Antrim star leads race for 2026 ZuCar Golden Boot award

THERE’S no change at the top in the race for the 2026 ZuCar Golden Boot award.

Antrim’s Maria O’Neill leads the way, two points clear of Derry’s Annie Ní Lochlainn, who received The Croke Park Hotel / LGFA Player of the Month award for June earlier today. 

With the race for TG4 All-Ireland silverware reaching a gripping conclusion, O’Neill and Ní Lochlainn are both in action next Sunday – O’Neill against Sligo in the TG4 All-Ireland Junior Championship semi-final, with Ní Lochlainn and Derry on the other side of the draw against Carlow.

Behind the pace-setters, Down’s Eimear Fitzpatrick and Emily Lacey of Laois are the nearest challengers, with Lacey’s season now complete following victory over Wicklow in the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship relegation playoff.

Fitzpatrick and Down will take on Fermanagh, with Eimear Smyth in their ranks, in next Sunday’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship semi-final. By close of play on Sunday, the ZuCar Golden Boot landscape may well have changed!