The Lay of the Land in the NFL

Niall Gartland assess the promotion and relegation permutations with two rounds of the NFL remaining

DONEGAL

ALONGSIDE Galway, the top-ranked team in the county. Donegal have won four of their five matches to date, the only blemish a defeat on the road to the Tribesmen. The question hanging over them in recent weeks was a cynical one – do Donegal actually want to reach the Division One final, given they’d have an Ulster Championship preliminary round clash the following weekend? Well, they finished like a streamtrain with a comeback victory over Derry on Sunday, a game they didn’t strictly need to win with survival already assured. On top of that, Dáire Ó Baoill, speaking to TG4 after the win over Derry, says they’ve spoken about the matter as a group and have agreed that they want to reach the Division One final. One victory from their final two games should assure them of a place in the final of a competition they’ve only won once in the county’s history, back in 2007.

Remaining fixtures

Tyrone (Letterkenny, Sunday, March 16)

Mayo (Castlebar, Sunday, March 23)

ARMAGH

SITTING comfortably in mid-table – well, they’re not out of the woods just yet, but All-Ireland champions Armagh took a significant enough step towards Division One survival with an impressive thumping of the Dubs at a thronged BOX-IT Athletic Grounds on Saturday night. A poor performance on their first day out against Galway was followed up by a much-improved outing against Tyrone, and they seem to be getting stronger as the weeks fly by (and there could be more to come with mainstays like Rian O’Neill coming back into the mix). One of the themes of their National League campaign has been Kieran McGeeney kicking out about the new rules but they’ve actually utilized them pretty well with fly-keeper Ethan Rafferty consistently influential. Still, they need to go out and finish the job and get another win on the board if they’re to avoid falling back down to Division Two, from where they bucked the trend by marching to last year’s All-Ireland.

Remaining fixtures

Kerry (Tralee, Saturday, March 15)

Derry (Armagh, Sunday, March 23)

TYRONE

TYRONE are in a spot of bother. Despite producing their best performance of the season to date against Galway, for which they were unlucky to be held to a draw, they find themselves in difficulties with just two rounds of action remaining. Three points on the board isn’t a brilliant return after five rounds of matches, and it doesn’t help matters that they lost their head-to-heads against Mayo and Armagh, two other teams still fighting for survival. In summary, they may need to win their final two matches to stay up, but it isn’t beyond them – Tyrone have finished the league strongly in recent years and their upcoming opponents Donegal and Dublin may be tempted to ease off a little with their Division One status already secured. As for how things are going more broadly in Malachy O’Rourke’s first year in charge – well, there was that run of three successive defeats but it’s very early days and the manner of their performance against Galway suggests that they’re on the right track. The beat on the street is that training has been going well and the players are content, so who knows, Tyrone could be building nicely for the summer.

Remaining fixtures

Donegal (Letterkenny, Sunday, March 16)

Dublin (Omagh, Sunday, March 23)

DERRY

DERRY are staring down the barrel of relegation from Division One following their latest defeat, having failed to seal the deal against Donegal in a must-win encounter last weekend. The Oak Leafers won last year’s Division One title, but it’s been a very different experience in 2025, a draw against Galway their only non-defeat after five matches. As for why? Well there are a few theories doing the rounds. Paddy Tally’s late appointment can’t have helped matters in terms of preparation and their squad depth isn’t as deep as some but let’s not be too negative and there are reasons for Derry fans to be optimistic heading into the championship. They’ve shown good play in flashes and were actually downright solid against Donegal, even if they faltered on the home straight, perhaps coinciding with Brendan Rogers going off injured. Padraig McGrogan is back in after recovering from an ACL, Lachlan Murray and Martin Bradley have put their hands up and while it will take a minor miracle to stay up, Derry fans can be hopeful that they’ll give the championship a decent rattle on the back of their display against Donegal.

Remaining fixtures

Mayo (Derry, Sunday, March 16)

Armagh (Armagh, Sunday, March 23)

MONAGHAN

THINGS are going rather well for the Farney County. Yes, they’d rather not be in Division Two in the first place, but they’ve hurled themselves into the challenge under new manager Gabriel Bannigan and the positive results have come thick and fast, winning four of their five matches. Perhaps playing in Division Two has been beneficial – they’ve road-tested a new batch of players, who have flourished – and they’ll secure promotion back to the top-flight at the first time of asking if they overcome Meath in their penultimate match on Sunday week. While the recently retired Conor McManus is nigh-on irreplaceable, they’ve not been found wanting up front and have racked up some massive tallies throughout their league campaign, and the way things are going, they could have a pre-Ulster Championship trip to Croke Park to look forward to and a chance at league silverware.

Remaining fixtures

Meath (Navan, Sunday, March 16)

Down (Clones, Sunday March 23)

DOWN

A TALE of near-misses for Down. When they were pipped at the post by Cavan last weekend, there must’ve been a feeling of deja vu because it was their league campaign in microcosm – playing well, being competitive, but ultimately failing to get across the line in a winning position. With only one victory to their name, they’re in major jeopardy and will likely need to win their final two fixtures to stay up. It’s a big ask – they have an eminently winnable game against bottom-placed Westmeath next in the pipeline, but high-flying Monaghan await on the final day, and they may still be fighting for a promotion berth at that stage. On top of that, even if they finish on six points, there’s a good chance it won’t be enough as they need others to lose. The predicament in which they find themselves is a pity as they’ve actually played very well and shown a lot of fight and spirit throughout their campaign, but that’s the league for you – it’s a ruthless business.

Remaining fixtures

Westmeath (Newry, Saturday, March 15)

Monaghan (Clones, Sunday, March 16)

CAVAN

AFTER an inauspicious start to the league, Cavan have well and truly turned things around. The knives were being sharpened after losing their opening two matches to Monaghan and Meath, but Cavan have embarked on a winning run of three straight matches, meaning that they’re virtually assured of their spot in Division Two for another year with two rounds of action remaining. Indeed, they still have a slim chance of promotion if things go to plan on the home straight. That aside, things have been going pretty well in recent weeks. They showed mettle to come through an entertaining battle with Down last weekend, Gearóid McKiernan – back in the fold this year – winning the man of the match award while other key players like Dara McVeety, Padraig Faulkner, Ciarán Brady and James Smith to name but a few are in excellent form at present. I suppose it shows the folly of judging a team on a few early matches – there was no McKenna Cup this year and Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Remaining fixtures

Roscommon (Roscommon, Sunday March 16)

Cork (Cavan, Sunday March 23)

FERMANAGH

IT hasn’t been an easy road but Fermanagh have shown admirable resilience in recent weeks to more or less secure their Division Three status, claiming a win over an in-form Offaly team before reeling in Sligo to snatch an unlikely looking draw last weekend. They now sit on five points – which should be enough to stay up, bar some sort of calamity – and they can still feasibly achieve one of the two promotion spots, which would surely have been the aiming heading into their latest league campaign under Kieran Donnelly. They’ve been unlucky with injuries so in the circumstances have done well to make something of their league campaign and the likes of Ultan Kelm and Luke Flanagan are close to a return with two matches remaining. In all, they’ll be happy enough heading into the Ulster Championship.

Remaining fixtures

Leitrim (Ballinamore, Sunday, March 16)

Laois (Enniskillen, Sunday, March 23)

ANTRIM

ANTRIM aren’t out of the woods just yet having accrued four points from five matches, and they could be in bother if they lose their round six match against fellow strugglers Sligo, who have even less room to manoeuvre.

In their most recent clash, they came out second best against Laois on a scoreline of 0-22 to 1-17, a result that means promotion is definitely out of the question. Leitrim are definitely going down – they haven’t won a single point and Antrim have the head-to-head over them – but Sligo are fighting for their Division Three lives and the Saffrons need to be careful.

Remaining fixtures

Sligo (Corrigan Park, Sunday, March 16)

Kildare (Newbridge, Sunday, March 23)