Competitive Senior Hurling Championship in store

BAGENALSTOWN GAELS – Darragh Nolan

BALLINKILLEN – David English

MOUNT LEINSTER RANGERS – Edward Byrne

NAOMH BRÍD – Eanna Holland

NAOMH EOIN – Brian Tracey

ST MULLINS – Ger Coady

The JJ Kavanagh & Sons Senior Hurling Championship throw in this weekend with five other teams gunning to catch reigning champions Mount Leinster Rangers. We spoke with representatives of all six teams ahead of the first ball pucked this weekend.

Team captain: Not announced yet.

Team manager: Peter Doyle is the manager and Kevin Ryan is our trainer. Peter was with us before, the time Gavin Nolan was over us and now he is back in again. He’s a good Bagenalstown man who would have hurled with the club for years as well.

2026 league form: It’s not going too bad, but we haven’t had a full training session yet with our full team. Just with the county set-up and lads on holidays so we’re just settling down and looking at Championship.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: We’ll be hoping to make the semi-finals for definite. There’s no point in going out two years in a row of not making a semi-final. We were lucky really there was no relegation as we should really have been back Intermediate, we were lucky there was only the five teams in it.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: I wouldn’t really rule us out, I really wouldn’t. We’ve a lot of lads back this year, I think Alfie Corcoran is taking a step back and focusing on Intermediate but we have the likes of Niall Bolger and Jack McCullagh back anyway, thank God.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: For clubs that would only be concentrated on the one, I think it’s a positive for all those but for the likes of ourselves now, it’s a bigger task for us. We just need to adapt to it and get on with it. I think we only have two lads that play football that don’t play hurling, and all the hurlers play football. Championship kicks off this week, so I don’t have a weekend off until the end of the season.

Team captain: David English

Team manager: Ollie Hally, he’s a Laois man who has come in this year. We were big enemies for the last few weeks until we got the Joe Mac out of the way but he’s a good manager, a great coach. We’re hoping that he’s the key to unlocking what we want to do this year.

2026 league form: It’s tough on every club, I suppose, because you have so many who are with the county, you have so many who are doing the Leaving Cert, you have so many who are under-20s. So, it’s only really after taking shape in the last two or three weeks when you get everyone back. But we’re happy enough where we are at the minute, just trying to sort out a couple of injuries before Friday when we play St Mullins and we’ll see what happens.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: I say it every year, our ambition is to win a championship. I think when you’re in a six-team championship, it has to be that. Obviously, we always seem to stumble at a semi-final spot, so we have to try and get over that hurdle, try and get to a county final and then try secure a bit of silverware.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: Anyone can break through. I was just talking to Alan Brennan earlier, we were talking about Naomh Bríd broke though back in the 2000s, and the 10s, when they were in their heyday. They stopped Rangers. They won the championship. So, anyone can do it but definitely, St Mullins and Rangers are the ones to catch.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: I only play the one myself, so for me I get to take a couple of weeks’ break but it’ll be tough going on the dual players, particularly those that are jumping from one team to another. Obviously, ourselves and Fenagh are there, and we have a good relationship, but if you take the likes of Naomh Bríd, who they split up and they head away to three different clubs, it’s not as simple. Rangers are probably not as bad because they basically have the same panel for two - but it will be different. It’s back to the way it was pre-COVID, so a lot of lads will be used to it but for a lot of people that have only started playing in the last couple of years, it might be a bit of a change.

Team captain: The county lads are only back so there’s not one picked yet.

Team manager: Niall Bergin from O’Loughlin Gaels.

2026 league form: The county lads are only just back, so it’s been kind of tough for him not to have seen some lads yet.He’ll know their pedigree or whatever, but just seeing him in action is a bit different. I’d say he’s excited to see them back in action a bit. We were in the Bolger Cup final and the Bolger Shield final, so it’s a strong showin at this time of the year. We’ve had under 20 county players and senior county players. I suppose we were missing the guts of 15 players at the time but look, we’re happy enough.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: There are six teams in it now this year so I suppose you’ll have to win two games at least to be in the semi-final. Yeah, semi-final, a final, I suppose we’ll have to aim for a final and we’ll see what happens on the day of the county final then. It’s a strange one. Anything can happen in a final.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: If I was to throw my hat on someone, it’d be Ballinkillen to make a breakthrough. I’ve been involved with U21s at home and so I’ve seen what kind of players that they have coming through and stuff like that. I think that they can make a breakthrough maybe at some stage, if they get their bit of momentum going or whatever, they might cause a few upsets.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: Most of our lads are dual players, so they’ll be hurling, football, hurling, football which makes it a little bit more awkward. If it’s just a split-season, you can concentrate just on hurling and power through that, and then concentrating on football. You kind of get a bit of momentum going, but switching over and back makes it a bit more difficult, I suppose.

Team captain: Fiach O’Toole.

Team manager: Anthony O’Brien. He’s a club man in his first year, we still have Ciaran Delaney as our coach so there is that bit of continuity.

2026 league form: Pretty good. We’re obviously missing a good few between county football and U20 hurling and senior hurling. We’re starting to get those lads back into the fold now and should be ready to go for the weekend.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: I think it’s probably one of our best chances since we went down the first time of getting up and staying up and being competitive. I think we can definitely get a couple of results and hopefully that will leave us in a position to be in a semi-final.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: Obviously Rangers and St. Mullins are the two top dogs and they’ve been dominant over the last few years. They’re still the ones to beat really but we’ll be hoping to get a couple of results off other teams and hopefully leave us in a good place for a semi-final.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: We’re a somewhat unique case because we have a good few football clubs involved with the one hurling club so it’s hard to get it right with training nights and all that kind of stuff. But I think we’re getting it fairly right at the moment, better than we’ve got in other years. I think it’ll be good for us long term because if we had been in the Senior Championship last year, we would have been finished hurling in possibly the middle of August.

Team captain: Brian Tracey.

Team manager: Thomas Slye is our manager this year. He was involved last year in a kind of selector and coach role and he has taken over the reins this year.

2026 league form: So far, so good. You have guys during the year pick up their niggly injuries no different to any team sport but we’re just looking forward to the start of the Championship at the weekend.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: We’ll take every game one step at a time. Obviously, with the change over this year of the Championship kind of being mixed with hurling and football, it can be that bit more difficult but it can also work on your advantage. If you can build momentum in one, it can build momentum in the other.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: It’s well known that we haven’t been at the top of the table for a few years now. We’re trying our best to get back there. And look, it’s slowly, surely coming. We had a very mixed year last year and went down quite bad in the semi-final but it’s take one game at a time and that first game against Bagenalstown is probably quite an important game for both teams.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: For myself, it will be three weeks hurling and then two weeks when the football is on. I’m involved in the football management team set-up so that will keep myself fairly well occupied during that period. It willl be just about management. We have a kind of crossover in management there and it will be just about managing players because the majority of the team are all playing both codes. It’s going to be a hectic schedule, you’re going to pick up knocks, injuries here and there and it’s just about minding the group as best as possible.

Team captain: Ger Coady.

Team manager: Sean O’Meara, he’s a Tipp man. Tommy (Buggy) was there for a long time and was great but look the change is always good I think. So far, we’ve absolutely gelled really well with him and everyone is getting on well.

2026 league form: It’s been good. Like every game we’ve played is competitive. Obviously we do have a good few in with the county so, obviously we do miss the boys a little bit but we have players there now that are coming and they do fill the gap there until the boys come back. They’re always in with a shout there as well to compete for the place as well, which is very good.

Hopes for the 2026 Championship: You take it game by game as you do with every year, every championship and you go out to win every game. If you aim to do that, I think that’s the best method of looking to be in the final. Hopefully we do get there again and we’re in with a shout again.

Team who could breakthrough to challenge the dominant two: I’d say Ballinkillen, they’re always there, thereabouts. Myshall on their day, can beat anyone too. I don’t think there’s anyone that can’t really, so we’re always on our toes.

Thoughts on new schedule for 2026 Championship: I think it’s a good change myself, to be honest with you. It does give you that nice little bit of a break there in the middle of it. The game by game can be tough. I definitely think that the break will benefit everyone and you get a chance to regroup and go again. Freshen up the legs a bit again and head into the business end of the championship feeling good.

JJ KAVANAGH & SONS SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP fixtures

ROUND 1

Fri 26 June – St Mullins v Ballinkillen, McGrath Park, 7.30pm

Sat 27 June - Bagenalstown Gaels v Naomh Eoin, Netwatch Cullen Park, 5pm; Naomh Bríd v Mount Leinster Rangers, Netwatch Cullen Park, 6.30pm.

ROUND 2

Fri 3 July – Mount Leinster Rangers v Bagenalstown Gaels, Netwatch COE, Fenagh, 7.30pm.

Sat 4 July – Ballinkillen v Naomh Bríd, Netwatch Cullen Park, 5pm; St Mullins v Naomh Eoin, Netwatch Cullen Park, 6.30pm

ROUND 3

Fri 10 July – St Mullins v Naomh Bríd, McGrath Park,7.30pm.

Sat 11 July – Mount Leinster Rangers v Naomh Eoin, Netwatch Cullen Park, 5pm; Ballinkillen v Bagenalstown Gaels, Netwatch Cullen Park, 6.30pm