Louth Championship Preview: ​Intermediate set for wide open  campaign

This coming weekend sees the return of the Intermediate Football Championship, with the race for the Seamus Flood Cup looking as unpredictable and intriguing as ever.

​Starting on Friday (August 28), the Geraldines will begin their quest to make a quickfire return to the Senior Championship, when they take on St Brides in Group 3 of the IFC in Darver. The Knockbridge side are incidentally the team the Gers beat when they last won the Intermediate title in 2013.

The Gers, managed by Down native Ronan Sexton in his first season in charge, are arguably a potential favourite to make a return to the senior ranks at the first time of asking, having preserved their Division 1 league status earlier this year.

Their opponents, St Brides, are managed by Eamon O’Neill for the second year in a row.

Last year’s quarter finalists cemented their place in the top six in Division 2, despite a slow start, and with a number of talented forwards at their disposal, will fancy their chances of pushing hard for a first Intermediate title since 2020.

Lying in wait for the winners of this clash will be Clan na Gael, managed by former Joe Ward winning player, Stefan White, in his first season at the helm.

Despite playing in Division 3 this year, write off Clan na Gael at your peril, with the Dundalk side capable of producing it when it matters most, having shown that last year, following their run to the IFC semi finals, a run which included impressive wins over Kilkerley Emmets and the Glen Emmets in the process.

On the face of it, this group seems very difficult to call, with all three sides capable of pinching a result off each other, with the fact that they were operating at Division 3 this year, making the Clans slight underdogs to progress from this group.

The next instalment from the Intermediate section comes the following evening when the Glen Emmets take on the O’Raghallaighs in Darver at 6pm in Group 1.

The Glen Emmets may enter into this game as slight favourites, having enjoyed a fairly solid league campaign which saw them safe from relegation with plenty to spare.

The Tullyallen side managed by Kevin Barry again this year, are building a strong side, backed with a solid spine and scoring prowess. They will be keen to have another crack at this championship, having exited in disappointing fashion at the quarter finals stages last year.

Their opponents, the O’Raghallaighs are a side who continue to be one of the enigmas of Louth football. On their day, they are capable of putting it up to any team in this grade, and on the other, might struggle to raise a gallop.

Managed by former player, Graham Leech, the Drogheda side preserved their Division 2 league status, and will fancy their chances of another championship run, akin to the one which saw them reach the Intermediate decider in 2023.

The winners of this tie will take on last year’s finalists, Stabannon Parnells the following week.

A side who can count themselves rather unfortunate not to have won the Seamus Flood last season, Parnells should still be in a strong position to ruffle feathers once again.

Under the tutelage of a management team consisting of Shane Sweeney, Eamon Callaghan and Sean Halpenny, Parnells once again boast a squad capable of being there and there abouts in 2026.

Despite struggling to reach the heights of last year thus far, Parnells would still be favourites heading into this group, with the Glen Emmets and O’Raghallaighs possibly battling it out for second place.

Coming up on Sunday (30 August), is the all-Drogheda affair between the Wolfe Tones and St Oliver Plunketts, the two previous winners of the Junior Championship.

Based on form and league standings, both sides could be seen as possible candidates for a relegation play off final, with the Tones seeking Division 3 promotion, coupled with the Plunketts’ relegation from Division 2 a few weeks ago.

The Mell outfit will be keen to put a difficult league campaign behind them when they take on the Tones in the Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda at 4pm on Sunday.

Once again under the guidance of Emmet Kelleher and coach Darren Moore, who has also previously coached the Tones, the Plunketts’ season had been largely hampered by injuries to key players, including a number of stars from last year’s JFC success.

Hopeful of seeing a number of them returning, the Plunketts will be seeking to produce a big performance when they take on the Tones.

As for the Tones, who are coached by Stamullen natives, Martin Byrne and Daithi White, they have had another impressive domestic season, which could yet end in promotion out of Division 3 via the play offs.

This is a group which they will surely feel is a lot more negotiable than last year, having drawn the Sean O’Mahonys, who went on to reach the semi-final, and eventual winners, Hunterstown Rovers in 2025.

The winner of this clash will face Kilkerley Emmets, a side who are favourites to top this group.

Having delivered a disappointing showing last year, which saw them exit the championship via the group stages, Emmets will be hoping for a stronger run in this year’s championship.

Managed by local clubman Donal McElroy in his first season charge, Emmets have some exciting young players, who have shown promise during the league, as well decent championship experience, that have tasted success at this level already, having won the Seamus Flood Cup in 2015, and reached the final again in 2019.

If they top this group as expected, a semi final or possible final might not be out of reach for Kilkerley Emmets.

Earlier that day, Group 4 will begin with St Kevins taking on Mattock Rangers in Ardee at 2pm.

Having assured their status as a Division 1 team a few weeks back, Mattock Rangers ought to be in a good place heading into the championship, as they bid to win their first Intermediate title since 2019, and aim to go one better than the previous two IFC seasons, which saw them lose out at the semi final stage in both.

Incidentally, in both semi final defeats, Mattock’s conquerors went on to triumph in the final, Dundalk Gaels in 2024, and Hunterstown Rovers last year in a thriller.

Managed by Fergus Flynn, Rangers possess a plenty of scoring talent, and experienced players to go one step further this time around, from a number of players who have shone at minor and under 20 level in recent years, to players who were part of that IFC success in 2019.

Collon’s opponents, St Kevins are managed by Terry McGinnis, who had coached the Phillipstown side last year, assisted former Glen Emmets manager, Ray Lambe.

Slowly but surely, the Kevins are getting more players back from the team which lined out in the Intermediate final in 2022, after a number of them transferred or went travelling abroad. The Kevins have a number of tricky forwards who can make life difficult for many teams, and were somewhat unfortunate to lose out to Hunterstown Rovers in the quarter-finals last year.

They will certainly need all hands-on deck if they are to progress from what is on paper a difficult group to face.

The winners of that clash in Ardee will face the Sean O'Mahony's the following week, managed by former Wolfe Tones boss, John Garvey, who deserves a lot of credit for his exploits during his tenure with the Drogheda side, when he guided them to that Junior Championship victory in 2024, and Intermediate survival last year.

The O’Mahonys are another team who will feel they should advance from this group, having reached the last four in each of the last three seasons.

The Dundalk side still include a number of players from the side that won Intermediate and Senior championships between 2014 and 2016, along with several young, talented players coming through.

Who would bet against the men from the Quay having another day in the sun?

The Intermediate Championship has historically proven to be a tricky one to figure out when it comes to predictions, and it appears 2026’s instalment should not prove to be any different, as it could simply come down to a team who catch a run of form at the right time, just as likely as one of the Division 1 teams delivering.