By Michael McMullan

ANTRIM kick their All-Ireland campaign into action on Sunday in Longford and captain Bronagh Devlin highlights the need to be switched on.

The Saffrons were comfortable winners over Longford in the league game but this week is new ground.

The Moneyglass player points to how they were twice winners over Derry earlier in 2025 but were pushed all the way in their recent Ulster final win over the Oakleafers.

The fact they are on the road this weekend is another hurdle.

“As Derry proved, championship is a completely different ball game now,” Devlin told Gaelic Life.

“I’d imagine it’ll be a very tough match against them. We are taking it one game at a time, but we obviously want to get off on a good start.”

With an attacking style of play and raft of goals, Antrim backed up promotion with their league and Ulster titles.

On the face of it, they’ve two of the three pieces of silverware available tucked away but it wasn’t a goal Devlin was totally locked in on from the off.

“I think I’ve nearly said it in every interview that I’ve done, in my head it wasn’t really something that I had thought about,” she said.

“We’ve clearly pushed on and we’re working really well as a team and we’re training well.

“Halfway through the league there was a good bit of belief in the team. I think it was then that we started to kick on and things have worked really, really well for us, so we’re more than delighted about it.”

If there was a moment, it was their 3-10 to 3-9 win over Fermanagh in Tempo. The third league game and a third trip away from home.

It was a joust with the All-Ireland junior champions mixed in with the familiarity of having played Fermanagh on numerous occasions.

Antrim had a brilliant first-half but Fermanagh were even better after the interval leaving Antrim needing to dig deep for the win. The league final was much the same.

“We put it up to them and we came back and we were getting beat and we came back again,” Devlin recalled, “I think that was whenever we thought we could really do something in Division Four and things did then ramp up.”

For now, Antrim are content with where they are. Certain blemishes of the Ulster final need polishing.

And they need to deal with the intensity the All-Ireland series will bring.

Busy times but it’s an excellent group to be part of.

“I’d say the majority of the players in there, I grew up playing football with,” she said about the dressing room bond.

“Then are ones, who when I only started out, they are still there, the likes of Áine Tubridy.

“It’s nice this year, it’s a great environment coming through and we have the young ones coming up.

“It’s nice that we’re winning as well and it gives them something to look forward to, especially (for them) pushing into senior.

“We’re getting along really well this year and I suppose that makes it a wee bit nicer, winning with everybody and we’re all getting along really well.”