NEW kings of Carbery junior A football will be crowned this season, but who will it be?
The draws for the various Carbery junior football and hurling championships were made at the board meeting and threw up some very promising clashes.
The Bandon Co-op junior A football championship consists of 16 teams, divided into four groups. This season’s draw was of extra interest as the reigning champions, Kilmacabea, went on to win the county title and promotion to the county premier junior championship for 2026.
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Beaten finalists St Mary’s will play in Roinn 1 with Argideen Rangers, Castlehaven and Newcestown. The team that came within a kick of knocking out Kilmacabea in the semi-final last season, after extra time in a thriller, Kilbrittain, will face Carbery Rangers, Kilmeen and Randal Óg. Kilbrittain will still be on a high after their great All-Ireland hurling win and will be fancied to at least qualify from their group.
The other beaten semi-finalist, and perennial contenders, Tadhg MacCárthaigh, will face tough opposition in Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas who were beaten finalists in 2024, St Oliver Plunkett’s and St James, who will be determined to make up for an unexpected early exit last season.
Goleen, who did exceptionally well in their inaugural junior A season in 2025, will play 2023 champions Barryroe, Ballinascarthy and St Colum’s.
The top two from each group will qualify for the knock-out quarter-finals.
Bandon Co-op Junior A Football Championship 2026: Roinn 1 – St Mary’s, Argideen Rangers, Castlehaven, Newcestown; Roinn 2 – Kilbrittain, Carbery Rangers, Kilmeen, Randal Óg; Roinn 3 – Tadhg MacCárthaigh, Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas, St Oliver Plunkett’s, St James; Roinn 4 – Barryroe, Goleen, Ballinascarthy, St Colum’s. The group stages order of play is: Round 1, A v D and B v C; Round 2, A v C and B v D; Round 3, A v B and C v D.
At the Carbery GAA draws were Michael O'Driscoll, Head of Retail Bandon Co-op, sponsors of the football championships, and David Whyte, Carbery GAA chairman with the Mick McCarthy Cup. (Photo: Paddy Feen)
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The RCM Tarmacadam junior A hurling championship has 12 teams, divided into three groups with four teams in each. Each team plays three games.
Ballinascarthy are the reigning champions and will be attempting to win their fifth title in eight years, an outstanding record of consistency. They are long overdue a county title win and will take great heart from Kilmacabea’s county win. They will be fancied to qualify from a group with Dohenys, St Colum’s and Kilbrittain.
Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas, champions in 2024, will be fancied to recover from semi-final defeat by Bal last season, and their group includes 2023 champions Clonakilty, Randal Óg minus their Cork player Seán Daly this season, and Bandon. Kilbree were highly impressive in last year’s championship before falling to a three-point defeat by Bal in the final. They face three tough games against Newcestown, St Mary’s and St James.
The top two from each group qualify for the play-offs, the best two qualifiers going directly into the semi-finals and the next four playing two quarter-finals.
RCM Tarmacadam Junior A Hurling Championship 2026: Roinn 1 – Kilbree, Newcestown, St Mary’s, St James; Roinn 2 – Diarmuid Ó Mathúnas, Randal Óg, Clonakilty, Bandon; Roinn 3 – Ballinascarthy, Dohenys, St Colum’s, Kilbrittain. The group stages order of play is – Rd 1, A v D and B v C; Round 2, A v C and B v D; Round 3, A v B and C v D.
JJ McCarthy, RCM Tarmacadam Ltd, sponsors of the hurling championships, and David Whyte, with the Flyer Nyhan Cup. (Photo: Paddy Feen)
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The Bandon Co-op junior B football championship consists of ten teams and is run on a single league system, each team playing three games. The top six from the ten teams qualify for the play-offs.
The reigning champions are Dohenys and they have been allowed to remain in the same grade this season. Beaten finalists Newcestown were promoted in their stead.
Clonakilty were favourites to win the championship in 2025 but were surprisingly beaten by Newcestown in the semi-final. Clon and Dohenys will meet in Round 3.
Clann na nGael and Muintir Bháire are the only two first teams involved in this championship and no team was relegated from junior A at the end of 2025 because of Kilmac’s success in the county.
Bandon Co-op Junior B Football Championship 2026: A. Clann na nGael; B. Muintir Bháire; C. Bandon; D. Clonakilty; E. Gabriel Rangers; F. St James; G. Ilen Rovers; H. O’Donovan Rossa; I. Dohenys; J. Bantry Blues. Round 1 – A v B, C v D, E v F, G v H, I v J. Round 2 – A v E, B v C, G v F, D v I, H v J. Round 3 – A v J, E v I, D v F, C v G, B v H.
The top six teams qualify for the play-offs. The top two go directly into the semi-finals and the next four into two quarter-finals.
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The RCM Tarmacadam junior B hurling championship consists of seven teams. It will be run on the same system as the junior B football, a single league group, but each team will play four games over five rounds because of the odd number of teams.
The reigning champions are Bantry Blues, who beat Bandon by three points in the final, having previously won the title in 2023. They were allowed to remain in junior B this season. In the semi-finals, Bantry beat a strong Gabriel Rangers’ side, while Bandon accounted for Barryroe. Bantry will play Kilbree, St Oliver Plunkett’s, who were relegated from junior A in 2025 and will be fancied to make a quick return to the top grade, Gabriel Rangers and Barryroe.
RCM Tarmacadam Junior B Hurling Championship 2026: A. Barryroe; B. St Oliver Plunkett’s; C. Bantry Blues; D. Kilbree; E. O’Donovan Rossa; F. Gabriel Rangers; G. Ballinascarthy. Round 1 – A v B, C v D, E v F, G a bye. Round 2 – A v E, B v C, G v F, D a bye. Round 3 – A v G, E v B, D v F, C a bye. Round 4 – B v D, E v G, F v C, A a bye. Round 5 – G v D and C v A. The top four qualify for two semi-finals, 1 v 4 and 2 v 3.
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The RCM Tarmacadam junior C hurling championship consists of only three teams and they will play each other in a round robin system, the top two qualifying for the final. There is still a possibility of Kilbrittain having a third team in this championship.
RCM Tarmacadam Junior C Hurling Championship 2026: Round 1 – Bandon v Clonakilty, Argideen Rangers a bye; Round 2 – Clonakilty v Argideen Rangers, Bandon a bye; Round 3 – Argideen Rangers v Bandon, Clonakilty a bye.
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The Bandon Co-op junior C football championship draw did not take place as entries are still being accepted for that championship.
On Tuesday night, the draws were carried out by David Whyte, Carbery Board Chairman; Michael O’Driscoll, Bandon Co-op, football sponsor; JJ McCarthy, RCM Tarmacadam, hurling sponsor; and Frank Long, Carbery Board president, under the guidance of board vice-chair Martina Burns.
