O'Byrne Cup specialists Longford face Westmeath
Round 1 local derby at Pearse Park on Saturday, throw-in 1.30pm
Generally regarded as the competition specialists in recent times after winning the trophy in 2020, 2023 and 2024, the Longford senior footballers are back in action in the Leinster pre-season tournament which was excluded from the packed GAA programme last season.
Providing the opposition in the opening round of the returning O’Byrne Cup at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park on Saturday (throw-1.30pm) are Westmeath with the neighbouring rivals set to clash again in the Leinster Championship in April.
It remains to be seen what sort of team will feature for Westmeath under the guidance of their new manager Mark McHugh, the former Donegal senior medal winner in 2012, and Longford boss Mike Solan may also decide to experiment in this useful exercise with a competitive edge.
A couple of newcomers, Liam Glennon (Carrickedmond) and Paddy Mollaghan (St Brigid’s Killashee), will surely get game time in the O'Byrne Cup while the return of the Slashers ‘hit man’ Daire O’Brien adds some physical strength to the squad.
Should Longford cross the first hurdle in the ‘warm up' competition, they will be at home in the quarter-final against the Leinster champions Louth on Wednesday night January 7.
No matter what happens, Solan’s side will be guaranteed at least two games in the build up to the start of the National League Division 4 away to Waterford on Saturday January 24th as the O’Byrne Shield will also go ahead in 2026.
O’Byrne Cup 2026
Saturday January 3
Round 1
1.Laois v Dublin
2. Wexford v Kildare
3. Carlow v Offaly
4. Wicklow v Meath
5. Longford v Westmeath
Wednesday January 7
Quarter-final
6. Winners Carlow/Offaly v Winners Wicklow/Meath
7. Winners Longford/Westmeath v Louth
Saturday January 10
Semi-Finals
- Winners Wexford/Kildare v Winners Laois/Dublin
- Winners Longford/Westmeath v Louth v Wicklow or Meath,
Carlow or Offaly
Final on TG4 - Friday January 16
Winners 8 v Winners 9
Games of 60 minutes duration (instead of 70).
If a game is level at the end of normal time, it’s “straight” to penalties
First named team have Home venue(s) including Final.
O’Byrne Senior Football Shield
- Loser CW/OY v Losers WX/KE
Semi-finals
- Winners 1 v Losers Laois/Dublin
- Losers Wicklow/Meath v Losers Longford/Westmeath
O’Byrne Shield Final on Friday January 16
Winners 2 v Winners 3