Meath Herald GAA Review 2025

MEATH GAA REVIEW 2025

Determined Vikki Wall in action for Meath during the All-Ireland SFC final against Dublin. INSET: Meath's Adam O'Neill in an aerial dual with Donegal's Michael Murphy during the All-Ireland SFC semi-final. Photos: Gerry Shanahan and David

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Dunboyne Sideline Theme A Feature For 30 Years

BY CONALL COLLIER

The Dunboyne theme has featured for 30 years on the sidelines for the Meath senior football team since Sean Boylan took the reins in 1982 for an unprecedented 23 years, Andy McEntee for six years from 2016 and current manager Robbie Brennan, the baby of the bunch, scarcely a year into his Royal reign.

Brennan arrived, if that’s the correct way to describe a man who lives in Dunboyne, and took over the reins in September 2024 and briefly multi-tasked in the role as manager of Kilmacud Crokes who were bidding for a four-in-a-row of Dublin SFC titles.

Defeat by Cuala (1-10 to 0-14) in that October 2024 Parnell Park Dublin SFC decider released Robbie to the Royal County where his focus immediately turned to the opening round of the 2025 National Football League three months down the road against Cork at the end of January.

Nothing there for the beleaguered Meath supporters to get too enthused about. It was the eighth managerial appointment in 19 years by Meath GAA Co Board (Co Committee to use more modern terminology) as a former giant of the GAA had endured sporadic success since the legendary Sean Boylan had departed.

Another new manager, a new set of rules, another new start for Meath senior footballers and another defeat on the opening day (night actually) of the campaign.

That was the agenda for the Loyal-to-the-Royal supporters as the 2025 National Football League Div 2 campaign was hallmarked

with a first round Saturday night setback by the banks of the Lee under the lights at Páirc Ui Chaoimh.

So, on the long trek home from the Rebel County, those stalwart Meath supporters couldn't have imagined the roller-coaster year that was about to unfold, the revival of the Royal County had an inauspicious start.

Those who travelled, and those who didn’t, couldn’t have possibly imagined that Robbie Brennan would go on to plot a path to a final day NFL promotion opportunity, a Leinster SFC decider and an All-Ireland SFC semi-final, a first since 2009, and that Meath would have five players nominated for Allstars. It would have been practically unthinkable

on that long journey home from Cork in the final days of January 2025.

Subsequently, four unbeaten NFL outings propelled Brennan's Boys to the cusp of Div 1, but the train was derailed in the final weeks of March with defeat by Louth and a serious injury to Jordan Morris.

Nevertheless, the Leinster SFC was next on the radar and Meath claimed a place in the decider with a sensational semi-final victory against Dublin on Sunday 27th April at O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

Dublin’s first Leinster Senior Football Championship defeat in 15 years as Meath held on to dethrone the 14-in-a-row champions by 0-23 to 1-16.

The victory duly set up a repeat of the 2010 final against Louth and this time around the men from the Wee County prevaileddeservedly on the day.

That left Meath supporters looking forward to the All-Ireland series where Brennan's Boys once more delivered a win against Cork, a draw with Roscommon and another sensational display that saw Kerry negotiated despite the absence of both James Conlon and Mathew Costello, for a quarterfinal ticket against Galway.

Meath delivered again against the Connacht men, but that was the high watermark for 2025 as Donegal bossed the semi-final and brought the curtain down on a remarkable 16-game campaign that was squeezed into 24 memorable weeks from the end of January to early July.

There was further recognition for the Royal County’s swashbuckling championship with five Allstar nominations - Sean Rafferty, Ciaran Caulfield, Mathew Costello, Jordan Morris and Ruairi

Kinsella - third on the list behind All-Ireland champions Kerry (nine) and beaten finalists Donegal with 10. Navan O’Mahonys man Stephen Bray was the last Meath Allstar in 2007.

Robbie Brennan is already focused on 2026 and is looking forward to the challenges:

“There is expectation now whereas previously that expectation might have been tempered a little by results from previous years,” Robbie told the Meath Herald (see interview pages 4, 5 & 6)

MEATH MANAGERS SINCE

1982:

Sean Boylan: 1982 – 2005

Eamonn Barry: 2006

Colm Coyle: 2007 – 2008

Eamonn O’Brien: 2009 – 2010

Seamus McEnaney: 2011 -2012

Mick O’Dowd: 2013- 2015

Andy McEntee: 2016 – 2022

Colm O’Rourke: 2023-2024

Robbie Brennan: 2025

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Start At The End And Go Back To The Start

Some 12 months into his role as Meath senior football manager, Robbie ‘Baggio’ Brennan took time out of his busy schedule to chat with Conall Collier for the Meath Herald about his first year at the helm and the targets for the Royal County in 2026.

Start at the end and go back to the start of a condensed sixmonth debut inter-county campaign for Meath senior football manager Robbie Brennan with the assertion that it was a successful year despite the absence of silverware.

“A few people, including yourself, have said that it was a good year, a successful year, but the way it ended with that defeat by Donegal, we, as a group, certainly wouldn’t be looking at it that way,” was the pragmatic assessment from Meath’s eighth manager in 19 years.

“I never thought I’d be in this position, former Dublin footballer Robbie Kelleher would have said that I would have been the least likeliest guy to manage Meath, or indeed any team, but he got that wrong and now I’m really looking forward to 2026.

“I can understand that there would be a positive view amongst the supporters, but the task for us

now is to build on that optimism, build on that momentum, for next year.”

“Part of my role, the role of management, is to make sure that the players enjoy the experience, we try to create that type of environment and if the lads buy into that, then you are a good bit of the way towards achieving goals and targets.”

“We had bigger plans for 2025, but on the day of the All-Ireland SFC semi-final we were beaten fair and square by Donegal and that was a disappointing outcome,” he added.

Robbie declined to make any comment when questioned about an early tackle by a well-known Donegal player that escaped censure from the referee on the day of the semi-final.”

And it wasn’t all plain sailing for Robbie who took over the reins of the Royal County from Colm O’Rourke in September 2024.

At that time, there would have been a general consensus amongst those ‘in the know’ that Meath might struggle to maintain NFL Div 2 status following a somewhat disappointing 2024 campaign.

“I suppose part of the plan would have been to raise the profile of Meath football, but there is only one team that can win the big one annually, the All-Ireland final. It doesn’t automatically mean that everyone else has failed.”

“I suppose I would describe what was achieved this year as stepping stones, it was amazing in one sense, the buzz that was around the county, that was massive, that was something that we, as a group, management and players, would have felt and would have been aware of.”

“We can look back at that, we can appreciate that, but we have to push on now and we have to find improvement for 2026.”

“There is a sense of expectation now, whereas previously that expectation might have been tempered a little by results from previous years. That’s something that we can embrace, something that we want, the expectation that this Meath team is capable of mixing it with the big boys.”

“It was such a plus to get Bryan (Menton) back, his plan initially was to come in and maybe play a bit here and a bit there, but once

he got the taste of it, the Bryan Menton that we all know came to the surface and we will have him on board again for 2026.”

“It’s not a reflection on any of the other players, but when Bryan went off in the semi-final against Donegal it was a huge loss. I actually thought he might have received an Allstar nomination, but that’s what a manager would say anyway.”

“When you look at Kerry, they won the All-Ireland and got nine nominations, Donegal got 10, so I suppose five for Meath wasn’t a bad return although I also felt Donal Keogan would have

warranted a nomination. The players want to be successful and I firmly believe that we haven’t even scratched the surface on what this team can achieve,” he added.

Overcoming obstacles, both on and off the pitch, was a requirement for Robbie Brennan in his inaugural year at the helm.”

“Injuries to players like Mathew Costello, Ronan Jones, Sean Coffey and Jordan Morris had an impact, but are part and parcel of the game.

Not so predictable was the departure of the duo of Martin Corey and Joe McMahon from the

management team ahead of the Leinster SFC campaign.”

“It was very disappointing to lose Martin (Corey) and Joe (McMahon) ahead of the Leinster Championship, two brilliant coaches who had a huge amount of work done with us,” stated Robbie looking back to April.

“At the time the onus was on us to make sure we were focused on the next game, that was Carlow in the Leinster opener at Pairc Tailteann and we got the result, that’s what was important.”

“We also had to deal with the absence of players ahead of crucial games, we lost Jordan

Morris with that awful injury, Mathew Costello, Ronan Jones, Jack Flynn, Sean Coffey.”

“Jordan is a brilliant guy and it’s a pleasure to work with someone like that, as it is with all the players.”

“When he sustained that injury against Louth I was personally gutted for him, it didn’t look good, but what we saw was the other side of Jordan, what he was willing to do to get back and get on the team again.”

“The fact that he got back is a reflection on his character, the fact the he got an Allstar nomination is a testament to his quality. He is flying with Kingscourt as well and certainly finished the year on a high,” added the Royal boss.

Looking ahead to 2026, Robbie Brennan and his team have plans well advanced for a campaign that will start will start in January with an outing in the O’Byrne Cup away to Wicklow on Saturday 3rd January and the opening NFL game scheduled against Derry at Croke Park due to the redevelopment of Páirc Tailteann.

With the resumption of training, there will be huge enthusiasm amongst the management and players to get the ball rolling again. To add to the enthusiasm there is the added boost from Sean Rafferty’s Allstar award, the first since Stephen Bray won in 2007.

“There have been highs and lows, some good days and some bad days, but overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable first year and the plotting and planning for year two is already well underway,” he pledged.

“The first round of the National Football League is really only just around the corner and both myself and the rest of the management team are looking forward to it all starting again.”

“With Bryan Menton and Donal Keogan on board for 2026, and some other players due to return also, we will set about finalising a panel taking into consideration club commitments in the Leinster Club Championships.”

“There are positives to be taken from the tight schedule at intercounty level, there certainly is no time to wallow and to feel sorry for yourself if you lose a game because the next one is coming down the track rapidly.”

“An example of that would be the Leinster SFC final defeat by Louth this year. We had to be ready for Cork in the first round of the AllIreland series just 13 days later.”

“That could be viewed as a positive or a negative, how do you want to look at it? Maybe an extra break could be factored into the schedule to give the players a better chance of recovery.

“Overall, I suppose it’s fine, there will probably never be a schedule that will please everyone, but we

Robbie in a reflective mood during the All Ireland

coped well and I think the supporters really enjoyed the journey.”

“That Leinster final against Louth was a cracking occasion, the build up and buzz around the county, I suppose the result was a kind of

revenge for Louth and the supporters some 15 years after that 2010 final.”

“I was there at Croke Park in 2010 and I remember it well, but the current Louth team is a very good team, they have lots of quality and

and Galway. It was a huge honour to take over the reins from Colm (O’Rourke) and his team. Colm had introduced a lot of younger players during his stint and we benefited from that, that’s something I’d like to acknowledge, the huge amount of work that was involved,” he added.

New faces won’t just be restricted to the playing panel with Aaron Kernan's role primarily as a defensive coach.

"Aaron (Kernan) is a great character and I'm looking forward to unleashing him on the lads, he'll be working on the defensive stuff, Conor Gillespie and Shane Supple are still there, Conor Scully is coming in to look at some of the transition stuff for us,” indicated Robbie.

“I’m lucky, where I am in Dunboyne, I’d often see Sean (Boylan) around the place and then there is Andy (McEntee) as well although some would say he is a Nobber man, but there is the Dunboyne link also.”

they deserved it on the day, but we learned from it as well.”

“We were in contention until the last kick of the game and we took things out of the final that certainly helped us in the subsequent games against Cork, Kerry, Roscommon

“If I can do as good a job as my Dunboyne predecessors, then it won’t be a bad innings,” concluded Robbie Brennan with a smile that reflected the attitude he has brought to the role as manager of a sleeping giant of the GAA that is beginning to reawaken.

The first outing of 2026 is on Saturday 3rd January in the O’Byrne Cup vs Wicklow. The match is away.

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Meath Herald Stats….. Meath Herald Stats…..

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 25th January

Cork 2-19, Meath 0-21 at Pairc Ui Chaoimh

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-1); Seamus Lavin, Adam O'Neill, Donal Keogan; Eoin Harkin (0-2), Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-1), Bryan Menton; Keith Curtis, Eoghan Frayne (0-1), Jack Kinlough; Jordan Morris (0-4), Mathew Costello (0-10 five frees, one two-point free), Shane Walsh (0-2). Subs - Brian O'Halloran for O'Neill 50 mins, Conor Duke for Curtis 54m, James Conlon for Walsh 55m, Ronan Jones for Frayne and Sean Rafferty for Caulfield both 60m.

SECOND ROUND

Sunday 2nd February

Meath 3-21, Cavan 0-20 at Páirc Tailteann

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-2 two-point free); Sean Rafferty Seamus Lavin, Donal Keogan; Eoin Harkin (0-1), Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-1), Bryan Menton (0-2

two-pointer); Ronan Jones (2-0), Eoghan Frayne (0-8 one free, one two-pointer, one two-point free, one mark), Jack Kinlough; Jordan Morris (1-4 two frees), Conor Duke, Shane Walsh both with (0-1).

Subs - Ruairi Kinsella (0-2) for Menton 42 mins, James Conlon for Walsh 52m, Conor Gray for Jones 58m, Cillian O'Sullivan for Duke 62m, Aaron Lynch for Kinlough 67m.

THIRD ROUND

Saturday 15th February

Meath 0-24, Down 1-18 at Páirc Esler

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-1 '45'); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Donal Keogan; Brian O'Halloran, Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield (0-1); Jack Flynn (0-1), Bryan Menton (02); Conor Duke, Jack Kinlough, Ronan Jones (0-2 one two-pointer); Jordan Morris (0-9 one twopointer, one two-point free)), Shane Walsh (0-1), Eoghan Frayne (0-7 three frees, one two-point free).

Subs Used - Adam O'Neill for O'Halloran 47 mins, James Conlon for Walsh 50m, Keith Curtis for Duke 63m, Daithi McGowan for

Raffrety 63m, Adam O'Neill for Lavin 70m, Cathal Hickey for Frayne 73m.

SEMI-FINAL

PRELIMINARY ROUND

Sunday 6th April at Pairc Tailteann

Meath 1-30, Carlow 0-19

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Eoin Harkin, Donal Keogan, Ciaran Caulfield (0-1); Jack Flynn (0-3), Bryan Menton (01); Conor Duke (0-2), Ruairi Kinsella (1-5), Jack Kinlough (0-2); Keith Curtis (0-2), Mathew Costello (0-4), Eoghan Frayne (07).

Subs - Diarmuid Moriarty (0-2) for Kinlough 20 mins, Ronan Ryan for Lavin 48m, Jason Scully (0-1) for Kinsella 49m, Michael Murphy for Harkin 52m, Cillian O'Sullivan for Murphy 68m.

QUARTER-FINAL

Sunday 13th April at Pairc Tailteann

Meath 1-25, Offaly 0-21

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-2); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Sean Coffey (0-1), Donal Keogan, Ciaran Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-2), Bryan Menton (01); Conor Duke (0-4), Ruairi Kinsella, Keith Curtis; Diarmuid Moriarty, Mathew Costello (0-9), Eoghan Frayne (0-3).

Subs - Aaron Lynch (0-1) for Moriarty 46 mins, Shane Walsh for Curtis 54m, James Conlon (1-2) for Kinsella 60m, Ronan Ryan for

Kinlough 70m, Ronan Ryan for Rafferty 75m.

FOURTH ROUND

Sunday 23rd February

Meath 2-18, Roscommon 0-17 at Páirc Tailteann

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-2 '45s); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Donal Keogan; Adam O'Neill, Seán Coffey (1-0), Ciarán Caulfield (0-1); Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Conor Duke (0-5 two two-pointers), Jack Kinlough, Ronan Jones (1-0); Jordan Morris (0-2 one free), Shane Walsh (0-1), Eoghan Frayne (0-6 two frees, one two-point free).

Subs - Brian O'Halloran for O'Neill 45 mins, Aaron Lynch (0-1) for Walsh 52m, Daithi McGowan for Jones 57m, Michael Murphy for Caulfield 70m.

FIFTH ROUND

Sunday 2nd March

Meath 3-14, Westmeath 1-17 at Cusack Park, Mullingar

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Donal Keogan; Brian O'Halloran, Adam O'Neill (1-0), Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-3 one two-pointer), Bryan Menton (0-1); Conor Duke (1-3), Jack Kinlough, Thomas O'Reilly; Jordan

Morris (1-3 one free, one twopointer), Shane Walsh, Eoghan Frayne (0-4 two frees).

Subs - Cillian O'Sullivan for O'Reilly 26 mins, Eoin Harkin for O'Neill 47m, Aaron Lynch for Walsh 51m, Keith Curtis for O'Sullivan 62m, Michael Murphy for O'Halloran 73m.

SIXTH ROUND

Sunday 16th March

Monaghan 1-29, Meath 1-20 at Páirc Tailteann

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Donal Keogan; Sean Ryan, Eoin Harkin, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-1), Bryan Menton (0-1); Conor Duke, Jack Kinlough (0-2), Cian McBride; Jordan Morris (0-4 one free), Keith Curtis, Eoghan Frayne (1-6 one two-point free, three frees).

Subs - Brian O'Halloran for Ryan and Aaron Lynch (0-2 one mark) for McBride both half-time, Ruairi Kinsella (0-4 two two-pointers) for Curtis 47 mins, Shane Walsh for Harkin 67m.

SEVENTH ROUND

Sunday 23rd March Louth 1-19, Meath 0-17 at Inniskeen

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Donal Keogan; Eoin Harkin, Brian O'Halloran, Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn (0-2), Bryan Menton; Conor Duke, Jack Kinlough, Ruairi Kinsella; Jordan Morris (0-8 one two-pointer, two frees, one two-point free), Aaron Lynch (0-1), Eoghan Frayne (0-4 two frees, one two-point free).

Subs - Mathew Costello for Duke 42 mins, Keith Curtis (0-2 twopointer) for Kinlough 51m, Shane Walsh for Kinsella, Cathal Hickey for Lynch both 60m, Jason Scully for Harkin 67m.

Sunday 27th April at O’Moore Park

Meath 0-23, Dublin 1-16

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Donal Keogan, Sean Coffey, Ciaran Caulfield; Adam O'Neill, Bryan Menton (0-2 one two-pointer); Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella, Keith Curtis (0-3 one two-pointer); Mathew Costello (01), James Conlon (0-5), Eoghan Frayne (0-11 two two pointers).

Subs - Aaron Lynch (0-1) for Curtis 50 mins, Shane Walsh for Kinsella 57m, Ronan Jones for Duke 58m, Cathal Hickey for O'Neill 61m, Ronan Ryan for Rafferty 65m.

FINAL

Sunday 11th May at Croke Park. Louth 3-14, Meath 1-18

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-4); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Donal Keogan (0-1), Sean Coffey (0-1), Ciaran Caulfield; Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella (0-4), Keith Curtis (0-1); Mathew Costello (1-1), James Conlon (0-1), Eoghan Frayne (04).

Subs - Jordan Morris (0-1) for Curtis 45m, Shane Walsh for Duke 55m, Aaron Lynch for Kinsella 65m, Daithi McGowan for Conlon 72m.

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 24th May

Meath 1-13, Cork 0-12 at Páirc Talteann

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-1); Séamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey (0-1), Ciarán Caulfield; Jack Flynn, Bryan Menton; Conor Duke, Ruairí Kinsella, Jordan Morris (1-1); Mathew Costello (0-5), James Conlon (0-2), Eoghan Frayne (03).

Subs - Adam O’Neill for Coffey and Keith Curtis for Frayne both 46 mins, Cathal Hickey for Duke 50m, Shane Walsh for Conlon 68m, James McEntee for Kinsella 73m.

SECOND ROUND

Saturday 31st May

Roscommon 2-15, Meath 0-21 at Dr Hyde Park

Meath - Billy Hogan (0-2 one twopointer); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Brian O'Halloran; Donal Keogan, Sean Coffey (0-1), Ciaran Caulfield; Adam O'Neill, Bryan Menton (0-2 one two-pointer); Conor Duke (0-2 one two-pointer), Ruairi Kinsella (0-3 one twopointer), Mathew Costello (0-1); Jordan Morris (0-2), James Conlon (0-6 one two-pointer), Eoghan Frayne (0-2).

Subs - Cathal Hickey for Duke 55 mins, Keith Curtis for Frayne 59m,

Conor Gray for Menton 65m, James McEntee for Lavin 66m, Eoin Harkin for O'Neill 68m.

THIRD ROUND

Saturday 14th June

Meath 1-22, Kerry 0-16 at O’Connor Park, Tullamore Meath - Billy Hogan (0-1 ‘45’); Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan (0-1), Sean Coffey (0-1), Ciaran Caulfield (0-1); Bryan Menton (1-0), Adam O’Neill; Conor Duke (0-5 one twopointer), Ruairí Kinsella (0-5 two two-pointers), Cathal Hickey; Jordan Morris (0-2), Keith Curtis (0-1), Eoghan Freyne (0-5 one two-pointer).

Subs - Cian McBride for O’Neill half-time, Eoin Harkin for Hickey 53 mins, Shane Walsh for Freyne 58m, James McEntee for Kinsella and Diarmuid Moriarty for Rafferty both 68m Black card - C Hickey 36 mins

QUARTER-FINAL

Meath 2-16, Galway 2-15 at Croke Park

SEMI-FINAL

Sunday 13th July Donegal 3-26, Meath 0-15 at Croke Park

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty (0-1), Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan, Seán Coffey, Ciarán Caulfield; Bryan Menton, Adam O'Neill; Conor Duke (0-1), Ruairí Kinsella (0-3 one twopointer), Keith Curtis (0-3); Jordan Morris (0-1), Mathew Costello (01), Eoghan Frayne (0-5 one free, one two-pointer).

Meath - Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Sean Rafferty, Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan (0-1), Sean Coffey (0-1), Ciaran Caulfield; Bryan Menton (0-1), Adam O'Neill; Conor Duke, Ruairi Kinsella (0-1), Mathew Costello (0-4); Jordan Morris (1-6), Keith Curtis, Eoghan Frayne (0-1). Subs - Cathal Hickey (0-1), for Curtis 42 mins, Conor Gray (1-0) for O'Neill 46m, Brian O'Halloran for Rafferty 55m, Rafferty for Lavin 61m, Eoin Harkin for Duke 64m, Cian McBride for Menton 68m.

Subs Used - Conor Gray for Menton 21m, Eoin Harkin for O'Neill 46m, James McEntee for Lavin 52m, Brian O'Halloran for Curtis 59m, Shane Walsh for Kinsella 65m.

Hectic Six Week Schedule

Ended In Disappointment

By Conall Collier

The Leinster Under-20 FC was played on midweek dates from late March until the end of April with six games in a hectic six-week schedule leading to the decider for manager Cathal O Bric and his selectors and players.

Meath began the defence of the Leinster under-20 title with a fantastic victory over the Dublin and followed that with wins against Westmeath and Offaly in a hectic three-week period at the end of March and the beginning of April.

A fourth game in four weeks brought a quarter-final victory by 0-20 to 2-10 against Wexford and six days later the challenge posed

by Kildare was negotiated at the semi-final stage on a 0-19 to 1-8 scoreline.

Meath manager Cathal O Bric watched on as his side was edged out by a talented Louth outfit at Newbridge.

"We didn't really spark on the day. In the earlier rounds we had shown a real crispness in attack and we never allowed the opposition to build a lead, but that wasn't evident in our play for the final,” commented O Bric.

“They are hugely disappointed to lose, but the benefits that this group will get from this campaign are massive.

“A lot of them are eligible for next year and there are plenty of lads there well equipped to push on and play for Meath at senior level in years to come,” he added.

Meath Herald Stats….. Meath Herald Stats…..

Stafford (0-2, one free), John Harkin (0-2), Cian Commons (0-2); Ben Corkery (0-2), Jamie Murphy (0-2 frees), Liam Jennings (0-2).

FIRST ROUND

Wednesday 26th March – Meath 122, Dublin 1-18

Meath- Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh Martyn, John Gormley, Finn White; Eamonn Armstrong (0-1), Michael McIvor (0-2 one two-pointer); Rian Stafford (0-2 frees), John Harkin (03 one two-pointer), Cian Commons (0-1); Ben Corkery (0-2), Jamie Murphy (1-10 two frees, two twopoint frees, 1-0 penalty, one twopointer), Liam Jennings.

Subs- Cillian Yore for White 40 mins, Zach Thornton (0-1) for Commons 48m, Harry Cahill for Jennings 52m, James Reeves for Early 62m.

SECOND ROUND

Wednesday 2nd April – Meath 0-19, Westmeath 0-12

Meath - Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh Martyn, John Gormley, Finn White (0-1); Eamonn Armstrong, Michael McIvor (0-6 one two-pointer); Rian

Subs - James Reeves for Gormley 38 mins, Zach Thornton for Harkin 52m, Seimi Byrne for White 53m, Pat Crawley for Corkery and Fiach Hartigan for Jordan both 55m.

THIRD ROUND

Wednesday 9th April – Meath 2-11, Offaly 1-15

Meath - Braydon Colfer; Cillian Yore (1-0), Fiach Hartigan, Oisin Brennan; Aidan Mackey (0-1), James Reeves, Seimi Byrne; Harry Cahill, Sean Betson (0-1); Conor O'Brien (0-2), Zach Thornton (0-1), Ivo Fitzherbert; Pat Crawley (0-3 two frees), Cian Duggan (0-1), Evan Kelly (1-1).

Subs - Eoin Drysdale for Byrne sin mins, Michael O'Sullivan for Cahill, Aaron Farrelly for Thornton both half-time, Cormac Liggan (0-1) for Mackey 33m, John Gormley for Betson 62m.

QUARTER-FINAL

Wednesday 16th April - Meath 0-20, Wexford 2-10

Meath- Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh Martyn (0-1), Finn White, Fiach Hartigan; Eamonn Armstrong, Michael McIvor (0-2 one two-pointer); Rian Stafford (0-6 three frees, one two-point free), John Harkin (0-4 one two-pointer), Zach Thornton (0-1); Ben Corkery (0-3), Jamie Murphy(0-3), Liam Jennings.

Subs- Cillian Yore for White 42 mins, Michael O'Sullivan for Jennings 49m, Conor O'Brien for Thornton 58m, Aaron Farrelly for Gilbert 60m.

SEMI-FINAL

Tuesday 22nd April – Meath 0-19, Kildare 1-8

Meath - Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh

Martyn, Fiach Hartigan, Finn White; Eamonn Armstrong, Michael McIvor; Rian Stafford (0-8 three two-pointers), John Harkin (0-2 one two-pointer), Zach Thornton; Ben Corkery (0-1), Jamie Murphy (0-7, two two-pointers), Liam Jennings (0-1).

Subs - John Gormley for White and Conor O'Brien for Thornton both 50 mins, Sean Betson for Corkery 59m, Pat Cawley for Jennings 62m.

FINAL

Wednesday 30th April at Newbridge Full-time: Louth 2-19, Meath 1-15 Meath - Matthew Kealy; Sam Jordan, Rian Early, Ciaran O'Hare; Tadgh Martyn (1-0), Fiach Hartigan, Finn White (0-1); Eamonn Armstrong (0-2), Michael McIvor (0-4 two two-pointers); Rian Stafford (0-1), John Harkin, Zach Thornton (0-1); Ben Corkery, Jamie Murphy (0-6 one two-pointer), Liam Jennings.

Subs - Michael O'Sullivan for Jennings and Cillian Yore for Hartigan both 42 mins, Pat Crawley for Corkery and Sean Betson for Thornton both 48m, Conor O'Brien for Betson 58m.

Hectic Leinster And All-Ireland Schedule

By Conall Collier

Meath minor football manager Joe Cowley and his troops tackled a hectic Leinster and All-Ireland Tier 2 campaign that began with a 4-10 to 0-10 victory over Westmeath at the end of March and ended with a narrow reversal against Kildare at O’Connor Park, Tullamore in early June.

Eight high-intensity games condensed into a 10-week itinerary of midweek and weekend action that produced five victories.

Following that opening round win over Westmeath, the Royal County faltered against Kildare on a Thursday night at Newbridge.

However, a week later Meath negotiated Longford in the final Group 2 game of the

Leinster MFC on a Thursday evening at Clonguish. That earned a quarter-final against Offaly where the Leinster campaign ended.

The Tier 2 FC was next and Meath edged out Galway by a point at the first hurdle before having three points to spare against Monaghan a week later as hat-trick of goals from Dunsany's Stephen Cahill, which included a late winner, proved crucial.

A trip to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh brought success against Donegal and a place in the Paul McGirr Cup All-Ireland MFC final.

The All-Ireland Tier 2 MFC decider against Kildare at Tullamore was a thriller, but Meath lost narrowly after they produced a storming second-half. Meath had trailed by 0-3 to 2-7 at the interval and eventually lost by a goal (1-12 to 2-12).

Meath Herald Stats

LEINSTER MINOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 29th March – Meath 4-10, Westmeath 0-10

Meath - Kian Campbell; Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadgh Foley, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher; Will Byrne, Cillian Murphy, Jeff Foley; Adam McEvoy, Stephen Cahill, Nathan Reilly.

SECOND ROUND

Thursday 10th April – Kildare 3-14, Meath 1-15

Meath - Kian Campbell; Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadgh Foley, Eoghan McBrearty (0-1), Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher (0-6 two two-pointers); Will Byrne (0-1), Cillian Murphy, Jeff Foley; Adam McEvoy (0-3 two frees), Stephen Cahill (1-1), Nathan Reilly (0-3 one free).

Subs - Robert Johnson for Tadgh Foley 41 mins, CJ Lynch for Cahill 49m, Sean Delaney for Martin 52m, Max Condon for Jeff Foley and Sean Smyth for Byrne both 56m.

THIRD ROUND

Thursday 17th April – Meath 1-19, Longford 310

Meath - Kian Campbell; Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadgh Foley, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless (0-1); Declan Byrne (0-1), Charlie Gallagher; Will Byrne, Cillian Murphy, Robert Johnson (0-2); Cormac Murphy (0-1), Stephen Cahill (0-2), Nathan Reilly (0-9 two frees).

Subs - Adam McEvoy (1-0) for Murray 40 mins, Sean Delaney (0-3 one two-pointer) for W Byrne 43m, Jeff Foley for Johnson 49m, Lewis Ryan for Foley 54m, Luke Casey for Lawless 57m.

QUARTER-FINAL

Thursday 1st May – Offaly 4-11, Meath 2-14

Meath - Charlie Finnegan; Charlie O’Connor, Conall O’Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadhg Foley (0-1), Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher (0-2 twopointer); Will Byrne (0-1), Cillian Murphy (01), Robert Johnson; Cormac Murray (1-1), Stephen Cahill (1-2), Nathan Reilly (0-3 frees).

Subs– Sean Delaney (0-2 two-pointer) for Johnson 38 mins, Adam McEvoy (0-1) for Reilly 44m, Lewis Ryan for Foley 46m, Jeff Foley for Byrne 51m.

TIER TWO FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

FIRST ROUND

Friday 16th May – Meath 2-17, Galway 2-16

Meath- Charlie Finnegan; Conal Sheridan, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadhg Foley, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Sean Smyth (1-3 one free); Will Byrne (0-2), Cillian Murphy (1-1), Sean Delaney (0-1); Adam McEvoy (0-1 free), Charlie Gallagher (0-7 three two-pointers), Stephen Cahill (0-2).

Subs - Max Condon for Foley half-time, Jesse O'Rourke for McEvoy 45 mins, Charlie O'Connor for Sheridan 48m, Robbie Johnson

QUARTER-FINAL

Saturday 24th May - Meath 3-20, Monaghan 317

Meath - Charlie Finnegan (0-1 ‘45'); Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Tadgh Foley, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne (0-1), Charlie Gallagher (0-5 two two-pointers); Will Byrne, Cillian Murphy, Sean Delaney (0-1); Adam McEvoy (0-6 three frees), Sean Smith (0-4), Stephen Cahill (3-1).

Subs - Lewis Ryan (0-1) for Foley 39 mins, Luke Casey for Lawless 46m, Jesse O'Rourke for Delaney and Robert Johnson for McEvoy both 61m, Shane Bennett for O'Connor 63m

SEMI-FINAL

Saturday 31st May – Meath 6-11, Donegal 012

Meath - Charlie Finnegan; Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Lewis Ryan, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless (1-0); Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher (0-5 two two-pointers); Will Byrne, Cillian Murphy (01), Sean Delaney; Jesse O'Rourke, Sean Smyth (2-3 penalty, two frees), Stephen Cahill(1-2).

Subs - Adam McEvoy for O'Rourke 25 mins, Luke Casey (1-0) for Lawless and Shane Bennett for Ryan both 46m, Robert Johnson for Byrne 51m, Jeff Foley (1-0) for Delaney 56m.

FINAL Saturday 7th June – Kildare 2-12, Meath 112

Meath - Charlie Finnegan; Charlie O'Connor, Conall O'Sullivan, Glen Callaghan; Lewis Ryan, Eoghan McBrearty, Niall Lawless; Declan Byrne, Charlie Gallagher (0-7 three two-pointers); Will Byrne (0-1), Cillian Murphy, Sean Delaney; Adam McEvoy (0-1 free), Sean Smyth (11), Stephen Cahill (0-1).

Subs - CJ Lynch (0-1) for McEvoy 32 mins, Luke Casey for Ryan 39m, Jeff Foley for Delaney 48m, Robert Johnson for Byrne 53m, Nathan Reilly for Smyth 58m.

Disappointing Campaign For Meath Hurlers

BY CONALL COLLIER

Adisappointing year for Meath hurling following relegation from the Joe McDonagh Cup (Tier 2HC) to the Christy Ring Cup for 2025 and the search for a new manager was concluded in September of 2024.

Westmeath man Johnny Greville took over the reins following a lengthy Meath Co Board consultative process and his assistants were Sean Corrigan (Kildalkey) and Tom Shine (Kilskrye/Moylagh).

However, it was a real low-key campaign in both the National Hurling League (NHL) Div 2 despite a promising start and it didn’t improve in any meaningful way in the Christy Ring Cup.

Meath’s campaign began with a home victory at Trim in the NHL Div 2 against Donegal at the end of January and that was followed by another win, this time against Tyrone at Garvaghey.

Kerry proved too strong for the Royal County at the beginning of March at Austin Stack Park and a week later another defeat was recorded against Derry at Celtic Park.

There was a rescheduled fixture against Down, postponed shortly before the scheduled throw-in time at Trim in February, and it was played after the two defeats.

Meath made it two wins in-a-row at Trim, but a week later Kildare ended that sequence with a 1-24 to 1-14 victory in the final game of the NHL.

Attention then turned to the Christy Ring Cup and a fivegame schedule in six weeks.

A disappointing start saw Meath lose to London at Trim where the concession of five goals was a factor, but a 2-29 to 2-15 win against Tyrone a week later restored optimism ahead of a fine display against Derry that produced a 3-17 to 1-22 victory.

However, a defeat by Wicklow at Aughrim was followed by a shock reversal at Trim in the final round against Donegal.

Darragh Kelly tussles for possession in the Christy Ring Cup against Donegal in Trim

ALL-NEW OPEL FRONTERA

Meath Herald Stats….. Meath Herald Stats…..

O'Higgins both half-time, Sean Corbett for Quigley 47 mins, Ben Holden for J Kelly 65m, Martin Healy for Shine 75m.

FIFTH ROUND

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 25th January – Meath 212, Donegal 1-14

Meath (players and clubs listed for first game) - Cian Field (Donaghmore/Ashbourne); James Cooke, Daire Shine, Darren O’Higgins (Kilskyre/Moylagh); Nicky Potterton, Evan Fitzgerald (Kildalkey); Kris Gorman, Lorcan Byrne, Kyle Donnelly, Mark Horan, Noah Conroy, Séan Doyle (Kilmessan); Jack Regan, James Kelly (Kiltale); Mickey Burke, Damien Healy (Longwood); Colm O’Riordan, Domhnall Rogers, Seán Corbett, Cian Rogers (Ratoath); Jarlath Ennis, Simon Ennis (Rathmolyon); Philip O’Brien (St Patrick's); Ben Holden, Joey Cole, Mikey Cole, James Toher (Trim),

SECOND ROUND

Sunday 9th February – Meath 2-22, Tyrone 2-14

Meath- Philip O'Brien; Jarlath Ennis, Mickey Burke, Ben Holden; James Kelly (0-1), Daire Shine (01), Simon Ennis; James Cooke, Joey Cole (0-1); Evan Fitzgerald (1-3), James Toher, Kris Gorman; Nicky Potterton (1-2), Jack Regan (0-11 six frees), Cian Rogers (0-2).

Subs- Mikey Cole for Gorman and Domhnall Rogers for Holden both half-time, Darren O'Higgins (0-1) for C Rogers and Damien Healy for Toher both 47 mins, Kyle Donnelly for Burke 61m.

THIRD ROUND

Saturday 1st March – Kerry 1-20, Meath 0-20

Meath- Colm O’Riordan; Jarlath Ennis, Ben Holden, Domhnall Rogers; Kris Gorman, Daire Shine (0-1), Simon Ennis; Seán Quigley (0-2), Joey Cole; Evan Fitzgerald (01), Jack Regan (0-11 10 frees), Lorcan Byrne; Mikey Cole (0-4), Cian Rogers, Nicky Potterton (0-1).

Subs- Darragh Kelly for Holden half-time, James Toher for Quigley 49 mins, Darren O’Higgins for C Rogers 53m, Martin Healy for J Cole 57m, Seán Corbett for Fitzgerald 62m.

FOURTH ROUND

Saturday 8th March – Derry 1-27, Meath 1-24

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; Jarlath Ennis, Daire Shine (0-1), Domhnall Rogers; James Reilly, Darragh Kelly (0-1), Kris Gorman; Simon Ennis (0-1), Darren O'Higgins; Nicky Potteron (0-2), Sean Quigley, Lorcan Byrne; Mikey Cole (1-0), Jack Regan (0-16, 0-12 frees, one ‘65'), Evan Fitzgerald.

Subs - Sean Doyle (0-3) for Fitzgerald and James Toher for

Saturday 15th March – Meath 2-30, Down 4-21

(Postponed on original date in February due to unplayable pitch)

Meath – Colm O’Riordan; Jarlath Ennis, Martin Healy, Domhnall Rogers; Sean Coloe (0-1), Darragh Kelly (0-1), Kris Gorman (0-1); Simon Ennis, Damien Healy (1-4); Nicky Potterton (0-3), Sean Quigley (0-2), Lorcan Byrne (0-3); Mikey Cole (1-5), Jack Regan (0-8, five frees, one ‘65’), James Toher (0-1).

Subs – Sean Doyle (0-1) for Coloe 49 mins, Paddy Barnwell for D Healy 65m, Mark Horan for Quigley 67m, Mickey Burke for J Ennis 72m.

SIXTH ROUND

Saturday 22nd March – Kildare 1-24, Meath 1-14

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; Sean Coloe, Darragh Kelly, Martin Healy, Lorcan Byrne, Simon Ennis, Domhnall Rogers; Kris Gorman, Jarlath Ennis; Mikey Cole (0-1), Nicky Potterton (0-2), James Toher; Sean Quigley, Damien Healy, Jack Regan (1-10, 1-7 frees).

Subs - Sean Corbett for Quigley and Kyle Donnelly for Martin Healy, both half-time, Sean Doyle for Cole 55 mins, James Kelly (0-1) for Kelly 58m, Evan Fitzgerald for D Healy 62m.

Damien Healy (1-1), Jack Regan (013 ten frees)

Subs - Darren O'Higgins (1-0) for M Cole and Nicky Potterton (0-1) for Rogers both half-time, Kris Gorman (0-1) for Quigley 52 mins, David Murtagh for J Cole 59m, James Murray for Healy 61m, James Cooke for Kyle Donnelly 73m.

THIRD ROUND

Saturday 26th April – Meath 3-17, Derry 1-22

Padraig O'Hanrahan for Ennis

58m.

FIFTH ROUND

Saturday 17th May – Donegal 0-28, Meath 3-14

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; Mickey Burke, Daragh Kelly, Sean Coloe; Kyle Donnelly, James Toher, Daire Shine; Joey Cole, Lorcan Byrne; Jack Regan, Kris Gorman, Padraig O’Hanrahan; Nicky Potterton, Damien Healy, Sean Quigley.

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 12th April – London 5-18, Meath 0-21

Meath - Colm O'Rordan; Jarlath Ennis, Daire Shine, Simon Ennis; Kyle Donnelly (0-1), James Toher (0-2), Sean Coloe; James Cooke (01), Kris Gorman (0-1); Damien Healy, Nicky Potterton, Lorcan Byrne (0-3); Sean Corbett, Jack Regan (0-11 six frees, two 65's), Mikey Cole.

Subs - Darragh Kelly for Jarlath Ennis half-time, Mickey Burke for S Ennis 46 mins, Sean Quigley (0-1) for Corbett, James Kelly (0-1) for Gorman both 57m, Darren O'Higgins for Potterton 64m.

SECOND ROUND

Saturday 19th April – Meath 2-29, Tyrone 2-15

Meath - Colm O’Riordan; Sean Coloe, Daire Shine (0-2), Kyle Donnelly; Darragh Kelly (0-1), James Toher (0-1), James Kelly (04); Sean Quigley, Mickey Burke; Cian Rogers (0-2), Mikey Cole (02), Joey Cole; Lorcan Byrne (0-1),

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; James Kelly, Darragh Kelly, Kyle Donnelly; Michael Burke, James Toher (0-2), Sean Coloe; Joey Cole, Daire Shine; Kris Gorman (0-1), Nicky Potterton (0-3), Jack Regan (0-7 six frees); Damien Healy (1-0), Mikey Cole (2-0), Lorcan Byrne (0-2).

Subs - Simon Ennis for Coloe 29 mins, Cian Rogers (0-1) for J Kelly 42m, James Murray for Gorman 55m, Darren O'Higgins for Cole 56m, Sean Quigley (0-1) for Regan 67m.

FOURTH ROUND

Saturday 10th May – Wicklow 3-17, Meath 0-16

Meath - Colm O'Riordan; Kyle Donnelly, James Toher, David Murtagh; Joey Cole (0-1), Simon Ennis, Darragh Kelly; Michael Burke, Sean Coloe; Damien Healy (0-2), Kris Gorman (0-1), Cian Rogers; Loran Byrne (0-1), Jack Regan (0-7 two free, three 65'), Nicky Potterton (0-3).

Subs - James Murray (0-1) for Murtagh, Darren O'Higgins for Rogers both half-time, Sean Quigley for Donnelly 46 mins,

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 5th April – Westmeath 216, Meath 1-12

Meath - Brendan Smith; Darragh Fay, Cian Colhoun, Brian Stagg; Paul Hennessy, Anthony Healy, Cormac Slattery; Darragh Heffernan, George Douglas; Tiernan Anderson, Mark Leavy, Fergal Flynn; Luke Gallagher, Kyle Ennis, Darren O’Higgins.

SECOND ROUND

Tuesday 15th April – Antrim 3-22, Meath 2-10

Meath - Brendan Smith; Darragh Fay, Cian Colhoun, Brian Stagg; Paul Hennessy, Anthony Healy, Cormac Slattery (0-1); Darragh Heffernan, George Douglas (0-1 sideline); Tiernan Anderson, Mark Leavy (0-2 frees), Fergal Flynn; Joey Christie, Kyle Ennis (0-4 three frees), Darren O’Higgins (20).Subs - Luke Gallagher (0-1) for Anderson 18 mins, Rian Fay for Flynn 42m, Eoin Bright for Slattery 56m.

Meath panel: Darragh Purcell (Boardsmill); Callum Buckley, Louis McIvor (Donaghmore / Ashbourne); Daniel Morris (Drumree); Eoghan McDonald, Joel Mangan, Rory Callanan (Dunboyne); Ciaran O’Brien (Dunderry); Conor Óg Ferguson, Zak Boshell (Gaeil Colmcille); Daniel Quinn, Patrick Casey (Kildalkey); Eoin Carroll, Jack McKeown (Killyon); Conor Horan, Stephen Morgan (Kilmessan); Luke Fagan Ashe, Luke Madden, Pierse Anderson, Sean Harrigan (Kiltale); Ronan Greene (Longwood); Jake Doherty, Mason Flynn (Na Fianna); Daniel Carolan, Eoghan McDermott, Euan Kerr, Luke Brady, Sebastian Snow (Navan O’Mahonys); Daniel Callaghan, Kosei Kirwan (Rathmolyon); Aaron Reidy, Eoin Flanagan (Ratoath); Leon Harris, Ruairí McCaffrey (Trim).

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 22nd March – Offaly 2-14, Meath 2-11

SECOND ROUND

Saturday 5th April – Meath 3-10, Wicklow 0-11

THIRD ROUND

Saturday 12h April - Westmeath 321, Meath 3-12

FOURTH ROUND

Saturday 26th April – Antrim 3-23, Meath 1-19

One Year At The Helm For Anton O’Neill

BY CONALL COLLIER

Popular Kilmessan man

Anton O'Neill took over the reins of the Meath senior team for 2025 and endured a campaign that delivered encouraging signs for the future.

However, Meath Camogie announced at the beginning of November that the Kilmessan manand his backroom team that includedMary Burke, Georgia O'Halloran, Ed O’Riordan, Thomas Duignan, Brian O'Reilly and Richie McCabestepped down from their roles and would not be going forward into the 2026 season.

“Anton brought great passion and enthusiasm to the Meath setup, inspiring players and

supporters alike,” commented a Meath Camogie spokesperson.

“His energy and commitment were evident throughout the season, culminating in Meath reaching theAll-Ireland Intermediate quarter-final. Meath Camogie would like to sincerely thank Anton and his entire team for their dedication and hard work.”

“We are deeply grateful for their contribution and wish them all the very best in their future endeavours,” concluded the spokesperson.

A LOOK AT THE YEAR

Two wins were achieved in the National Camogie League Div 2A, against Carlow and Armagh while the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship brought an opening round win against Westmeath, but

there was a quarter-final exit against Down.

Despite a narrow defeat, there was also a solid performance against Kilkenny in the Leinster Intermediate Championship.

Meath also competed in the inaugural All-Ireland U-23 Camogie Championship in Grade C where they were edged out in the decider by Down at Castleblayney. The Mourne side prevailed by 2-14 to 1-9.

Meath also had a good run in the All-Ireland Minor B making the semi-final where once again it was Down that took the spoils.

There was a Leinster U-16C final win against Wicklow and an AllIreland U-16 B Shield title following a 2-13 to 1-15 victory against Armagh.

Meath Ladies Retain Leinster U20

Meath defeated Dublin by 0-13 to 2-6 in the Leinster Under-20 final at Kilcock at the end of July to make it two-in-a-row.

The Royal County established a 0-7 to 0-2 interval advantage.

The top scorers were Ciara Doherty and Ellie Murphy, each scoring four points.

Meath defeated Kildare by 1-16 to 0-4 in the opening round of the competition.

Meath - Méabh McCarrick (Walterstown); Anna Gardiner (Simonstown Gaels), Éabha Magee (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Serena Gavin (Kilbride); Holly Macken (Clann na nGael), Sarah Maguire (Navan O’Mahonys), Sarah Caulfield (Trim); Isabel Thorp (Navan

O’Mahonys), Sinéad Murphy (Trim 0-2); Eléna Kennedy (Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels 01), Ciara Doherty (Donaghmore / Ashbourne 0-4), Sarah Jane Lyons (Walterstown 0-2); Orlaith Reilly (St Ultan’s), Ellie Murphy (Skryne 0-4), Róisín McManus (Skryne).

Subs - Kamile Buviliate for McManus, Shauna Fox for Reilly, Adetola Akinboboye for Lyons,

Mia Brady (Simonstown

Amy Smullen (Clonard), Aoibheann Shortt (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Emily McCann (Oldcastle), Emma Lynch (Oldcastle), Kellie Stafford (Seneschalstown), Lucy Reynolds (Walterstown), Sinéad Cooke (Ratoath), Meghan Leddy (Kilbride).

Eventful Year For Meath Ladies

An eventful year for Meath with a journey that took the team all the way to the TG4 Ladies All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final at Croke Park. This was a third decider in five years.

There was also the departure of manager Shane McCormack at the end of August after taking the Royal County to that All-Ireland decider against Dublin.

The Kildare man took on the role after Meath’s 2024 campaign ended with an All-Ireland quarter-final reversal against a Kerry side that went on to claim the title.

Although silverware unfortunately proved elusive, Meath enjoyed a superb year with a young team. This young team comfortably secured NFL Div 1 status, reached the Leinster SFC final and the AllIreland final following wins over Kildare, Tipperary and Kerry.

Recognition for the players came in the form of 10 nominations for All-star awards despite the disappointment of defeat by Dublin on the big day in August at Croke Park where first-half goals from Nicole Owens and Niamh Hetherton gave Dublin the platform for a 2-16 to 0-10 victory.

It was a seventh Brendan Martin Cup to add to a 19th Leinster SFC title that was achieved with an impressive 2-13 to 1-12 final victory, which was also at the expense of the Royal County.

ALL-IRELAND FINAL TEAMS

Meath - Robyn Murray; Karla Kealy, Mary Kate Lynch, Áine Sheridan; Shauna Ennis, Sarah Wall, Aoibhín Cleary (0-1); Orlaith Sheehy, Marion Farrelly; Megan Thynne, Niamh Gallogly, Ciara Smyth (0-1); Emma Duggan (0-7), Vikki Wall (0-1), Kerrie Cole. Subs - Katie Bermingham for Farrelly 25 mins, Ella Moyles for Sheehy and Farrelly for Ennis both 42m, Niamh McEntee for Cole 49m, Ciara Lawlor for Kealy 51m.

Dublin – Abby Shiels; Jess Tobin, Leah Caffrey, Niamh Donlon; Sinéad Goldrick, Martha Byrne, Niamh Crowley (0-1); Éilish O’Dowd, Hannah McGinnis; Nicole Owens (1-0), Carla Rowe (0-4), O Nolan (0-1); Hannah Tyrrell (0-5), Niamh Hetherton (1-1), Kate Sullivan (0-4). Subs - Sophie McIntyre for Owens 49 mins, Aoife Kane for McGinnis 51m, Hannah Leahy for Donlon 54m, L Grendon for Tyrrell 55m, Chloe Darby for Sullivan 57m.

ALLSTARS

Four Meath players collected AllStar awards in November.

Robyn Murray, Mark Kate Lynch, Aoibhin Cleary and Niamh Gallogly were all included in the TG4 Ladies Football All-Stars team.

Some 10 Meath players were nominated - Aine Sheridan, Emma Duggan, Sarah Wall, Marion Farrelly, Ciara Smyth and Vikki Wall completed the tally of nominees.

NEW MANAGER – WAYNE FREEMAN

Meath LGFA announced the appointment of Wayne Freeman to the role of Meath Ladies Senior manager in October for a three-year term.

Wayne has a strong track record of inter-county experience and previously managed Clare LGFA

and Louth LGFA, as well as contributing to management teams in Kildare and Laois.

Wayne was head coach under Shane McCormack and is familiar with Meath’s structures and has established strong relationships within the squad.

“I am very happy to accept the opportunity to manage this brilliant

group of players,” commented Wayne following his appointment.

Wayne concluded by saying “I thoroughly enjoyed working with the group as the head coach throughout 2025.”

“I am excited about building on those solid foundations and continuing to develop and improve in 2026.”

MEATH GAA REVIEW 2025 THE MEATH HERALD

Meath Herald Stats….. Meath Herald Stats…..

Saturday 21st March: Cork v Meath, 5pm

Sunday 29th March: Meath v Armagh

FIRST ROUND

Sunday 26th January Meath 4-4, Tyrone 0-2

SECOND ROUND

Monday 3rd February – Meath 4-9, Mayo 2-6

THIRD ROUND

Sunday 9th February – Meath 2-11, Waterford 1-13

FOURTH ROUND

Sunday 23rd February – Kildare 2-7, Meath 1-5

FIFTH ROUND

Saturday 1st March – Dublin 2-19, Meath 0-9.

SIXTH ROUND

Saturday 22nd March – Kerry 0-13, Meath 1-8

SEVENTH ROUND

Saturday 29th March – Meath 2-12, Armagh 4-5

FIRST ROUND

Sunday 4th May - Meath 2-14, Kildare 1-16

FINAL

Sunday 11th May – Dublin 2-13, Meath 1-12

FIRST ROUND

Saturday 7th June – Meath 3-8, Armagh 2-11

SECOND ROUND

Saturday 14th June – Meath 0-7, Kildare 0-4

QUARTER-FINAL

Sunday 6th July - Meath 2-17, Tipperary 1-6

SEMI-FINAL

Saturday 19th July - Meath 2-12, Kerry 1-9

FINAL

Sunday 3rd August - Dublin 2-16, Meath 0-10

Sunday 25th January: Meath v Galway

Monday 2nd February: Meath v Dublin, live TG4 2pm

Sunday 8th February: Meath v Kerry Sunday 22nd February: Waterford v Meath

Saturday 28th February: Kildare v Meath, live TG4 7.35pm.

MEATH PANEL FOR THE ALL IRELAND FINAL

Robyn Murray, Monica McGuirk

Megan Collins, Olivia Callan (all Navan O’Mahonys); Áine Sheridan, Marion Farrelly (both St Michael’s); Katie Newe, Amy Gaffney (both Ratoath); Aoibhín Cleary, Ciara Lawlor, Clodagh

Millington (all Donaghmore / Ashbourne); Kerrie Cole, Shauna Ennis (both Na Fianna); Sarah Wall, Vikki Wall, Katie Bermingham, Emma Duggan (all Dunboyne); Karla Kealy, Niamh Gallogly, Ella Moyles, Niamh McEntee (all Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels); Orlaith Sheehy, Anna Myles (both Dee Rangers); Nicole Troy (Boardsmill); Natalie Davitt (St Colmcille’s); Tori Foster (St Patrick’s); Orla Smith (Oldcastle); Megan Thynne (Dunsany); Ciara Smith (Skryne); Mary Kate Lynch (Summerhill).

TG4 Ladies Football All-Star Awards

Four Meath players collected AllStar awards in November at the banquet at the Bonnington Hotel in Dublin.

Robyn Murray, Mark Kate Lynch, Aoibhin Cleary and Niamh Gallogly were all included in the TG4 Ladies Football All-Stars team.

Some 10 Meath players were nominated - Aine Sheridan, Emma Duggan, Sarah Wall, Marion Farrelly, Ciara Smyth and Vikki Wall completed the tally of nominees.

Robyn Murray (Meath) – 1st award

Jess Tobin (Dublin) – 1st award

Leah Caffrey (Dublin) – 5th award

Mary Kate Lynch (Meath) – 2nd award

Aoibhín Cleary (Meath) – 3rd award

Nicola Ward (Galway) – 3rd award

Sinéad Goldrick (Dublin) – 8th award

Éilish O’Dowd (Dublin) – 1st award

Emma Murray (Waterford) – 1st award

Olivia Divilly (Galway) – 2nd award

Niamh Gallogly (Meath) – 1st award

Carla Rowe (Dublin) – 5th award

Hannah Tyrrell (Dublin) – 3rd award

Síofra O’Shea (Kerry) – 1st award

Kate Sullivan (Dublin) – 1st award

County by county breakdown: Dublin 7, Meath 4, Galway 2, Kerry 1, Waterford 1.

Meath LGFA Club Championship Focus

By: CONALL COLLIER

There was great competition across all the championship grades in the race for Meath LGFA honours.

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels were worthy senior champions and are featured separately.

INTERMEDIATE

Skryne emerged with the Intermediate title following a memorable decider against St Ultan’s as they emerged with a 2-14 to 1-11 victory at Bective.

Róisín Mc Manus scored two goals with five points apiece from Ellie Murphy and Amy O’Dowd in a fine team performance.

The Skryne panel was: Colleen Jordan; Ciara Cowley, Niamh Cowley, Ailish Lenehan; Kate Gibbons, Lizzie Moreland, Aisling O’Connor; Catriona Keoghan, Áine Keogh; Fiona O’Rourke, Niamh O’Brien, Ciara Smyth (0-4); Róisín McManus (2-0), Ellie Murphy (0-5), Amy O’Dowd (0-5). Subs - Rachel O’Dowd, Sarah Pentony, Laura Mangan, Ciara Maguire, Alana Cooney, Hannah Dardis, Molly Fitzpatrick, Ruth Moore, Ellie Kate McDonnell, Annie Ryan, Lucy Pentony, Aisling Kellegher, Miriam Hayden, Megan Cowley, Abbye Donnelly, Lisa Browne, Caoimhe Govern, Lily Reilly.

JUNIOR St Colmcille’s captured the JFC title with a 2-10 to 3-3 victory against St Patrick’s and they progressed to the

Leinster final where they were edged out by Muckalee in Kinnegad. St Colmcille’s team and subs for Leinster final - S McPeake; A

O’Toole, D Sweeney, G Rice; T Shortt, N Davitt, S McKenna; A O’Donnell, E Brodigan; T Gordon, A Boland, C McPeake; S Cleary, S

Collins, E Brophy. Subs - S Murray, O Deegan, B Grant.

JUNIOR B

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels added the Junior B title for the club with a 4-16 to 0-4 victory over neighbours Dunsany at Dunganny.

JUNIOR C

Carnaross took the Junior C accolade with a 4-13 to 1-4 margin of victory against St Mary’s and they also won the Division 6 League while at underage they won the U15 Div 4 Spring League.

OTHER GRADES

Rathkenny (Junior D), Slane (Junior E), Navan O’Mahonys (Junior F) and Ballivor (Junior G) all claimed silverware.

ALL THE FINAL RESULTS

Senior – Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels 4-11, Dunboyne 2-8

Intermediate – Skryne 2-14, St Ultan’s 1-11

Junior A – St Colmcille’s 2-10, St Patrick’s 3-3

Junior B – Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels B 4-16, Dunsany 0-4

Junior C – Carnaross 4-13, St Mary’s 1-4

Junior D - Rathkenny 1-3, St Colmcille’s B 0-3

Junior E – Slane 3-7, Walterstown B 3-5

Junior F – Navan O’Mahonys 5-9, Kilmainhamwood 0-6

Junior G – Ballivor 4-11, Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels C 3-12.

GUMSHIELDS @ NAVAN DENTURE STUDIO

Three In-A-Row For Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels

By: CONALL COLLIER

Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels made it three-in-a-row of SFC titles when they negotiated neighbours Dunboyne by 4-11 to 2-8 at windswept Páirc Tailteann to retain the Joe Breen Cup.

The conditions were hugely influential and wind-assisted Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels stormed into the lead with a brace of early goals from Ciara Gorman and one from Rachael Doonan. Dunboyne displayed grit and determination and were boosted by a goal from Anna Kane, but the Dunshaughlin side remained in the ascendancy despite a secondquarter yellow card for Niamh McEntee.

Leading by 3-9 to 1-1 at the interval, Dunshaughlin battened down the hatches against the second-half elements and a solid defensive display with Sarah Duffy, Keva McTigue and Rachael Doonan to the fore was crucial.

Dunboyne lost Sarah Wall for 10 minutes for a yellow card, but a goal from substitute Annie Moffatt gave them a boost.

However, the prospects of a Dunboyne revival were thwarted at the start of the final quarter

when a speculative point attempt from Niamh Gallogly deceived Dunboyne custodian Alison O’Sullivan for a fourth Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels goal. TEAMS

Dunshaughlin Royal GaelsMichelle O'Hare; Sarah Duffy, Ava O'Brien, Keva McTigue; Karla

Sadhbh O Muiri,

Doonan (1-0); Grace Summerville, Ella Moyles

Anna Moyles (0-1), Niamh Gallogly (1-1), Petra Reilly; Ciara Gorman (2-4), Niamh McEntee, Meadhbh Byrne (0-3). SubsKristina Troy (0-1) for McEntee 39 mins, Elena Kennedy for Reilly

43m, Laura Quinn for Summerville 51m, Leah Sheridan for Gorman 60m.

Dunboyne - Alison O'Sullivan; Rachel McDermott, Lea Davey, Niamh Williams; Sarah Wall (0-1), Hannah Nolan, Caragh McCarthy; Aoife Delaney, Kate Griffin; Saoirse Quinn, Katie Bermingham (0-1), Rachel

Duggan

Anna Kane

Subs - Annie Moffat (1-1) for Griffin 27 mins, Aoife Donohoe for Norman halftime, Elizabeth Comerford for Quinn 60m. Referee - Henri Clifford (Ballivor).

MEATH 2026 FOOTBALL AND HURLING FIXTURES

NFL DIVISION 2

SATURDAY 24th JANUARY

First round - Meath v Derry, 3pm, Croke Park

SUNDAY 1st FEBRUARY

Second round - Cavan v Meath, 3.45pm, Breffni Park.

SATURDAY 14th FEBRUARY

Third round - Meath v Louth, 5pm, Croke Park.

SUNDAY 22nd FEBRUARY

Fourth round - Cork v Meath, 2pm, Páirc Uí Rinn.

SATURDAY, 28th FEBRUARY

Fifth round - Kildare v Meath, 7pm, Newbridge.

SATURDAY 14th MARCH

Sixth round - Meath v Tyrone, 5pm, Croke Park.

SUNDAY 22nd MARCH

Offaly v Meath, 1.15pm, Tullamore.

NHL DIVISION 2

SATURDAY 24th JANUARY

First round - Meath v London, 12.30pm Trim.

SUNDAY 8th FEBRUARY

Second round - Westmeath v Meath, 2pm, Mullingar.

SUNDAY 22nd FEBRUARY

Third round - Meath v Derry, 1pm, Trim.

SATURDAY 28th FEBRUARY

Fourth round - Mayo v Meath, 2pm, Castlebar.

SUNDAY 8th MARCH

Fifth round - Laois v Meath, 2pm, O'Moore Park.

SATURDAY 21st MARCH

Sixth round - Meath v Kerry, 1pm, Trim.

Ninth Keegan Cup For Summerhill

By: CONALL CILLIER

Summerhill won the Keegan Cup for the ninth time with a 0-16 to 0-13 victory against a Paul Galvin-managed Ratoath side in the 2025 decider at Páirc Tailteann in October for a second success in three years.

Summerhill dominated the opening half against the 2022 champions and established a 0-10 to 0-4 interval advantage and then they survived a late second-half rally by the Ratoath men.

Central to that half-time lead was a superb early save by goalkeeper Sean Muddiman who denied Ratoath’s Ben McGowan and there was also a five-star defensive display from the ‘Hill with Iarla Hughes, Ben Moran and Ronan Ryan particularly impressive

At the other end of the pitch, Eoghan Frayne was the top scorer for Summerhill and he finished with eight points to his credit, one two-pointer while Conor Frayne had four to his credit, also one two-pointer.

Eoghan Frayne was also denied a goal when Ratoath custodian Conor Rooney emulated his Summerhill counterpart with a fine save in the second-half.

The victory was a tangible reward for Summerhill after an unconvincing run through the qualifying rounds where they slumped to a first round defeat at Trim (0-19 to 1-18) against Gaeil Colmcille at the beginning of August.

They got on the winning track in the second round a fortnight later at Páirc Tailteann with a 1-20 to 112 victory against Dunboyne, but then lost to Skryne (0-12 to 014) at the Navan venue on the last Sunday in August.

Next up was a quarter-final tie against Trim in mid-September and Summerhill eased to a 2-15 to 0-11 victory to set up a semi-final tussle against defending champions Dunshaughlin where they emerged with a 0-19 to 0-18 margin of victory.

KEEGAN CUP FINAL TEAMS

Summerhill - Sean Muddiman; Ben Moran, Ronan Ryan, Iarla Hughes; Jack Bannon, Ross Ryan, Jamie O’Shea; Adam McDonnell, Adam Flanagan; Diarmuid McCabe (0-1), Kevin Ryan (0-1), David Larkin; Conor Frayne (0-4, one two-pointer) Eoghan Frayne (0-8 one two-pointer), Liam Shaw (0-2 two-pointer).

Subs - Padraig Geraghty for O’Shea 39 mins, John Keane for Bannon

Rogers, Bobby O’Brien (0-2).

Ratoath - Conor Rooney; Callum Brady, Conor McGill, Sean Brazil; Gavin McGowan (0-2 twopointer), Ben Wyer, Liam Kelly; Jack Flynn (0-3 one two-pointer) Ben McGowan; Cian O’Brien, Glen O’Reilly, Daithi McGowan (0-3); Bryan McMahon (0-1), Cian

Subs - Eamon Wallace (0-1) for Brady, Cian Crawford (0-1) for Brazil both half-time, Joey Wallace for C O’Brien 43 mins, Ronan Byrne for B O’Brien 44m. Referee - Keith Sheerin (Castletown).

SUMMERHILL JUBILEE

Some 50 years after he

captained Summerhill to win the Senior Football Championship in 1975, Donie Mooney was the Guest of Honour and performed the ceremonial throw-in at the 2025 decider at Páirc Tailteann. The victory over Ratoath marked a ninth title for Summerhill with the initial success achieved in 1974.

Kilbride Return To The Summit

Of Meath Club Football

By: Conall Collier

Former giants of Meath club football Kilbride returned to the summit in October 2025 after journeying through years of obscurity since the heady days of the 1960s when they won the Keegan Cup three times and again they achieved a double in 1970 and 1971.

The Kilbride club was officially formed in 1948 and there was a golden era started with the winning of the Meath junior championship in 1960. During the next 14 years the club won a Junior Championship,

Intermediate Championship, five Senior Championships, two Feis Cups and was the first club to represent Meath in the Leinster Club Championship.

Famously, six Kilbride men featured on the Meath panel that won the 1967 AllIreland SFC title and then went on to tour

Australia with distinction.

However, for more than 50 years Kilbride toiled in the lower ranks of Meath club football and probably celebrated just surviving for many years, but all that changed in recent years with a JFC title in 2023 and now an IFC success in 2025.

The 2025 success was achieved against Castletown with a 0-20 to 1-16 victory, the Kilbride men enjoyed a 0-11 to 1-7 interval advantage and did enough in the secondhalf to prevail in an absolute thriller.

David O’Leary added the crucial winning score to take his tally for the hour to nine points which included one two-pointer.

MATTIE MCDONNELL CUP –INTERMEDIATE FOOTBALL FINAL TEAMS

Kilbride - Luke Faherty; Mark Dempsey, Ronan O'Leary, Cian Harford; Finn White (0-2), Timmy Farrell (0-1), Andrew

McWeeney (0-1); Daniel Boyd, Caolan Howard; Conor McWeeney (0-2), James Gavin, Gareth Rooney; Josh Harford (0-5), David O'Leary (0-9 one two-pointer).

Subs - Cathal McKeon for Adam Malone 41 mins, Zack McGovern for Rooney 52m.

Castletown - Johnny Ginnity; Sean McKeown, Evan Hoey, Killian Markey; Eoin Reid, Killian Price, Daragh Kelly (0-2); Rian McConnell (0-2), Adam Matthews (0-1); Kevin Ross (0-2), Killian Smyth, William Bellew; Darren Finney (1-5), Darragh

Weldon (0-2), Declan Cribbin (0-2).

Sub - Seamus Doherty for Bellew 49 mins.

Referee - Joseph Curran (St Michael's).

COOLRITE JUNIOR B FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Almost Half A Century Drought Over For Donore Men

By: Conall Collier

There was a reward for some 46 years of character, grit and determination for the players, officials and supporters of St Mary’s at Páirc Tailteann at the end of September when the Junior B FC title was claimed with a 2-9 to 0-13 victory following an exciting decider against a Moynalty side that was appearing in a third successive decider.

There was never going to be much between St Mary’s and Moynalty as they had played out a thrilling draw (0-15 to 0-15) at

Castletown in the third round of Group A at the end of August.

On the day of the final, it looked like Moynalty might shade the verdict as the Donore side trailed by two points (1-3 to 0-8) at the interval.

However, St Mary’s found enough resolve in the second-half to prevail by two points. The first-half goal came from Cathal Sheridan and after the interval substitute Sam Victory found the net.

On the way to the decider St Mary’s negotiated Cortown in the semi-final at Paddy O’Brien Park

(Navan O’Mahonys ground) by 211 to 0-13.

In Group A St Mary’s had that draw with Moynalty as well as a 5-14 to 0-8 win against Drumconrath and a 1-19 to 1-5 victory against Boardsmill.

TEAMS

St Mary's - Adam Byrne; Liam Lynch, John Spain, Cormac Victory; AJ Bradshaw, Dylan Bagnall, Maithiu Brien; Joey Greene, Tadhg Dixon; Ben Loughran, Cathal Sheridan (1-2 one two-pointer), Caimin Hughes (0-3 one twopointer); Andy Brien (0-4 three frees), Sean Nulty, James Lynch.

Subs- Sam Victory (1-0) for Nulty half-time, Conor O'Brien for M Brien 40 mins, Andy Everard for Spain 54m, Adam Craven for Bradshaw 60m.

Moynalty - Johnny Lynch (0-1 free); Ronan Lynch, Liam Brogan, Richard Gilsenan; Dylan Farrelly, Adam Reilly, Joey Gilsenan (0-1); Niall O'Connor, Sean MacMahon; Jude Gilsenan, Paddy Byrne (0-3 one free), John Brogan (0-1); Paul Lynch, Bryan McCormack (0-5 one two-pointer), Ollie Sheridan (0-2 frees).

Subs- Cathal Donoghue for Jude Gilsenan 51 mins, Cormac Kearney

for Farrelly 55m, Kian Lynch for Sheridan 56m. Referee- Adrian Corcoran (Drumbaragh).

There was never going to be much between St Mary’s and Moynalty as they had played out a thrilling draw at Castletown in the third round of Group A at the end of August.

BY CONALL COLLIER

Clann na nGael landed the Meath Junior Football Championship (JFC) title with a hard-earned 0-17 to 1-12 victory against Ardcath side St Vincent’s. It was a third JFC success for the Clann na nGael club, formed in 2002 with an amalgamation between the dual club of Athboy and nearby An Ghaeltacht (Rath Cairn) which was a football-only club.

The inaugural JFC title for Clann na nGael was won in 2007 when a Leinster JFC success was also achieved and a second JFC crown arrived in 2019.

An earlier combination also enjoyed success on the football front when

Martinstown / Athboy campaigned for a number of years winning an IFC title in 1979, a year in which the St Vincent’s club dropped down from the IFC to the JFC grade.

Playing solely as Athboy, the club also enjoyed success with a JFC title in the 1950s.

The 2025 JFC campaign started with a 1-13 to 0-14 victory against St Brigid’s at Cortown at the beginning of August and that was followed by a narrow win against Carnaross (2-15 to 1-16) at Ballinlough in mid-August.

There was a draw with Moylagh (1-13 apiece) in the third round at Cortown. That earned a quarter-final against Dunderry and a victory on a 4-17 to 0-12 scoreline at Sean Newman Park, Bohermeen in midSeptember.

Clann na nGael negotiated Slane by 1-13 to 1-6 in the semi-final at Dunganny at the end of September and then had enough to hold off the challenge of St Vincent’s in the decider at Páirc Tailteann in October where it took a huge Tomas O Dughaill two-pointer with four minutes remaining to secure the title.

JUNIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL - PETER MCDERMOTT CUP – TEAMS

Clann na nGael - Eoin Griffin; Philip Garry, Jack Doherty, Daragh O’Reilly; Diarmuid O Donnchadha, Cormac Smith (0-2), Liam Kelleher; Daragh Griffin (0-1), Eoin Kelliher (01); Sean Óg Tiernan (0-1), Paul Tuite, Dylan Doherty (0-1); Ben Corkery (0-5), Darragh Swaine (0-1), Tomas O Dughaill (0-6 two twopointers).

Subs - Ryan McNamee for Kelleher 39 mins, Gerry O’Sullivan for Doherty

St Vincent’s - Evan Conor; Mark Crawley, Niall Tallon, Ryan Hand; Gary Tuite, Davy Tallon, Shane Caffrey; Matthew Tuite, Conor O’Brien (0-5); Robert Tallon, Conor Harford, Nigel Hand; Patrick McGill (0-2), Michael McIvor (0-3), Adam Tuite (0-1).

Subs - Matthew Griffen (1-0) for R Tallon 20 mins, Paddy Arnold (0-1) for N Hand 56m, Conor White for N Tallon 57m. Referee - Robbie Barrett (Walterstown).

Castletown, Delvin Road, Athboy, Co. Meath. Tel: 046 9432273 E: athboyvet@gmail.com

Replay Ratoath Victory Seals

Second Successive Jubilee Cup

By: Conall Collier

Ratoath made it two-in-arow of Jubilee Cup titles when they edged out Kiltale by 2-22 to 4-10 in a thrilling Senior Hurling Championship final replay at Páirc Tailteann in October only a week after an equally exciting draw.

Goals highlighted both encounters with Ratoath grabbing four in the drawn encounter on a 4-16 to 3-19 scoreline at the Navan venue.

Ratoath had opened their campaign in mid-July with a first round victory against Kiltale that also produced 22 points in a 0-22 to 0-12 victory at Trim.

They emulated that feat on the scoreboard in the replay as they shaded the verdict against a Kiltale side that was reduced to 14 players with the second-half departure of Philip Garvey for a second yellow card.

Kiltale still managed to finish with a flourish that produced late goals from Jack Regan (two) and Adam Murphy.

Important for Ratoath was a solid opening half that gave the defending champions at 1-12 to 0-5 interval advantage with the goal from Bryan McMahon and solid displays from Darragh Kelly and Conor McGill.

James Kelly claimed an early second-half goal for Kiltale, but that was countered soon after when Ratoath’s Cian Rogers netted while top-scorer Padraig

O’Hanrahan finished with a tally of eight points to his credit on what was a very good day for the Ratoath club.

JUBILEE CUP FINAL TEAMS

Ratoath - Colm O’Riordan; Liam Corbett, Ben McGowan, Conor McGill; Cian Kelly, Darragh Kelly (0-2), Domhnall Rogers; Ciaran O’Hanrahan, Jack McGowan (0-1); Niall McLarnon (0-2), Daithi McGowan (0-3), Podge O’Hanrahan (0-8); Bryan McMahon (1-2), Cian Rogers (1-2), Gavin McGowan (0-2).

Subs - Tomas Corbett for Jack McGowan 33 mins, R Hayes for Cian Kelly 59m, Tim Fitzpatrick for Ben McGowan 64m.

Kiltale - Shane McGann; Padraig Kelly, Iarla Hughes, Jack Bannon (0-1); Conor McNally, Philip Garvey (0-1), Conor Ryan; Brian O’Reilly, Fearghal McCabe; Adam Murphy (1-2), Hugh O’Sullivan (01), James Kelly (1-0); Peter Durnin (0-1), Ross Ryan, Jack Regan (2-3).

Subs - Craig Gilsenan for P Kelly, Anthony Forde (0-1) for McNally both half-time, Mark O’Sullivan for C Ryan 41 mins, Cathal McCabe for Durnin 49m, Dara McVann for F McCabe 54m

Referee (replay) - Stephen Masterson (Kildalkey); Referee (first game) – Mark Reilly (Kilmessan).

LEINSTER IHC

Ratoath enjoyed a memorable Leinster IHC campaign that brought them to the provincial decider in early December following wins over Lusmagh (Offaly) by 0-22 to 1-12 and Carnew Emmets (Wicklow) by 1-20 to 0-13.

However, they were edged out by Kilkenny side Danesfort in the decider (2-15 to 0-12) in the last game at Páirc Tailteann ahead of the 2026 re-development of the stadium.

FIRST ROUND

Ratoath 0-22, Kiltale 0-12

SECOND ROUND

Ratoath 4-24, Blackhall Gaels 010

THIRD ROUND

Ratoath 3-24, Longwood 0-10

FOURTH ROUND

Ratoath 3-16, Kildalkey 0-11

FIFTH ROUND

Ratoath 6-28, Clann na nGael 212

SEMI-FINAL

Ratoath 5-18, Trim 0-22

FINAL

Ratoath 3-19, Kiltale 4-16

FINAL REPLAY

Ratoath 2-22, Kiltale 4-10

SHC B Kit Mitchell Cup For Killyon

Killyon celebrated an SHC B final success with a 3-13 to 112 replay victory against Longwood at the end of October that brought the Kit Mitchell Cup to the club.

The late Kit Mitchell was a stalwart of the club and county during a lengthy tenure and it was an emotional occasion for the players, officials and supporters.

Killyon established a 2-7 to 0-4 interval advantage and the goals proved crucial in the overall success with a brace from Adam Gannon and one for Justin Coyne.

Killyon - Ray Massey; Harry Smyth, Jake Ryan, Cian Douglas; Evan Burke, Paddy Coyne, Brendan Quinn; Justin Coyne (1-1), Cathal McKeon (0-2); Niall Smullen (0-1), Keith Keoghan, Dylan Farrell (0-6); David Raleigh (0-2), James Connolly, Adam Gannon (2-1). Subs - Shane Clarke for Connolly 44 mins, Ciaran Dowling for Quinn 52m, Adam Farrell for Raleigh 62m, R Shaw for Griffith 63m.

Tommy Kane Memorial Cup For Kiltale

Kiltale claimed the Junior Hurling Championship title in fine style with a 214 to 1-6 victory against Dunboyne at Páirc Tailteann and brought the Tommy Kane Memorial Cup back to the clubhouse on Sunday 21st Setember.

On the way to the final Kiltale defeated Killyon by 0-13 to 0-8 in the semi-final while they had already defeated Dunboyne, Drumree and Kildalkey in the group phase.

On the day of the final, Kiltale were ahead by 1-8 to 0-4 and the goalscorers were Cathal McCabe and Sean Lynch while Luke O’Halloran was the top scorer with seven points.

Damien Griffin presented the Thomas Kane Memorial Cup to Stephen Donoghue.

Kiltale - Andrew Jackson: Mark Flaherty, Willie Mahady, Charlie Benson; David Regan (0-1) Stephen Donoghue, Charlie McCormack; David Donoghue, Anthony Donnelly; Cathal McCabe (1-2), Stephen Cummins, Conor Quinn (0-1); Sean Hughes, Stephen Whyte, Luke O’Halloran (0-7). Subs - Adam Rooney, Tom Ryan, Willie Harnan (0-1), James Gray, Padraig Donoghue, Sean Lynch (1-1), David Schilder, Anthony Forde (0-1), Dylan Bannon, Diarmuid Austin.

Referee – Henri Clifford.

Na Fianna Prevail Against Dunderry

Na Fianna proved too strong for Dunderry as the Enfield / Baconstown side recorded a 4-14 to 2-10 victory in the Junior B Hurling Championship decider at Páirc Tailteann on Saturday 20th September.

Na Fianna enjoyed a narrow 3-15 to 3-11 semi-final victory against Rathmolyon at Boardsmill.

Na Fianna - Eoin Reilly; Senan Fagan, Shane Burke, Jack Hanley; Evan Mullally, Noel Sullivan, Evan Flynn; Darragh Loughrey, Cian Slattery (01); Alex Healy (0-1), Donal Curran (0-2), Eoin Coffey; Conor Cummins (2-1), Kevin Coffey (03), Will Flynn (1-4). Subs - Joshua Henrick, David Moore, Ben Stewart, Cormac Sullivan, Barry Slevin (1-2), Cian Slattery, Daniel Gleeson. Dunderry - Cillian Heffernan; Ben Feeney, Brendan Wright, Damien Bruton; Kyran Woods, Mikey Dowdall, Liam Rattigan; Conor Sheridan, Shane Heffernan; Cathal Byrne, Cian Coogan (14), Jack Darcy (1-1); Ben Clarke, Seán McLoughlin (0-2), Harry Crinion (0-2). Subs -

Dowd

Impressive Kilskyre/Moylagh Win

By: CONALL COLLIER

Kilskyre / Moylagh claimed the Mick Leonard Cup with a 2-14 to 0-12 victory that secured their spot in the SHC B for 2026 with a win over Rathmolyon at Pairc Tailteann in mid-October.

The victory marked the culmination of an impressive sevenmatch unbeaten championship campaign that produced an equally impressive tally of 19 goals that started with a 6-24 to 0-10 first round victory against St Patrick’s That 19th goal was a crucial score in the decider for a Kilskyre / Moylagh side that had a player redcarded close to the interval, but the 14 men battened down the hatches and made the best of a 1-6 to 0-6 interval advantage.

Top scorer Willie McGrath found the net early in that opening half and finished with 1-7 to his credit, but it was a superb Darren O’Higgins goal with about six minutes remaining that sealed the verdict for Kilskyre/Moylagh.

A

unbeaten

Tom and Daire Shine delivered match-winning performances and that was

McGrath (two) and Tom Shine added quick points after the resumption and that provided the platform for a determined and resolute Kilskyre / Moylagh side to claim the title and a place in a higher grade for 2026.

The only disappointing aspect for Kilskyre / Moylagh was the fact that, as a combination team, participation in the Leinster Club JHC wasn’t permitted and Rathmolyon were handed that ticket.

TEAMS FOR IHC FINAL

Kilskyre/Moylagh - Charlie Usher; Benji Smith, Podge Muldoon, Jack Connell; Paul Hennessey, Daire Shine (0-2), Eoin Briody; James Cooke, Fergal Flynn; Lorcan Maguire, Tom Shine (0-4), Oisin McDermott; Sean Geraghty, Willie McGrath (1-7), Darren O’Higgins (1-1).

Subs - Killian McCaffery for Maguire 40 mins, Jimmy Boyle for McDermott 54m.

Rathmolyon - John Harnan; Trevor Healy, Sean Mulligan (01), Aron Doherty; Jamie Doonan (0-1), Simon Ennis, Cathal Regan; Arthur Doyle, Jack Payne; Daithi Grehan, Vicent Ward, Kevin

Mulligan(0-1); Joey Christie (09), Jarlath Ennis, Stephen Mulligan.

Subs - Ciaran Regan for Doherty 35 mins, Martin Forde for Stephen Mulligan 44m, Robert Ennis for Doonan 56m, Conall Stafford for Grehan 58m, David Morgan for Sean Mulligan 60m.

Referee Stephen Masterson (Kildalkey).

PATH TO THE IHC MICK LEONARD CUP

FIRST ROUND Kilskyre / Moylagh 6-24, St Patrick’s 0-10.

SECOND ROUND Kilskyre / Moylagh 1-19, Donaghmore / Ashbourne 1-12

THIRD ROUND Kilskyre / Moylagh 1-22, Kildalkey 0-13

FOURTH ROUND Kilskyre / Moylagh 2-21, Drumree 0-16

FIFTH ROUND Kilskyre / Moylagh 4-23, Boardsmill 3-13

SEMI-FINAL Kilskyre / Moylagh 3-10, Dunboyne 0-14

FINAL Kilskyre / Moylagh 2-14, Rathmolyon 0-12

More Camogie Silverware For Na Fianna On The Double

BY: CONALL COLLIER

Na Fianna enjoyed a good 2025 on the camogie front with another Meath Senior Camogie title added to the club’s roll of honour and they also made it to the Leinster Intermediate Camogie final where they were edged out by Camross in a thriller on Sunday 16th November.

The Meath Championship was sealed with a 0-15 to 0-10 final victory against Kilmessan where Aoife Carey was the player of the match.

Na Fianna had defeated Kiltale in the semi-final by 0-21 to 0-3 after topping the Group phase against Ratoath, Boardsmill, Kiltale, Killyon and Kilmessan.

That brought them into the Leinster Intermediate Camogie Championship where they negotiated Danesfort (Kilkenny) in the quarter-final by 1-4 to 0-6 on home turf at Baconstown.

Mount Leinster Rangers from Carlow were next up in the last four and Na Fianna prevailed by 1-

Na Fianna captain Clare Coffery raises the silverware and makes the victory speech after the final

10 to 0-9 to set up the provincial decider against Camross (Laois).

The Na Fianna club fields a number of adult camogie teams and claimed the Junior B Camogie title at the beginning of November with a good win against Kildalkey by 2-11 to 1-3 after a tight semifinal victory by 2-6 to 2-5 against Navan O’Mahonys.

SENIOR B

Blackhall Gaels got the better of Navan O'Mahonys by 2-11 to 0-11 in the Senior B Camogie final following an thrilling semi-final victory against Trim by 4-7 to 3-7

INTERMEDIATE

Dunboyne defeated Drumree in the Intermediate Camogie Championship final by 1-15 to 2-7 after a fine win against Donaghmore / Ashbourne in the semi-final.

That gave the Dunboyne women a ticket into the Leinster Junior Camogie Championship where they delivered for the Royal County.

The Dunboyne women defeated St Cillian's (Offaly) by 4-12 to 1-1

The Na Fianna club fields a number of adult camogie teams and claimed the Junior B Camogie title at the beginning of November with a good win against Kildalkey.

in the semi-final and followed that with a superb display to win the Leinster Junior A title.

They defeated Laois side St Lazarians at SETU Carlow on a 012 to 1-8 scoreline after leading by 0-7 to 0-5 at the interval.

JUNIOR

There was some compensation for Navan O'Mahonys following the disappointment of the Senior B decider when they won the Junior A Camogie title defeating Trim by 3-16 to 0-7.

Hall of Fame Award For Tony Brennan

During the late 1960s Tony Brennan was amongst the leading wing forwards in the

In 1967 he ended the championship with a tally of 1-13. His four points against Offaly in the Leinster final (Meath 0-8, Offaly 0-6) was to prove invaluable.

Tony had a terrific record against Offaly as three years later where Meath won by 2-22 to 5-12, he scored 10 points.

Tony was the top scorer in the 1970 championship with a total of 33 points.

Unfortunately for Tony, the All Stars weren't introduced until 1971

Tony continued to play with Enfield and was a selector with Sean Boylan in Meath's breakthrough years in 1987 and 1988.

Peter Garry WELL DRILLING

All-Star For Na

Fianna Clubman

Séan Rafferty

BY: CONALL COLLIER

Na Fianna clubman Séan Rafferty powered his way to Meath’s first AllStar since 2007 when he was honoured at the annual PwC GAA-GPA Awards ceremony at Dublin’s RDS on Friday, 7th November in front of the RTE cameras.

And as a full-back-line recipient, Séan was early on the podium where, in a brief interview with the legendary Marty Morrissey, he outlined his journey into the limelight. Séan confirmed when questioned by Marty that he had never played minor football for Meath and never played under20 football for Meath.

“My first game for Meath was in the 2023 O’Byrne Cup and my next appearance was in the National Football League Div 2 this year against Cork,” he explained.

That first appearance for Séan was a midweek January 2023 outing at Dr Cullen Park against Carlow as then new manager, Colm O’Rourke, named his first starting 15,

The Na Fianna man was named at cornerback as one of seven debuts for the Royal County.

Séan was brought into the Meath panel again in 2024 and ended up on a development panel

"I was on a development panel last year until the end of the league, I played a few games in that, we played Dublin, Kildare, Offaly development panels, just to see where we were at," he said in a separate interview.

However, all that changed in 2025, although once again it was a relatively lowkey start to a fledgling inter-county career with another new Meath manager, Robbie Brennan.

Séan, who works in sales and marketing after completing a Masters in Strategy and Innovation at Maynooth University, made his National Football League Div 2 debut for Meath as a 60th minute substitute for Ciaran Caulfield as the Royal County lost by four points (0-21 to 2-19) at Páirc Ui Chaoimh in January.

“I came on against Cork and I was definitely nervous then, I was just getting used to the environment,” he commented.

“I started the next game (against Cavan), but it probably took until the second half against Down (third round) before I felt properly settled,” he added.

Séan made his NFL Div 2 debut for the Royal County in that 3-21 to 0-20 victory against Cavan at Páirc Tailteann.

It was the first of six NFL starts for the Na Fianna man as Meath remained in the promotion hunt until the final round against Louth on Sunday 23rd March.

Séan had nailed down a starting berth in the full-back line and that was reflected by a further nine Championship appearances that included a Leinster SFC final and an AllIreland SFC semi-final in 2025. There was little bit of symmetry to his first Leinster SFC start for

Meath when he ran out at Páirc Tailteann on Sunday, 6th April for a preliminary round tussle against Carlow.

That was some 27 months after that relatively low-key O’Byrne Cup game in January 2023 under the Wednesday night lights at Dr Cullen Park.

Séan was one of five Meath players nominated 2025 for AllStar Awards and the first to make the top 15 since Stephen Bray of Navan O’Mahonys in 2007. With the new year almost on the horizon Roll on 2026 for the Na Fianna clubman and for Meath.

Successful Year For Kells Handball Club

By: Conall Collier

There was success for Meath on the handball front and the Kells club with three National titles brought back to the Royal County.

The Kells combination of Brian Carroll and Gary McConnell won the All-Ireland Senior Softball Doubles title at Croke Park in what a was a fifth success and three-in-a-row as they defeated top Westmeath duo Robbie McCarthy and Colm Jordan.

Brian and Gary also have a 40x20 Senior Doubles title for good measure and there was further success also when Gary McConnell claimed the AllIreland Senior Singles title.

In doing so, he became third Meath man to achieve that feat, with victory over 11-time champion Robbie McCarthy (Westmeath) as he brought the Duxie Walsh Cup back to Kells.

Previous winners from the Royal County were Walter O’Connor (1998) and another Kells man, Tom Sheridan (2003).

The club also enjoyed success claiming the All-Ireland Golden Masters Doubles and Emerald Masters Doubles. Tom Sheridan

and Michael Sheridan produced a dominant display for a 21-8, 21-9 win in the Golden Masters Doubles title while Christy McGovern and Joe Lynch took the Emerald Masters Doubles at the expense of Sligo opposition.

Jimmy Reilly and John Leahy were crowned 60x30 National Emerald Masters champions.

Sinead Forde was crowned Ladies Junior B Leinster One Wall Champion in October while at under-age level, Joe Waters, Josh Carroll, Jamie Smith, Sean Keyes and Luke Dardis were the Féile Division 4 champions with wins against opposition from Down, Leitrim and Clare.

In the Leinster Juvenile B Luke Dardis secured an impressive victory over a Kilkenny opponent in the under-14 decider winning 15-4, 15-2 while in the under-12 singles, Sadie Harte came up just short in a thrilling encounter, also against a Kilkenny opponent.

Holly Dardis and Coco Griffin claimed the Leinster under-13 doubles title after defeating Kilkenny opposition while in the under-12 doubles, Heidi Gallagher and Cara Wilson gave a battling display against Laois opposition.

The Kells club also hosted a juvenile tournament for boys

and girls at u-12, u-13 and u-15 grades in June.

RESULTS

UNDER-12

Boys Plate - Winner: Brendan Branigan (Maynooth); Runner-up: Cian Delaney (Kells)

Boys Cup - Winner: Noah Comiskey (Maynooth); Runner-up: Fionn Reilly (Kells)

Girls Plate - Winner: Cuisle Rogers (Kells); Runner-up: Amelia Rigney (Ballymore Eustace)

Girls Cup - Winner: Áine McGrath (Ballymore Eustace); Runner-up: Sadie Harte (Kells)

UNDER-13

Boys Plate - Winner: Josh Carroll (Kells); Runner-up: Rory McCullough (Ballymore Eustace)

Boys Cup - Winner: Jamie Smith (Kells); Runner-up: Oisín

McGrath (Ballymore Eustace)

Girls Plate - Winner: Holly Dardis (Kells); Runner-up: Cara Winder (Ballymore Eustace)

Girls Cup - Winner: Sophie Floyd (St. Brigid’s); Runner-up: Lauren O’Reilly (St. Brigid’s)

UNDER-15

Plate - Winner: Sean Keyes (Kells); Runner-up: Ciara Reilly (St. Brigid’s)

Cup - Winner: Luke Dardis (Kells); Runner-up: Enrico (Mullingar)

GAA Footballer Of The Month Accolades

For Mathew Costello And Jordan Morris

Mathew Costello deservedly scooped the GAA/GPA Footballer of the Month accolade for April 2025 following his performances in the Leinster SFC.

Mathew’s influence was evident from the opening round of the Leinster SFC against Carlow and he contributed four points in a 130 to 0-19 win.That momentum continued in the quarter-final against Offaly, where Meath overturned a 10-point interval deficit for a 125 to 0-21 victory and a nine-point tally for the Dunshaughlin man.The third outing in April was the semi-final against Dublin where Mathew played a pivotal role in ending Dublin’s long-standing dominance in Leinster with a 0-23 to 1-16 victory.

Meath lost out narrowly to Louth in the provincial decider, but progressed to the AllIreland SFC semi-final after getting through a group that included Cork, Roscommon and Kerry and then negotiated Galway in a quarter-final before facing Donegal in the last four.

(Mathew Costello was nominated as Meath Young Sportsperson of the Year at the 2018 Meath Sports Awards and was also the Meath GAA Young Footballer of the Year and Footballer of the Year in 2024).

Jordan Morris was named GPA/GAA Footballer of the Month for June 2025.

Morris was a key player at corner forward and helped the Royal County earn superb victories during June against Kerry and Galway which booked a place in the AllIreland semi-final against Donegal.

After what many thought was a seasonending injury in the Leinster Championship, he fought back to be Meath’s star attacker and he scored two points as Meath defeated the Kingdom in the All-Ireland Championship for the first time since 2001.

In the All-Ireland quarter-final against a heavily favoured Galway side, Morris gave a man of the match performance, scoring 1-6, 1-2 of that tally in the decisive final minutes of the game.

He also enjoyed success at club level with Kingscourt Stars as the Cavan club claimed the Oliver Plunkett Cup for the first time in 10 years as they defeated Gowna by 2-16 to

MEATH GAA 2025 CLUB FOOTBALL AND HURLING FINAL RESULTS

Fairyhouse Steel SFC final - Summerhill 0-16, Ratoath 0-13

Meade Farm IFC final - Kilbride 0-20, Castletown 1-16

Balreask Bar JFC final - Clann na nGael 0-17, St Vincent's 1-12

Coolrite Junior B FC final - St Mary's 2-9, Moynalty 0-13

Feis Cup – Wolfe Tones 0-21, Donaghmore / Ashbourne 1-14

Corn na Boinne – Castletown 4-16, St Patrick’s 1-11

Tailteann Cup – Syddan 0-13, St Brigid’s 1-8

Tailteann Shield – Boardsmill 4-14, St Mary’s 3-13

Reserve Football Cup finals

Div 1 – Donaghmore / Ashbourne 3-12, St Colmcille’s 0-8

Div 2 – Simonstown Gaels 0-11, Duleek / Bellewstown 0-10

Div 3 – Blackhall Gaels 1-10, Walterstown 0-8

Div 4 – St Mary’s 1-12, Syddan 0-12

Meath Cleaning Supplies All-County finals

Intermediate - Ratoath 0-16, St Colmcille's 0-6

Junior A Div 1 - Dunshaughlin 2-18, Navan O'Mahonys 2-11

Junior A Div 2 - Ratoath 7-9, Duleek / Bellewstown 1-16

Junior A Div 3 - Slane 2-15, Ballinabrackey 0-8

Junior A Div 4 - Navan O'Mahonys 3-18, Dunshaughlin 2-1

Junior A Div 5 - Syddan 1-15, St Ultan's 2-9

Junior A Div 6 - St Patrick's 0-14, Boardsmill 0-10

Junior A Div 7 - St Vincent's 2-16, Drumconrath 1-10

Football League finals

Div 1 – Dunshaughlin 3-12, Dunboyne 0-17

Div 2 – Trim 4-10, Moynalvey 1-12

Div 3 – Walterstown 2-18, Clann na nGael 3-11

Div 4 – Castletown 3-19, Slane 2-9

Div 5 – Skryne 1-10, Dunboyne 1-9

Div 6 – St Mary’s 2-17, Drumconrath 1-12

Div 7 – Boardsmill 3-13, Dunboyne 3-10

Div 8 – Ballivor 2-15, Dunshaughlin 1-9

Div 9 – St Ultan’s 2-15, Carnaross 1-10

Div 10 – St Vincent’s 1-12, St Patrick’s 1-10

Div 11 – Boardsmill 0-11, St Mary’s 1-7

Ted Murtagh Trim SHC final – Ratoath 2-22, Kiltale 4-10 (replay)

Ted Murtagh Trim SHC final - Ratoath 3-19, Kiltale 4-16

(draw)SHC B Kit Mitchell Cup final (replay) - Killyon 3-13, Longwood 1-12

M Food Foods IHC final – Kilskyre / Moylagh 2-14, Rathmolyon 0-12

K Windows Doors JHC final – Kiltale 2-14, Dunboyne 1-6

K Windows Doors JB final – Na Fianna 4-14, Dunderry 2-10

Brendan Davis Cup final – Killyon 2-19, Kildalkey 3-14

Billy Byrne Cup final – Rathmolyon 0-19, Dunboyne 0-14

Donal O Loingsigh Cup final - Kildalkey 2-11, Ratoath 0-14

JLD Access HL finals

Div 1 - Kildalkey 4-13, Kiltale 0-11

Div 2 - Dunderry 2-18, Dunboyne 1-18

Div 3 - Rathmolyon 2-12, Boardsmill 0-7

Div 4 - Kilmessan 2-18, St Patrick's 1-17

Div 5 - Navan O'Mahonys 0-12, Dunderry 0-7

UNDER-21 HC FINALS

Div 1 – Trim 3-8, Kilmessan 0-16.

Div 2 - Dunderry 2-12, Kildalkey 0-5.

Div 3 – Wolfe Tones 3-8, Donaghmore / Ashbourne 0-6

Board

he officers elected for 2026 at the December annual convention: Chair: Jason Plunkett (pictured); Vice-chair: Damien Griffin; Secretary: Ciaran Flynn; Assistant-secretary: Nick Fitzgerald; Treasurer: Tony McEntee; Assistant-treasurer: Elaine Carolan; Coaching Officer: Eamonn Barry; Irish Officer: Laura Campion; Communications Officer: Brian Kelly; Central Council: Conor Tormey; Leinster Council: Mairead Delaney & Ray Finnegan

2026 Championship Fixture Schedule

Preliminary Round - Carlow v Wicklow; Westmeath v Longford; Offaly v Laois. Quarter-Finals - Kildare v Offaly or Laois; Meath v Westmeath or Longford; Louth v Wexford; Dublin v Carlow or Wicklow. Semi-Finals - Kildare/Offaly/Laois v Meath/ Westmeath/Longford; Louth/Wexford v Dublin/Carlow/Laois.

First round – Meath v Kerry; Donegal v Wicklow; Derry v Roscommon. Second round – Roscommon v Meath; Wicklow v Derry; Kerry v Donegal. Third round – Wicklow v Meath; Roscommon v Kerry; Derry v Donegal. Fourth round – Meath v Derry; Donegal v Roscommon; Kerry v Wicklow. Fifth round – Donegal v Meath; Derry v Kerry; Wicklow v Roscommon.

MEATH LADIES 2025 SFC FINAL vs DUBLIN AT CROKE PARK

The Meath players who were on duty for the All-Ireland SFC final against Dublin (from left) were: back -SadhbNí Mhuiri, Marion Farrelly, Karla Kealy, Orlaith Sheehy, Clodagh Millington, Katie Bermingham, Natalie Davitt, Robyn Murray, Monica McGuirk, Sarah Wall, Áine Sheridan, Orla Smith, Aoibheann Corcoran, Niamh McEntee, Shauna Ennis, Emma Duggan.

Front - Amy Gaffney, Ella Moyles, Megan Thynne, Mary Kate Lynch, Niamh Gallogly, Vikki Wall, Aoibhin Cleary, Ciara Smyth, Ciara Lawlor, Tori Foster, Kerrie Cole, Anna Myles.

The Meath players who were on duty for the All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Donegal at Croke Park on 13th July 2025 (from left) were: back - Sean Ryan, Cian McBride, Mathew Costello, Séamus Lavin, Billy Hogan, Bryan Menton, Séan Brennan, Adam O'Neill, Jason Scully, Conor Duke, Shane Walsh, Jordan Morris, Diarmuid Moriarty, Conor Gray; front - Cathal Hickey, Eoin Harkin, Brian O'Halloran, Donal Keogan, Ciarán Caulfield, Eoghan Frayne, Ronan Ryan, Seán Rafferty, Keith Curtis, Seán Coffey, James McEntee, Aaron Lynch, Cillian O'Sullivan.