The action is coming thick and fast on the opening weekend of the Club Football Championships and today sees the conclusion of the Round 1 fare in the Fairyhouse Steel SFC and the first games in the Balreask Bar, Restaurant & Guest Accommodation JFC.

On Friday evening, Ratoath and Bhulf Tón CLG got off to the best possible start in the Fairyhouse Steel SFC with comprehensive wins over Skryne and Ballinabrackey respectively while in the Coolrite JBFC, Kilmainhamwood edged out Drumconrath in Meath Hill.  Kilmainham and Moynalty served up a clinker in Grangegodden as they played out a high scoring draw.

Tickets for the games are available via the link: Football Championship Tickets

Summerhill is the venue this evening for the second of the Group B games in the Fairyhouse Steel SFC as Na Fianna and Trim face off and if the evidence of the Husqvarna Centre PR Coyne Division 1 Football League is anything to go by then the game is Trim’s to lose as they finished mid-table whereas Na Fianna finished bottom of the table and were relegated to Division 2 for 2027.

However, it can often be tricky to draw a clear correlation between League and Championship form and you only have to look back to Thursday evening when Rathkenny, who were relegated from the JM Food Services sponsored Division 2 League, turned in a brilliant performance against St. Peter’s Dunboyne and were desperately unlucky not to come away from Dunsany with the two points.

Trim came into the quarter-finals of last year’s Championship as one of the talking horses but came away from their last eight game in Páirc Tailteann with their tails between their legs as Summerhill turned them over.  They will look to their county stars Ciaran Caulfield and Aaron Lynch to lead the way but the supporting cast is excellent in Trim and the likes of team captain Conor Quigley, Eoin O’Connor and Alan Douglas are all excellent performers.

Numbers have been depleted for Na Fianna this year with the club hit hart by the volume of players who opted to go travelling and they are short approximately eight players as a result.  But they still have some very smart operators in their ranks with the half back line of Sam Jordan, Oran Smullen and Conor Downey all excellent defenders and anybody who was in Echelon Park in Aughrim for the opening round of the Dioralyte O’Byrne Cup will feel Smullen was very unfortunate to pick up a long term hamstring injury as he was impressing in the county colours.

Daniel Queeney, Ethan Devine and Cormac Rafferty form an effective full forward line and if given enough service are capable of racking up a good tally but will the players outfield be able to get them enough ball in?

On form it is difficult to see anything other than a Trim victory but there won’t be a player inside that Na Fianna dressing room who won’t believe they can pull off a result.

Donore is the venue for the Group C meeting of Seneschalstown and St. Colmcille’s and is almost an annual affair at this stage with the two clubs perennially being drawn in the same group.

Seneschalstown could only finish fourth in the JM Food Services Division 2 Football League but their purple patch in the closing rounds continued into the knockout stages as they came good to claim the title.  The ‘Cilles were operating at the top table and finished one spot outside of the semi-final placings.

Mickey Conlon is back at the helm for the seasiders and after a difficult 2025 on the pitch for the ‘Cilles, he has helped turn their fortunes around and he will be delighted to have the services of his elder son James available after the county forward missed the 2025 Championship through injury.

He was one of the form forwards in the country during the inter-county season and he forms a very dangerous full forward line along with Cormac O’Donoghue and Ben Brennan.

Another man returning to the helm is David Hosie who is back in Seneschalstown and he will be happy with how the season has panned out to date.  But can the side who have struggled in the Championship for much of the last decade, find a path to the last eight?

Much will rely upon the likes of Alan Mulvany, Dylan Keating and Cian Commons in attack and interestingly they have redeployed Cathal Hickey from a roving corner forward role to centre back.  Woodley Nicholson might be tasked with picking up Conlon and if he can limit him to even half a dozen points then it might be the key for Seneschalstown.

Group D sees a pair of fixtures with Donaghmore/Ashbourne facing off against many peoples dark horses Gaeil Colmcille in Walterstown and Simonstown Gaels meeting Dunshaughlin in Devenish Park.

Donaghmore/Ashbourne have a nice blend of youth and experience in their ranks and maybe this will be their year although they will need to improve on what they showed in 2025.  That said, Bryan Menton missed out last year through injury and he has now returned and forms a hugely effective midfield pairing with the attack minded Jamie Browne.  This could be breakthrough campaign for Zach Thornton in the forward line and if he can catch fire along with Michael O’Sullivan and the man who by now must have veteran status, Andrew Tormey then they will have every chance.

Gaeil Colmcille had a very good League, losing out to Ratoath in the semi-finals and they will look as ever to the likes of Seamus Mattimoe, Ajay Tormey, and Liam Ferguson to lead from the front.  Conor Óg Ferguson showed very well in the League and he along with Rian Early and the Gormley twins will bring a youthful exuberance to the side.

Simonstown Gaels are not the force they were when winning the Championship back to back in 2016 and 2017 but they still have enough to take out any of the other sides on their day and much will depend for them on how the likes of Aaron Farrelly, Padraig McKeever and Will Byrne fare in their attack.

It is difficult to see them taking out Dunshaughlin but many neutrals said the same twelve months ago when Rathkenny met Dunshaughlin and we all remember how the underdog came out on top that day.  After last year, avoiding the relegation dogfight is the primary aim for Simonstown and a win here would set them off on the right footing.

That said, Dunshaughlin possess a huge amount of talent and with Richie Kealy back at the helm, will be fancied as one of the primary contenders for Keegan Cup glory, despite the absence of Ruairí Kinsella.  Their strength definitely lies from 8-15 and they will look to Mathew Costello to lead their charge along with the likes of Aaron Murphy, John McDonagh and Conor Duke.

Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship Group B Round 1

Na Fianna vs Trim.  18:00.  Venue – Summerhill

Na Fianna

• Manager:  Johnny Baldwin (Year 1)
• Joint Captains:  Sean Rafferty & Ethan Devine

Trim

• Manager:  Ken Robinson (Year 2)
• Captain:  Conor Quigley

Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship Group C Round 1

Seneschalstown vs St. Colmcille’s.  19:30.  Venue – Donore

Seneschalstown

• Manager:  David Hosie (Year 2)
• Captain:  Danny Waters

St. Colmcille’s

• Manager:  Mickey Conlon (Year 1)
• Captain:  Liam Stafford

Fairyhouse Steel Senior Football Championship Group C Round 1

Donaghmore/Ashbourne vs Gaeil Colmcille.  17:30.  Venue – Walterstown

Donaghmore/Ashbourne

• Manager:  Timmy O’Regan (Year 2)
• Captain:  Evan Quinn

Gaeil Colmcille

• Manager:  Conn Cleary (Year 2)
• Captain:  Jordan Muldoon

Simonstown Gaels vs Dunshaughlin.  19:00.  Venue – Devenish Park, Dunganny

Simonstown Gaels

• Manager:  Tony Dunne (Year 1)
• Captain:  Michael Gavin

Dunshaughlin

• Manager:  Richie Kealy (Year 1)
• Captain:  Mathew Costello

Balreask Bar, Restaurant & Guest Accommodation Junior Football Championship Group A Round 1

Slane vs Syddan.  17:00.  Venue – Rathkenny

Slane

• Manager:  Martin Barrett
• Captain:  ?

Syddan

• Manager:  Christy Grimes (Year 1)
• Captain:  Daire Rowe

Dunderry vs St. Ultan’s.  17:00.  Venue – Devenish Park, Dunganny

Dunderry

• Manager:  Leo Turley (Year 3)
• Captain:  Jamie Duffy

St. Ultan’s

• Manager:  Darren Fay
• Captain:  Keith Hennessey

Balreask Bar, Restaurant & Guest Accommodation Junior Football Championship Group B Round 1

St. Brigid’s vs Carnaross.  17:00.  Venue – Moylagh

St. Brigid’s

• Manager:  Andrew Kavanagh (Year 2)  
• Captain:  Padraig Plunkett

Carnaross

• Manager:  Christopher Tully
• Captain:  Patrick Farnan

Friday’s Results