Eighteen teams of six will contest the 2026 National Inter-Club finals at Lucan over the October Bank Holiday weekend.
2025 champions Bruff defend the title in the company of 2024 runners-up Riverdale and 1971/1979 National Club tournament victors Mellows.
Kieran Earls, Peadar McCarthy and Aidan O’Sullivan survive from last year’s successful Bruff sextet, which triumphed at Fermoy.
Aidan O’Sullivan was also part of the Bruff 2023 runners-up side at St. Bridget’s as was Kieran Donegan. Charlie Taylor and Dominic Kavanagh complete the 2026 Bruff line-up and helped propel the east Limerick men to top spot in the recent provincial qualifying round.
Leinster Strokeplay champion James McLoughlin and Club Secretary Dave O’Connell are leading lights of the Mellows team, which also features Nicky Furey and Kevin Walsh of Galway’s Eamonn Birchall trophy runner-up team team.
The Renmore outfit has had an extraordinary year and would love to add to their strong All-Ireland Inter-Club track record.
Stephen Shoer and Sean Crowe were stalwarts of the Riverdale sextet that finished runners-up at Tullamore two years back while Shoer guested for Lakeside in the Templemore club’s 2018 losing final appearance. Brendan Shinnors, Gary O’Neill, 2025 National Over-55s Intermediate grade Strokeplay champion Patsy Farrell and Eamonn Ryan complete the 2026 Riverdale roster.
Two-time winners of the old Carrolls Club Tournament (under the previous club name Cement), Killineer (featuring 2023 National Intermediate Strokeplay champion Sean Clerkin) will get proceedings underway alongside 1966, 1969, 1970 and 1972 Carrolls Club Tournament victors Lucan 2.
Former National Juvenile Inter-County runner-up Gary Ryan and 1989 National Matchplay silver medallist Bobby Kilduff are sure to shine for Lucan.
Also in early action are Rochfortbridge who qualified in second place provincially last year and again this season at Trim. Seventh overall in 2024 and 10th twelve months ago, Rochfortbridge are powered by the likes of former provincial Inter-County runner-up Gerry Coyne and 2026 Leinster Junior Inter-County winners Brendan Clarke and Jordan Donoghue.
McDonagh, who hosted the Leinster qualifiers in 2024, have made the final for the first time with reigning national Intermediate Matchplay champion Molly O‘Toole, Club Chairman Philip Warner and 2023 County Junior Strokeplay winner Paul Power in their ranks.
McDonagh play with Loughlinstown (inaugural National Inter-Club runners-up as part of an Old County amalgam). John Ross Crangle and Eoin Mithen, who helped Loughlinstown lead this season’s Leinster A qualifying, survive from that 2013 campaign. Ireland’s successful 2024 international team manager Paddy Kelly and 1998 National Inter-County winner Mark Gibney will hope to lead a Trim team to national glory.
A recent import from Rochfortbridge, Mark Newman joins a Lough Owel line-up (including National Over-55 Senior Strokeplay champion Sean Dinnegan and Dean Dinnegan (who finished third in the 2020 Irish Open) that topped the six Leinster B qualifiers at Trim.
A second local team (representing the 2003 National Mixed Team Event winning club) presented with an opportunity to be the first to claim National Inter-Club honours on their home course is Lucan 3.
Lucan’s Barry Gorey won a National Juvenile Inter-County gold medal in 2005 while he and 2023 Dublin Strokeplay kingpin Aaron Brazil were part of Dublin’s 2023 Leinster Intermediate Inter-County runner-up sextet. 2024 Catalan International Pairs titleholder Gareth Walsh was a 2018 Leinster Intermediate Inter-County winner.
Poulaphouca hosted the recent provincial qualifier and former Kildare Intermediate Strokeplay champions Stephen Kavanagh and Graham Curran helped a local side to progress there.
Three-time Scratch champions St. Anne’s again field Ray Murphy and Frank Dineen, who have been on board each of the trio of Shanakiel outfit’s winning (2013, 2014 and 2024) teams. Reigning
National Intermediate Matchplay kingpin Ian Leech joined Dineen and Murphy in 2024 while Erik Bruhn, David Doyle and Paddy Barry are proven performers. Twice Nett runners-up Deerpark, bring a powerful looking side to the 2026 Scratch event like multiple All-Ireland champion Damien Fleming, leading Kerry Inter-County team member John McGrath and current Munster Intermediate
Matchplay champion Michael Cronin. 2015 winners St. Patrick’s field an entirely new squad, which includes Colm O’Brien and Graham Rowley who played for Wexford in the recent Junior Inter-County final at Larkspur Park. Dale Kirwan, Dan Power and Paul Gorby were Intermediate Inter-County challenge runners-up in 2022 while Dylan Hudson is a former Leinster Intermediate Strokeplay champion.
Pacelli Darcy (runner-up with Bruff in 2015) headlines the Ardnacrusha team that includes his son Mike Darcy. 2022 National Junior Inter-County winners Rick Harty and Ralph Fitzgerald are also on board. 2018 runners-up Lakeside have Michael Fennell from that team playing at Lucan alongside former National Mixed Foursomes victor Thomas Roberts, 2025 National Intermediate Inter-County winners Noel Stapleton, Matt Corrigan and Robert Ryan along with Ollie Leahy. Current National Junior Strokeplay kingpin Daniel Malone, 2020 Irish Open winner Pat Malone and recent National Intermediate Strokeplay bronze medallist John O’Keeffe feature for Custume.
Lucan has never previously hosted the National Inter-Club finals. The famous 12th Lock course has been the scene of the 1994 National Mixed Team Event final. A Lucan quartet finished second that day.
Saturday’s play will see Scotch Foursomes and Singles Strokeplay. The top four teams in that format will qualify to contest Matchplay semi-finals and finals on Sunday.
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