Competitive Roscommon LGFA championships on the horizon
By Kevin Egan
The tide is rising for Roscommon LGFA with senior championship football on the horizon for the flagship county team, but all thoughts of coming together to pull on the primrose and blue jersey will be pushed to the side for the next couple of months as the domestic club championships get underway in earnest.
Seven clubs are in the hunt to dethrone St. Brigid’s as the holders of the Marie McAleer Cup, and across the various Gaelic games codes and grades in Roscommon, there are few championship races as competitive as the John Keane Kia SFC.
A dreadful second half in the 2024 county final meant that the Kiltoom and Cam parish club had to wait a year for their ascension to the top of the pile, but their age profile is such that they are unlikely to take a step backwards anytime soon.
The return to full health of Kate Nolan and the strong form of their four players who saw action in Croke Park just over a week ago means that the spine of their team is as strong as ever with progressive young players all around. Edel Menton joins Moate native Niall Mackey on the sideline as they bid to start the season by justifying strong favouritism at home to a struggling Shannon Gaels team this Sunday.
However the potential challengers to Brigid’s crown are plentiful, and two of them will be on show when 2023 county champions Boyle travel to IFC champions and Division One league winners St. Barry’s this Sunday.
Boyle have Ruth Cox, Aisling Feely and the Wynne sisters all available for selection for the first time since they won the county title, and manager Kieran McKeon has a panel with strong performers in every sector.
How St. Barry’s handle the step up to senior game is an unknown as of yet, but the group of players that first came to prominence when they won an U-16 Division 1 championship five years ago are coming into their peak, and will bring no fear into any game.
St. Ciarán’s play host to Clann na nGael on Sunday as well, and on paper, St. Ciarán’s are live outsiders, albeit with perhaps a bit too much dependence on Ciara Dowd and Laura Fleming to carry their scoring load, while new Clann manager John Molloy will feel that he has all the tools at his disposal to really compete for a senior championship, particularly with Áine Connaughton in the form of her life and Jenny Higgins back in action for the club.
It remains to be seen if Molloy will be able to call on Athlone Town FC player Hope Glynn in the forward line but with Caoimhe Lennon and Róise Lennon in stellar form with the county, they still have enough firepower to be very competitive, particularly considering they could field a back division comprised entirely of current or former county stars if required.
Finally, it’ll be a meeting of dark horses in Ballaghaderreen between Éire Óg and St. Dominic’s. The visiting side have the depth and the physical profile to put themselves right in the championship shake up, particularly if Aoife Gavin and Aimee O’Connor can rediscover the form that saw them both selected for the county in the past. Éire Óg have consistently caused problems for the best club sides in the county, and their win in Knockcroghery last year proves that they can really test the Doms this week.
Aidan Connaughton takes over from Michael O’Connor at the helm of St. Dominic’s for the season and there is a strong sense that it’s time to final break through that ‘losing semi-finalist’ ceiling. No-one will match them for energy and physicality around the middle, so it’s how they fare in front of the posts that will determine their fate this year.
Pressure on Pearses’ shoulders
It might not be what they want to hear down around Woodmount, but they are seen as the champions in waiting in the Hannon’s Hotel IFC. If the old adage about needing to lose one in order to win one is true, then they’ve served their time, and a superb group of young players should realistically be even stronger in 2026 than they were a year ago.
John Whyte and his selectors are an astute group of club stalwarts who have worked with these players from a long way out, and they’ll know that there’s no avoiding the fact that they have the weight of expectation on their shoulders – and they will drive home the message to the players that this pressure stems from a county-wide recognition of the level of talent in the side.
Laura Glennon is the hottest attacking prospect in the county and she’s just one of a huge cohort of teenagers that is adding a sprinkling of magic to an already decent panel.
Moreover, it’s a tightly-bunched chasing pack, with every team needing to address a deficit somewhere. St. Croan’s have the power and quality in the middle third and they just need that cutting edge close to goal, which is the exact opposite of the situation in Division Three winners Michael Glaveys, who have county captain Helena Cummins in goal, Niamh Fleming and Sheila Brady scoring freely at the other end, but not necessarily the ball-winning ability in between those extreme ends of the field.
Kilbride have put a few very poor leagues back-to-back but they found their form late in last year’s championship, and the scoring power of Aisling Hanly papers over a lot of other cracks. Northern Harps have the raw talent but might need a year to find their feet at this grade, while Western Gaels endured a difficult campaign in 2025 and would have dropped to junior in normal circumstances, so retaining intermediate status might be a good year for them.
The Castlerea Vehicle Recycling JFC has already got underway with two eye-catching results, as Four Roads and Oran enjoyed comprehensive wins over Castlerea St. Kevin’s and Kilglass Gaels/Kilmore respectively. There’s still plenty of time to turn it around but St. Mary’s look like the team to beat based on last year’s championship and league form, while St. Faithleach’s weren’t that far off in 2025, and St. Michael’s/St. Ronan’s will bounce happily into this campaign, on the back of their historic first ever championship win last year.