PREVIEW: Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Football Championship Round 1

Club football championship is back in Dublin this weekend as the first round of the Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Football Championship begins.

The action begins on Friday night as Ballymun Kickhams and Templeogue Synge St throw-in championship 2025 at Parnell Park and continues on Saturday.

Group 1

Group 1 begins with Na Fianna taking on Ballyboden St Endas at Parnell Park on Friday night (8.30pm).

Glasnevin club Na Fianna, who went unbeaten in their group last year, beat Clontarf in the quarter-final but saw their summer come to an end in the last four against Kilmacud Crokes.

Ballyboden made it out of Group 3 last year, but they too were knocked out of the championship by Crokes.

'Boden come into the Championship in fine form, having claimed the Go-Ahead Ireland AFL 1 title earlier this summer- pipping Na Fianna at the top of the table.

Na Fianna will be hoping to end a long wait for a Dublin senior football title; 2001 was their last one, while Ballyboden's last title came in 2019.

Elsewhere in Group 1, St Vincents take on Ballinteer St Johns at Parnell Park on Saturday afternoon.

The Vinnies won a game, drew a game and lost a game in their group last year and were beaten by Ballymun Kickhams in the last eight.

Ballinteer never made it out of their group in 2024, with their only victory coming in a seven-point win over St Sylvester's.

They've never won the senior title before, unlike St Vincents, who have won a record amount of titles (29).

Group 2

Ballymun Kickhams and Templeogue Synge Street start the action in Group 2 on Friday evening (6.45pm).

Ballymun will hope to improve on their impressive 2024, where they won every group game before beating St Vincents in the quarter-final. They then went out to a five-point defeat to eventual Dublin, Leinster and All-Ireland champions Cuala.

Templeogue were promoted to the Senior 1 championship thanks to their Senior 2 semi-final win over Naomh Barróg last season, but were unable to go one better and win the Senior 2 title, losing out by a point to Whitehall Colmcille in the final. They'll now look to cement their Senior 1 status this year.

Ballymun have won this competition four times, with their last title win coming in 2020, while Templeogue have never won a Dublin senior title but were runners-up in 1977 as Synge Street.

As mentioned, Whitehall won the Senior 2 championship in 2024, and they'll hope to get Senior 1 life off to a great start when they play Castleknock in Balgriffin on Saturday.

Castleknock picked up two wins in last year's group stage, which came against Lucan Sarsfields and Raheny, and went down to a narrow two-point defeat to Na Fianna.

Their summer came to an end at the hands of the eventual county champions, Cuala. Neither club has won a Go-Ahead Ireland Senior 1 Football Championship.

Group 3

All of Group 3's action takes place on Saturday. Lucan Sarsfields play Thomas Davis on Saturday afternoon at O'Toole Park (3.30pm).

Lucan Sarsfields will be hoping for a much better 2025; they didn't win a single game last year. They were beaten by Castleknock and Raheny before they ended their championship group with a mini high with a draw with Na Fianna. They then saved their Senior 1 status with a win over Fingallians in the relegation play-off.

Thomas Davis are another club that picked up a win, a loss and a draw in the group stage in 2024. They beat Skerries Harps and drew with Kilmacud Crokes in their final group game, but their defeat to St Vincents proved crucial to them not qualifying, missing out on a place in the knockouts on the head-to-head rule.

Lucan have never won a senior Dublin title, while Thomas Davis have won three titles, which came in three on-the-bounce in 1989, 1990 and 1991.

Group 4

Group 4's football action also takes place on Saturday. Kilmacud Crokes and Clontarf meet at O'Toole Park, while St Judes and St Sylvesters meet at Balgriffin.

11-time Dublin Senior Football Championship winners Kilmacud Crokes went unbeaten in Group 4 last year with two wins and a draw. They beat St Vincents and Skerries Harps before they played out a draw with Thomas Davis.

They saw off Ballyboden St Endas and Na Fianna in the quarter- and semi-finals before losing by a point to Cuala in the final.

Having won titles in 2021, '22 and 23, Crokes will hope to begin their quest to go one better this year with a win this weekend.

Clontarf bounced back from an opening-day defeat to Cuala last year by beating Fingallians and St Judes before they went down to a narrow quarter-final defeat to Na Fianna; they've never won a Dublin senior title.

St Judes and St Sylvesters round off the round one action on Saturday evening.

Despite beating Fingallians in their opening Group 1 game last year, that's as good as it got for them, as they were comfortably beaten by Cuala and Clontarf. Judes have never won a Dublin senior title and will be hoping for a better championship showing this year.

St Sylvesters will also be hoping for a better 2025 showing; they lost all of their group games and had to play in the dreaded relegation play-off which saw them overcome Skerries Harps by three points to ensure survival.

Match tickets for this weekend's games are available here.

Friday evening's games will also be shown live on DubsTV. Sign up here.