THE 2026 Antrim Senior Football Championship began on Friday evening with St Gall’s and titleholders Dunloy getting off to emphatic wins before Cargin managed to prevail in the big clash over St Brigid’s on Saturday.
Portglenone achieve a narrow three-point victory over Lámh Dhearg on Saturday, meanwhile Aghagallon gave the Paddies a rude awakening in their first senior bout this century striking seven goals past Sarsfields.
Sunday’s games saw some hostile clashes as the Johnnies upset Creggan, meanwhile Ballymena hammered St Paul’s on their patch as Group Three finished off the opening round of fixtures.
Just one game in and already the drama has unfolded across the Saffron County, and keep an eye on live streams across the Belfast Media website and check out our affiliate Antrim GAA podcast, We Are Antrim, for weekly breakdowns and news across the county.
Group One
Dunloy 2-22
Rossa 0-8
Despite the absences of key stars Chrissy McMahon, Seáan Elliot and Nigel Elliot, Dunloy were not fazed in their title defence in the championship curtain-raiser on Friday evening when they welcomed Rossa to the village for an early Championship scalp.
Eoin O’Neill and Keelan Molloy starred for Cuchullains with Molloy striking three scores for orange flags over the course of the game.
Barry McCloskey and Eoin McGrath found the net either side of the half for the hosts, who were reduced to 14-men after Conor Kinsella was given his marching orders for a shoulder collision on the 36th minute.
Despite the man advantage, Rossa struggled to have much impact on proceedings with Dunloy continuing to find their rhythm with the brilliant use of counter-attacking football and defender James Scally’s late two-pointer put the cherry on top for the North Antrim side.
Con Magee’s Glenravel 2-15
Tír na nÓg Randalstown 1-18
Two goals from Ryan McQuillan proved not enough to overcome Tír na nÓg Randalstown as the away team managed to salvage a draw with a last gasp point from Darragh Fagan saw the game finish as a draw.
The hosts led for most of the game, and a first-half goal from Ryan McQuillan set them up for victory.
Although despite the game being controlled in large parts by the hosts, they struggled to really make more of their opportunities.
But a late rally helped the Randalstown men clinch the draw against the odds, with Fagan striking a last-gasp free to level the game.
Group Two
All Saints Ballymena 4-19
St Paul’s 0-9
Ballymena got off the mark with a terrific 22-point victory over St Paul’s on their home turf and managed to make light work of the men from the Shaws Road.
The hosts never really got out of second gear and Conor Stewart played a pivotal role as they dispatched a lacklustre St Paul’s who rarely threatened outside of a few dead-ball opportunities.
The hosts managed to strike goals either side of the break, and it was a pretty controlled performance which sets the sides up for a great clash at Corrigan Park in two weeks time.
Creggan 0-13
St John’s 1-12
The duo of Conor Hand and Paddy McBride proved to come up trumps in the first shock of the 2026 Antrim championship as the Johnnies managed to go to the home of one of the tournament favourites, Creggan, and snatch the points.
A first half goal from Conor Hand gave the Johnnies belief that they could pull off the shock, with the game level at the break.
A strong second-half allowed the Johnnies to keep possession and really stall any Creggan momentum despite the South Antrim side's best efforts.
Most of the Creggan scores came from mistakes at the back from St John’s, but it was a truly fantastic and controlled performance from the Corrigan Park side, with Paddy McBride running the show as they returned to the Whiterock Road looking like favourites to top the group.
Group Three
St Gall’s 2-23
St Ergnat’s Moneyglass 1-14
The game which parallelled the opener in Dunloy was a much tighter affair in score but St Gall’s never really got out of second gear as they managed a 12-point victory over the Intermediate champions Moneyglass at Milltown on Friday evening.
Goals from Bairre McCaffrey and Marty Murray ensured St Gall’s were not going to slip on a potential banana-skin opener and despite a rocky opening ten minutes, the Milltown side would eventually click and put Moneyglass to the sword.
St Gall’s enjoyed large parts of control in the game after Marty Murray’s strike nestled in the top-corner whilst Bairre McCaffrey and Danny Quinn combined for 15 points for the West Belfast club.
The second-half goal from Bairre McCaffrey was the icing on the cake, despite Moneyglass finding the net themselves when Conleth McCann’s strike deflected past Chris Kerr, who was on top class shot-stopping form on the evening.
A strong start for St Gall’s in the proverbial ‘Group of Death’.
Eoghan McCabe returned for St Gall's in their victory over Moneyglass
Erin’s Own Cargin 2-15
St Brigid’s 0-18
As games of this magnitude often throw-up, Saturday’s clash in Toome was dubbed the game of the weekend in the Saffron County and it did not disappoint with an intense affair which saw the hosts Cargin overcome St Brigid’s in the group opener.
Goals from Ciaran Bradley and a well-worked goal from James Laverty at the second-half’s resumption helped the Toome men on their way to a much-needed victory.
St Brigid’s showed some great firepower and found great joy from Paul Bradley who provided some excellent scores on the night for the Biddies, but ultimately the two strikes which found the net for the hosts would help them prevail unscathed in the opening fixture.
Tomas McCann’s late tally managed to see-off any momentum from the South Belfast outfit in the closing stages.
Group Four
St Mary’s Aghagallon 7-27
Sarsfields 0-8
An emphatic and ruthless attacking performance on home soil helped Aghagallon firmly put the rest of the Senior Championship on notice as they breezed past Sarsfields dispatching seven goals on the day.
Adam Loughran particularly impressed with two goals and six points to his name throughout the course of the game, whilst John Hannon (2), Ruairi McCann and Eunan Walsh all chipped in with goals.
St Mary’s managed to put beyond any doubt that the newcomers Sarsfields needed a reality check, despite the best efforts of Jay Maguire who struck a terrific two-pointer for the Paddies despite their resounding defeat in North Antrim.
Portglenone 1-17
Lamh Dhéarg 1-14
Portglenone got their campaign underway with a much-needed victory, with five two-pointers in the opening period pointing to a successful day at the office as they squeezed past Lámh Dhearg at Kelly Park on Saturday afternoon.
The home side got off to a flying start and led with a strong margin in their favour at the break, but a black card for the hosts gave Lámh Dhearg hope they could mount a comeback, and for a short time they were right with Adam Murray firing over multiple scores to reduce the margin.
Goals came firstly in the early half for the away side as Adam Murray managed to turn in the rebound from Terry McCrudden’s missed penalty before Tom Duffin managed to respond for the hosts and found the net moments later.
Aidan and Conor McAleese both tallied multiple two-pointers as they struck almost half of their sides final tally in the opening half, but the second half saw the Bannsiders grind out the result and avoid a late turnaround.
The next round of fixtures in the SFC will take place on the weekend of August 21st-23rd.
