{"id":255915,"date":"2026-01-21T09:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T09:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/255915\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T09:49:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T09:49:08","slug":"sides-fight-for-more-than-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/255915\/","title":{"rendered":"Sides fight for more than promotion"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s an almost perfect geographical spread to Division 3 of the Allianz Football League this year with three Leinster sides, two from each of Ulster and Munster and one from Connacht filling out the eight spots.<\/p>\n

Such symmetry pales into significance though given what is at stake with progression to the All-Ireland SFC almost certainly a prize for at least one team to go along with their promotion.<\/p>\n

Take Down, for example. Last seen giving Galway a real scare in last year\u2019s All-Ireland preliminary knock-out \u2013 posting 3-21 in the process \u2013 and now staring down the barrel of Tailteann Cup football should the league not work out. Conor Laverty will know that they can\u2019t be left to rely on a run to the provincial final, especially with a trip to Donegal awaiting in their Ulster opener.<\/p>\n

Westmeath, under the guidance of Ryan McHugh, are another side looking up after performing well in the All-Ireland round-robin editions of 2023 and ’24. No group format in 2026, of course, but their recent O\u2019Byrne Cup success<\/a> will act as further motivation to get back to mixing it with the top teams.<\/p>\n

Others like Clare and Fermanagh fell just short in promotion bids last season while Wexford will be keen to prove that they are ready for the step up after winning seven from seven in Division 4 in 2025 \u2013 although the league final saw that winning run end.<\/a><\/p>\n

That came courtesy of Limerick, one of the good news stories of last year as they claimed silverware at Croke Park. They\u2019d return twice more, beating Fermanagh in the Tailteann Cup semi-final and falling just short against Kildare in the final. They\u2019ll feel it\u2019s now time to push on.<\/p>\n

\"The
\nLimerick came up as Division 4 champions<\/p>\n

Sligo and Laois have been hopping between Division 3 and 4 in recent seasons, so will be keen to consolidate.<\/p>\n

One thing\u2019s for sure, there\u2019ll be no phoney war here.<\/p>\n

Clare<\/p>\n

2025 league: Third in Division 3<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Munster final defeat v Kerry, All-Ireland group stage exit<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Munster semi-final v Kerry<\/p>\n

Manager: Paul Madden (first season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Cillian Rouine<\/p>\n

Squad news: A boost for new manager Paul Madden that Brian McNamara has again resisted the call of the Banner hurlers to focus on football commitments.<\/p>\n

The Clare boss gave competitive minutes to 30 players in their two McGrath Cup games, including McNamara, so plenty of players have had their chance to impress.<\/p>\n

Prospects: We\u2019ll know soon enough \u2013 the league opener away to division favourites Down should give us a good idea of where Clare are at.<\/p>\n

The McGrath Cup pointed to a side moving rightly as Waterford were defeated while they pushed an experimental Kerry all the way. Eoin Cleary and Aaron Griffin looked sharp and they will carry much of their scoring threat, perhaps too much.<\/p>\n

Scoring difference cost them promotion last season so no secret to how important it is for Clare to be ruthless in attack.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 6th<\/p>\n

Down<\/p>\n

2025 league: Relegated from Division 2<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Ulster semi-final defeat to Donegal, All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final defeat to Galway<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Ulster quarter-final v Donegal<\/p>\n

Manager: Conor Laverty (fourth season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Odhr\u00e1n Murdock<\/p>\n

Squad news: The Down squad is laced with players just entering their prime, so changes have been fairly minor for the season ahead. Livewire Liam Kerr has made a return after missing 20205 while Kilcoo\u2019s Anthony Morgan is also set to reappear. Former Tyrone All-Ireland winner Hugh Pat McGeary is also hoping to get going with his new county after an Achilles\u2019 injury stopped him before he got started last season.<\/p>\n

\"Hugh
\nTyrone 2021 All-Ireland winner Hugh Pat McGeary will be hoping to make his Down league debut<\/p>\n

Prospects: They say the table doesn\u2019t lie, but Down\u2019s relegation from Division 2 last year was definitely on the harsh side.<\/p>\n

Conor Laverty\u2019s side were a match for every opponent, but a series of narrow defeats \u2013 many in games where they were the better team \u2013 proved costly as they lost out to Louth on the head-to-head rule, with the Wee County winning their encounter by just a point.<\/p>\n

They responded well in the championship by putting it up to some of the country\u2019s best teams, and while notable wins still eluded them, it was clear they are better than their current position suggests.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 1st<\/p>\n

Fermanagh<\/p>\n

2025 league: Fourth in Division 3<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Ulster quarter-final defeat to Down, Tailteann Cup semi-final defeat to Kildare<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Ulster quarter-final v Armagh\/Tyrone<\/p>\n

Manager: Declan Bonner (first season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: To be appointed<\/p>\n

Squad news: The Cullen twins, Lee and Ch\u00e9, are unavailable, Lee\u2019s loss in particular is sure to be felt as he was on the Tailteann Cup team of the year last season.<\/p>\n

Ryan Lyons is another notable name not involved, but James McMahon has returned.<\/p>\n

Prospects: With every new management team, there is always a sense of uncertainty but Declan Bonner\u2019s currency has always been about enthusiasm in the project so anyone who has bought in will have to do so fully.<\/p>\n

Just the three home games but one away trip is just a short hop over the border to Sligo.<\/p>\n

A productive McKenna Cup saw them beat Cavan \u2013 although that result was later voided as the counties were cited for fielding ineligible players \u2013 before showing well against Monaghan as they led by five points early in the second half before losing by three.<\/p>\n

Darragh McGurn could end up being one of the most dangerous forwards in the division.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 7th<\/p>\n

Laois<\/p>\n

2025 league: Sixth in Division 3<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Leinster quarter-final defeat v Louth, Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-final defeat v Westmeath<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Leinster preliminary round v Offaly<\/p>\n

Manager: Justin McNulty (third season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Brian Byrne<\/p>\n

\"Evan
\nLaois’ Evan O’Carroll is back after picking up a cruciate injury on Leinster duty in 2024<\/p>\n

Squad news: Evan O\u2019Carroll is back after a cruciate injury picked up in the interprovincials ruined his 2025 ambitions, and that is a major boost to the side\u2019s scoring strength. Mikie Dempsey, another cruciate victim, is also back on board.<\/p>\n

Prospects: Over the last couple of seasons, Laois have been yo-yoing between Division 3 and Division 4 so it\u2019s no surprise that they are expected to be fighting relegation rather than pushing for promotion.<\/p>\n

The schedule does give them a chance to make a positive start though as they host an improving Limerick before travelling to Wexford; those will both be circled as genuine chances of victory and if they can manage four points from those, everything changes.<\/p>\n

Their final game is away to Down in Newry and they\u2019ll not want to be heading there needing a result.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 3rd<\/p>\n

Limerick<\/p>\n

2025 league: Second in Division 4<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Munster quarter-final defeat v Cork, Tailteann Cup final loss v Kildare<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Munster quarter-final v Cork<\/p>\n

Manager: Jimmy Lee (third season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Cillian Fahy<\/p>\n

Squad news: Goalkeeper Josh Ryan suffered a cruciate injury on club injury at the end of the season so won\u2019t be about for a while \u2013 net-minders Jeffrey Alfred and Jamie Dolan both got their chance in the McGrath Cup \u2013 while Darragh O’Hagan underwent shoulder surgery in November. Iain Corbett has retired after 14 seasons.<\/p>\n

Prospects: Optimism has to be there after last year\u2019s Division 4 success and the county\u2019s run to the Tailteann Cup final where they gave Kildare their fill of it. A tricky start sees the side travel to Laois before hosting Down, and if they can escape that pair of fixtures with minimal damage then it\u2019s not beyond the realms of possibility that they could challenge for promotion.<\/p>\n

January offered few clues as Jimmy Lee had a look at his extended panel; the side managed just four points in the loss to Tipperary but followed it up with victory over eventual champions Cork \u2013 regular big scorer James Naughton hitting 2-05. The St Senan\u2019s star hit 4-12 against Waterford in Division 4 last season.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 5th<\/p>\n

Sligo<\/p>\n

2025 league: Fifth in Division 3<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Connacht quarter-final defeat to Mayo, Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat to Fermanagh<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Connacht quarter-final v Leitrim<\/p>\n

Managers: Eamonn O\u2019Hara\/Dessie Sloyan (first season in charge)<\/p>\n

Joint captains: Niall Murphy and Canice Mulligan<\/p>\n

Squad news: No major in or outs in Sligo, but Se\u00e1n Carrabine \u2013 who missed out last season through injury \u2013 is set to return, although it will be later in the season before he is back in contention.<\/p>\n

Prospects: A new brush sweeps clean, but it\u2019s unlikely Eamonn O\u2019Hara and Dessie Sloyan are likely to carry out too much surgery on a team that performed well under former boss Tony McEntee.<\/p>\n

The side came close to some really big moments, but just couldn\u2019t apply the finishing touches \u2013 something the new management will be hoping they can eke out of the squad.<\/p>\n

\"Sligo
\nEamonn O’Hara (L) and Dessie Sloyan (R) have taken over in Sligo<\/p>\n

Not given much hope, but they do have four home games and the newly resurfaced Markievicz Park is down to host them.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 4th<\/p>\n

Westmeath<\/p>\n

2025 league: Eighth in Division 2<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Leinster quarter-final defeat v Kildare, Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat v Wicklow<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Leinster preliminary round v Longford<\/p>\n

Manager: Mark McHugh (first season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Ronan Wallace<\/p>\n

Squad news: A fair few notable absentees for the Lake County heading into 2026 with Kieran Martin stepping away after 17 seasons with the side. Ronan O\u2019Toole and David Lynch are unavailable as they are in Australia.<\/p>\n

Prospects: Westmeath are under a third management team in three seasons, although there is some continuity as Mark McHugh takes over having been involved under Dermot McCabe last season, who has since moved to his native Cavan.<\/p>\n

McHugh continued to line out for his native Kilcar last season in Donegal so he is well versed in the player demands for the modern game and will hope he can get those ideas through to his players. The O\u2019Byrne Cup success will provide a boost too.<\/p>\n

Three home games out of seven means they\u2019ll have to be good on the road. They lost all three away games in Division 2 last year but their games in Cork and Down went to the wire while Monaghan needed a late surge to break free.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 2nd<\/p>\n

Wexford<\/p>\n

2025 league: First in Division 4<\/p>\n

2025 championship: Leinster preliminary round defeat to Laois, Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat to Limerick<\/p>\n

2026 championship: Leinster quarter-final v Louth<\/p>\n

Manager: John Hegarty (fourth season in charge)<\/p>\n

Captain: Eoghan Nolan<\/p>\n

Squad news: A couple of names have decided to call time on their Wexford careers – Kevin O\u2019Grady, Mick Furlong and Conor Carty all stepping away having all made their debuts in 2011 \u2013 ending any link in the current squad to the county\u2019s sole Leinster Under-21 crown 15 years ago.<\/p>\n

\"Darragh
\nEoghan Nolan will captain Wexford in 2026<\/p>\n

Prospects: After fourth (2023) and third (2024) placed finishes in Division 4, Wexford finally secured promotion last season with a flawless seven wins from seven.<\/p>\n

Their success was based on the meanest defence across all four divisions \u2013 they conceded on average just over 13 points per game, and that includes the Division 4 final loss to Limerick when they conceded 3-11. Such stinginess will be required again if they are to survive here.<\/p>\n

Four home games offers further hope.<\/p>\n

League prediction: 8th<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There’s an almost perfect geographical spread to Division 3 of the Allianz Football League this year with three…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112],"class_list":{"0":"post-255915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}