ANTRIM hurlers make their long-awaited return to action on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Ulster rivals Down to Pearse Park of Dunloy as they embark on their 2026 Joe McDonagh Championship campaign.

The hurling squad have returned following a warm weather training camp in the Portuguese sun ahead of their busy fixture run-in over the next two months where they will compete in five games against tough opposition for a chance of glory at Croke Park in June.

The panel return to action following a mixed bag of results in a league campaign which came to an end with a defeat to Saturday's opponents.

This week Belfast Media caught up with Antrim and Rossa star Gerard Walsh as he looked ahead to the Championship following the warm-weather training session, which the West Belfast native believes can only benefit the squad.

"The camps are great, I think they are invaluable," said Gerard. "In one sense, when you think the work and training you can get done in them and to be honest, personally I think the real value in those Portugal camps is the time you spend in between training when you are chatting to lads who, yes, you're with them on the pitch but you don't know them.

"At these camps you can sit at the side of a pool or go for a dander and go get a coffee with someone who maybe you wouldn't normally have done.

"The time spending with the boys is brilliant, and this year the weather was great and we all got the heads down and worked well in training." 

Antrim's last outing saw them succumb to a last-gasp defeat in Newry as Down recorded a long-awaited victory over the Saffrons. Prior to the game Antrim's fate was already confirmed as they lived to fight another day in Division 1B.

However, Walsh believes the lack of jeopardy did not impact the performance in Páirc Esler last month, and that anyone who underestimated Down were wrong to do so.

"Down were up for it, you know at full-time they were up and cheering despite it obviously not meaning they'd avoided relegation, but credit to them they fought bravely on the day. But I was under no illusions that it would be any different." 

The Rossa star was also keen to add the fact that most of the Down panel compete for their clubs in the top flight of Antrim hurling, and some have played on the same 15 as the Antrim stars.

"We play against them in the club leagues, we know how good some of these boys are at hurling, they all play for the Ards teams who compete in Division One Antrim. I never want to be beat, but I think the shock was overplayed at them winning last month.

"I understand it hasn't happened in a while, but they are a great side and you have to respect that, but no doubt it gives us an extra edge to try and rectify it on Saturday.

"I don't think we underestimated them, they are a good side, and they played Division 1B for a reason."

"We definitely can use it as motivation. I'd say lads do, but I always approach every team and game with the same attitude and Down have boys like Ronan Beattie who we knew well at St Mary's – he was our target man."

Walsh recalled the league campaign as one which had Antrim not lost late on in two games, would now be talked about in a very different manner.

"In another year those two games we lose at the end (Wexford and Down), they were just minor moments that went against us and if we had won those games we'd be heading into the Championship with six points in Division 1B rather than two.

"But we are disappointed with the league and the points tally, but now we have an opportunity to turn it around in the Championship."

The fixtures in this season's Joe McDonagh Cup will see the Saffrons compete in five games, three of which are home ties against Down, Carlow and Westmeath, and travelling to both London and Laois.

Gerard is convinced that despite winning the cup twice in the past eight years, the competition is fierce and cannot be underestimated at this level.

"It's a very hard competition (Joe McDonagh Cup), and it is a serious competition too. We have won it twice and it's been great to be a part of teams that have done it, but it was never easy, you are facing teams like Down, Westmeath and Laois who are all quality sides.

"We will no doubt be taking it a game at a time, we aren't going to be looking past the game coming up next, which this week is Down. We have to focus. You can only look at what is in front of you and we can't get ahead of ourselves.

"People come up and ask me 'Do you fancy we can win it?' and I always respond with, 'let's get the first game over and done with first and see where it takes us'. Because like I said, it's not an easy competition between the teams and the scheduling of fixtures so we can only give it our all and see where it takes us, which hopefully will be Croke Park in June."

Tickets start at £12 for Saturday's grudge match with Down can be bought on the Ticketmaster Ireland website for the clash in Dunloy.