Junior Football Championship Profiles

GROUP 1

ASCA 

Captain: Jack Phelan 

Managers: John Dwyer, Lee Timmons and Brian Hosey 

Players in/out: The club have not lost anyone over the summer and expect to introduce a selection of fresh faces from the Minor panel as the championship goes on.

League Form: It was a forgettable League campaign for Asca who picked up just two wins from their seven round robin games in Division 3.

First Game: Kilbride 

Hopes for the Championship: “Like any other club in the Championship our goal is to win it,” captain Phelan said.

If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? “Everybody in the Junior ‘A’ this year is strong,” Phelan said. “There’s a lot of first teams in it – I think you only have two teams that aren’t first teams, so it’s a very strong championship.” 

KILBRIDE 

Captain: Eoin Nolan 

Manager: Pat Nolan 

Players in/out: Brendan Butler and Stephen Curry have both retired from club duties with Daniel Bolger, Padraig Waters and Jake Browne coming through to take their places in the squad as Kilbride look to freshen things up.

League Form: Kilbride won four from seven in the round robin to capture fourth place overall in Division 4.

First Game: Asca 

Hopes for the Championship: Eoin Nolan said his side want “to be as competitive as we can,” adding: “we’re regrouping as a club – we’ve had a lot of retirements in the last few years and numbers are light at the moment, so we’re trying to build for the future.” If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? Nolan says he thinks Leighlinbridge and Fighting Cocks will be the two contenders for the JFC crown.

ST MULLINS 

Captain: Sean Doyle 

Managers: Ger Lennon and Johnny Murphy 

Players in/out: St Mullins are still recovering from their exploits in the in the Senior Hurling Championship final with the status of several players as yet undecided.

League Form: St Mullins did not play League football this year, opting instead to put all their focus on hurling.

First Game: Palatine 

Hopes for the Championship: “It would be great if we could win it again,” Doyle said. “But we can’t say at the minute because we didn’t even train yet.” 

If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? Doyle insists the 2025 JFC is simply “too tight to call” with the opening round just days away.

GROUP 2 

FIGHTING COCKS 

Captain: Emmet Moran 

Manager: Gary Nolan 

Players in/out: Dylan Ruane, Aaron Dowling and Podge Eustace are some of the stand-out names as the Fighting Cocks expect to have as many as ten new players joining their panel for this year’s JFC.

League Form: Three wins from seven meant Fighting Cocks finished in fifth place in Division 3.

First Game: O'Hanrahans 

Hopes for the Championship: While the Fighting Cocks’ captain is quietly optimistic, Moran insists the Junior ‘A’ Championship will be “a real test” for all eight teams involved.

If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? “It’s very hard to look past Leighlinbridge or Asca, they’re two really good teams,” Moran said.

O'HANRAHANS 

Managers: John Hickey and David Hickey 

Players in/out: While there are no major injury worries for the Carlow town club, a handful of players are being managed and will slowly be drip-fed into the team throughout the early stages of the championship.

League Form: After a poor run of results that saw them finish with just one draw from seven games, O'Hanrahans were eventually relegated from Division 3 after a defeat to Tinryland in the playoff.

First Game: Fighting Cocks 

Hopes for the Championship: Goalkeeper Aaron Power said: “The goal is always to get to the final – but one of the main goals is to stay up as well. Hopefully we can push on, get far in it and hopefully even win it out.” 

If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? Power says he expects Leighlinbridge to be the main contenders for the Junior ‘A’ title, citing their recent appearances in the final over the past few seasons. “You’d be surprised if they don’t win it this year or in the next couple of years anyway,” he said.

LEIGHLINBRIDGE 

Manager: Packie Fleming 

Players in/out: Ciaran Casey is abroad but new to the panel will be the Nolan twins of Aidan and Ciaran.

League Form: A good League campaign that saw them collect four wins from seven still left Leighlinbridge in a precarious position; however, they retained their status as a Division 2 club when they beat Rathvilly in a relegation/promotion play-off.

First Game: Rathvilly 

Hopes for the Championship: Liam Brennan says his team will be aiming to win the Championship: “I suppose that’s always the goal,” he said.

If your club doesn’t win the championship, who do you think will? “I think the Fighting Cocks are favourites,” Brennan said, with the two sides set to face off in the final game of Group 2.