seem to be motoring well, though the concession of four goals to injury-hit Leixlip in the divisional final last month will concern the manager. They’ll be looking to cause a surprise or two in Group A but making the top two seems a stretch for them.
Clane meet Johnstownbridge and both will have designs on a top two spot when they clash on Friday night in Hawkfield. Despite plenty of talent, Clane really haven’t pushed on since a young team reached the county final under Tom Cribbin four years ago. They were pulverised by Naas in the Quarter Finals last year but had a decent if inconsistent league in finishing 8th under Edenderry man Seán Mealiffe.
Their opponents Johnstownbridge have reached the quarter-finals for the last four years, without progressing any further each time, and they had some fine results last year, such as the group stage draw with Celbridge. They have a Clane man at the helm in Aidan Dunne, coincidentally, and a propensity to weigh in with plenty of two-pointers. Bookies have them slightly behind Clane in the odds, but they finished above them in the league (6th) and have the pedigree to snatch second spot in the group at a minimum.
1st CELBRIDGE 2ND JOHNSTOWNBRIDGE 3RD CLANE 4TH ALLENWOOD
Manager: Seán Mealiffe (new)
SFC Titles: 17 (Last in 1997)
SFC Odds: 20/1 SFL 2026: 8th Div 1
Five Year Record: 2021 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2022 - Runners-Up, 2023 - Semi-Final, 2024 - Quarter-Final, 2025 - Quarter-Final
Manager: Aidan Dunne
SFC Titles: 3 (last in 1989)
SFC Odds: 33/1
SFL 2026: 6th Division 1
Five Year Record: 2021 - Fourth in Group, 2022 - Quarter-Final, 2023 - Quarter-Final, 2024 - Quarter-Final, 2025 - Quarter-Final
Manager: Mark Murnaghan (new) SFC Titles: 1 (2004) SFC Odds: 200/1 SFL 2026: Div 2 Winners Five Year Record:
2021 IFC Quarter-Final 2022 IFC Quarter-Final 2023 IFC Winners 2024 Fourth in Group 2025 Relegation Final
Manager: Alan Costello (new)
SFC Titles: 1 (2008)
SFC Odds: 11/2
SFL 2026: Div 1 Semi-Finalists
Five Year Record: 2021 - Semi-Final, 2022 - Semi-Final, 2023 - Runners-Up, 2024 - Runners-Up, 2025 - Semi-Final
Vinny Walsh faces into his third championship at the helm of Sarsfields and will have been looking on with envy at his old charges Athy when they took the Dermot Bourke Cup last year against the odds.
It’s worth remembering that Sarsfields pushed Athy all the way in last year’s semi-final, despite injury issues with Ben McCormack and Ben Loakman, the Newbridge side coming back from a six-point deficit at one stage to draw level only to concede a “breach” in the dying moments to hand Athy the win.
Sarsfields’ league campaign finished a little disappointingly with neighbours Moorefield edging them out of the top four, with the likes of Callum Bolton and Shea Ryan overseas. With the Boston final on last weekend, it will be interesting to see who they have available when they line up against Carbury in the opener on Saturday in Manguard Park, which incidentally is the first time Sarsfields have been sent away from St Conleth’s Park in the championship since it re-opened.
It’s now seven years since the Roseberry side’s last title but, particularly with the seeding in place this year, it’s hard to see them failing to reach the last four once more at a minimum and Athy proved last year that Naas are far from invincible despite being favourites once more.
Carbury, under Andrew Dermody, are a team struggling to revisit past glories and it’s now 41 years since the last of their eleven titles. Their longevity at senior level is remarkable, however. They haven’t been able to get through to the knockout stages over the last four years, and it looks like another tough battle this time around with Caragh, last year’s quarter-finalists and Maynooth in their way along with Sarsfields. Carbury do have inter-county talent in Eoin Cully, Tommy Gill, Aaron O’Neill and under-20 midfielder Evan Boyle to backbone them, but it is hard to see them getting much closer at the weekend than the nine-point margin against Sarsfields in last year’s preliminary round.
A bit like Clane v Johnstownbridge in Group A, many would pinpoint Caragh v Maynooth on the opening weekend as the game that could decide second versus third in this group. Caragh earned plenty of credit last year for reaching the last eight after coming up from Intermediate and they look like a team who can aspire to that level again this year, despite failing to climb out of Division 2. They’ve had Darragh Swords away but they have a strong panel and manager Michael Browne, a Sarsfields man, knows how to get the best out of them at this stage.
Maynooth suffer at times from being a dual club, with the likes of Cathal McCabe and Ciaran Flanagan both very good footballers and hurlers. They’re a team that flatter to deceive at times with the big ball and have not found much consistency over the last few years, when perhaps you might have expected them to push on towards the top four with the population growth in the town over the last decade or two. The bookies fancy them as second favourites in Group B and league status would support that but Caragh might provide a surprise at the weekend and go on to deny them a place in the ‘A’ knockouts.
1st SARSFIELDS 2ND CARAGH 3RD MAYNOOTH 4TH CARBURY
Manager: Andrew Dermody
SFC Titles: 11 (Last in 1985)
SFC Odds: 150/1
SFL 2026: 8th Div 2
Five Year Record: 2021 - Quarter-Final, 2022 - Third in Group, 2023 - Fourth in Group, 2024 - Third in Group, 2025 - Third in Group
Manager: Vinny Walsh
SFC Titles: 25 (last in 2019)*
SFC Odds: 7/2
SFL 2026: 5th Div 1
Five Year Record: 2021 - Runners-Up, 2022 - Quarter-Final, 2023 - Quarter-Final, 2024 - Semi-Final, 2025 - Semi-Final
* including titles won as Roseberry
Manager: Michael Browne
SFC Titles: 3 (last in 1926)
SFC Odds: 50/1
SFL 2026: 5th Div 2
Five Year Record: 2021 - Fourth in Group, 2022 - IFC Semi-Final, 2023 - IFC Quarter-Final, 2024 - IFC Winners, 2025 - Quarter-Final
Manager: Ross Glavin
SFC Titles: 2 (last in 1913)
SFC Odds: 20/1
SFL 2026: 7th Div 1
Five Year Record: 2021 - Semi-Final, 2022 - Fourth in Group, 2023 - Fourth in Group, 2024 - Third in Group, 2025 - Prelim Quarter-Final
Plenty of intrigue in this group with county champions Athy lining up alongside Intermediate winners Sallins, the storied Raheens club and a Kilcock team who continue to make liars of anyone predicting their senior demise.
Athy’s famous win over Naas last year and subsequent run to the Leinster final wasn’t enough to keep Conor Ronan and Ross Bell at the helm for another year and they’ve handed Carlow’s Seán Gannon the task of retaining their title, a feat they last achieved in 1934.
With so many players operating at county level, both senior and under-20, it was perhaps unsurprising that Athy trundled through the league, dicing with relegation before finishing one spot above the drop zone thanks to a last gasp win over Milltown. Colm Moran’s injury is a major blow but with the likes of Ronan Kelly, the Keaveneys and Seán Moore continuing their development there is enough strength in depth for Athy to challenge strongly for the title as long as their appetite remains strong. Having a new manager should keep things fresh.
Sallins were the most impressive Intermediate winners for a long time, famously winning every game in a notoriously competitive grade by a minimum of ten points before going on to take the Leinster crown. Rarely has an Intermediate team come up to senior with the same weight of expectation around them. Perhaps Johnstownbridge’s talent-laden side of 2013 or Raheens from four years later. Caragh too were highly rated last year and made it as far as the last eight.
Like Athy, Sallins parted with their manager, Jonathan Daniels, following their success, with Johnny McNulty stepping into the fray. Finishing at the bottom of Division 1 wasn’t part of the script no doubt, but perhaps it will dampen some of the hype around them. Still, the bookies see them as 20/1 title shots, slightly ahead of Saturday’s opening opponents Raheens. Whether they can live up to that expectation will depend to some degree on the fitness of their outstanding player Colm Dalton, who has been hampered with hamstring trouble since the winter. This is no one man band, though, with the likes of the Kellys, Daragh Mangan, Cian Grimes and the older Dalton brother, James, well able to more than hold their own at senior level.
What to make of Raheens? They have had a wealth of underage talent come through, much of it schooled by the Naas CBS factory, but are the very definition of inconsistency at championship level and had an awful campaign last year.
But with the experienced former Kildare star Anthony Rainbow now at the helm, the early signs were good as they reached the league semi-finals. They stuck with Naas in that one until the 55th minute before a late surge saw them miss out by six points. In Dara Crowley they have one of the best club midfielders in the county and Paddy Woodgate and the powerful Jack Taaffe will always give them options in attack. Their opener with Sallins could be a thriller.
Athy’s opening opponents Kilcock will probably start this year as relegation favourites for many, having escaped a play-off in 2024 and fashioned a big last day win over Allenwood last year to retain senior status. But that was a Kilcock team missing Shane Farrell and his return to action will give them a huge boost. They won’t be easy opponents for anyone and don’t rule out a surprise along the way. But they look most likely to drop into the ‘B’ competition.
1ST ATHY 2ND SALLINS 3RD RAHEENS 4TH KILCOCK
Manager: Anthony Rainbow (new)
SFC Titles: 10 (last in 1981)
SFC Odds: 25/1
SFL 2026: Div 1 Semi-Finalists
Five Year Record: 2021 - Quarter-Final, 2022 - Fourth in Group, 2023 - Quarter-Final, 2024 - Quarter-Final, 2025 - Fourth in Group
Manager: Johnny McNulty (new)
SFC Titles: None
SFC Odds: 20/1
SFL 2026: 12th Div 1 (Relegated)
Five Year Record: 2021 - IFC Semi-Final, 2022 - IFC Semi-Final, 2023 - IFC Semi-Final, 2024 - IFC Quarter-Final, 2025 - IFC Winners
Manager: Sean Gannon (new)
SFC Titles: 8 (last in 2025)
SFC Odds: 9/2
SFL 2026: 10th Div 1
Five Year Record: 2021 - Quarter-Final, 2022 - Semi-Final, 2023 - Semi-Final, 2024 - Semi-Final, 2025 - Winners
Manager: Declan Gibbons
SFC Titles: 5 (last in 1958)
SFC Odds: 200/1
SFL 2026: Div 3 Winners
Five Year Record: 2021 - IFC Winners, 2022 - Third in Group, 2023 - Third in Group, 2024 - Relegation Play Off, 2025 - Third in Group
So here we are again. Naas have a new manager in Cavan’s Jimmy Higgins after the short-lived and unsuccessful reign of Philly McMahon and come into the championship as league title winners despite the absence of a rake of potential starters. Naas won that final over Moorefield with only a handful of the starters from last year’s county final loss to Athy on board and Higgins’ biggest task is arguably finding a settled first fifteen. As McMahon alluded to since leaving the post, finding a way for county attacking trio Alex Beirne, Darragh Kirwan and Ryan Sinkey to flourish together will be a priority. Add to that the likes of talented youngster Liam O’Connor, the underrated Neil Aherne and the fulcrum of the attack Kevin Cummins, and you can understand why Naas have been installed as favourites once more.
Once again, it’s Moorefield who provide the opposition on Friday night, the sides having met in the Preliminary Round last year and of course in that league decider last month. Moores had a productive league under Frank Hanniffy and may have surprised some by reaching the final but they stuck with Naas for most of that game and will only take confidence from it. Aaron Masterson and Mark Dempsey looked in good shape in the league final and Tommy McGrath had a fine game attacking from wing-back but they’ll need to get Evan O’Brien into the game more if they’re to push Naas closely on Friday.
Clogherinkoe, now under the management of former Kildare star Jarlath Gilroy, didn’t manage to get out of Division 2, though finishing six places ahead of weekend opponents Eadestown. But with both teams the returning county players will have a huge impact on their championship campaigns. Jack Robinson’s talent has been well-heralded and even with hamstring issues he looked a class apart on the national stage in the opening half against Kerry. His link up with Leinster under-20 player of the year Jimmy Lynch will be one to watch and gives Cloghs the firepower to challenge for second place in the group if they can keep the bulk of their squad fit and available.
Eadestown will rely on returnees from the county hurling set-up to improve on their league form. The Borans are talented and influential footballers and the Carroll brothers are other big additions. Niall Cummins has impressed at midfield in recent years and when you add in Eoin Conneff and Paraic Tuohy, Emmet Bolton has a team that will be highly competitive in this group. This weekend’s clash with Clogherinkoe could go either way though we are slightly leaning towards Cloghs even if we favour Moorefield ultimately to join Naas in the last eight.
1ST NAAS 2ND MOOREFIELD 3RD CLOGHERINKOE 4TH EADESTOWN
Manager: Frank Hannify
SFC Titles: 10 (last in 2018)
SFC Odds: 20/1
SFL 2026: Div 1 Runners-Up
Five Year Record: 2021 - Third in Group, 2022 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2023 - Quarter-Final, 2024 - Quarter-Final, 2025 - Quarter-Final
Manager: Jimmy Higgins (new)
SFC Titles: 12 (last in 2024)
SFC Odds: 3/4 Favorites
SFL 2026: Div 1 Winners
Five Year Record: 2021 - Winners, 2022 - Winners, 2023 - Winners, 2024 - Winners, 2025 - Runners-Up
Manager: Jarlath Gilroy (new)
SFC Titles: None
SFC Odds: 150/1
SFL 2026: 4th Div 3
Five Year Record: 2021 - Fourth in Group, 2022 - Quarter-Final, 2023 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2024 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2025 - Fourth in Group
Manager: Emmet Bolton
SFC Titles: 1 (1970)
SFC Odds:150/1
SFL 2026: 10th Div 2
Five Year Record: 2021 - Fourth in Group, 2022 - Quarter-Final, 2023 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2024 - Prelim Quarter-Final, 2025 - Prelim Quarter-Final
