AND so it begins. The Antrim leagues are complete so it’s time for the main course as Championship season is now upon us.

In 2022, it was a familiar winner as Cargin got their hands on the Padraig MacNamee Cup for the 11th time and the sixth triumph in eight years, regaining their place at the top of the pile having watched neighbours Creggan take the honours 12 months previous.

The Erin’s Own men would go onto an Ulster semi-final where they lost out to eventual All-Ireland finalists, Glen after putting up a solid effort.

They will once again enter the competition as one of the leading contenders and they will have designs on pushing on further again, but will face stiff competition to emerge out of Antrim.

Creggan will have high hopes of getting back to the top of the pile, but then there is Aghagallon who have lost out in the past two finals and under the guidance of Pete McGrath, will be aiming to make it third time lucky.

Another team who have been knocking on the door in recent years, Portglenone, were recently crowned Division One winners and they will feel confident that form can carry into Championship.

Outside of those four, there are a number of the city clubs who will be quietly confident they have the tools to put together a challenge with O’Donovan Rossa and St John’s first knowing they must navigate a tough group that also contains Cargin and Tír na nÓg, while Lámh Dhearg and Naomh Éanna are in the other group of four.

There are two groups of three, making it slightly less tricky for a top-two finish with St Gall’s and St Brigid’s in one of each.

The action all begins on Friday evening with St John’s hosting Tír na nÓg in Group One, a repeat of the league meeting between the sides on Sunday that the Randalstown side won 3-13 to 0-11.

However, when they rematch back at Corrigan Park this week, the landscape will be different as Sunday’s game was one the visitors needed something from to avoid relegation, while St John’s attention had long since turned to Championship.

The other game in the group takes place at Rossa Park on Saturday with the hosts - who finished the league with four wins on the spin - welcoming defending champions, Cargin.

They met at the same venue in the group phase last year with Rossa pulling out a win to see them into the knockout phase, but Cargin were already through at that point and will be keen to redress the balance.

Group Two opens on Friday with Lámh Dhearg making the trip to Ahoghill with hopes of making it a hat-trick of wins over the St Mary’s club this year, having beaten them twice in the league.

The other game takes place on Saturday with Naomh Éanna hosting Portglenone, clubs who finished at opposite ends of the table in the league with Casement’s champions and the Hightown outfit suffering relegation despite a big win over St Gall’s last weekend.

The Milltown Row side were already safe by then so will feel they can - and will need to - deliver a big performance as they open Group Three on Saturday at Creggan with last year’s Intermediate winners Dunloy having the bye.

St Brigid’s are also on the road for their Group Four opener as they travel to Aghagallon - a repeat of the past two years’ quarter-finals that St Mary’s won. Moneyglass are the team with the bye in this group.

It’s not all about the Senior Championship as Friday evening will see action across the groups at Intermediate and Junior.

In Intermediate, there is one group of four with the others containing three teams and like Senior, the top two will advance into the quarter-finals.

Group One will see last year’s Junior winners, Pearse’s, test themselves up at a new grade when they make the trip across town to St Paul’s.

Last year’s runner’s-up and this year’s Division Two winners, Glenravel, have home advantage over one of last year’s semi-finalists, Davitt’s, in what looks like a group that could see a real battle for the knockout places.

There is another cross-city clash in Group Two with St Teresa’s hosting Ardoyne. These teams met twice in Division Two this year with the score standing at one win apiece. St Patrick’s, Lisburn, have the bye.

St Comgall’s host Aldergrove in Group Three with Ballymena waiting in the wings, while in Group Four, last year’s semi-finalists Sarsfield’s make the trip to Glenavy with Gort na Móna sitting this weekend out.

The Junior Championship is comprised of two groups of four with the winner advancing to the semi-final, while second will play third in the corresponding group.

There are two West Belfast derbies in Group One with Laochra Loch Lao, who had an encouraging Division Three campaign this year, hosting O’Donnell’s who just narrowly missed out on the Division Three title, while St Agnes’ will welcome Éire Óg to their Woodlands base.

In Group Two, Division Three champions Rasharkin welcome Wolfe Tone’s, while St Malachy’s are on the road to Ballycastle.

Fixtures
Northern Switchgear Antrim Senior Football Championship
Group One
St John’s v Tír na nÓg (Friday, 7.30pm)
O’Donovan Rossa v Cargin (Saturday, 5pm)
 
Group Two
Ahoghill v Lámh Dhearg (Friday, 7.30pm)
Naomh Éanna v Portglenone (Saturday, 5pm)
 
Group Three
Creggan v St Gall’s (Saturday, 5pm)
 
Group Four
Aghagallon v St Brigid’s (Saturday, 5pm)
 
OB Construction Antrim Intermediate Football Championship
Group One
St Paul’s v Pearse’s (Friday, 7.30pm)
Glenravel v Davitt’s (Friday, 7.30pm)
 
Group Two
St Teresa’s v Ardoyne (Friday, 7.30pm)
 
Group Three
St Comgall’s v Aldergrove (Friday, 7.30pm)
 
Group Four
Glenavy v Sarsfield’s (Friday, 7.30pm)
 
Graham Tarmac Antrim Junior Football Championship
Group One
Laochra Loch Lao v O’Donnell’s (Friday, 7.30pm)
St Agnes’ v Éire Óg (Friday, 7.30pm)
 
Group Two
Ballycastle v St Malachy’s (Friday, 7.30pm)
Rasharkin v Wolfe Tone’s (Friday, 7.30pm)