Offaly footballers get favourable league draw as hurlers face into tough campaign

OFFALY senior footballers have received a favourable draw in the 2026 National Football League Division 2 while the hurlers' schedule in Division 1A of the National Hurling League is every bit as tough as expected.

Both teams performed very well to win promotion last year and both face big challenges to retain their status in the higher division.

The hurlers are back in the top division and face all of the country's best hurling teams. They will be the early favourites for the drop back and it will be a huge bonus if they manage to stay up.

The draft league fixtures have been released to counties and have been circulated to team managements and other personnel, though there could be some amendments before they are finalised.

The hurlers have three home and three away games and they begin their campaign away to Kilkenny on Sunday, January 25. They follow this up at home to All-Ireland champions Tipperary, away to Waterford, at home to Galway and Limerick and away to Cork. They play three successive weekends before they have a break on the weekend of February 14/15 while they have a two week gap from Sunday, March 1 to their final game in Cork on March 21 as their bye falls in that. All of the hurlers' home games have been fixed for O'Connor Park in Tullamore.

There is only one clash of fixtures between footballers and hurlers with the footballers also opening their campaign on Sunday, January 25 with a home clash against Louth. The draw has been kind to the footballers and gives them a fighting chance of staying up. They have four of their seven fixtures at home – that is a big advantage and the big take from this is that two of their toughest games, against the Ulster teams of Derry and Tyrone, are away on successive weekends on February 21 and 28. Offaly would be big underdogs for these games at home and the four games they have in O'Connor Park, against Louth, Cork, Cavan and Meath, can all be targeted for wins – even if it is unlikely that they will win all four of them.

Offaly's other away game is against Kildare in Newbridge and they won't fear this in the slightest as they beat them twice last year in the league and just barely lost out to them in the Tailteann Cup quarter-final.

Offaly's three away games in Kildare, Derry and Tyrone are all Saturday evening floodlight fixtures. It is a busy schedule with Louth at home and Kildare away before they have a weekend off on February 7-8. They then have Cork at home and those away games in Derry and Tyrone before another weekend off on March 7-8 and then they finish off with home games against Cavan and Meath.

National Hurling League Division 1A

Sunday, January 25 – Kilkenny v Offaly, Nowlan Park 2pm

Sunday, February 1 – Offaly v Tipperary, O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, February 8 – Waterford v Offaly, Walsh Park, Waterford 1.45pm

Sunday, February 22 – Offaly v Galway, O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, March 1 – Offaly v Limerick, O'Connor Park 2pm

Saturday, March 21 – Cork v Offaly, Pairc Ui Caoimh 7pm

SEE NEXT: The Offaly Senior Hurling Championship Team of the Year 2025

National Football League Division 2

Sunday, January 25 – Offaly v Louth, O'Connor Park 2pm

Saturday, January 31 – Kildare v Offaly, Newbridge 6pm

Sunday, February 15 – Offaly v Cork, O'Connor Park 2pm

Saturday, February 21 – Derry v Offaly, Celtic Park, Derry 6pm

Saturday, February 28 – Tyrone v Offaly, Healy Park, Omagh 6pm

Sunday, March 15 – Offaly v Cavan, O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, March 22 – Offaly v Meath, O'Connor Park 1.30pm