Club Football 2026

[Anonymous1]

I don't think anybody was expecting that result last night. Ferbane were poor against Rhode and did what they had to against Edenderrry without looking wonderful. There was no basis for predicting a Ferbane win.

I believe that's Ferbane's first championship win against Tullamore in a decade, and Tullamore's first championship loss of any kind in 2 or 3 years.

Tullamore were very flat, although they didn't necessarily need to win, they do tend to try win every game they play in the championship. You'd have to imagine there'll still be a kick in them come October but they certainly appear more vulnerable this morning than they have at any stage in the last 4 years.

They're there for the taking, and Ferbane are best placed to take advantage if they're not operating at 100%. I don't think Rhode have the legs to beat Tullamore in OCP, and Shamrocks are still a bit green.

Both of those teams will have to hope Tullamore and Ferbane meet in a semi and Ferbane do the business.

[Old-school]

There is alot of unrest in the tullamore camp. Palyer due to start and didn't show after in-house issues. Its not good and I hope tullamore can fix these problems because they are a great team and hate to see that going on. But saying that the level of football in offaly poor. The standard and style being played is not great.

[Behindthegoal]

Was that ciaran burns? He seemed to br going well wonder what happened is it internal politics ?? You would also have to wonder what the point of Tullamore paying Rochford to drive 200km for? If anything they’ve gone backwards since he came in and are moving back to the pack saw Niall stack on the way out penny for his thoughts sometimes keeping it internal is best

[del]

This is pure bull . No player due to start didn’t show up everybody was there.
Tullamore have a lot of injuries and Ciaran Burns was another one injured and was on the sideline like everybody else.

[Buttons]

Does anyone know if there is relegation in this years senior football. Initially I thought the plan was no relegation and have 6 teams in the weaker group. Report from the durrow vs clonbullogue inclines there will be a relegation match.

Hard to see Durrow putting out much of a team vs Clara.

[Offalyblueboy]

Folks I see durrow have fallen and unmerciful amount.

I recall 3/4 years ago they were in a senior semi final and on route to that beat rhode and Ferbane.

What has changed since then ?

[Offaly Hero]

To be fair to Durrow they were probably promoted to a level that was never really sustainable long term.
What has happened since then is that hurling is now the priority for a lot of the players which is fair enough.

They'll be relegated this year and honestly, I'd have them as favourites to be relegated from Senior B next year too.

[Plain of the Herbs]

That is correct. Ferbane's last win over Tullamore wasin 2016's semi-final. They've played nine times in the interim, with a draw in 2017, a draw followed by a Tullamore win on penalties in 2020, and Tullamore winnng the rest.

I believe that's Ferbane's first championship win against Tullamore in a decade, and Tullamore's first championship loss of any kind in 2 or 3 years.

[Tar Man]

Does anyone know if there is relegation in this years senior football. Initially I thought the plan was no relegation and have 6 teams in the weaker group. Report from the durrow vs clonbullogue inclines there will be a relegation match.

Hard to see Durrow putting out much of a team vs Clara.

There is Relegation from Senior Football this year. The bottom 2 teams in the weak group will contest a relegation final. Edenderry will drop from the strong group in 2026 to the weak group in 2027 and whichever team from the weak group who goes furthest in the championship will replace them. If both teams from the weak group get knocked out at the same stage then it is the team that finishes highest in the weak group that replaces Edenderry.

[ruletheroost]

Tops scorers Senior A after round 4

Harry Plunkett Tullamore 2-17 23
Keith O'Neill Clonbullogue 2-17 23
Ruairí McNamee Rhode 0-20 20
Jack Bryant Shamrocks 1-16 19
Chris Kenny Ballycommon 1-15 18

From play:

Chris Kenny Ballycommon 1-15 18
Brian Duignan Durrow 2-7 13
Jack Bryant Shamrocks 1-10 13
Graham Guilfoyle Clara 0-12 12
Cian Murphy Edenderry 1-9 12
Ruairí McNamee Rhode 0-12 12

[DurrowBoy17]

What are we thinking predictions wise for each championship after the majority of group games have been played?
Here is mine:

Senior A - Tullamore - Probably the one I'm most unsure about at the minute. Predicted Ferbane at the start of the year, and you would think after they beat Tullamore on Friday I would be backing that up. But I just think Tullamore were down a few extra bodies and that loss will spur them on. Ferbanes best performance last Friday but was not impressed v Rhode or Edenderry. There game v Shamrocks in final group game could have huge bearing on both of their seasons. A win from either and they would likely avoid Tullamore in a semi final. Rhode & Shamrocks are very intruiging, but gun to my head I'm still backing Tullamore with Furlong, Bracken, OKM, Burns back and a reaction to that loss against Ferbane.

Senior B - Daingean - A loss to Neighbours Cappincur at the weekend who needed a win to survive was their first hiccup. They have the best balanced team and best forward in the competition in Shane Tierney, so fancy them to win it.

Intermediate - Ferbane - A bit like their seniors, they can be unpredictable, and they definitely have the much handier group. But I seen them in action v Kilcormac in Pulla(wasn't my best decision) and albeit KK weren't up to much at all, they still had a few fellas who are well capable of kicking ball and Ferbane just blew them away and I was v impressed,they've a nice mix of up and coming young talent/ex seniors like the 2 Ronans up front, Flynn & Maguire who'd cause most senior backlines a headache going off that game.
Having said this, Ferbane could lose players, the best forward in the comp Dylan Hyland would be hard stopped for Raheen and Brigids also are desperate to get promoted. But from the one game I've seen in Intermediate I'm going to take a punt on Ferbane.

Junior - Clodiagh Gaels - Shannonbridge & Pullough are my 2nd and 3rd choice respectively. But I do feel Clodiagh Gaels have the stronger depth here. They have 15 fit lads and that goes along way at this grade. Hurling might be their first love but they have 5/6 great athletes and both Pullough and Shannonbridge are probably relying on 1/2 good players to drag them over the line. Once hurling doesn't irectly cross over in Knockout stages, I struggle to see them being beat.

[theman]

Edenderry to be fair have a small GAA population in the town. The demographics of the town also doesn't help as a lot of the population is not from a GAA background. They also have to compete with two soccer clubs - the rugby club doesn't have much of a crossover as far as I know.

Bracknagh and Clonbullogue are probably from the least hurling oriented end of the county, and football will always be number one there, but AFAIK they do provide hurlers to Gracefield at underage and adult level.

The point overall is that a lot of clubs across the county are feeling the effects of reduced interest/playing numbers. I can understand clubs entering teams for championships as there was an interest there, but when it comes to it then, those players can potentially let you down which we are seeing now with the walkovers in lower grades of hurling and football.

I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but this isn't the first time I've heard this line of thinking from people when it comes to Edenderry (I don't know if you're from the club or not, but the same principle applies) and it absolutely boils me.

The first time I remember really thinking that these lads don't have a clue how privileged they are was when Edenderry (including Ballyfore) lost an underage game, maybe a minor final, I'm not sure, to St. Manchan's. I don't remember the exact year but I know Peter Brady was manager, because he came out after full of anger about four clubs being allowed to join together.

He said this without a hint of irony or self-awareness, despite the fact that on any given year, there's probably about three or four times as many boys born in Edenderry and Ballyfore as there is in Doon/Pullough/Ballycumber/Tubber.

Now I have the world of time for the people involved in the Edenderry club.

They've done great work in terms of facilities down there, they were one of the first clubs to get in a full time GPO, they do what they can to try and push hurling in an area where it isn't a popular sport and where they're a long way removed from all the teams that they would have to play. I see they are pushing rounders at the moment, they have an Irish language night, and above all, the men and women I meet from the club are generally very passionate, committed GAA people. There is so much to like about what that club does and how they go about their business.

But I could not be more forceful on this - the 'GAA population' of the town, is the population of the town. It is the responsibility of the club to do what they can to pitch gaelic games to everyone in their catchment area and to make sure that every child in their community is given every possible chance to try out gaelic football/ladies football and hurling/camogie.

Now I stress here, that Edenderry GAA look to me on the outside like they're doing exactly that. I'm not for a second saying that they're falling short, and of course you're never going to get a group of 20 or 30 lads of non-Irish heritage the whole way through to playing adult football in your club without losing a few along the way.

But the fact remains that a large catchment area is a huge asset, and nobody, inside the club or outside it, should even think that it is instead some sort of ready-made excuse, because within that large catchment area are families who didn't grow up immersed in GAA culture.

I'm particularly animated about this because my son is one of FOUR boys born in the parish in the year he was born, albeit that's a particularly low number, 8-10 is the norm. We have nothing only monster clubs around us (and Galway) so we've no where to go for an amalgamation, we cannot leave ANYONE behind, and as a general rule, we don't. And speaking as a coach, I promise you, we too have our share of kids from families that have no knowledge or understanding of GAA culture. We have kids who have parents of various nationalities, kids that are from families where they've only ever known soccer and soccer culture, we have one or two kids that had to move out of the parish due to family issues, and where a parent of a different child or a coach is doing an hour-long round trip to pick them up and bring them home from training out of Athlone.

And yet tonight, Roscommon Gaels, picking from the county town, couldn't not put out a junior/second team in the championship, so they conceded a walkover to St. Brigid's third team. And they're another club who are often very quick to talk (nonsense) about how it's so much harder to get people to play gaelic games in a town. It's a dereliction of their duty, frankly. And if anyone within Edenderry GAA club buys into this notion that there is such a thing as a "GAA population", then they have a fundamental misunderstanding of what the GAA is.

I am certainly not affiliated with the Edenderry club in any capacity, but I am just laying out the facts.

With all due respect LS but you can't say because Edenderry have a big population that they automatically should have big playing numbers. The reality is, like I said above, that their GAA population is small in comparison to the population of the town as a whole. Just going to lay out some points below of factors that effect the playing numbers, and again I am not from the town or have any interest, so maybe some Edenderry posters might correct me if I am wrong:

- People from neighbouring clubs in Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath living in the town, but still playing with their original clubs
- People that are not from GAA backgrounds moving into the area. Their children might be exposed to GAA in schools, but when the parents have no interest and no desire to encourage the child to play GAA then what can the club do?
- Edenderry Town and Derry Rovers soccer clubs. Edenderry play at a reasonably high level and field three teams. Derry rovers (AFAIK) have two teams and play at a competitive enough level in the midlands leagues.
- People just genuinely not interested in GAA or Sport in general.
- There is a large number of people living in the town from Dublin/Kildare region that just use Edenderry as a commuter base - .i.e. don't interact in the community or any organisations etc.

As you have said, they have a GPO in the club and do be actively encouraging from U6 onwards with regard GAA, but what more can they do if the interest isn't there?

Just to reaffirm, that the original point was made in regard hurling in the town, and when it comes to GAA the hurling community is even smaller in the town. But to be fair they are reaping what they have sown with the current crop of U16's coming through, so its not out of the question that Edenderry should be fielding at intermediate level in the not to distant future. Hurling in the county needs a town like Edenderry producing players, and in Joe Furey they have a gem of a player. Hopefully they produce some more down the line.

[Anon444]

I was going to ask what has happened to Edenderry so this is very on point. I cannot understand how they have slipped so far back, in all honesty they are saved by being in the strong group as I think Durrow and whoever joins them in a relegation final would fancy their chances in a one off game. And I’m not trying to bash them, I would love for them to be competitive again as Offaly football needs them, it looks like the top 4 teams will be out on their own.

I know people will say that Edenderry has it’s cultural and social issues regarding their playing population, but which would you rather; be in Edenderry’s position or be in Bracknagh’s, Clonbullogue’s, Durrow’s, etc? Do Clara not have these problems? Tullamore was a soccer and rugby dominated town for years. I think just because a sport is rivalling another, it is up to the GAA club to make sure that their club is more welcoming and that parents want their child to be a part of that club. Edenderry definitely do try as best they can to promote the games, as outlined above, but just can’t understand how they can be so far off.

[Lone Shark]

I am certainly not affiliated with the Edenderry club in any capacity, but I am just laying out the facts.

With all due respect LS but you can't say because Edenderry have a big population that they automatically should have big playing numbers. The reality is, like I said above, that their GAA population is small in comparison to the population of the town as a whole. Just going to lay out some points below of factors that effect the playing numbers, and again I am not from the town or have any interest, so maybe some Edenderry posters might correct me if I am wrong:

- People from neighbouring clubs in Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath living in the town, but still playing with their original clubs
- People that are not from GAA backgrounds moving into the area. Their children might be exposed to GAA in schools, but when the parents have no interest and no desire to encourage the child to play GAA then what can the club do?
- Edenderry Town and Derry Rovers soccer clubs. Edenderry play at a reasonably high level and field three teams. Derry rovers (AFAIK) have two teams and play at a competitive enough level in the midlands leagues.
- People just genuinely not interested in GAA or Sport in general.
- There is a large number of people living in the town from Dublin/Kildare region that just use Edenderry as a commuter base - .i.e. don't interact in the community or any organisations etc.

As you have said, they have a GPO in the club and do be actively encouraging from U6 onwards with regard GAA, but what more can they do if the interest isn't there?

Just to reaffirm, that the original point was made in regard hurling in the town, and when it comes to GAA the hurling community is even smaller in the town. But to be fair they are reaping what they have sown with the current crop of U16's coming through, so its not out of the question that Edenderry should be fielding at intermediate level in the not to distant future. Hurling in the county needs a town like Edenderry producing players, and in Joe Furey they have a gem of a player. Hopefully they produce some more down the line.

All of this is accurate and well-presented, and as always, I love the way the vast majority of these discussions on here and done respectfully, playing the ball and not the man, so fair play, first and foremost. Now I didn't say that they should "automatically" have big playing numbers, but it's not a gross misrepresentation or anything, I maybe didn't express it clearly. What I would argue is that they have the raw material to generate big playing numbers, and I stand by my view that it would be a failure on their part to ever go back to the days of having just two adult football teams, and to be honest, they probably should still have two teams entering championships at the likes of U-14 level, whatever about minor.

I could rebut these points individually, but if I was to try and make an over-arching point that summarises why I have a viscerally negative reaction to the idea that there is such a thing as a "GAA population", I guess the way I'd put it is that you should never let perfect be the enemy of good.

There are clubs that are in slightly more monocultural areas when it comes to sport (though I stand by my point that there are no monocultural areas anywhere) and there are communities that have both a large population, and a relatively stable one, with the majority of people having some ties to the area. Places like Crossmaglen, Turloughmore, Pádraig Pearses (Roscommon), Cavan and a handful of others all come to mind. The closest we have in Offaly is probably Kilcormac-Killoughey.

But just because you don't have an absolutely ideal context is not a good reason to make excuses for obvious underperformance, and writing off huge swathes of your catchment area as "not part of the GAA population" is taking a big step towards falling short of your potential. Every club has their own particular problems, and most would happily swap their problems for the "problems" Edenderry have with a massive, growing population.

To break down your examples:

- People from neighbouring clubs in Offaly, Kildare, Westmeath living in the town, but still playing with their original clubs

Happens everywhere. The point is that even if Dad is still getting in the car to go play with his home club, there will be kids, and in 99% of cases, the kids will pull on red jerseys, if you handle it right. And by definition, these are GAA people.

Moreover, I'm sure there are lads playing for Edenderry who have moved away too. That's just life, that doesn't affect one club more than another.

- People that are not from GAA backgrounds moving into the area. Their children might be exposed to GAA in schools, but when the parents have no interest and no desire to encourage the child to play GAA then what can the club do?

There's lots you can do, and it's entirely possible that Edenderry are doing some or all of this. You can draw them in through the social aspect of the club, you can facilitates lifts through more interested parents if that's an issue. You can do a lot to remove the financial barriers, a quick look on Foireann shows me that family membership in Edenderry is €350, a juvenile player is €100. For context, here in my club in Roscommon, family membership is €150 and juvenile is €30. I'm not saying it's a massive thing, but it might be, for kids that do a lot of different sports.

Above all, you can ASK THE QUESTION of the parents of those kids who are never seen after U-8, U-10 etc. Why did your child not enjoy it, is there anything else we could have done? In a lot of cases, the answer will be that the child didn't like team sport, or they preferred soccer, or whatever, and if so, your response is that's fair enough, thank them for their time, and move on. But in 10% of cases, you'll learn something.


- Edenderry Town and Derry Rovers soccer clubs. Edenderry play at a reasonably high level and field three teams. Derry rovers (AFAIK) have two teams and play at a competitive enough level in the midlands leagues.

Again, if someone wants to play soccer to a high level, they'll do it. Very few people live anywhere that 20 minutes in the car won't bring them to a decent soccer club.

- People just genuinely not interested in GAA or Sport in general.

Even people not interested in GAA still want the best for their kids, and if you get the child to try out gaelic games and you provide an enjoyable experience, the vast majority of parents will facilitate the child in keeping it up. And yes, there will be families that have zero interest. In a big town, it's more likely to be because they're into drama, or some other extra-curricular activity. In the country, it's more likely to be because from the age of 12, the child spends 70 hours a week from April to August on a tractor.

Again, this is not something that applies to one club any more than another.

- There is a large number of people living in the town from Dublin/Kildare region that just use Edenderry as a commuter base - .i.e. don't interact in the community or any organisations etc.

This is true of all of North Offaly, and you can't tell me that the results in recent years haven't clearly shown a marked trend in one way. I'd say that most clubs west of Clara are either the same or weaker than they were 20 years ago in relative terms, the majority of clubs from Tullamore to Clonmore/Bracknagh are stronger. Everybody puts down roots eventually, even if it takes them a while due to wider socio-economic issues, such as the higher cost of living, longer commutes and less free time. It's still better to have those people in your community than not, and you don't need to get 90% of them to join your club for that wider catchment to still be a huge asset.

[Tar Man]

It is sad to see what's happening in Edenderry at the moment - god knows that some stage over the past few years our own clubs have experienced something similar - I remember calling lads on a Sunday morning trying to make up a Junior Hurling Team after we'd been knocked out so that we'd just fulfil the fixture - it was a similar story for the earlier games.

They still have 2 Adult Football Teams and an Adult Hurling Team so its first world problems compared to what some clubs are experiencing. They'll be back strong as ever soon and Offaly needs them to be strong. Sometimes when you hit the lows it can galvanise a club to actually do something about it rather then meandering along. A year in the weak group could benefit them - in fairness to the players it must have been hard to head back to training after the first 2 games but they did and whilst the last 2 games they were still off the pace they were better than earlier.

It's only about 20 years ago when they were in the same boat and relegated to the 2nd tier (can't remember if it was called Senior B or Intermediate) - they regrouped and came back stronger and they will again.