BY RYAN FERRY
DONEGAL star Eoin McHugh says the Ulster Championship remains a valuable currency for the senior county footballers and they will be striving for an elusive three in-a-row this season.
Donegal have won the last two Anglo Celt Cups, beating Armagh in dramatic finishes, and on both occasions there were wonderful scenes after the match.
However, while the 2025 success was hugely memorable, Donegal did pick up injuries and lost out to a fresh Tyrone team in their first group game in the All-Ireland Series two weeks later.
There will be a new format for the 2026 All-Ireland SFC which will comprise of 16 teams, the eight provincial finalists and the highest ranked Allianz League finishers, and 2025 Tailteann Cup winners with no round robin series.
Eight Round One winners advance to Round 2A with the losers going to Round 2B. The four Round 2A winners will qualify for the quarter-final stage. Round 2A losers will meet Round 2B winners in Round 3 (preliminary quarter-final).
It’s hoped that there will be more of a sense of jeopardy than there was over the last two years and there are plenty of teams who will think they can go deep into the championship if things open their way.
There will also be plenty to play for in April/May and the provincial championships were given a shot in the arm when Dublin were finally beaten in Leinster last term.
It should be another good Leinster campaign in ’26 but as always, the battle for Ulster glory will dominate the focus and Kilcar ace McHugh, pictured below, feels it still remains a real source of motivation for his team.
“I think it is. We take great pride in it here in Donegal and in Ulster alone we take great pride in our provincial. It’s something that’s special to everyone here in Donegal and across Ulster. You see the reaction of the players and the fans and the managers.
“It means a hell of a lot to us and it’s important to keep that alive.
“It’s its own bubble for the start of the Championship because everybody is invested in it because there is so many top teams in it and it’s really hard to win and I think that’s what makes it so special, nobody has a God given right to win it every year and there is nobody at the start of the year that can say they’re definitely going to win Ulster. It just doesn’t happen and that’s what makes it so special.
“We definitely don’t take it for granted as players, winning Ulster Championships.”
Donegal will host Down in the quarter-final in April.
Jim McGuinness’s men beat the Mourne county by six points in the Ulster semi last year but they went on to impress in the All-Ireland series beating Clare and Louth and then almost knocking out Galway in Newry.
“They’ve been really up and coming for the last few years with Conor Laverty in charge of them and we saw what they were about in the Ulster Semi-final last year.
“It was a tough game and we were lucky to get across the line. We saw then how they went about their business in the rest of the All Ireland Series. They’re a good outfit and they’re another team chasing for an Ulster Championship. They’re going to come out all guns blazing and think ‘why not us this year and why isn’t it our turn’.
“You can go back to three years ago when they beat Donegal in the Ulster Championship and they’ll be saying why not? So it’s important we have our heads screwed on for it.”
