Armagh’s O’Neill set for spell on the sidelines

OISIN O’Neill looks set for a spell on the sidelines as his injury ravaged season continues.

The All-Ireland winning attacker missed the majority of Armagh’s Sam Maguire title defence having starred in the Ulster Championship for Kieran McGeeney’s side. Gaelic Life understands that the calf injury that brought his county season to a premature end is also risking his club season involvement.

The Crossmaglen ace kicked 0-16 across their three Ulster Championship games against Antrim, Tyrone and eventual winners Donegal as the Orchard County lost out on a first Anglo Celt triumph since 2008.

That defeat was their third provincial final loss on the trot, having previously lost to Derry and Donegal via penalties in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

O’Neill started the first round of the All-Ireland series against Derry at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds but made way after just 12 minutes of the first half. That finished O’Neill’s involvement in the rest of the campaign, missing games against Galway, Dublin and Kerry.

He did return to club action last weekend however, lining out for Shane Lennon’s side in their round 13 Division 1A league clash with Armagh Harps. He came off before the end of their 1-11 to 1-11 draw.

The Rangers finish their league campaign with an away day trip to reigning championship winners Clann Éireann in a dead rubber contest as both sides have already guaranteed a top four finish, while Killeavy have been confirmed as the Division 1A league champions.

The Senior Championship is just around the corner and Crossmaglen are aiming to get their hands back on the Gerry Fagan Cup.

They were last crowned winners in 2023, when O’Neill won a Club All-Star award, but they lost out to Clann Éireann in last year’s semi-final.

The draw for the Armagh Senior Championship takes place on Monday evening and will once again have a round robin structure.

Cross will be a top seed, having finished inside the top four of Division 1A.