Louth Junior Football Championship 2026 - DKIT Sport

What to Expect

The DKIT Sport Junior Football Championship is the first of Louth’s three adult club championships to throw in for 2026, starting on Saturday 15 August. Fourteen clubs are split across four groups. Group 1 has Naomh Malachi, Annaghminnon Rovers and Cuchulainn Gaels. Group 2 has Westerns, Glyde Rangers and St Nicholas. Group 3 is a four-team section of Lann Léire, Dowdallshill, Dundalk Young Irelands and O’Connells, and Group 4 carries Na Piarsaigh Blackrock, Sean McDermotts, John Mitchels and Naomh Fionnbarra. The trophy is the Christy Bellew Cup, won in 2025 by Oliver Plunketts after a replay against Glyde Rangers. Plunketts have gone up to the intermediate grade, so the 2026 field starts without a defending champion.

Round 1 runs over three days. Naomh Malachi play Annaghminnon Rovers at Páirc de Róiste at 5:00 PM on Saturday 15 August, and Na Piarsaigh Blackrock meet Sean McDermotts at the Cullen Auto Parts Louth GAA Training Centre in Darver at 7:30 PM the same evening. Sunday 16 August has three games: Lann Léire against Dowdallshill at Shawport Páirc Mac Diarmada at 2:00 PM, Dundalk Young Irelands against O’Connells at Páirc Uí Taibh at 4:30 PM, and John Mitchels against Naomh Fionnbarra at Páirc Baile Fiach at 7:00 PM. Westerns close the round against Glyde Rangers at Darver at 8:00 PM on Monday 17 August. Cuchulainn Gaels and St Nicholas sit out Round 1 and enter in Round 2 against the winners.

Good to Know

• Round 1: Saturday 15 August to Monday 17 August 2026, throw-ins between 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM depending on the game
• Round 2 falls on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August, Round 3 on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August
• Championship games in Louth are ticketed through the Clubspot app rather than paid at a turnstile, so buy before you travel
• Round 1 venues: Páirc de Róiste, the Louth GAA Training Centre at Darver, Shawport Páirc Mac Diarmada, Páirc Uí Taibh and Páirc Baile Fiach
• Fixtures, throw-in times and postponements are posted at louthgaa.ie, usually two to three weeks ahead
• Louth GAA’s championship show, The Dressing Room, previews and reviews the action every Wednesday, free on the county board’s YouTube channel and Clubber TV

Getting There

Venues change with every fixture, so check the ground listed for your game at louthgaa.ie before setting off. The Cullen Auto Parts Louth GAA Training Centre at Darver, which hosts two of the six Round 1 games, is signposted from the R171 between Dundalk and Ardee and has the largest car park of the venues in use. The other Round 1 grounds are club pitches in the Dundalk and mid Louth area, most of them within half an hour of Dundalk town and Clarke Station. Parking at club grounds is on grass and fills quickly for a championship tie.