THE Senior Championship is often one of the calendar's most exciting periods and that includes onlookers outside the county of Antrim as it can often be the most intriguing championship that involves a big size five O'Neills ball across the province of Ulster.
The history is one to note, but the entertainment, the drama, and the pride that has come from this championship over the last ten years is certainly something to behold.
Since the end of the dominance of St Gall's as they clinched their 13th title in 14 years back in 2014, an era that will never be repeated again – with the men from Milltown appearing twice in the Senior All-Ireland final during that time and winning the big one back in 2010 when they hammered Kilmurry to earn the title of All-Ireland champions.
That era has now come and passed, and since the inception of the new rules in Gaelic football it has once again become Ireland's favourite past-time and throws a dagger in the heart of every favourite who expect to be practicing their smiles rather than their football skills.
SHAWS ROAD PRIDE: Rossa and Sarsfields will both be hoping they can bring pride to their part of the world
Last season was testament to that and breathed new life as despite favourites Cargin finding a route to the final, the men from the North Antrim town of Dunloy ended an 89-year wait for their village to celebrate big ball once more.
The pride that title bestowed within the village is something that can only be understood if you live in that part of the world, but the achievement is now the bench-mark for similar sides who have been waiting hundreds if not thousands of moon cycles to achieve the same feat.
Cúchullains, a club steeped in Irish mythology and folklore, created their own slice of history in 2025 and gave Antrim football the biggest jolt it has seen this century.
Now then, time for our annual predictions and preview and make sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for every match report and live blog, plus catch up with Maghnus on the weekly We Are Antrim podcast for in-depth analysis and breakdown of every game in the championship.
GROUP ONE
Con Magees Glenravel
Glenravel have managed to produce some serious talent over the last number of years, and this season competed quite well in the league campaign but unfortunately were the team that fell on the wrong side of the cut off for the relegation play-off and had to face Moneyglass in the semi-final.
For a club like Con Magees, winning three games and drawing two when your best player is off plying his trade and dragging the county through games, it can be seen a an achievement that they managed to cause as much a stir as they have.
Now the returning McQuillan and the thumping victory they achieved in extra-time over Moneyglass kept them from the drop, then it is no doubt to me they can cause an upset or two in this group phase.
Key Player: Ryan McQuillan
Best Finish: Winners (1966)
Predicted Group Finish: 3rd
Betting Odds: 100/1
Tír na nÓg Randalston
The freedom that may come from having no fear of the drop could play into their hands as they enter a tough group campaign to try and compete or maybe cause an upset or two in this group phase.
Randalstown will be playing their league football in the second tier next season after losing the league play-off, but there is virtually no expectation on the men from Whitehill and they could yet have a say on the group phase.
Key Player: Darragh Fagan
Best Finish: Group Stage (2025)
Predicted Group Finish: 4th
Betting Odds: 66/1
Rossa
In Antrim's all-time list the Jeremiahs are historically the third most successful team at wining the competition 13-times in their history, but it would take a boy who is now an older man to tell you a detailed account of the last time the men from the Shaws Road got their hands on big ears.
Rossa have impressed during their league campaign, and truly have shown some intriguing attacking threat in their latter half season form as their county stars returned and the roaming shot-stopper Mick Byrne proved he is a different key that can unlock defences for them.
Last year they reached the quarter-final stage but ran out of steam and will hope they can once again compete in the knockout phase.
Key Player: Dominic McEnhill
Best Finish: Winners (1991)
Predicted Group Finish: 2nd
Betting Odds: 14/1
Dunloy
An historic year for the village brought an end to an 89-year wait for this trophy to return to that part of North Antrim.
Cúchullains have been threatening for a few seasons to really cause damage when it comes to the big ball and last season was finally the year where they managed to pip Cargin in a resounding win at Corrigan Park last Autumn.
Their crop of stars forced the win in the football and they will look to prove they can handle the expectation when the onus is on them to win again, but with most of their players plying their trade in both codes the attention will no doubt be focussed on regaining the Volunteer Cup, but they won't do that if it means just handing the football crown to the next in line without as much as a fight.
Key Player: Eoin O'Neill
Best Finish: Winners (2025)
Predicted Group Finish: 1st
Betting Odds: 7/2
Opening Fixtures:
Glenravel v Tír na nÓg Randalston (Sunday August 9th)
Dunloy v Rossa (Sunday August 9th)
GROUP TWO
St Paul's
Their debut campaign was a rather disappointing one and as much as they avoided the drop, which was probably their ultimate goal in their first season as a Senior outfit, the worry that they just prevented the inevitable has seeped onto the Shaws Road.
A stronger league campaign helped them avoid the league relegation play-off and their five victories testifies to their stronger squad but in a tough group they may fear that their destination for next season will be yet unknown should they falter to the bottom of the group. The hoops will hope that maybe they can repeat their exploits of the mid 1990s.
Key Player: Mark Munce
Best Finish: Winners (1997)
Predicted Group Finish: 4th
Betting Odds: 150/1
All Saints Ballymena
A group stage exit and the departure of some key players for the land down under might make it hard for Ballymena to compete as they had hoped when they were minutes away from turning over Creggan in the league final last season.
Still a side finding their feet at this level, but realistically they'll be eyeing up this group with much more optimism than last year having already beaten two of their opposition in the league despite a much poorer display in the top-flight than 2025.
Returning county star may help, especially if they get off to a good start with a win in their opening fixture.
Key Player: Conor Stewart
Best Finish: Group Stage (2025)
Predicted Group Finish: 3rd
Betting Odds: 40/1
Creggan Kickhams
A team that often show their hand too early and then run out of steam when it comes to the championship final, that is my assessment of the South Antrim side after they yet again fell to their rivals Cargin in a Senior knockout battle.
Since 2021, Creggan have built up the hope they can get that fourth crown on their heads but whenever they come up against Erin's Own, they often fail to get the job done.
This season they blew the league apart and wrapped it in nice ribbons with a hammering of St Paul's in their league clinching fixture, but it will be soon forgotten if they don't bring home the one that matters most.
Key Player: Conor Small
Best Finish: Winners (2021)
Predicted Group Finish: 1st
Betting Odds: 7/2
St John's
The Johnnies are historically the Championship club in Antrim. "You never want to face St John's in the Championship" is often banded about in circles and you would be right if this were the 1970s and 1980s as since then they've only achieved one title to their collection of 24, and that came in 1998.
They've rarely threatened to be the team that most people feared when it came to Gaelic Football in Antrim, but they seem to have found their rhythm and consistently hit high-scoring tallies in the league phase and they will hope they can correct their defensive liabilities to allow Conor Hand and Paddy McBride to control the tempo.
It's been a few seasons since they made any headlines in Antrim. Maybe they've cracked the formula of the late 1980s and maybe they can end their football drought.
Key Player: Patrick McBride
Best Finish: Winners (1998)
Predicted Group Finish: 2nd
Betting Odds: 33/1
Opening Fixtures:
Creggan Kickhams v St John's (Sunday August 9th)
All Saints Ballymena v St Paul's (Sunday August 9th)
GROUP THREE
St Gall's
Milltown's trophy cabinet has been lying empty when it comes to football for longer than one might like to admit.
2014 is almost becoming a distant memory for the Falls Road club and the men that produced the goods in that era are all but gone, with Mickey Pollock, Chris Kerr and Aodhan Gallagher still proving age is just a number.
A solid league campaign, and only losing twice, one being the final day clash with Cargin in a dead-rubber. St Gall's could be dark horses to win another championship and in all honesty they have everything in the locker, the real test will be how Terry O'Neill and Sean Kelly can keep the heads calm to prevail when they are up against the cosh.
Key Player: Niall Burns
Best Finish: Winners (2014)
Predicted Group Finish: 1st
Betting Odds: 12/1
Moneyglass
A management change may rekindle their hope of causing a bloody nose or two in their first senior championship campaign having pipped Sarsfields to the Intermediate title last Autumn.
Normally a relegation play-off rarely helps a team find its form, but the men from Lough Beg will look to use it to put a skip in their step and they will hope that this proverbial 'Group of Death' will not be as fearful as it looks on paper.
Although, should the worst come to pass they will be confident that it can help their plans to avoid a second chance at the drop back to Division Two, having already done the business in a pressure scenario against Randalstown.
Key Player: Aidan McErlain
Best Finish: First year competing
Predicted Group Finish: 4th
Betting Odds: 150/1
Cargin
Not the form they would like heading into this stage of the championship season, that is for certain. A rather up and down league campaign led the men from Toome to falling down the league and finishing fifth place way-off leaders Creggan who were crowned league champions.
Last year's defeat in the final to Dunloy will no doubt still be an open wound, or perhaps one that never closed and the squad is certainly not filled with spring chickens and could be in for a rude awakening in the 2026 championship.
They face arguably the two best sides in Belfast, and will be hopeful that they can virtually seal qualification with an opening game victory.
Key Player: Callum Gribbin
Best Finish: Winners (2024)
Predicted Group Finish: 3rd
Betting Odds: 9/4 (Fav)
St Brigid's
The Biddies have been every single journalist and keen eye-fan's dark horses to win the Antrim Senior title for almost five years now and every year they fail to come up trumps which just seems to add more weight to the pressure they feel wearing the jersey.
A strong league campaign and the addition of some county returnees then they might well be about to blossom at the perfect time this year, but this group may also put them in good stead.
The real test will be when they face their bogey-side Cargin in the opener, and it could almost guarantee a knockout spot.
Key Player: Joseph Finnegan
Best Finish: Semi-Finals (2024)
Predicted Group Finish: 2nd
Betting Odds: 4/1
Opening Fixtures:
St Gall's v Moneyglass (Friday August 7th)
Cargin v St Brigid's (Saturday August 8th)
GROUP FOUR
St Mary's Aghagallon
Aghagallon should and could have had back-to-back championships but unfortunately ran into a Creggan side in 2021 who were desperate to end a 70-year wait for the title. The year that followed they met a Cargin side at their peak and even still they ran them to an extra-time affair where they almost won their first title but came up short.
They could be a sneaky bet for anyone who fancies an outsider punt, and with the returning Ruairi McCann and Adam Loughran amidst their ranks they can add some serious fire-power to their forward line.
Key Player: Adam Loughran
Best Finish: Runners-up (2022)
Predicted Group Finish: 2nd
Betting Odds: 20/1
Lámh Dhearg
Nine years it has been since the senior crown was worn by a club based in Belfast and when Paddy Cunningham captained his side to a terrific victory in 2017 the Hannahstown men felt they were on to a successful stretch for the men in white and red.
Since then, they've failed to have much of an impact in the Senior Championship and have had some tough dealings in their group campaigns after the restructuring of the championship post-Covid.
Could it be the year of the Lámh? It may well be something they have ear-marked and the almost ten year wait to return to the top could end this year.
Key Player: Marc Jordan
Best Finish: Winners (2017)
Predicted Group Finish: 3rd
Betting Odds: 12/1
Roger Casements Portglenone
A fourth place league finish and a semi-final berth in the 2025 Championship will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the men from Portglenone as they look to finally get over that monumental task of clinching their first ever Antrim Senior Football title.
The hopes of the town rest on the shoulders once again on the Derry borderers as they look to finally kick on and earn the crown that weighs heaviest in the Saffron County, and they will be hopeful they can take a 100 per cent group record of 2025 into the new campaign and from the quarter-finals, dreams in that part of the world may become a reality.
Key Player: Aidan McAleese
Best Finish: Runners-up (2024)
Predicted Group Finish: 1st
Betting Odds: 4/1
Sarsfields
The Paddies are finally back at this level after a long stretch and hiatus from the competition, and when neighbours St Paul's earned the jump up in 2024 they knew they couldn't be left behind on the Shaws Road playing sub-par football.
Their high-energy attacking football became infectious and came mightily close to a league and intermediate championship double last year, only for Moneyglass to finally get one over on them in Dunsilly in October.
They've had a rocky, but competitive first season back in the top-flight this century, and will not be going quietly if they are to be falling short in any of their tough group stage fixtures.
Key Player: Jay Maguire
Best Finish: Winners (1985)
Predicted Group Finish: 4th
Betting Odds: 100/1
Opening Fixtures:
St Mary's Aghagallon v Sarsfields (Saturday August 8th)
Portglenone v Lamh Dhearg (Saturday August 8th)
Predicted Winners: Creggan
Dark Horse: St Gall's
