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gaa · Saturday 8 August 2026 · 7:15pm 
Bathshack Antrim SHC Group 1 - Loughgiel v Carey Faughs
At Loughgiel GAC · Loughgiel, Co. Antrim
At Loughgiel GAC · Loughgiel, Co. Antrim
The opening round of the 2026 Bathshack Antrim Senior Hurling Championship brings Loughgiel Shamrocks face-to-face with a Carey Faughs side riding a wave of momentum, in a Friday evening fixture that sets the tone for the rest of the group. This is the kind of early-season clash that matters: Antrim club hurling is fiercely contested, and both clubs carry genuine weight. For anyone who wants to watch county-standard hurling in a proper GAA setting, this is a good place to start.
Loughgiel Shamrocks are one of the most storied hurling clubs in Ulster - the only club from the province to have won the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, which they claimed in 1983 and again in 2012. Playing at their home ground, Fr. Healy Park in Loughgiel, the Shamrocks will carry local support and the weight of expectation that goes with being one of the county’s traditional powers.
Carey Faughs come to this fixture with real confidence behind them. The Ballyvoy club from the Glens of Antrim won a historic treble in 2024 - the Division 2 All County League, the Intermediate Championship, and the Ulster Intermediate Championship - and earned promotion to senior ranks as a result. This is a club founded in 1903 with three county senior titles to their name, and they will not be making up the numbers.
Group 1 of the championship also includes St Johns and Rossa (O’Donovan), so every result carries knockout-stage implications from the off. Friday evening fixtures suit the mid-week crowd - supporters can expect a proper atmosphere in a compact rural ground where the hurling feels close.
Loughgiel (also spelt Loughguile) is a small village in north Co. Antrim, roughly 8 miles north-east of Ballymena. By car from Ballymena, take the B62 north; the journey takes around 25 minutes. From Belfast, allow approximately 50 minutes via the A26 to Ballymena and then the B62. Parking at and around rural GAA grounds is generally on-street or in adjacent fields on match nights.
Public transport to Loughgiel itself is limited - driving or getting a lift is the practical approach for most.
The north Antrim countryside around Loughgiel sits close to the Glens of Antrim, one of the most scenic stretches of landscape in the north of Ireland. A match-day visit pairs well with a drive through the Glens before or after. There is more to see in Antrim and across Co. Antrim.
Heading to Loughgiel GAC in Antrim? Antrim has plenty more to see. Read the Antrim area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.