NIALL Gartland looked at the leading county champions across Ulster.

Antrim St John’s (24 titles)

ST Gall’s looked like they could overtake St John’s at the top of the leaderboard when they went on 12 titles in 13 years between 2001 and 2014, but for now, St John’s have five titles to spare at the top of the leaderboard. Notably, the Falls Road club has also picked up seven senior hurling championships, and it’s also produced one of Antrim’s most famous names, John McCallin, the county’s one and only All-Star. The club was at the forefront of the efforts to establish the Ulster Club Football Championship back in the day, and they won the provincial title in 1977. As an aside, former Northern Ireland soccer star Gerry Armstrong was part of the St John’s team that won the 1975 championship before heading to England to play for Tottenham Hotspur.

Armagh Crossmaglen (45 titles)

NO surprises here – Crossmaglen are streets ahead on the roll of honour list in Armagh with 45 titles. Their most successful spell was between 1996 and 2015, where they won every single championship title going barring Pearse Óg’s victory in 2009. Of course, they’ve achieved magnificent success beyond county boundaries and have won a record 11 Ulster Senior championship titles and brought back the Andy Merrigan Cup to Cross’ on six separate occasions. It’s hard to produce an extensive list of top players who have donned the black and amber down the years, but that list would include the likes of Oisin McConville, the Kernans, the McEntees, and more.

Cavan Cornafean (20 titles)

THIS once great Gaelic stronghold was ravaged by rural depopulation so they haven’t won a Senior Championship title since 1956, but they’re still comfortably ahead at the top of the Cavan leaderboard with 20 titles. They had a brilliant team in the early days, winning six championships in seven years between 1909 and 1915. Their other glory days were in the ‘30s and ‘40s, when they had a heated rivalry with Mullahoran and Cavan Slashers. Players from the club featured in all of Cavan’s All-Ireland Championship victories at the time, including Willie Young, Mick Dinneny, Packy Phair and Tom ‘Big Tom’ O’Reilly. They also produced Cavan legend John Joe O’Reilly.

Derry Bellaghy (21 titles)

DERRY has a thriving and famously competitive club scene, and their leading team on the roll of of honour list is Bellaghy. The club has won 21 Derry Senior Championships, four Ulster Senior Club Championships and the 1971-72 All-Ireland Championship, which is one hell of a record. The club has produced many supremely accomplished footballers, including Tommy Diamond who became the first player to captain a county to victory in both the All-Ireland minor (1965) and All-Ireland U-21 (1968) championships. Damian Cassidy was one of the heroes of the 1993 Derry team, and more recently, Fergal Doherty was one of the finest midfielders of his generation.

SETTING THE TONE…Bellaghy have won 21 Derry senior titles

Donegal  Gaoth Dobhair and St Eunan’s (15 titles each)

ALL square in Donegal. St Eunan’s levelled matters when they won last year’s championship under the tutelage of 2012 All-Ireland winner Rory Kavanagh, their first Donegal SFC crown in seven years.

They’ve a long and distinguished history and have won at least one championship in every decade since their inaugural title in 1948. Gaoth Dobhair haven’t been quite so consistent and had a barren spell between 1961 and 2002, but we all remember their amazing run four years ago, when Kevin Cassidy, Neil McGee, Odhran Mac Niallais and co swatted aside all on-comers en route to winning the Ulster title.

Down Kilcoo (19 titles)

ONE of the best club teams in the country for the guts of a decade now, Kilcoo won last year’s All-Ireland final with a last-gasp victory over Kilmacud Crokes. The Magpies are some team, it’s fair to say, but it hasn’t always been like this – they had a brilliant side back in the ‘20s and ‘30s but slipped down the pecking order and didn’t win another senior championship until 2009. Since then, inspired by star players like Conor Laverty, they haven’t looked back and are by some distance the dominant force in Down football at the moment. Talented young players are coming through the ranks, so it would be no surprise if they add to their overall tally of 19 titles in the near future.

Fermanagh Teemore (21 titles)

WHEN the runner and riders for this year’s championship are discussed, it’s likely that Ederney and Derrygonnelly will be at the forefront of people’s thoughts. However, the best team historically in Fermanagh is Teemore with 21 titles to their name. They certainly have a lot to be proud of – the club was founded in 1904 and won the inaugural Fermanagh Senior Championship that year, and their greatest ever player is Barry Owens, the only player from the county to win two All-Stars. Former GAA President Peter Quinn is also a native of the club. They were particularly strong in the early days of the Association but they did win a title as recently as 2005.

Monaghan Castleblayney (37 titles)

37 TITLES is some haul and reflective of Castleblayney’s dominance of Monaghan football for long stretches over the last 100 years (modern day giants Scotstown, in case you were wondering, have an impressive 21 titles). The Faughs have produced some of the best players in Monaghan’s history, including eighties legend Nudie Hughes. They won two Ulster Senior Championships, back in 1986 and 1991, but they haven’t been as strong in recent times and won their last title in the county in 2003. It also deserves to be mentioned that they’ve won a record 32 hurling titles as well.

Tyrone Carrickmore(15 titles)

PAVING the way in the Red Hand County is Carrickmore, a famous club situated right in the heart of Tyrone. They’re the last team in the county to claim back-to-back O’Neill Cups having come up trumps in 2004 and 2005. They’ve had many brilliant players down the years, including three-time All-Ireland winner Conor Gormley (‘the block from the Rock’), Brian Gormley, Seamus McCallan and many others. They also enjoyed a brilliant rivalry with Errigal Ciaran during the nineties and overcame them in the 1996 final.