PREVIEW: Sallins need their best for All-Ireland semi-final with An Ghaeltacht

Sallins were crowned Leinster Intermediate Football champions after they dug deep to beat Westmeath’s Tubberclair in Cedral St Conleth’s Park on December 14. Provincial success was the story of the day but this group is viewed as a special one both in and out of Kildare. Their dominant surge through their own county and commanding wins in Leinster have earned them plenty of attention from more than just the interested locals. 

They now tackle an All-Ireland semi-final against An Ghaeltacht who secured their second Munster Intermediate crown in eight years with a seven-point victory over Aghabullogue (Cork) at Mick Neville Park, Rathkeale. The Leinster champions facing the Munster champions meant that more than likely Sallins were set to face a Kerry outfit with nine of the last 10 Munster IFC winners hailing from The Kingdom. The team’s meet on January 4 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh. 

Leinster teams have a dire record at this level of football with no side from the province winning an All-Ireland IFC title. Add to that only three final appearances in the time since the competition began in the 2003/04 season and it makes for damning reading for Leinster clubs. I’m not sure Sallins potentially breaking that mould would unify Leinster in celebration but it would most certainly be an enormous and lauded achievement in County Kildare.

After his side’s 2-11 to 2-4 win over Tubberclair in the Leinster final, Sallins manager Jonathan Daniels said: “No Kildare club has ever won a club (football) All-Ireland and, without speaking about it, it is something that has been in the back of our minds the last few weeks. It is something now that we’ll get our heads down for and try to get bodies right to have the best chance possible of putting a huge performance in at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.”

Whether it was verbalised or not, it was impossible not to wonder what Sallins could potentially do in an All-Ireland series, such was their quality, and now we are about to find out.

An Ghaeltacht

The Kerry Intermediate champions come armed and ready with massive pedigree in high level football, both in their current squad and their past. Sallins’ Leinster final marked the biggest win in the club’s history, but the same cannot be said of the Kerry side’s most recent provincial success. An Ghaeltacht have Kerry (2001 and ‘03) and Munster Senior Championships (‘03) wins in their backpocket, but have operated on the cusp in their county in recent years with Intermediate wins in 2017 and of course this year. The teams who lie between the very top of Intermediate football and the lower end of Senior in a competitive county are always enormous dangers in club competition.

The standout name for An Ghaeltacht is Kerry wing-back Brian Ó Beaglaíoch who, along with winning this year’s All-Ireland with his county, received an all-star for his tireless contributions to their success. Ó Beaglaíoch operates at centre-back for his club but brings the same threat of bursting runs and frightening pace to his game. The four-time All-Star nominee will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has watched Kerry in recent years with Ó Beaglaíoch galloping forward seemingly at every opportunity and, whether receiving possession or not, often creating space for those key Kerry shooters. The An Ghaeltacht star has been in the Kerry team since 2016 but his game has gone to another level in the last couple of years and plenty will have to be considered to attempt to manage his influence in this semi-final clash.

You could reduce the entire An Ghaeltacht preview to Ó Beaglaíoch analysis with four more key players bearing that name in the team alongside Brian. Lining out directly behind the All-Star is full-back Rónán Ó Beaglaoich who has been the backbone of their success in 2025 with Cathal Ó Beaglaíoch another to keep an eye in midfield, his battle with the widely-praised Daragh Mangan is sure to be fascinating one in a collision of two hugely influential midfielders.

Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich operates at wing-back and, much like Brian has made his trademark, looks to get forward whenever he can. The meeting of two superb wing-back lines could be crucial in this tense fixture. Luke Kelly, Eoin McConnon and Glen McEvoy have been superb for Sallins in 2025 and contribute plenty in both directions for the Kildare champions. 

One of An Ghaeltacht’s star men this year has been Tomás Ó Sé with the famous-named forward continuing to thrive at club level with his own experience in green and gold too. He grabbed a cool as you like counter-attack goal against Corofin in their Munster semi-final meeting and will look to continue raising green flags when it matters most. Also at the sharp end of things is a brother of Brian Ó Beaglaíoch, Ruaidhrí, who himself is fresh off a contribution of 1-1 in An Ghaeltacht’s Munster final win over Aghabullogue.

In summary, this is a team of immense quality and Sallins know they will have to be at their very best to emerge victorious, but we are in for a titanic clash if both of these teams are at full tilt.

Injuries

It is a race against the clock for Sallins’ star man Colm Dalton who was nursing a hamstring injury throughout their Leinster final. Dalton departed after 24 minutes and returned at the 39-minute mark but wasn’t able to move like half the man that has lit up Leinster this year. When and where the injury happened has been a topic of huge discussion in Kildare GAA spaces since that final with Tubberclair but, with an All-Ireland series game on the horizon, that is somewhat immaterial now. What’s done is done and hopefully for Sallins, and indeed Dalton himself, whatever damage occurred, whether on Irish soil or not, will have healed in time for this massive fixture. 

One case for positivity is that Dalton, although likely in great pain, moved well enough to hazard a guess that his hamstring strain may be a Grade 1, with a three week turnaround possible if that is the case. Anything more severe or if additional damage has been done by his restricted but admirable Leinster final efforts then three weeks might be too soon for the centre-forward. 

Perhaps lost in the shuffle of the Dalton conversation was the premature departure of midfielder Paul Farrelly after a heavy ground collision against Tubberclair. Farrelly has been one of the major revelations under Jonathan Daniels and, having previously operated further up the pitch, has found a home in the middle of the park like a duck would a pond. He was replaced by Sean Conway, who did superbly in his place, in the 39th minute and hopefully the turnaround timeline is enough for him to also be 100% after that Leinster final knock. 

With Santa clocked off for another year, attention turns to Sallins looking to once again make history. Their Leinster title win broke new ground for their club but another couple of wins will break new ground for Kildare and Leinster at this level of football. They face An Ghaeltacht on January 4 in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in what should be an outstanding contest.

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