2025 AIB Ulster Club Football Senior Championship

[general_lee]

There are two division 3 teams in the Junior final this year though so don't expect much from Ulster campaign his year haha.

Don't worry a quick look at the Ulster IFC/JFC thread shows Donegal and Derry once again cooking the books.

We're doing the opposite by persisting with 16 teams in the senior championship.
Happy to be proven wrong but i don't think either our intermediate or junior winners will be overly strong this year in Ulster.

Surely Glenullin will give it a rattle. Twice intermediate winners in the last 4 years and finished comfortably in Division 1.

If Derry is cooking the books in Intermediate and Junior, we need a new accountant

Exactly, never won Ulster junior and Steelstown the only Intermeidate winner in 10+ years if i remember correctly

Craigbane last year entered the Ulster Intermediate football league, played Division 2 in the Derry league but played in and won the Derry JFC. They beat a Division 1 Cavan team in the semi final of the Ulster JFC. They got beat by 1 point by a Division 2 Donegal team in the final.

[tiempo]

Cavan you stink

[GTP]

There are two division 3 teams in the Junior final this year though so don't expect much from Ulster campaign his year haha.

Don't worry a quick look at the Ulster IFC/JFC thread shows Donegal and Derry once again cooking the books.

We're doing the opposite by persisting with 16 teams in the senior championship.
Happy to be proven wrong but i don't think either our intermediate or junior winners will be overly strong this year in Ulster.

Surely Glenullin will give it a rattle. Twice intermediate winners in the last 4 years and finished comfortably in Division 1.

If Derry is cooking the books in Intermediate and Junior, we need a new accountant

Exactly, never won Ulster junior and Steelstown the only Intermeidate winner in 10+ years if i remember correctly

Craigbane last year entered the Ulster Intermediate football league, played Division 2 in the Derry league but played in and won the Derry JFC. They beat a Division 1 Cavan team in the semi final of the Ulster JFC. They got beat by 1 point by a Division 2 Donegal team in the final.

You have stated Derry are "once again" cooking the books, last years structure produced stronger intermediate and junior winners than previously due to a reduction in the number of senior teams. This has been reversed for 2025, league status and championship status are not linked, so without quoting league position what are you talking about?
 

[oakleaflad]

There are two division 3 teams in the Junior final this year though so don't expect much from Ulster campaign his year haha.

Don't worry a quick look at the Ulster IFC/JFC thread shows Donegal and Derry once again cooking the books.

We're doing the opposite by persisting with 16 teams in the senior championship.
Happy to be proven wrong but i don't think either our intermediate or junior winners will be overly strong this year in Ulster.

Surely Glenullin will give it a rattle. Twice intermediate winners in the last 4 years and finished comfortably in Division 1.

If Derry is cooking the books in Intermediate and Junior, we need a new accountant

Exactly, never won Ulster junior and Steelstown the only Intermeidate winner in 10+ years if i remember correctly

Craigbane last year entered the Ulster Intermediate football league, played Division 2 in the Derry league but played in and won the Derry JFC. They beat a Division 1 Cavan team in the semi final of the Ulster JFC. They got beat by 1 point by a Division 2 Donegal team in the final.

They were relegated from the Intermediate championship before that. I think it was Lissan that beat them in the playoff. If Derry actually put a third of its clubs in each championship you'd have clubs at least at that level every year. Craigbane in particular have a very good tradition in Ulster and seem to do well but they were playing at their appropriate level.

[Keyser soze]

Here, I have a great idea!!

From now on only clubs that aren't good enough to win the Junior or Intermediate Club competitions should be allowed to enter the respective competition!!

[general_lee]

This has been reversed for 2025, league status and championship status are not linked, so without quoting league position what are you talking about?

I'm talking about Glenullin who have won two of the last four Derry IFC titles and currently play in the top division of Derry club football still playing intermediate.

[jmcgdoire]

This has been reversed for 2025, league status and championship status are not linked, so without quoting league position what are you talking about?

I'm talking about Glenullin who have won two of the last four Derry IFC titles and currently play in the top division of Derry club football still playing intermediate.

So youre worried Glenullin are too good to be playing in Ulster Intermediate despite failing to even reach the final in their two recent campaigns? (never mind the fact they havent even won Derry intermediate yet this year).

Id also note that Derry accepted Drumsurns request for automatic relegation to intermediate championship next year. They were clearly the worst of the four teams in the relegation playoffs. If Derry were "cooking the books" surely they would prefer to roll the dice and hope one of the three superior teams end up getting relegated to Intermediate (while also pocketing a few £ by actually playing out the 3 relegation games).

[general_lee]

So youre worried Glenullin are too good to be playing in Ulster Intermediate despite failing to even reach the final in their two recent campaigns? (never mind the fact they havent even won Derry intermediate yet this year).

Not worried Glenullin are too good for anything, that's irrelevant - they should on merit be playing senior championship. 

They won your IFC in 2022 and retained it in 2023. Ballinderry won it last year (beating them well in the QFs). All the teams featured in those finals are or were in the 2025 SFC, except of course a team that won it twice, Glenullin.

[bennydorano]

Get the odd one that slips the net, Cullyhanna a case in point, a lot of money bet on them to win all round them the year they were in intermediate.

[GTP]

So youre worried Glenullin are too good to be playing in Ulster Intermediate despite failing to even reach the final in their two recent campaigns? (never mind the fact they havent even won Derry intermediate yet this year).

Not worried Glenullin are too good for anything, that's irrelevant - they should on merit be playing senior championship. 

They won your IFC in 2022 and retained it in 2023. Ballinderry won it last year (beating them well in the QFs). All the teams featured in those finals are or were in the 2025 SFC, except of course a team that won it twice, Glenullin.

Last year's intermediate semi-finalists got promoted to senior weakening intermediate in Derry. Glenullin did not get promoted as they went out at the quarter final stage as you have said. The criteria was NOT past success or league position so they are in intermediate on merit. At most it could be seen as a conspiracy to keep Glenullin out of Senior football, it is certainly not an attempt to make the intermediate or junior champions stronger for Ulster and the All Ireland.

[general_lee]

I appreciate that, why did the winners of the Derry IFC for 2022 and 2023 not enter the Derry SFC for the following year?

[oakleaflad]

I believe the first year was Covid related, no teams were promoted or relegated from anything.

Second year was a restructuring of the championships, which they essentially reversed by promoting the semi finalists last year.

Feel sorry for Glenullin if you like, they were hard done by, but Derry aren't cooking any books. In fact, as has been alluded to, we've too many teams in senior championship as it is.

[Wildweasel74]

You be doing done crying if Derry operated 12 team league like they should. I remember playing Ulster 7 against Drumgoon. Who just won the Junior All-Ireland and were promoted to the Cavan Division 1 league same year.We were a genuine Junior team playing a team 16/20+ places above us. Maybe u need look at Cavan and Monaghan over the past 15/20yrs.

[Easttyrone23]

There are two division 3 teams in the Junior final this year though so don't expect much from Ulster campaign his year haha.

Don't worry a quick look at the Ulster IFC/JFC thread shows Donegal and Derry once again cooking the books.

We're doing the opposite by persisting with 16 teams in the senior championship.
Happy to be proven wrong but i don't think either our intermediate or junior winners will be overly strong this year in Ulster.

Surely Glenullin will give it a rattle. Twice intermediate winners in the last 4 years and finished comfortably in Division 1.

I remember in 2022 hearing about how Galbally would be up against it vs a strong Glenullin team who had won 2 Derry intermediate titles in a row and had recently been a decent division 1 team. I think Galbally ended up winning by about 20 points scoring 7 goals in the process.

Youd know better than me but maybe glenullin are stronger now than they were back then but if not I couldn't see them getting close to the likes of clonoe or eglish in Tyrone.

[general_lee]

You be doing done crying if Derry operated 12 team league like they should. I remember playing Ulster 7 against Drumgoon. Who just won the Junior All-Ireland and were promoted to the Cavan Division 1 league same year.We were a genuine Junior team playing a team 16/20+ places above us. Maybe u need look at Cavan and Monaghan over the past 15/20yrs.

What have Monaghan done? Monaghan do it roughly the same as Tyrone and Armagh. Whoever wins their intermediate and junior will have been playing intermediate and junior teams all year. And when they win they'll play a higher grade the following year, not get another couple bites at the cherry