So how might things look in League 2026?
Heading into the penultimate round of this year's National Hurling League, it’s time to throw a guess as to how things might be looking after promotion and relegation matters are settled.
Let’s starts with Division 1B, the most exciting league for me this year in terms of results and big turnovers. After five rounds did anyone honestly think the only two unbeaten teams would be Offaly and Carlow?
Carlow have played two games fewer than Offaly due to a break week and a postponed fixture with Laois but I expect them to win that re-fixed game against their near neighbours.
Offaly on the other hand haven't had a break in five weeks. They have been asked questions in games and they have had answers for nearly all those questions. They are almost guaranteed promotion to the top flight.
Promotion for Offaly would be well deserved and another indication of how well this group are going under the guidance of Johnny Kelly and a few Tipp lads helping out too.
It would be a massive achievement for all those involved in Offaly hurling. Only four years ago they were playing in the third tier of the hurling championship when they won the Christy Ring Cup and here they are now about to be competing in the top hurling league and playing in the Liam MacCarthy.
Winning an All-Ireland Under-20 hurling title last year after getting to an All-Ireland Minor final in 2022 with the same group is definitely helping the progress move along so quickly. Players like Dan Bourke, Dan Ravenhill, James Mahon, Donal Shirley, Colin Spain, Cathal King and of course Adam Screeney, who still has to appear in the 2025 season due to an injury, these are the most exciting group of Offaly hurlers since, dare I say it, the 90’s.
They are a generational talent for Offaly hurling and whilst much is expected of them, the weight of this expectation seems to sit lightly on these young men’s’ shoulders. They have helped get Offaly back to the top table but it would not have been possible without some of the stalwarts like Brian Duignan, Ben Conneely, Eoghan Cahill and more.
So the blend of youth and experience within this group makes for exciting times ahead for Uibh Fhailí this year and beyond.
So how is 1B shaping up? Well for me it’s looking like the final now will be contested by Waterford and Offaly.
Waterford’s next game is against Westmeath and their final game against Offaly, who you’d imagine with most likely being qualified by then, will use this as a rest week for many of their big guns before prepping for a National League final two weeks later.
At the other end of the table I think the relegation could all but be decided this week in Ballycastle where Antrim take on Laois.
Antrim are currently on three points with five games played. This is it for them in terms of league so nothing will be held back by the Saffron men, particularly with them playing in Ballycastle.
Laois are on two points but will have two more games to play after this weekend against Carlow and Dublin. However, I don’t see them winning either of those games so this will be all-in for them. This one has the potential to be the game of the weekend with a championship-like feel to it and both groups really believing they can win.
Given the venue, what’s on the line for both groups, the recent form shown by Davy Fitz’s men in drawing with Carlow last week and the fact that Laois have not played in nearly a month due to a break week and a postponed fixture, I think this game is coming at the perfect time for Antrim. They can send out another message that they are getting better and put down a big marker with their best performance of the year in Ballycastle.
That would all but see Laois and Westmeath going down to Division Two for 2026 as I do not see Seoirse Bulfin's men getting anything form both of their games against Waterford and Carlow, which they absolutely must to even have a sniff at survival.
The team to keep watching are Waterford as they are growing stronger by the week with the return of big players and key men all around the field. It is clear to see the improvements in their performances and how they are trying to play as a result of these players returning.
Waterford will take confidence from victory against Dublin last week and should have a great buzz about training this week which is something you just cannot underestimate. It has taken a while for them to get going, but things are getting better for Waterford and maybe it’s all coming together with perfect timing for them.
In Division 1A, Clare’s resurgence last week in the Gaelic Grounds will make this a very interesting last couple of weeks.
Clare are still rooted to the bottom of the table due to the head-to-head with Wexford but have an extra game left to play as Wexford take a rest week in preparation for Limerick in three weeks’ time.
Getting a result against Limerick is not something you want to be banking on as we see more and more of their big guns returning so things could already be out of Wexford’s hands now in terms of their destiny for league hurling in 2026.
They will be praying the Banner get nothing out of the Cork game in Ennis or the Tipp game in Thurles afterwards but like Waterford we have seen the gradual return of the big guns for Clare and a clear improvement in performance in the Gaelic Grounds last week.
I heard a great quote from a Clare friend once who said that a 50-50 ball in Cusack Park is a Clare ball every single time. I liked that one and I am sure these boys will be reminded of that before throw in against Cork this Sunday and how non-evident this was against Wexford a few weeks previously in a performance that they said themselves had let people down.
I am expecting a big display from Brian Lohan’s men this weekend and for them to get those two points that they so badly need to fight their way out of the relegation battle. This would take Clare up to four points, one ahead of Limerick and level with Kilkenny.
I believe Limerick will win at home against Galway and I think the Tipp boys are well rested and absolutely busting for road for their game. But this is a road that many Tipp teams found hard travelled through the years, down to Nowlan Park to face the old enemy.
Kilkenny will feel they could have got something out of the game in Páirc Uí Chaoimh and they know that they won’t want to be leaving it until next week for their rescheduled game against Limerick to be guaranteeing safety. It will be a case of all-in here for Derek Lyng and I expect him to name his strongest team of the year for this clash.
Liam Cahill should do likewise, as he has done for every game thus far. He is not hiding the fact that the best in form play on the day - you play well you get another chance the next day and it will be up to someone else to take that jersey off you.
Like Ballycastle in Division 1B, I think Nowlan Park could serve up the game of the weekend in the top division in terms of atmosphere and intensity. Here’s hoping the Tipp lads can continue their recent vein of form and get this job done but it’s going to be a tough one. Like a deaf dog, it's too hard to call.
If I had to call it right now for a top two and bottom two in Division 1A for 2025, I would very boldly predict a Limerick v Tipp final, with the bottom two being Wexford and perhaps, if things don’t go their way this weekend they could be joined by Kilkenny.
People may doubt ask 'what are you on about McGrath?' once again when it comes to Kilkenny, but if Tipp win down in Nowlan Park this weekend that would mean the Cats needing to beat or draw with Limerick as they have lost the head-to-head with Clare. If they both had the same points it would be Kilkenny to lose out.
We have often criticised the league but looking at the permutations it’s going to make for a great couple of weeks hurling all around the country. I’m in Ennis on Sunday and if it all goes wrong with these predictions I will be popping into Dunnes afterwards to pick up a hat, scarf and sunglasses to hide myself for a while.
Finally like many others I would like to send my sincere condolences to those GAA families that have lost loved ones over the past week.
Some we are well aware of, Ray Ryan from Sarsfields in Cork, who is a tragic loss to all who knew him and what a credit his brother Pat was to all his family on Saturday night to even make it to the game let alone speak afterwards.
Also this week a great producer of all things radio and the coolest man under pressure you will ever come across, Barry O’Neill, laid his dad Owen to rest in Ballyshannon.
In Offaly last Sunday, Ben Conneely left the funeral of his grandfather Michael early so he could hurl for his county. When asked afterwards about it Ben said: "He was a mad GAA man, he’d have been mad if I didn’t come."
In Limerick former stalwarts TJ and Donie Ryan from the famed Garryspillane club took their mother Esther to her final resting place.
There is more to life than the GAA but when the need is most and the times are toughest it will be the GAA community who are there with a wise word, a shoulder to lean on, a shovel to help dig the grave or simply a cup of tea.
To all these families and friends the bed of heaven to your loved ones. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anamacha.
