PREVIEW: Milltown and Larries among top contenders for Kildare Intermediate title

The always electric Kildare Intermediate Championship gets under way on Friday, August 7 with Ballyteague and Milltown raising the curtain on a competition that is never light on entertainment. Going all the way in The Short Grass County has also been a launching pad to provincial glory in each of the last three years with Sallins, Caragh and Allenwood all lifting Leinster Intermediate titles.

2025 was unusually one-note with Sallins romping through the National Electrical Wholesalers IFC field on their way to glory. Their promotion from this level opens things to a number of contenders once again. The new entrants are Confey from above and Leinster Junior champions Grangenolvin from below while St Kevin’s were the team to depart to the Junior ranks in their place.

Group A - Confey, Straffan, Suncroft, Leixlip

Round 1 - Leixlip v Suncroft, Conneff Park, August 8, 5pm

Round 1 - Confey v Straffan, Cedral St Conleth's, August 8, 5:15pm

Leixlip and Suncroft arrive at this meeting having had very different league campaigns with Suncroft languishing in Division 4 (and finishing third) while Leixlip reached a Division 2 final, where they lost out to Allenwood. Despite a league campaign of nine wins and a sole defeat, The Lip were decimated by injuries before and during their league final with Allenwood; losing Jack Barrett to a knee ligament injury ahead of the decider, while dual star Jack Travers and former county midfielder Tommy Moolick departed with, by all appearances, significant shoulder injuries before Ronan Fitzsimons was taken off in the closing minutes with what appeared to be yet another knee injury. If you were to ask a Leixlip supporter to name four men they would not want to lose ahead of their next run at Championship glory, you could easily hear all four the names mentioned. Their respective fitness and the extent of their presence this year will dictate whether Leixlip have any chance of finally getting over the line.

Suncroft’s ambitions have lay at the other end of the Intermediate Championship in recent years with survival the focus in the main. Their presence alongside Leixlip, newly-relegated from Senior side Confey and Straffan represents a stiff challenge for The Croft with their clash against the latter the most winnable on paper. However, an upset result against a depleted Leixlip has to be the target in this opening game.

Leixlip’s strength for the opening day looks bleak at the time of writing and Suncroft are often good value for one major win in this Championship, what a boost it would be to produce it in the first round. The Croft managed their group stage wins against Nurney and Monasterevan well in 2025 before producing their alluded to 1-16 to 1-7 victory over Ellistown to book a surprise quarter-final spot. A place like that will be harder to find from a tougher group this time around but hope springs eternal for The Croft ahead of Round 1 with Leixlip likely still favoured for this one.

Confey arrive off the back of their aforementioned relegation after they lost out to Allenwood in a dramatic play-off for the drop last year. Recent data suggest that the recently-relegated are not always poised for an immediate return with the likes of Round Towers and St Laurence's still plying their trade at Intermediate level. Confey’s mission had been about survival for some time and the switch of mentality needed to become a side in the ascendancy is the key to their prosperity this year. If the recently-relegated side have the player buy-in for an IFC run, they could be very dangerous with strong two-point shooters in their ranks and a depth of experience.

They face Straffan who have made Intermediate their home since JFC success in 2022 and, despite being viewed as third best in this group, pose problems for all three in Group A. Straffan will be hoping to test the mettle of the Championship newcomers in Round 1.

Group B - St Laurence’s, Round Towers, Monasterevan, Kilcullen

Round 1 - Kilcullen v Monasterevan, Cedral St Conleth's, August 8, 3:30pm

Round 1 - Round Towers v St. Laurence's, Cedral St Conleth's, August 9, 3:45pm

Kilcullen and Monasterevan meet in a game that leaves no opportunity to feel your way into this competition with both eyeing a win to try to check the box of relegation safety as soon as mathematically possible. The Barrowside Blues avoided the drop with an eight-point win over St Kevin’s in the 2025 relegation final after a dismal showing in the group stages alongside a weaker collection of teams than they will meet in ‘26. This Round 1 match could dictate the fate of both of these teams straight from the off.

Kilcullen produced a couple fine wins in their 2025 campaign with two points gained against future finalists St Laurence’s and soon-to-be relegated St Kevin’s, but were the ones to miss out on a knockout round spot with three teams tied on four points in Group C. They made little impression on Division 3 this year, slotting themselves right in the middle of the pack, but they will be eyeing this game as a must-win for them, regardless of their ambitions.

Beaten 2025 finalists St Laurence’s face Round Towers on the opening day and have built on their disappointment of losing out to a supreme Sallins side by putting together an impressive campaign in Division 1, where they picked up four wins and maintained their top-tier league status. Their strong start to the year has rightly put them to the forefront of conversations regarding potential favourites for this year’s Championship and their strong cohort of young talent, who have been spread across recent Kildare underage sides, will be raring to get them back to the big one.

Towers were relegated in 2022 and have not made the impact many thought they might on Intermediate football. The Kildare Town outfit were expected to get things back on track and disappointed last year with a lacklustre exit to Two Mile House. Their team contains the dazzling forward talents of Jay O’Brien as well as the tenacity of Kildare U20 joint-captain and Leinster champion at that level in 2026, Ben Ryan. It’s been below par from Round Towers in the IFC to this point and this first round game is the ultimate litmus test for their 2026 ambitions.

Group C - Milltown, Ballyteague, Nurney, Grangenolvin

Round 1 - Ballyteague v Milltown, Cedral St Conleth's, August 7, 7:45pm

Round 1 - Grangenolvin v Nurney, Manguard Park Pitch 1, August 8, 5pm

The 2026 curtain-raiser sees Championship contenders Milltown face Ballyteague in Round 1 of a group that the former will be looking to top. Milltown put together a fascinatingly impressive relegation campaign in 2026 as they narrowly missed out on Division 1 survival to county champions Athy on the final day. Their swashbuckling style could feasibly win or lose them any game at the top level with scoring galore at either end. Those experiences will stand to them against Intermediate opposition and in this championship they find themselves once again as one of the stronger outfits with a superb stable of young talent supported by reliable heads. They missed out at the semi-final stage in 2025 to eventual All-Ireland semi-finalists Sallins and a place in the decider (or even more) could be in the offing here.

Ballyteague meanwhile finished bottom of Group B in 2025 with their presence in a winner’s group under the old format already being enough to secure their safety. To their credit, it was somewhat of a group of deaths for The Larks, landing alongside Sallins, Casteldermot and Round Towers, who they beat in Round 1. Milltown seem strongest in Group C but Ballyteague will be gamely jostling for position alongside them with the other group members.

Those other group members are 2025 Leinster Junior champions Granegnolvin and Nurney who face off in Round 1. Nurney staved off relegation with a one-point group stage win over Monasterevan in 2025 and there is little to indicate that their goals will be any grander just yet. That said, Nurney reached a Division 3 final this year, narrowly being beaten by SFC outfit Kilcock, and looked much improved under Alan Jordan in 2026. Mikey Conway is still doing the business up front and even in moreso recently with the advent of the 40m arc a further boost to his impressive output. Nurney appear stronger than they have been in recent years but getting a firmer foothold in Intermediate remains the most important thing for them in 2026.

For Granegnolvin, the world is their oyster, a rollicking 2025 adventure that saw them achieve provincial glory has been carried into survival in the second-tier of the leagues with Intermediate Championship football now on the agenda. A fit and organised outfit with some reliable scorers sets them up well to tackle the Intermediate ranks. History is on their side too with none of the last five Kildare Junior Championship winners returning since, while 2020 winners Caragh are now a Senior outfit. They find themselves in the ideal scenario of a wide open group and will be targeting a previously struggling Nurney in their first outing. That opening round fixture will give huge confidence to whomever comes out on top.

Group D - Two Mile House, Ellistown, Rathangan, Castledermot

Round 1 - Castledermot v Two Mile House, Manguard Park Pitch 1, August 8, 6:30pm

Round 1 - Ellistown v Rathangan, Cedral St Conleth's, August 9, 2pm

Both Castledermot and Two Mile House finished second in their respective Intermediate Championship groups in 2025. The former moved on to face eventual finalists St Laurence’s who bounced back superbly from a shock final group stage round defeat to Kilcullen to progress. The House ended up in a preliminary quarter-final with Round Towers and upset the odds with Didider Cordonnier hitting six of their 13 points on route to victory. Cordonnier and his ability to slot frees from outside the arc and set-pieces in general is an enormous weapon to have in their arsenal, he hit another 13 as they cruised past Rathangan and into the final four. This group, like Group C, is a wide open collection of teams with all looking to get an early win on the board in what could be two enlightening Round 1 encounters.

Castledermot exited the 2025 IFC at the hands of eventual finalists St Laurence’s following an enthralling quarter-final, Larries edged past Castledermot 1-20 to 2-14 after extra time. After relegation from Division 2 in 2026, they continue to be an unknowable force headed in 2026 with the capability to both disappoint and delight.

Ellistown held their own in 2025 with a preliminary round win ensuring their safety and an eight-point beating of Straffan getting them to a prelim quarter-final, where they fell to Suncroft. They did however take a Round 1 hammering in 2025 to Round 1 opponents again in 2026, Rathangan. There is little to suggest the result will be different this time around with the games that follow being the key fixtures for Ellistown.

Rathangan arrive again as contenders with the moniker of ‘dark horse’ no longer apt for their pursuit of Senior Championship status. They will be raring to put things right this year after somewhat of a regression in 2025 after they were dumped out by Two mile House at the quarter-final stage. Freakish 13-point goalkeeping contributions aside, Rathangan only managed 1-10 in that game and will be looking to put down an early marker against Ellistown before they meet the side that sent them packing last year.

PREDICTION: Milltown