{"id":392956,"date":"2026-04-11T08:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/392956\/"},"modified":"2026-04-11T08:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T08:05:35","slug":"where-is-your-county-in-the-pecking-order-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/392956\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is your county in the pecking order? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

33 New York (final NFL standing N\/A)\"NewNew York and Galway in last year’s Connacht quarter-final in Gaelic Park, New York. Photograph: Emily Harney\/Inpho <\/p>\n

New York<\/a> manager Ronan McGinley has painted a grim picture of his side\u2019s prospects this year, beginning with the visit on Sunday of Roscommon, who he says won\u2019t be showing them any sympathy. New York\u2019s future in the Connacht Championship is also up for review after this season, McGinley\u2019s pool of talent significantly reduced by the slowing of Irish players heading for the Big Apple. He does boast Jack Savage for Sunday, a member of Kerry\u2019s 2022 All-Ireland winning panel.<\/p>\n

32 Waterford (final NFL standing 32)\"Waterford’sWaterford\u2019s Stephen Curry and Tipperary\u2019s Colm O\u2019Shaughnessy in the 2024 Munster quarter-final at Fraher Field. Photograph: Ken Sutton\/Inpho <\/p>\n

The second coming of Ephie Fitzgerald as Waterford manager hasn\u2019t yet had the desired impact, and they once again went without a single victory in Division 4. Fitzgerald was adamant he\u2019d be rebuilding from scratch, with Stephen Curry still leading the way on the scoring front. They host Tipperary in the Munster quarter-final on Sunday, with the winners then likely to meet Cork.<\/p>\n

31 Leitrim (31)\"Leitrim’sLeitrim\u2019s Barry McNulty and Mayo\u2019s Dylan Thornton in last year’s Connacht semi-final. Photograph: Evan Logan\/Inpho <\/p>\n

After a truly forgettable 2025, manager Steven Poacher appears to have turned things around somewhat in his second year in charge, winning three games in the league. The only way was up, although Poacher continues to struggle to recruit younger players. Barry McNulty was their top marksman in the league and the hope is they can be competitive against Sligo on Sunday.<\/p>\n

30 London (30)\"Kilkenny'sKilkenny’s Nathan Sherry and Shay Rafter of London in the 2023 junior semi-final. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n

It\u2019s 13 years now since London\u2019s historic run to the Connacht final, but for Michael Maher, in his seventh season as manager, the visit of Mayo this weekend is a likely reminder of where they currently stand. They endured four championship losses last year, including in the Tailteann Cup. Shay Rafter and Ciaran Diver were their top scorers in the league, but the depth of such talent remains a problem.<\/p>\n

29 Tipperary (29)\"SeanSean O’Connor of Tipperary and Cork’s Sean Meehan in a McGrath Cup match in January. Photograph: Tom O\u2019Hanlon\/Inpho <\/p>\n

There\u2019s no denying the difficult times this Tipperary team has faced since the sudden death of their manager Philly Ryan last October and their fifth-place finish in Division 4 was hard fought. Niall Fitzgerald, the former Under-20 manager, has been slowly rebuilding their belief. Sean O\u2019Connor and Cian Smith have been in good scoring form, and they\u2019ll certainly fancy their chances against Waterford this Sunday.<\/p>\n

28 Antrim (28)\"Antrim'sAntrim’s Dominic McEnhill and Adam O’Neill of Meath in the 2023 Tailteann Cup semi-final at Croke Park. Photograph: Evan Treacy\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Hopes of a swift return to Division 3 didn\u2019t last long. Still, manager Mark Doran will feel he made some progress in his first season (with four league wins) after taking over from Andy McEntee. In Dominic McEnhill they do have a reliable forward and Antrim will need him for the daunting trip to Derry that awaits in their Ulster quarter-final.<\/p>\n

27 Fermanagh (26)\"FermanaghFermanagh manager Declan Bonner. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

A sadly disappointing Division 3 campaign saw them finish bottom of the table, with only one win out of seven. Declan Bonner has assembled a good team around him in his first season as manager, but they face the winners of the Armagh-Tyrone clash in their Ulster quarter-final, and they won\u2019t be getting much sympathy in that one. Still one of only two counties never to win a provincial title, that long wait continues.<\/p>\n

26 Limerick (25)\"Limerick'sLimerick’s James Naughton with John Paul Nolan of Wicklow in a March 2025 Division 4 match in Wicklow. Photograph: Leah Scholes\/Inpho <\/p>\n

After being crowned Division 4 champions last year, Jimmy Lee\u2019s team fell right back down again after winning only two games out of seven, as well as drawing one. A little unlucky in others. James Naughton continues to be their main man, but with Cork awaiting them in the first round of the Munster championship any hopes of a prize this summer lie in the Tailteann Cup. <\/p>\n

25 Longford (24)\"DylanDylan Farrell of Longford holds on to the ball under pressure from Carlow’s Ross Dunphy, Tailteann Cup, 2023. Photograph: Ashley Cahill\/Inpho <\/p>\n

After finishing their Division 4 campaign with a flourish, Longford were promoted back to Division 3 where they\u2019d spent the previous eight seasons. Manager Mike Solan is in his second season and is making progress, despite losing the Division 4 decider to Carlow. Their final round win over Wicklow was impressive, Dylan Farrell one of the top scorers in the division, although a testing Leinster opener against Westmeath awaits.<\/p>\n

24 Wicklow (27)\"KevinKevin Quinn, Wicklow v Westmeath, April 2024. Photograph: Bryan Keane\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Missing out on promotion was a significant setback to Wicklow\u2019s season, so it will be interesting to see how they react when travelling to play Carlow in the Leinster championship this weekend. Wicklow will look to Kevin Quinn to lead their scoring charge. The winners will host Dublin in a provincial quarter-final.<\/p>\n

23 Carlow (23)\"Carlow’sCarlow\u2019s Dara Curran and Mikey Bambrick celebrate their win over Longford last month. Photograph: Nick Elliott\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Joe Murphy has made a pretty immediate impact with his native Carlow, leading the Barrowsiders to promotion from Division 4 in his first full season at the helm. With a back-room team comprised of only Carlow folk, this home-grown project is gathering momentum. Carlow would fancy their chances of Tailteann Cup glory.<\/p>\n

22 Clare (22)\"Clare'sClare’s Eoin Cleary. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo\/Inpho <\/p>\n

The Banner never threatened the promotion chase in Paul Madden\u2019s first season at the helm but despite finishing just one point above the relegation zone in Division 3, Clare were the second-highest scorers (163) behind table-toppers Down (172). Clare also had three of the top six scorers in the division \u2013 Mark McInerney, Eoin Cleary and Aaron Griffin. Becoming meaner at the back is now the challenge for the championship.<\/p>\n

21 Sligo (21)\"NiallNiall Murphy of Sligo in a 2024 Division 3 match against Down in Newry. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n

It was not quite the league campaign new Sligo managers Eamonn O\u2019Hara and Dessie Sloyan would have hoped for, with the Yeats County only retaining their Division 3 status with a one-point win over Clare in their last game. They host Leitrim in a Connacht quarter-final this weekend but beyond that a Tailteann Cup tilt looks like their best chance of silverware this summer.<\/p>\n

20 Laois (20)\"EvanEvan O\u2019Carroll of Laois and Dublin’s Josh Bannon in Round 1 of the O’Byrne Cup in January. Photograph: Tom O\u2019Hanlon\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Justin McNulty\u2019s Laois were consistently inconsistent during the league \u2013 winning three, losing three and drawing one of their seven games to finish fourth in Division 3. An area of concern for Laois is their scoring return \u2013 with the O\u2019Moore County posting the third-lowest scoring tally (131) in the division, ahead of only relegated sides Fermanagh and Limerick (both 119).<\/p>\n

19 Offaly (18)\"Offaly’sOffaly\u2019s Cormac Egan and Jack McEvoy and Tyrone\u2019s Matthew Donnelly in a Division 2 clash in Dungannon in February. Photograph: Evan Logan\/Inpho <\/p>\n

It was a difficult spring for Offaly, losing all seven of their Division 2 fixtures as they made an immediate return to Division 3. The Faithful County were massively hindered by injuries to key players but it remains to be seen if they can now produce a championship bounce, starting against Laois this weekend.<\/p>\n

18 Westmeath (19)\"Westmeath'sWestmeath’s Luke Loughlin. Photograph: Leah Scholes\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Mark McHugh\u2019s side were desperately unlucky not to achieve promotion from Division 3 this season and they do really need to address a recurring theme of shipping late defeats. But in Luke Loughlin Westmeath had the fourth-highest scorer in the division this season, while Ronan Wallace and Sam McCartan are quality players.<\/p>\n

17 Wexford (16)\"PáiricP\u00e1iric Hughes in last month’s Wexford v Down Division 3 final. Photograph: Nick Elliott\/Inpho <\/p>\n

It is now back-to-back league promotions for John Hegarty\u2019s Wexford, who have progressed from Division 4 in 2025 to be competing in Division 2 in 2027. Over the past three years, Wexford have played 21 regular season league games (not including finals) \u2013 winning 17 and losing only four.<\/p>\n

16 Kildare (17)\"Kildare'sKildare’s Darragh Ryan after defeat to Louth in St Conleth’s Park on March 22nd. Photograph: Grace Halton\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Having won the Tailteann Cup last season and secured promotion from Division 3, Kildare have had a dispiriting start to the year. After picking up three points from their opening two games, relegation was sealed by five defeats in a row. Should be able to manage Offaly or Laois in the Leinster quarter-final, but unlikely to beat Meath after that. Their Tailteann Cup victory from last year ensures their place in the Sam Maguire Cup. <\/p>\n

15 Cavan (14)\"Cavan'sCavan’s Ciar\u00e1n Brady reacts to a missed chance against Derry last month. Photograph: Lorcan Doherty\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Blew a winning chance against Cork on the opening day of the league in P\u00e1irc U\u00ed Chaoimh but having been in the promotion picture in 2025, they finished third from bottom this time. Did well to avoid relegation after double-digit beatings from Tyrone and Louth. Have only won two matches in Ulster since they won the title in 2020 but won\u2019t feel overawed by a quarter-final against Monaghan next week.<\/p>\n

14 Monaghan (10)\"Monaghan'sMonaghan’s Michael Bannigan, challenged by Kerry’s Tadhg in Killarney on March 1st. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Despite giving Dublin a rattle in Croke Park, and a heartening performance against Donegal in the final round, Monaghan were soundly relegated from Division 1. They conceded 13 goals in their seven defeats, losing at an average rate of nearly 10 points per game. Too many load-bearing players have retired over the past two years and they\u2019re in a period of transition now. On the easier side of the draw in Ulster though.<\/p>\n

13 Down (15)\"Down'sDown’s Odhran Murdock scores a point despite a challenge from Michael Kinsella of Wexford in the Division 3 final last month. Photograph: Nick Elliott\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Dominated Division 3 without being hugely impressive. Were made to sweat by Limerick and Fermanagh, the two teams who were ultimately relegated, and needed extra-time to beat Wexford in the league final having beaten them by 10 points in their regulation match. Qualified from the softest round robin group last year but unlikely to survive an Ulster quarter-final against Donegal.<\/p>\n

12 Tyrone (13)\"NiallNiall Devlin scores Tyrone\u2019s second goal despite a challenge by Meath’s Bryan Menton in Croke Park on March 14th. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Given the poverty of some of their league performances it\u2019s hard to believe that they contested the All-Ireland semi-final just nine months ago. One of the few elite teams not to have adapted successfully to the new rules. Their football is still slow and lateral. Mixed messages about morale in the camp. Unlikely to trouble Armagh this weekend.<\/p>\n

11 Louth (11)\"SamSam Mulroy in a game against Tyrone in February. Could this be Louth’s year? Photograph: Grace Halton\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Their only defeats in a solid league campaign came against the teams promoted from Division 2, Meath and Cork. Excluding the final, Sam Mulroy was the top scorer in the division, another player whose performances have been elevated by the new rules. On course to meet Dublin in the Leinster semi-final, a fixture they haven\u2019t won in 13 attempts since 1973. This could be the year.<\/p>\n

10 Derry (12)\"Derry'sDerry’s Padraig McGrogan and Cork\u2019s Chris \u00d3g Jones in Celtic Park, March 1st. Photograph: Lorcan Doherty\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Their promotion push from Division 2 ran aground with a round-six loss against Louth. Nonetheless, it was a restorative campaign after the calamities of last summer, when they lost to Donegal by 10 points in the first round of the Ulster championship and finished bottom of their round-robin group. On the easier side of the draw, they should reach the Ulster final.<\/p>\n

9 Cork (8) \"Cork'sCork’s Stephen Sherlock. Photograph: Bryan Keane\/Inpho <\/p>\n

A fine promotion campaign restored John Cleary\u2019s team to Division 1 for the first time in 10 years. Three of the top 10 scorers in Division 2 were Stephen Sherlock, a critical return, bringing his club accuracy, Chris \u00d3g Jones, top marksman from play, and Mark Cronin. Question is, can they impact on Munster after taking Kerry to extra time last year?<\/p>\n

8 Dublin (9)\"ConCon O’Callaghan of Dublin. Photograph: Ryan Byrne\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Relegated from Division 1 for the second time in five years after five defeats in the league, three of them at Croke Park. After round two in Castlebar, Ger Brennan questioned the stomach of some of the more established players on the panel, but the prospect of a cull was replaced by a series of one-to-one chats. Still heavily dependent on Con O\u2019Callaghan and Ciar\u00e1n Kilkenny.<\/p>\n

7 Meath (7) \"Meath'sMeath’s Jordan Morris, challenged by Dara Sheedy of Cork in this year’s Division 2 final. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Robbie Brennan has completed an admirable turnaround in two years, beating Dublin, reaching an All-Ireland semi-final and now winning Division 2. The Leinster title is next in that progression. Facility with two-pointers is obvious, and they finished as the league\u2019s second-highest scorers with productive forwards Jordan Morris, Jack O\u2019Connor and Ruair\u00ed Kinsella to the fore. Opposite side of the draw to Dublin.<\/p>\n

6 Roscommon (4) \"Roscommon'sRoscommon’s Cian McKeon. Photograph: Ben Brady\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Broke with their recent yo-yo pattern and stayed up despite initial absence of St Brigid\u2019s players. Mark Dowd will be happy that his team was unlucky to lose to Kerry and the only ones to beat Donegal, although the scale of disengagement against Dublin and Mayo was stark. Players to return are Cian McKeon and defensive lock Brian Stack.<\/p>\n

5 Mayo (3) \"Mayo'sMayo’s Kobe McDonald and Aidan O’Shea. Photograph: Tom Maher\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Andy Moran achieved a bounce with the team, introducing a more attacking style and abundant two-pointers. Matches against the top two, however, suggested a sizeable gap when the riskier defending came up against more formidable attacks. Needs to fix an underwhelming centrefield and although younger forwards have impressed, expecting the likes of Kobe McDonald to transform things looks premature.<\/p>\n

4 Galway (5) \"Galway’sGalway\u2019s Damien Comer and Brendan McCole of Donegal in the 2024 All-Ireland semi-final. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Survived another demanding season with key personalities unavailable while giving some promising young players plenty of game time. The big three from 2022, Shane Walsh, Damien Comer and Cillian McDaid, are all due back at various stages but Rob Finnerty has been thriving up front and Cian Hernon has impressed in defence. Stand to equal the five-in-a-row provincial titles record.<\/p>\n

3 Armagh (6)\"CianCian McConville of Armagh in action against Galway at Breffni Park in June. Photograph: James Lawlor\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Ulster still looks between them and Donegal. Survived a league, conducted without a string of established players, such as Rory Grugan, Aaron McKay and Barry McCambridge. Further, Rian O\u2019Neill, Stefan Campbell and Niall Grimley have all stepped away. Crossmaglen\u2019s Cian McConville and Ois\u00edn O\u2019Neill have been firing and Armagh\u2019s kick-out retention would have been impressive even under the old rules.<\/p>\n

2 Donegal (1)\"Donegal'sDonegal’s Michael Langan and Kerry\u2019s Armin Heinrcih in the 2026 Division 1 final. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

Could the league have gone any better for Jim McGuinness after the All-Ireland disappointment? Showed Kerry what it\u2019s like to have off days. New faces brought in, most dramatically, Max Campbell in Croke Park. Form of Finbarr Roarty, Michael Langan and Conor O\u2019Donnell excellent and Shaun Patton, Ois\u00edn Gallen, Ciar\u00e1n Moore and Daire \u00d3 Baoill to return. In great shape.<\/p>\n

1 Kerry (2)\"Kerry'sKerry’s David Clifford scores a goal against Donegal in the Division 1 final. Photograph: James Crombie\/Inpho <\/p>\n

That thrashing by Donegal will be a good reset for Jack O\u2019Connor\u2019s team. Yet to return are All Stars Shane Ryan, Gavin White and Paudie Clifford. Se\u00e1n O\u2019Shea and David Clifford were electric in Croke Park last summer but, starved of ball, fairly unplugged in the league final. Despite that off-day, fully mustered, they are the best team around.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"33 New York (final NFL standing N\/A)New York and Galway in last year’s Connacht quarter-final in Gaelic Park,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[30883,6937,20803,1964,17769,6342,2179,110979,61,60,100935,4185,14610,90225,112,60860],"class_list":{"0":"post-392956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-galway-gaa","9":"tag-kerry-gaa","10":"tag-armagh-gaa","11":"tag-cork-gaa","12":"tag-derry-gaa","13":"tag-donegal-gaa","14":"tag-dublin-gaa","15":"tag-football-championship","16":"tag-ie","17":"tag-ireland","18":"tag-louth-gaa","19":"tag-mayo-gaa","20":"tag-meath-gaa","21":"tag-roscommon-gaa","22":"tag-sports","23":"tag-tyrone-gaa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392956","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=392956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}