THE race for the 2026 ZuCar Golden Boot award has boiled down to a shoot-out between Antrim and Fermanagh stars on TG4 All-Ireland finals day.
Antrim’s Maria O’Neill leads the way, with 2024 winner Eimear Smyth from Fermanagh in second place.
O’Neill is out in front on a haul of 11-16 (49 points) in the race for the coveted individual accolade, which will be awarded to the top scorer across the Junior, Intermediate and Senior grades in the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Championships. Her total was bolstered with a hat-trick in their semi-final win over Sligo.
Smyth is on 4-30 (42 points) in the overall rankings, seven adrift of O’Neill and with both players due to play on TG4 All-Ireland finals day for their respective counties.
The Championship race is run for Derry’s Annie Ní Lochlainn, in third place, and fourth-placed Eimear Fitzpatrick from Down.
A sensational display from Síofra O’Shea in last Saturday’s TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final has propelled the Kerry skipper into the top five. O’Shea notched 1-8 against 2025 winners Dublin, as the Kingdom progressed to the final against Galway at Croke Park on Sunday August 2.
