NFL Division Four: Wicklow and Longford chasing promotion, with Carlow and Antrim in the mix
AntrimManager: Mark Doran (1st season).Main man: Dominic McEnhill.2025 league: Were ambling along reasonably well in Division Three but lost their last three games to fall through the trapdoor.Last Division Four title: 2021 (Shared with Louth).READ MOREKilmacud Crokes table motion seeking to end Allianz sponsorship of National LeaguesTipperary hurlers reminded us why the past is more powerful than the futureNot only was Dingle’s name on the cup, how it had to be won was also ordainedShea Malone shines in Donegal McKenna Cup win, Cork seal precious Killarney triumphOutlook: Mark Doran has come on board for his first intercounty managerial gig after bouncing around the backrooms of Wicklow and Roscommon. The former Slaughtneil boss says he has contacted around 90 players, 87 of whom want to play for Antrim. Should be able to make a middling team out of that.Opening fixture: v Carlow, Sunday, Toomebridge, 2pm.Prediction: 4th.CarlowManager: Joe Murphy (2nd season).Main man: Ross Dunphy.2025 league: Fourth in Division Four. Started okay, finished well but sagged badly in the middle with a run of three defeats. Their three wins came against the bottom three teams in the table.Last Division Four title: Never won it.Outlook: Joe Murphy’s first full season is off to a reasonable start, with Carlow winning the O’Byrne Cup Shield, their first piece of silverware in 16 years. The return of Darragh Foley is a boost, Carlow’s all-time top scorer having been coaxed out of retirement by Murphy. Should be in the promotion shake-up.Opening fixture: v Antrim, Sunday, Toomebridge, 2pmPrediction: 3rd.LeitrimManager: Stephen Poacher (2nd season).Main man: Ryan O’Rourke.2025 league: Lost six games in Division Three, forfeited the other and were relegated with a points difference of -99, the worst of any team since Kilkenny last entered the league in 2012.Last Division Four title: Never won it.Outlook: Feels like Leitrim are constantly starting again. Major turnover of players, with Poacher pretty up front about the fact that there’s a cohort of Leitrim footballers he can’t get to commit. Young squad, with a decent batch of under-20s coming through. But it might get worse before it gets better.Opening fixture: v Wicklow, Sunday, Aughrim, 2pm.Prediction: 6th.LondonManager: Michael Maher (7th season).Main man: Shay Rafter.2025 league: A promising start to Division Four with wins over Wicklow and Tipperary but it all fizzled out with defeats to Carlow and Waterford.Last Division Four title: Never won it.Outlook: For once, they’ve had a preseason, coming over for FBD games against Sligo and Leitrim. They even won the FBD Plate, albeit against a second-string Leitrim side. It’s always a Sisyphean struggle though – no good reason this year should be any different.Opening fixture: v Tipperary, Sunday, Ruislip, 1pm.Prediction: 7th.Dessie Reynolds (Longford) and Niall Hickey (Carlow). Photograph: Ashley Cahill/Inpho LongfordManager: Mike Solan (2nd season).Main man: Dessie Reynolds.2025 league: Finished sixth in Division Four as an initially promising campaign fell apart with double-digit defeats to Carlow and Wexford.Last Division Four title: 2025.Outlook: Will be expecting a bit of a bounce in Solan’s second year. Daire O’Brien and Joseph Hagan return to the squad and Solan has brought in Joe Keane and Kieran Lillis as coaches. Four home fixtures will help.Opening fixture: v Waterford, Saturday, Dungarvan, 2.30pm.Prediction: 2nd.TipperaryManager: Niall Fitzgerald (1st season).Main man: Paudie Feehan.2025 league: Unbeaten after three matches – and then lost four in a row to finish fifth in the basement division. That run included a home defeat to London and a heavy defeat to Wicklow, who played most of the game with 14 men.Last Division Four title: 2014.Outlook: Still picking themselves up after the brutal shock of a winter in which their manager Philly Ryan died suddenly. Hard to see them raising much of a gallop.Opening fixture: v London, Sunday, Ruislip, 1pm.Prediction: 5th.WaterfordManager: Ephie Fitzgerald (1st season, 2nd stint).Main man: Conor Murray.2025 league: Finished dead bottom for the second year in a row. Did manage a win away to London but it was a fairly torrid time otherwise.Last Division Four title: Never won it.Outlook: Ephie Fitzgerald has been lured back for a second spell – a McGrath Cup massacre at Kerry’s hands prompted Fitzgerald to have a pop at the clubs in Waterford for their attitude to football. So you wouldn’t say it’s off to a promising start.Opening fixture: v Longford; Saturday, Dungarvan, 2.30pmPrediction: 8th.WicklowManager: Oisín McConville (3rd season).Main man: Dean Healy.2025 league: Finished third. Ultimately, they only missed out on promotion because of a careless defeat away to London early in the campaign. Should be well-warned this time around.Last Division Four title: 2012.Outlook: Came through some nail-biters last summer to make the last four of the Tailteann Cup. After a couple of seasons of green shoots under McConville, this is the year to bloom. With no mid-range team slumming it in Division Four, promotion is a real possibility.Opening fixture: v Leitrim, Sunday, Aughrim, 2pm.Prediction: League champions.
