LAST weekend saw the return of all four tiers in Antrim's All County Hurling League with some entertaining fixtures at the commencement of the campaign during some blustery and cold conditions in March's final weekend.
The topflight saw some big ties as Dunloy faced rivals Loughgiel whilst league holders Rossa hosted St Enda's on the Shaws Road, meanwhile the county champions St John's had the trek into the Glens to face Intermediate champions Glenariff Oisin's in their return to Division One.
The second tier saw the return of Ballycran after their relegation with St Gall's facing off against Cushendall, before St Paul's hosted Carey Faugh's on Sunday afternoon and the bottom two tiers also got underway last weekend.
DIVISION ONE ROUND-UP
Rossa 1-22
St Enda's 1-18
It was a great start at home for the Jeremiah's who managed to overcome Glengormley club St Enda's in an intense battle at lunch-time on Sunday afternoon on the Shaws Road.
Scores from Tomás Morgan, Eoin Trainor and the return of Deaglan Murphy's free taking excellence helped the hosts race into an early lead as they kept the white flags being raised and the scoreboard ticking over.
Rossa had a three-point lead but it was eventually cut on the 50th minute when St Enda's found the net to level the tie and parity was restored.
But the setback only gave the Jeremiah's belief to roar back and continued to pile on the pressure from scores between the posts and eventually gave themselves some breathing room when Dara Rocks blasted home the goal and sealed the opening day win for the holders.
Glenariff Oisin's 3-11
St John's 1-9
This opening day clash saw the home side defy the odds to clinch a convincing victory over the Senior Champions St John's on Sunday afternoon.
The home side returned to the top flight after winning both the Intermediate and Division Two titles last campaign, and started off with a terrific result by bloodying the nose of the Johnnies who were without key stars due to county commitments.
Oisin McManus got the Antrim champions off to a great start as he tallied a couple of scores from the dead-ball situation but Alec Boyle would respond instantaneously for the hosts and they kicked on in resurgence as Seanie McIntosh found the back of the net in the early stages.
The conditions were heavy but the hosts used it to go from strength to strength and second-half goals from David Kearney and Orrin O'Connor helped them seal the victory and despite a late James Wilson consolation goal, the Johnnies were well beaten.
Ballygalget 0-23
Portaferry 0-7
The Down derby kicked off the campaign for both sides in the top-flight as Ballygalget ran out heavy victors over their nearest and dearest Portaferry on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts faced a very much depleted Portaferry side who were without their key stars due to their Down county commitments, but the opening victory was an important one as they tallied early scores from frees to overcome their opponents and get themselves off to a victorious start in the top-flight in Antrim.
Cushendall 0-10
Ballycastle 1-12
McQuillan's travelled just three-miles down the road to their rivals Cushendall and returned with all the spoils after they enjoyed a huge victory in their league opener on Sunday afternoon.
The early quarter of an hour was a dominant display from the traveller's who made short-work of their early possession and took their scores with great effect as they maintained a stronghold on their opponents as Cushendall struggled to get to grips with the game early on.
St John's fell to a shock defeat to Glenariff in the North Coast
A seven-point lead for McQuillan's proved to be insurmountable for the hosts but they eventually did show some fight-back and gained momentum as the half tailed when Fiontann Bradley pointed frees alongside Neil McManus to cut their deficit.
Diarmaid McShane's second-half goal was the killer blow as they saw out the remainder of the game with a solid defensive display to limit any real offensive threat from Cushendall.
Dunloy 6-20
Loughgiel 1-16
Dunloy opened up their 2026 league campaign with a resounding victory over Loughgiel at Pearse Park. The hosts started the game strongly with three goals in the first seven minutes of the match setting the tone against their rivals early on.
Loughgiel struggle to deal with the onslaught and the heavy breeze gave the hosts the chance to bury any worries ahead of the new campaign and get off to a rampant start in Division One.
The final nail in the coffin came from Oisin McCamphill's driving effort with ten minutes from the final whistle after he was found in space to drill an effort beyond the Loughgiel shot-stopper.
Tom McFerran and Nigel Elliot were among the goalscorers on Sunday for Dunloy as six different scorers found the net for Cuchullains in a tough afternoon for their rivals Shamrocks on Sunday, but a marker has certainly been laid out for the top-flight this season.
ACHL Division Two Results
Loughgiel Shamrocks II 1-16 v 2-18 Ballycastle II
St Galls 0-11 v 1-11 Cushendun
Ballycran 1-17 v 0-12 St Brigid's Cloughmills
Tír na nÓg 1-15 v 1-13 Clooney Gaels
Creggan Kickhams 2-10 v 2-10 Bredagh
St Paul's 1-16 v 3-18 Carey Faughs
ACHL Division Three Results
St Mary's Rasharkin 2-17 v 2-9 Cushendall II
Sarsfields 2-19 v 1-11 St Brigid's
Glen Rovers 0-12 v 4-11 Dunloy II
Davitt's 0-10 v 1-21 Con Magee's Glenravel
Gort na Móna 0-13 v 0-8 Lamh Dhearg
ACHL Division Four Results
St Gall's II 1-10 v 0-3 St Paul's II
Rossa II 2-13 v 0-13 St Enda's II
Ballymena All Saints 2-12 v 0-8 Loch Mór Dál gCais
Latharna Óg 0-5 v 1-11 Ardoyne Kickhams
The next round of fixtures will be the weekend of Friday 10th April.
