The Kildare Senior Championship has spent the 2020s adorned in either blue or red but it was the re-ascension of the county’s most successful club that returned green to the ears of the Dermot Bourke Cup. Sarsfields beat Maynooth to return to the top of the mountain and bridge a seven-year gap between the club’s Joe Mallon Motors SFC successes, much like they did in 2012.
The Sash last lifted the title in the year fires raged in Notre-Dame, the year astronomers captured the first image of a black hole and months before anyone knew the phrase Covid-19. Sarsfields have once again risen above the rest with Mayo-native Vinnie Walsh at the helm in the same year his county exorcised their long-held demons.
5. 1 November 2026; Ben McCormack of Sarsfields celebrates scoring a point during the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields Championship at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Ben McCormack of Sarsfields celebrates scoring a point during the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields at Cedral St Conleth's Park | SPORTSFILE
6. 1 November 2026; Matty Byrne of Sarsfields celebrates with his mother Anne after victory in the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields Championship at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Matty Byrne of Sarsfields celebrates with his mother Anne after victory in the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields at Cedral St Conleth's Park | SPORTSFILE
7. 1 November 2026; Flare smoke from flares on the terrace behind the goals before the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields Championship at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Flare smoke from flares on the terrace behind the goals before the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields | SPORTSFILE
8. 1 November 2026; Players in the parade before the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields Championship at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Players in the parade before the Kildare County Senior Club Football Championship final match between Maynooth and Sarsfields | SPORTSFILE