All-Ireland Preview: Cloughaneely Chase Historic Double 40 Years After First Win
Forty years after their first breakthrough on the All-Ireland stage, Banna Cheoil Cloich Cheann Fhaola travel to Belfast with opportunities to add two more remarkable achievements to their history.
Cloughaneely will be represented in both the Senior and Junior Miscellaneous sections at Titanic Slipways, with the two bands arriving as the defending All-Ireland winners after completing a memorable double in Wexford last year.
The 2026 Fleadh marks the 40th anniversary of Cloughaneely’s first All-Ireland title, won by the Junior Miscellaneous band in 1986. They retained that title in 1987, beginning a history of success which has now produced 20 All-Ireland titles across the two sections.
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The junior band will face St Kevin’s of Wexford and Dún na Sí of Westmeath as they attempt to win a fourth consecutive All-Ireland following victories in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
A win would equal the Junior Miscellaneous record which Cloughaneely themselves established by winning four successive titles between 2006 and 2009.
The current run is only the latest chapter in an extraordinary junior record. Cloughaneely also won three consecutive All-Irelands from 2015 to 2017, before adding further titles in 2019 and each of the three competitions held since the 2023.
The senior band, meanwhile, secured automatic qualification for Belfast as the reigning All-Ireland winners. They will face fellow Donegal representatives Ramelton Town Band in the Senior Miscellaneous section, as Cloughaneely attempt to retain the title they reclaimed in Wexford last year.
Success in both competitions would create another piece of All-Ireland history.
Winning the Senior and Junior Miscellaneous titles in the same year is exceptionally rare. According to the available archive, Cloughaneely are the only band to have completed the double, doing so in 2017, 2023 and 2025.Across all marching band sections, only two other bands have completed senior and junior doubles in the same year — St Brigid’s, Jonesborough in the Senior and Junior Accordion sections in 2012, and Holy Cross, Atticall in 2016.
No band has ever won the double in consecutive competitions. Cloughaneely therefore have the opportunity to become the first to retain both titles in the same year, while also completing a fourth double overall.
Their first double in 2017 was followed by another senior victory in 2018, while the junior band returned to the top in 2019. Since competition resumed after the pandemic, Cloughaneely have won five of the eight available Senior and Junior Miscellaneous All-Irelands, including doubles in two of the last three years.
The challenge in Belfast will be considerable. St Kevin’s and Dún na Sí will both be seeking a first Junior Miscellaneous All-Ireland, while Ramelton return with one of the strongest records in the history of the senior section.
However, Cloughaneely’s combination of musical quality, finely developed harmonies and disciplined drill has made both bands extremely difficult to beat on the All-Ireland stage.
Four decades after the junior band delivered the first title in 1986, Belfast could provide another defining day in Cloughaneely’s remarkable All-Ireland history.