Meath county football team
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| Sport: | Football |
|---|---|
| Irish: | An Mhí |
| Nickname(s): | The Royals The Plains men The Boys in Green |
| County board: | Meath GAA |
| Manager: | Robbie Brennan |
| Captain: | Eoghan Frayne[1] |
| Home venue(s): | Páirc Tailteann, Navan |
| Recent competitive record | |
| Current All-Ireland status: | Leinster (F) in 2025 |
| Last championship title: | 1999 |
| Current NFL Division: | 2 (3rd in 2025) |
| Last league title: | 1994 |
|
First colours
Second colours
| |
The Meath county football team represents Meath in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Meath GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Meath's home ground is Páirc Tailteann, Navan. The team's manager is Robbie Brennan.
The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 2010, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1999 and the National League in 1994.
Management team
[edit ]- Manager: Robbie Brennan
- Selectors: Martin Corey and Joe McMahon
- Coach: Martin Corey and Joe McMahon [2] [needs update? ]
- Strength and conditioning coach: Eugene Eivers[2] [3] [needs update? ]
- Goalkeeping coach: Shane Supple [2] [needs update? ]
Panel
[edit ]Team as per Meath vs Dublin in the Leinster SFC final, 21 November 2020
INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
RET Player has since retired from the county team.
WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.
History
[edit ]Pre-1949
[edit ]The first notable Meath team was the Pierce O'Mahony's club from Navan that represented the county in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) final of 1895, in the days when the competition was played between the champion clubs from each county. O'Mahony's lost to Arravale Rovers of Tipperary by 0–4 to 0–3.
Meath achieved its first national success in 1933 by winning the League (NFL) title.
Meath had to wait until 1939 for another appearance in the All-Ireland SFC, this time losing narrowly to Kerry by 2–5 to 2–3 in the final.
1949–1983: Three All-Ireland SFC titles and first decline
[edit ]
Meath won its first All-Ireland SFC title in 1949, defeating Cavan by 1–10 to 1–6 in the final. This first great Meath team achieved a second All-Ireland SFC title in 1954, defeating by 1–13 to 1–7 Kerry in the final. In between the two, Meath played in two other finals, losing in 1951 — to Mayo — and 1952 – to Cavan. The team also lost to Cavan in the 1949–50 NFL final.
During this period, Meath had a Leinster Senior Football Championship (SFC) rivalry with Louth: in the six editions of that competition held between 1948 and 1953 the teams met each year. 1950 and 1951 were both settled after a replay, while the 1949 match required three games to separate the sides.
Meath's team of the 1960s had a chronic inability to score until after half-time,[citation needed ] but might have reached the 1964 All-Ireland SFC final had a goal by Jack Quinn not been controversially disallowed in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final.[citation needed ] Meath lost the 1966 All-Ireland SFC final to a Galway team that was winning its third consecutive All-Ireland SFC title.
After the 1966 final defeat, centre-back Bertie Cunningham declared that "next year, we will come back and win the All-Ireland".[citation needed ] Sure enough, Terry Kearns helped secured the Sam Maguire Cup with a punched goal in Meath's 1967 final defeat of Cork.[citation needed ]
Meath won a fourth NFL title in 1975.[citation needed ] Defeat to Kevin Heffernan's Dublin, however, prevented Meath from winning any Leinster SFC titles.[citation needed ] This was before Offaly emerged to deny Meath other Leinster SFC titles, as well as to become the only team capable of challenging Kerry's domination of football between 1975 and 1986.
13 consecutive All-Ireland SFC finals were contested by either Dublin or Kerry between 1974 and 1986, a period when one of either team always contested the decider, and 1982 was the only one of those 13 won by another team, which was Offaly.[4]
Meath seemed further than ever from winning another All-Ireland SFC title when losing to Wexford in the 1981 Leinster SFC quarter-final, and to Longford in the 1982 Leinster SFC preliminary round.
1983–2005: Seán Boylan era
[edit ]1983–1990: Fourth and fifth All-Ireland SFC titles
[edit ]By the time the 1983 Leinster SFC had begun, Meath had appointed Seán Boylan — the hurling team's masseur — as football manager, which marked the beginning of the most successful period in Meath's football history.
Boylan's appointment was initially greeted with scepticism; he was thought of as a capable hurler, but his role in football had been seen merely as repairing any players who were broken, not training them. His first task was to prepare team for a Leinster SFC quarter-final match against a Dublin side that was led by midfielder Brian Mullins. The game ended in a draw, after a fortuitous ricochet shot from Barney Rock struck new Meath half-back Colm Coyle.[citation needed ] The replay also ended level; Dublin won in extra time, subsequently winning the All-Ireland SFC title that year.
In 1984, the GAA initiated a one-off competition — the Centenary Cup — to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the organisation's foundation. Despite a concerted effort by the then dominant Kerry (winner of four consecutive All-Ireland SFC titles between 1978 and 1981), the Centenary Cup final was contested by Meath and by Monaghan. Meath won, and — when Boylan was asked for comment — he replied that Meath intended to retain the title another hundred years later.[citation needed ]
Meath missed[why? ] full-back Mick Lyons for the 1984 Leinster SFC final (lost to Dublin), then Laois defeated Meath in the 1985 Leinster SFC semi-final. It was therefore not until 1986 that Meath won the first of three consecutive Leinster SFC titles. Then came consecutive All-Ireland SFC final victories over Cork in 1987 and 1988, the latter following a replay. Meath also won a fifth NFL title title, earlier in 1988. The Meath team of 1988 won three major titles: the NFL, the Leinster SFC and the All-Ireland SFC. Dublin defeated Meath's champion team in the 1989 Leinster SFC final, while Cork defeated Meath in the 1990 All-Ireland SFC final.
1991: Leinster saga and All-Ireland SFC final
[edit ]In 1991, the Leinster GAA Council abandoned the seeding system that had kept the previous year's finalists on opposite sides of the Leinster SFC draw. This decision led to Dublin and Meath — opponents in the previous five Leinster SFC finals — being drawn against each other in the 1991 Leinster SFC preliminary round. Meath caught up on a Dublin lead, with a long range shot from PJ Gillic bouncing over the head of Dublin goalkeeper John O'Leary; the result was a draw, so the teams had to meet again. The replay also ended in a draw; extra time was played, but this did not separate the teams either, so a third match was scheduled.
The third meeting of the teams was expected to be close, but — because the Dublin players were younger and more resourceful — as time went on, Dublin were expected[by whom? ] to gain the upper hand. The third game, though, also ended in a draw, even after extra time, and a fourth match was required. In the fourth match — an unprecedented third replay, taking place on the same weekend on which the Leinster SFC final had originally been scheduled — Dublin built a better lead than what they had acquired in the previous games. However, an injury time goal from an unlikely scorer — defender Kevin Foley — brought Meath level. With the dynamics now favouring Meath, David Beggy scored a point directly from the restart to win the match, and bring the four-game saga to an end.
Having overcome Dublin, Meath then faced Wicklow in the Leinster SFC quarter-final; that game also ended in a draw, Meath emerging as the winner in another replay. Meath then defeated Offaly (without a replay) in the Leinster SFC semi-final, before overcoming Laois in the Leinster SFC final. Victory over Roscommon in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final set up a meeting with Down in the All-Ireland SFC final.
With each game, injuries to the first team (starting fifteen) were accumulating. Only three Meath players began the 1991 All-Ireland SFC final injury-free, hindering the team's game plan, which required at least eleven players in defined positions.[citation needed ] Colm O'Rourke, Meath's star player, was incapable of playing a full seventy minutes.[citation needed ] There were insufficient players for replacement. Meath fell far behind in the second half. Meath trailed by eleven points when O'Rourke appeared as a substitute with twenty minutes left to play.[citation needed ] He immediately began helping his team to complete the necessary scores; entering injury time, the gap was reduced to two, before Bernard Flynn came within inches of scoring what would have been a winning goal.[citation needed ] Down won by a scoreline of 1–16 to 1-14.
1992–1998: Sixth All-Ireland SFC title
[edit ]The 1992 Leinster SFC began (and ended) with a three-point preliminary round home defeat to Laois; many Meath players then retired from inter-county football.[citation needed ]
Meath won a seventh NFL title in 1994, with Robbie O'Malley of St Colmcille's captaining the side to victory over Armagh in the final. However, Meath's season came to an end with a loss to Dublin in the 1994 Leinster SFC final, and the last of the team of 1986–94 retired.[citation needed ]
For 1995, a new team — consisting of young players such as Trevor Giles and Graham Geraghty — was formed. A ten-point defeat to Dublin in the 1995 Leinster SFC final ended the team's season.
Meath unexpectedly advanced to the 1996 Leinster SFC final, where — again — the opponent was Dublin. Ahead by 0–10 to 0–8 in the driving rain at the death, a ball was lobbed towards the Meath goal. As the ball travelled through the air, the referee blew his whistle and awarded a free out because of pushing by Dublin players. The game concluded: Meath had won another Leinster SFC title. In defeating a consistent Tyrone side in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final, Seán Boylan led a team that had won nothing in 1995 to the 1996 All-Ireland SFC final. Meath came from six points behind to draw with Mayo. In the replay, the teams lost a player each — sent off after a brawl in the early part of the game; Meath came from behind again, defeating Mayo by a scoreline of 2–9 to 1–11 and winning a sixth All-Ireland SFC title. Captain Tommy Dowd, who was living in the Meath Gaeltacht, produced probably the longest victory speech ever given by a Leinster captain.[citation needed ]
Meath started[contradictory ] the 1997 Leinster SFC against a Kildare team coached by Mick O'Dwyer. Meath's previous record against Kildare had been excellent and Meath were expected[by whom? ] to be capable of dealing with Kildare's superior fitness. O'Dwyer's appointment had brought about an enormous increase in support for Kildare, and ensured that the opening[contradictory ] match had full attendance at Croke Park, with Kildare fans outnumbering Meath fans.[citation needed ] A few years earlier Meath had been one of the best supported county teams, but the team's supporters had become accustomed to success under Boylan and no longer travelled to big games in large numbers.[citation needed ] The match saw Kildare emerge displaying an unexpected quality of football.[clarification needed ] Kildare led for most of the match; the Meath forwards had difficulty negotiating the opposition defence and their team only drew level in the last minute.
The replay ended with the teams level after ordinary time, so extra time was necessary to decide a winner. In extra time Kildare running on the never-ending engine of Willie McCreery in midfield quickly brought about a six-point lead. It seemed[to whom? ] as if Kildare's fitness had run Meath into the ground. Then came Boylan's tactical masterstroke, introducing substitute Jody Devine. Devine scored six points in rapid succession, helping Meath to a one-point lead. Kildare, however, grabbed a freakish[how? ] point to end the match in yet another draw. The teams met in a third match. The weather had changed and the match was played in rain. Meath won; as in 1991 though, this sequence of matches had caused an accumulation of injuries. Meath did not have a meaningful defence in the Leinster SFC final, and the forwards of opponent Offaly took advantage, ending Meath's season.
Meath's performance in the 1998 Leinster SFC quarter-final victory over Offaly was like the effect of an unwound spring. A defeat of Louth in the Leinster SFC semi-final followed. However, fellow Leinster SFC finalist Kildare — playing again with advanced fitness levels — had defeated a transitional Dublin side in one of the other quarter-finals. Meath's Brendan Reilly was sent off in the decider for a dangerous foul on Kildare centre-back Declan Kerrigan. Kildare's superior fitness allowed the team's players to advance in waves, causing problems for Meath. Kildare had also learnt from the year before, and secured greater more well-taken scores. 14-man Meath, by contrast, were collapsing under the physical strain of the match. Kildare held onto the lead. A last attack by Meath was halted by a questionable refereeing decision,[citation needed ][clarification needed ] which allowed Kildare to swiftly move the ball downfield. Due to Kildare's numerical superiority, this gave the team a chance to expose gaps in the Meath defence; the goal that followed sealed the match in Kildare's favour, and ended Meath's season.
1999–2005: Seventh All-Ireland SFC title and last All-Ireland SFC final
[edit ]
In 1999, Meath fielded new players partially to overcome the loss of Tommy Dowd,[clarification needed ] and partially to introduce some badly needed pace in an attempt to compete with the improved fitness level of opponents. As in 1996, Meath were expected[by whom? ] to end the season early and empty-handed. Intead, Meath won the 1999 Leinster SFC title, with emphatic victories over Wicklow (2-10 to 0–6; quarter-final), Offaly (1-13 to 0–9; semi-final) and Dublin (1-14 to 0-12; final).
Meath thus qualified for an All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Armagh. In the first half, Armagh had two incisive moves that opened up the Meath defence, leading to goals for Diarmaid Marsden and half-back Hughes.[clarification needed ][citation needed ] However, in the second half, the Meath defence kept a much tighter rein on the Armagh forwards, and when Armagh's full-back Ger Reid, who had muted the attacking presence of Graham Geraghty, was sent off for persistent fouling, Meath took control.[citation needed ] Right half-forward Evan Kelly contributed 0–3 from play to assist his team's 0–15 to 2–5 win.
Meath advanced to the 1999 All-Ireland SFC final, with Cork — rival of a decade previous — the opponent. Cork — captained by nineteen-year-old right corner-forward and free-taker, Philip Clifford — had defeated Kerry in the Munster SFC final by a 2–10 to 2-4 scoreline, and Connacht SFC winner Mayo in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final by a 2–12 to 0-12 scoreline. Meath and Cork exchanged early scores, but Meath had a half-time lead (of 1–5 to 0–5), with the help of an Ollie Murphy goal midway through the first half. The second half opened with Meath's Trevor Giles missing an early penalty, which — had it been converted — would have put six points between the sides. Cork then carried the ball downfield from Giles's penalty rebound to score a point and reduce the deficit to 0–2. Two minutes later, Cork centre-half-forward Joe Kavanagh — winning the ball on the Meath forty — went on a solo run, beating three Meath defenders, giving and taking a return pass, before firing a twenty-yard shot past the diving Cormac Sullivan into the roof of the Meath net. Having briefly glimpsed the possibility of a six-point lead only five minutes before, Meath instead fell behind for the first time, with the score at 1–6 to 1–5. Meath regrouped to outscore Cork by 0–6 to 0–2 in the final quarter, with the performances of Graham Geraghty (who scored 0–3 from play to eclipse Cork full-back Seán Óg Ó hAilpín), Trevor Giles and John McDermott of particular note. With a result of 1–11 to 1–8, Meath had won a seventh All-Ireland SFC title.
Meath played Westmeath in the 2001 Leinster SFC quarter-final, an opening game which ended in a late one-point victory for Meath. In the Leinster SFC semi-final, Meath convincingly defeated Kildare by 1–16 to 0-11, before defeating Dublin by 2–11 to 0–14 in the Leinster SFC final. With 2001 the inaugural year of a revised All-Ireland qualifier system however, Meath met Westmeath again in the newly introduced All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. Another Meath win was anticipated, Meath never having lost a championship match this opponent. However, Westmeath showed great tactical awareness, superior fitness, and an eagerness to play fast open football, and — for much of the game — this caused problems for a Meath defence which at club level was better prepared for direct football and man-for-man marking.[citation needed ] Poor Meath defending and a somewhat fortuitous goal had Westmeath on the brink of a three-point victory until — amid a melee of players at Croke Park's Canal End late into injury time — Ollie Murphy gained possession of the ball and, from a distance of 15 metres, unleashed a rasping shot into the top right hand corner of the Westmeath net. The strangest thing of all was that Murphy did not look at where he was kicking the ball — he literally shot based on where he assumed there was a vacant position in the goal. With the game ending level, a replay was required to separate the teams; Meath won by four points.
Kerry awaited Meath in the 2001 All-Ireland SFC semi-final. Kerry's experience, its tradition and the presence of such players as Maurice Fitzgerald, coupled with Meath's habit of cutting things a bit fine,[tone ] led to expectations that Kerry would win. Manager Páidí Ó Sé had a number of his 2000 All-Ireland SFC title holders available. Three first-half points from Ollie Murphy — Murphy presenting difficulties for Kerry's Michael McCarthy — and a John McDermott goal helped Meath to a half-time lead of 1–6 to 0–4. In the second half, Meath outscored Kerry by 1–8 to 0–1. Such was Meath's dominance in the ten minutes after half-time that a point-scoring spree ensued, finishing the game as a contest with 20 minutes or so left to play, and bringing about an unprecedented sight: that of Kerry fans leaving in their droves long before the full-time whistle; the result was 2–14 to 0–5.
Galway — Meath's opponent in the 2001 All-Ireland SFC final — had only beaten Derry. Meath therefore entered this decider as the overwhelming favourite. It was a careful and cautious match, tied 0-7 each at half-time, while Darren Fay was keeping Galway full-forward Pádraic Joyce scoreless. With Joyce switched to corner-forward at half-time, Galway quickly built up an early lead in the second half. Meath centre half-back Nigel Nestor was sent off for a second bookable offence — a foul on Jarlath Fallon — before Ollie Murphy, who was the most effective Meath forward that day, sustained a broken hand after being trod upon. As the match was slipping away from Meath, John McDermott advanced on the Galway defence, and this led to Meath being awarded a penalty. Meath free-taker and captain Trevor Giles was allocated the responsibility. His effort drifted wide, and with it a chance for Meath to get back into the game. From there, Pádraic Joyce continued to bedevil the Meath defence — eclipsing Mark O'Reilly in doing so — the Meath management all too belatedly sought to rectify the problem by putting Darren Fay back on Joyce, and Galway ran out emphatic victors on a 0–17 to 0–8 scoreline.
The seasons from 2002 onwards saw the re-emergence of Dublin as championship competitor, as well as the appearances of — first — a Laois team that won the 2003 Leinster SFC title, and — then — a Westmeath team that won the 2004 Leinster SFC title. In 2002, 2003 and 2004, many Meath players retired or left the team.[citation needed ] In 2005, Seán Boylan announced that he would not be seeking re-appointment as Meath manager.
Lament for Boylan
[edit ]Boylan's 22-year term represents a record in modern GAA. He led two different teams to win four All-Ireland SFC titles, while coming close to winning another two. He introduced an increased tactical awareness to the game.[citation needed ] He built two All-Ireland SFC-winning teams. Other great managers like Dwyer, Harte, McGuinness, McGrath, Gavin built only one. Unlike Dwyer, Harte, Galvin, who had huge underage success to build a team upon.[vague ] With the 1987 and 1988 Meath team, Boylan had no underage success build on. In the history of game it is rare to win an All-Ireland with no underage success.[original research? ] His 1996 team came from nowhere to win an All-Ireland. Since 1950 the only other times this has happened is Down 1960, Dublin 1974, Kerry 1975, Down 1991, Galway 1998 and Meath in 1996. And what was so unique about 1996 also was Seán Boylan's 1996 team is one of the youngest teams ever to win All-Ireland, with seven under-21 Meath players playing in the final. This has only happened once before when Kerry won the All-Ireland in 1975 with lots of under-21 players. Kerry 1975 and Meath 1996 are the two youngest teams to win an All-Ireland.
What made 1996 even more unique, with being one of the youngest teams ever to win, was Meath were six pints down with eleven mins to go, and drew the game. And Meath were six pints down in the replay and won the match. It is unheard of for a team to be six pints down in an All-Ireland final with ten minutes to go and not lose.[citation needed ] Meath won the All-Ireland from nowhere in 1996, with seven under-21 players. A young team that was six pints down in both games and still did not lose. While Mayo (Meath's opposition in 1996) tried to steal the narrative with talk of one of their players being sent off. Only Horan won an All Star for Mayo. Meath had six All Star forwards who played in that final, such as four-time All Star winner Tommy Dowd (1991, 1994, 1995 and 1996), Evan Kelly (2001 All Star), Graham Geraghty, Ollie Murphy (another forward who played in the 1996 final, would become the best corner forward in Ireland between 1999 and 2001),[original research? ] and Trevor Giles (who, apart from Dublin's Brian Fenton is the only ever two-time Footballer of the Year),[relevant? ] Brendan Reilly (another All Star forward in 1996, who scored five pints in the semi-final in 1996 from play, four pints in the drawn game and one pint in the replay). Dublin's Dean Rock or Stephen Cluxton's All-Ireland winning pints were from frees.[relevant? ] Steve McDonnell's All-Ireland winning pint in 2002 was in the 62nd minute in front of the goals.[relevant? ] Reilly's pint was in the 70th minute and from a difficult angle, surrounded by Mayo defenders. That is why Meath scored six unanswered pints in the last ten minutes in the drawn game and Mayo scored none.[original research? ] And Meath in the replay scored 1–3 to Mayo's 0–2 in the last 15 minutes of the drawn game. Meath also had the best full-back in Ireland at the time Darren Fay, while the best midfielder in Ireland at the time was Meath's John McDermott.[original research? ] Meath also had one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game, a player thought of[by whom? ] as the greatest left half-back ever, that was Martin O'Connell.[original research? ] And Meath had two Footballers of the Year on their team, they were Trevor Giles and Martin O'Connell. Mayo had no Footballers of the Year on their team.[relevant? ] Meath reached All-Ireland SFC finals in 1996, 1999 and 2001, winning two. Mayo reached All-Ireland finals in 1996 and 1997, winning none.
Dublin are rarely beaten in the Leinster SFC, and even less rarely beaten in Leinster SFC finals. Strong football counties like Westmeath and Laois have never beaten Dublin in a Leinster SFC final. Kildare have beaten Dublin in one Leinster SFC final in the last 90 years since 1930. Seán Boylan's Meath defeated Dublin in seven Leinster SFC finals in 15 years. Meath defeated Dublin in the Leinster SFC finals of 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1996, 1999 and 2001. Meath under Boylan became the top football county in Ireland between 1986 and 2001. In that period (1986–2001), and with two different teams, Meath won four All-Ireland SFC titles, played in seven All-Ireland SFC finals, won eight Leinster SFC titles and won three National League Division 1 titles.
Meath's Leinster SFC title win in 1986, was significant. Dublin — the capital, and Ireland's most powerful and wealthiest and populated county — had ten times the population of Meath.[citation needed ] Dublin were kingpins of Leinster since 1974. Dublin had won 10 of the previous 12 Leinster SFC titles. Dublin were seen as almost unbeatable in Leinster at the time. But Boylan's Meath knocked Dublin from their perch. And not only did this, but went on to become the top football county in Leinster and Ireland for the next 15 years, replacing Kerry after 1987 as the number one county.
2006–2009
[edit ]Eamonn Barry replaced Boylan. Barry had managed his Dunshaughlin club to two consecutive[contradictory ] Leinster Club SFC titles. He had previously contested the position of manager against Boylan on an almost annual basis.[citation needed ] After one season, Barry was replaced as manager by Colm Coyle. Coyle — a three-time All-Ireland SFC-winning player — was a selector under Boylan and had managed the Monaghan county team, winning his first match against then All-Ireland SFC title holder Armagh.
A 2007 Leinster SFC quarter-final against old rival and reigning two-time Leinster SFC title holder Dublin saw Meath come away from Croke Park with an unexpected draw, inspired by Graham Geraghty, Mark Ward, captain Anthony Moyles and Caoimhín King. A narrow defeat in the replay meant participation in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers, with Meath emerging from this run of "back-door" wins to face Tyrone in an All-Ireland SFC quarter-final game. Meath won, but then lost to Cork in the All-Ireland SFC semi-final.
Meath's 2008 season began with a strong win over unfancied Carlow before a quarter-final fixture with a resurgent Wexford team saw Meath lose a 10-point lead at the interval and fall behind in injury time. While Wexford went on to meet Dublin in the Leinster final, Meath suffered a heavy defeat to Limerick in the 1st round of the All-Ireland qualifier series and Colm Coyle resigned as manager. On 10 November 2008 Eamonn O'Brien was confirmed to be the new Meath boss after the meeting of Meath County Board.
The 2009 season began with the side facing old rivals Dublin which was a very poor performance from both sides, But despite all that Meath lost the match, but had a good run through the qualifiers meeting Waterford, Westmeath, Roscommon and then meeting Limerick for the second time in the championship which others expected it to be like last year. But Meath got the best start with a goal from Cian Ward. But Limerick did perform well just before full-time two goals from Seannie Buckley and 2nd from sub Jim O'Donovan sealed the game to one point but was all too late for Limerick as Meath went on to meet their 1996 All Ireland finalists Mayo. Mayo and Meath met at Croke Park on 9 August in the quarter-finals, a game which Meath won by 2–15 to 1–15 in a very close fought game until Meath came good in the second half. They went on to meet Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC semi final on 30 August.
This match was played in poor and slippery conditions with both sides making errors. An early penalty awarded for a foul on Colm Cooper, was scored by Kerry captain Darren Sullivan. Kerry pulled away in the next 20 minutes. However Meath fought back bravely to bring the sides close at half time. Jack O'Conner introduced Tommy Walsh after the break who scored 1–2 in quick succession. As Kerry went eight points up the game was over despite a late rally from Meath who lost by four in the end.
2010
[edit ]The 2010 season began with the side beating Offaly despite poor performance before reaching the quarter-final to face Laois at a rain soaked Croke Park which was dragged to extra-time but ended up in a replay the week after. Meath won well before sending old rivals Dublin for the first time since 2001 to reach the Leinster SFC final. This was played on 11 July 2010, against neighbouring Louth. Meath won the match but both the way the match ended and the violent reaction of some Louth supporters led to controversy.
Deep into injury time in the 74th minute of the match, a goal was awarded to Meath by the referee after brief consultation with only one of the match umpires. Television coverage of the game proved that the ball was carried over the line by Meath player Joe Sherdian. Prior to the goal being awarded Meath had trailed by 1 point and with the referee blowing his whistle shortly afterwards this proved to be the decisive score.
Irate Louth fans stormed the pitch and commenced a process of chasing and physically assaulting the referee,[5] [6] [7] who had to be led away by a Garda escort in scenes broadcast to a live television audience. Other scenes of violence saw bottles being hurled from a stand, one striking a steward who fell to the ground[5] [8] and Meath substitute Mark Ward was hit by a Louth fan.[9] The situation led to much media debate in the days that followed, the violence was condemned and there were many calls for the game to be replayed in the national Media (including former Meath players Trevor Giles and Bernard Flynn.[10] ). GAA President Christy Cooney said the events were a "watershed" and one where the "circumstances were bizarre. I have never seen circumstances like it as long as I have been a member of this Association".[11] He promised life bans for those who assaulted the referee.[12]
The day after the match the GAA released a statement confirming that Sludden admitted he had made an error.[13] The GAA also stated that the rules left it powerless to offer a replay and that this would be decided by Meath,[13] Following a Meath County Board meeting it emerged that in his match report that the referee had originally blown for a penalty for Meath but when the ball ended in the net decided to award the goal. The county board decided not to offer of a replay and that that would be "the end of the matter".[14]
Meath were drawn in The All-Ireland Quarter-final to face Kildare which was an excellent first-half performance but were later denied as Kildare won 2–17 to 1-12.
In September 2010, speculations begun whether or not Eamonn O'Brien would continue as manager for 2011. On 7 September 2010 O'Brien was surprisingly axed as manager after the club's board voted him out.
On 10 November 2010, former [Monaghan manager Séamus McEnaney was confirmed as the new Meath manager. His appointment as manager meant that for the first time a non-native of Meath took charge of the team.[15]
Dublin dominance: 2011–
[edit ]The 2011 season began with the side meeting Kildare in a repeat of the 2010 Quarter-final. In a poor game, marred by a high number of wides from both teams, Kildare emerged victorious by 0–16 to 0-10 which meant Meath entered the qualifiers. Meath defeated Louth by 9 points (5-08 - 2-08) in Round 1 of the Qualifiers in Breffni Park, Cavan. A single-point victory over Galway in Round 2 set up another mouth-watering tie against Kildare in Round 3. However, this was to be the end of the road for Meath in the 2011 championship as Kildare again came out on top, this time by a scoreline of 2–11 to 0-14.
The 2012 season began as a disaster during the league as Meath were hit by relegation to Division 3 despite a good start, losing to Louth at home. Soon afterwards pressure mounted on McEnaney's continued position as Meath manager. Despite many voting to axe him survived the vote after clubs opted for him to stay. The championship started with the Royals facing Wicklow on 27 May 2012 at a sunny and hot Dr Cullen Park with Wicklow getting the better start racing into a 0–5 to 0-0 after 14 minutes. However, despite many expecting Wicklow to get the better of the game, Meath rallied back and outscored the Garden County 0–16 to 0-11. Up next was the meeting of Meath and Carlow. The game proved to be a real scare as Carlow took the lead just before half-time, but as Meath were on their way to winning the game, JJ Smith of Carlow hit a late goal to force a replay. The replay proved to be much better from the Royal County with an eventual result of 2–21 to 1–9 to advance to the Leinster Semi-final to face neighbours Kildare. The game saw Meath advance to the Leinster Final to face old rivals Dublin for the first time since 2001. The game saw the Liffeysiders getting the better start before Meath got the game level. The game eventually ended with Dublin just scraping past on a result 2–11 to 1-11. Meath faced Laois in a rain soaked O'Connor Park with Laois getting the better of Meath and the game ended with the Midlanders running out winners 1–15 to 1-12. McEnaney subsequently resigned as Meath boss. In October 2012, Mick O'Dowd was confirmed as the new Meath manager.
2013 season saw a marked improvement during the latter part of the league despite making a poor start and The Royals earned promotion back to Division 2 despite losing to Monaghan in the final. The championship started with a repeat of the previous year Meath facing Wicklow this time at a very wet and windy Aughrim with The Royals running out winners by 5 points scoreline 1–17 to 1-12. Next game up was a meeting of Wexford at Croke Park, The game proved to be quite a tense first half battle before Meath claimed victory 0–18 to 0–13 to advance to the Leinster Final against old rival Dublin. The Leinster SFC final was played in a sunny scorched Croke Park on July 14m, The game was quite a battle but it was Dublin claimed the Leinster title once again on a scoreline 2–15 to 0-14.[16] Meath entered the fourth round of the Qualifiers against Ulster rivals Tyrone. The game proved to be quite a tense display from Meath despite netting two goals from Mickey Newman and Eamonn Wallace with Tyrone eventually ending Meath's 2013 championship campaign on a scoreline 0–17 to 2-09.[17]
The 2014 season started very mixed during the league without The Royal County missing out promotion. The championship started with a game against Carlow a repeat of the 2012 Quarter-final, But the game proved to be a real one sided display with the scoreline ending Meath 7–13 to Carlow 0-6. Meath played Kildare in the semi-final without Meath getting the good start leading well at half time but ended up just hanging on at the end on a scoreline 2–17 to 0–16 to advance to their 3rd Leinster Final in a row. The Leinster SFC final took place on 20 July, The game however proved to be a dreadful display for Meath eventually being humiliated by Dublin 3–20 to 1-10.[18] Meath entered the fourth round of the Qualifiers against '2002 All Ireland Champions' Armagh at a rain-soaked Croke Park which showed little improvement from the Royal County, during which they trailed 0–8 to 0-2 after 8 minutes but managed to claw their way back and were behind 0–8 to 0–7 at half time. The second half saw both teams struggle to finds range due to difficult conditions. Eventually Armagh ended Meath's 2014 Football Championship campaign with the scoreline 0–18 to 0-13.
The 2015 season saw Meath have quite a good season despite falling short of Galway, Roscommon and Laois. The Royals got some decent results against Kildare, Down, Westmeath and scraped past Cavan only to miss out once again on promotion to Division 1. The Leinster Championship proved to be a different story which saw them scraping past Wicklow in the Leinster Quarter-final at a Sun scorched Páirc Tailteann in Navan winning 2–19 to 3–12 to set up a Semi-final clash with Westmeath. The Leinster Semi-final against Westmeath seemed like Meath were going to cruise to the Leinster Final easily with The Royals leading by 8 points at half-time 2–12 to 1-07. The 2nd half however proved to be a real surprise as Black cards were dished to both Donnacha Tobin and Graham Reilly before The Lake County took control hitting 2-08 without reply defeating their neighbours for the first time ever meeting in a championship game with Meath ending with 14 men after goalkeeper Paddy O'Rourke was shown a straight red card for knocking Kieran Martin to the ground. The game finished Westmeath winning 3–19 to 2-18 sending The Royal County to the qualifiers.[19] Meath faced Tyrone in Round 2B of the qualifiers in a rain soaked Healy Park, Omagh, with the game sometimes described as being quite dour with Tyrone playing real defensive style however despite that Meath led 0–4 to 0–3 at half-time only for 'The Royals' to lose by a two points during the second half thanks to a Peter Harte penalty 1–10 to 0-11 the final score ending Meath's 2015 championship on a disappointing note. It was announced that Mick O'Dowd would continue as the Meath Senior Manager for a further 2 years with a review after the 2016 season[20]
One commonly reported suggestion for the decline in Meath football was the advent of the Celtic Tiger, held to have softened the players the county produced.[21] [22] [23] [24]
The disappointing season of 2016 proved to be fatal in terms of O'Dowd's managerial career. Failure to land promotion to Division 1 in the league yet again, resulted in huge pressure on O'Dowd and his players to have a successful championship in the summer of 2016. Meath survived a tough test in Parnell Park by beating Louth on a score-line of 0–20 to 1-13. This set up a Leinster semi-final date with Dublin at Croke Park. A much-fancied Dublin team sent O'Dowd's men into the Qualifiers for the sixth year in-a-row. Meath were drawn away to Derry. Derry sent Meath out of the championship after winning on a score-line of 1–14 to 1–11 in a thrilling contest. O'Dowd called time on his inter-county management career as a result of this defeat.
Andy McEntee came then. He left after Meath exited the 2022 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship.[25] He was then unexpectedly appointed as Antrim county football team senior manager.[26]
In July 2022, Colm O'Rourke was confirmed as the new Meath manager.[27] Shortly after being appointed manager, O'Rourke wrote that the team's former manager Seán Boylan (who won four All-Ireland SFC titles during the 1980s and 1990s) "will have open access to the team as adviser, counsellor, motivator or whatever else he wants to be".[28] Meath subsequently won the 2023 Tailteann Cup, the second-tier Gaelic football competition, defeating Down by a scoreline of 2–13 to 0–14 in the final.[29]
Meath unexpectedly defeated Dublin in the 2025 Leinster SFC semi-final. That win came after nine consecutive defeats and was a first against Dublin since 2010.[1]
Notable managers
[edit ]- Fr. Packie Tully
- Seán Boylan
- Colm Coyle
- Eamonn Barry
- Eamonn O'Brien
- Séamus McEnaney
- Andy McEntee
- Colm O'Rourke
Managerial history
[edit ]All-Ireland Senior Football Championship results since 1975.
| Name | First season | Last season | P | W | D | L | Win% | Championship honours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mick O'Brien | 1975 | 1977 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 63% | |
| Des Ferguson | 1978 | 1982 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 33% | |
| Seán Boylan | 1983 | 2005 | 95 | 61 | 11 | 23 | 64% | 8 Leinster Championships and 4 All-Ireland Championships |
| Eamonn Barry | 2006 | 2006 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 60% | |
| Colm Coyle | 2007 | 2008 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 55% | |
| Eamonn O'Brien | 2009 | 2010 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 69% | 2010 Leinster Championship |
| Séamus McEnaney | 2011 | 2012 | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 50% | |
| Mick O'Dowd | 2013 | 2016 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 43% | |
| Andy McEntee | 2017 | 2022 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 50% | |
| Colm O'Rourke | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||
| Robbie Brennan | 2025 |
Players
[edit ]Notable players
[edit ]- Peter McDermott
- Colm O'Rourke
- Mick Lyons
- Graham Geraghty
- Trevor Giles
- Paddy O'Brien
- Martin O'Connell
- Robbie O'Malley
- Gerry McEntee
- Brian Stafford
- Ollie Murphy
- Tommy Dowd
- Jack Quinn
- John McDermott
- Nigel Nestor
- Paddy O'Brien
- Darren Fay
- Liam Harnan
- Pat "Red" Collier
- Bernard Flynn
- Pat Reynolds
- Bertie Cunningham
- Tommy "The Boiler" McGuinness
Records
[edit ]- Brian Stafford is the team's top scorer in National Football League history, finishing his career with 13–334 (373) in that competition.[30]
Most appearances
[edit ]Top scorers
[edit ]
All Stars
[edit ]Competitive record
[edit ]This is Meath's record in All-Ireland SFC finals. Bold denotes a year in which the team won the competition.
| Year | Date | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue | Attendance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1895 | 15 March 1896 | Tipperary | 0-4 | Meath | 0-3 | Jones' Road | 8,000 | 1 |
| 1939 | 24 September | Kerry | 2-5 | Meath | 2-3 | Croke Park | 46,828 | 2 |
| 1949 | 25 September | Meath | 1-10 | Cavan | 1-6 | Croke Park | 79,460 | 4 |
| 1951 | 23 September | Mayo | 2-8 | Meath | 1-9 | Croke Park | 78,201 | 5 |
| 1952 | 28 September | Cavan | 2-4 | Meath | 1-7 | Croke Park | 64,200 | n/a (Draw) |
| 1952 | 12 October | Cavan | 0-9 | Meath | 0-5 | Croke Park | 62,515 | 4 (Replay) |
| 1954 | 26 September | Meath | 1-13 | Kerry | 1-7 | Croke Park | 75,276 | 6 |
| 1966 | 25 September | Galway | 1-10 | Meath | 0-7 | Croke Park | 71,569 | 6 |
| 1967 | 24 September | Meath | 1-9 | Cork | 0-9 | Croke Park | 70,343 | 3 |
| 1970 | 27 September | Kerry | 2-19 | Meath | 0-18 | Croke Park | 71,775 | 7 |
| 1987 | 20 September | Meath | 1-14 | Cork | 0-11 | Croke Park | 68,431 | 6 |
| 1988 | 18 September | Meath | 0-12 | Cork | 1-9 | Croke Park | 65,000 | n/a (Draw) |
| 1988 | 9 October | Meath | 0-13 | Cork | 0-12 | Croke Park | 64,069 | 1 (Replay) |
| 1990 | 16 September | Cork | 0-11 | Meath | 0-9 | Croke Park | 65,723 | 2 |
| 1991 | 15 September | Down | 1-16 | Meath | 1-14 | Croke Park | 64,500 | 2 |
| 1996 | 15 September | Meath | 0-12 | Mayo | 1-9 | Croke Park | 65,898 | n/a (Draw) |
| 1996 | 29 September | Meath | 2-9 | Mayo | 1-11 | Croke Park | 65,802 | 1 (Replay) |
| 1999 | 26 September | Meath | 1-11 | Cork | 1-8 | Croke Park | 63,276 | 3 |
| 2001 | 23 September | Galway | 0-17 | Meath | 0-8 | Croke Park | 70,482 | 9 |
Honours
[edit ]National
[edit ]- All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (7): 1949, 1954, 1967, 1987, 1988, 1996, 1999
- 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (9): 1895, 1939, 1951, 1952, 1966, 1970, 1990, 1991, 2001
- Tailteann Cup
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (1): 2023
- National Football League
- All-Ireland Junior Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (5): 1947, 1952, 1962, 1988, 2003[31]
- All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (1): 1993
- 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (1): 1997
- All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (4): 1957, 1990, 1992, 2021
- 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (4): 1977, 1993, 2002, 2012
Provincial
[edit ]- Leinster Senior Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (21): 1895, 1939, 1940, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2010
- 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (22): 1894, 1896, 1911, 1923, 1930, 1950, 1955, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1984, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020
- O'Byrne Cup
- Leinster Junior Football Championship
- Leinster Under-21 Football Championship
- Leinster Minor Football Championship
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (13): 1957, 1972, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2006, 2008, 2018, 2020, 2021
- 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runners-up (14): 1946, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1970, 1975, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 2002, 2011, 2012
Other
[edit ]- Centenary Cup (once-off competition)
- 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winners (1): 1984
References
[edit ]- ^ a b "Surprise victory over Dublin was no shock to Meath players". RTÉ. 27 April 2025.
- ^ a b c "O'Rourke adds Supple touch to backroom team". Hogan Stand. 6 September 2022.
- ^ O'Rourke, Colm (27 November 2022). "Backroom teams, fitness and sports science — why managing Meath is changing my opinion". Sunday Independent.
Our trainer, Eugene Eivers, was with Donegal when they won the All-Ireland and while big into scientific data, he also gives the example of Colm McFadden, whose readings on running and other data were quite modest but nearly always was the top scorer.
- ^ Crowe, Dermot (30 March 2025). "Marching on together". Sunday Independent .
From 1974 to 1986, every final had Kerry or Dublin in it and in six of those they were the final pairing. They shared every All-Ireland going in that time save for Offaly's famous heist of 1982.
- ^ a b "Rough justice for heartbroken Louth". The Irish Times . 11 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ "Referee is attacked in Croke Park". RTÉ Sport . RTÉ. 11 July 2010. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- ^ Reid, Philip (12 July 2010). "Dark clouds cast over Louth's big day in the sun". The Irish Times . Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ Keys, Colm & McHale, Michael (13 July 2010). "Meath call for extra time over Louth replay bid". Irish Independent . Independent News & Media . Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ "10 Key questions after Sunday's chaotic scenes at Croker". Irish Independent . Independent News & Media. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ Irish Examiner (12 July 2010), Giles calls for replay , retrieved 12 July 2010
- ^ "Cooney - Leinster final a watershed for GAA". RTÉ Sport . RTÉ. 16 July 2010. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ Foley, Cliona (17 July 2010). "We will impose life bans: Cooney". Irish Independent . Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ a b "Referee admits error in awarding Meath goal". RTÉ Sport . RTÉ. 12 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 July 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
- ^ "Meath decide against offering replay". The Irish Times . Irish Times Trust. 13 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
- ^ McEneaney confirmed as Meath manager, RTÉ, 10 November 2010, archived from the original on 11 November 2010, retrieved 11 November 2010
- ^ "Dublin reign once again in Leinster". RTÉ Sport. 14 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Tyrone scrape past battling Meath in qualifiers". RTÉ Sport. 27 July 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Dublin cruise to another title". RTÉ Sport. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.,
- ^ "Westmeath claim historic victory over Meath". RTÉ Sport. 28 June 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
- ^ "Harte penalty decisive as Tyrone edge out Meath". RTÉ Sport. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
- ^ "Conor Neville: Celtic Tiger blamed for fall of Meath softies, naturally". Irish Examiner . 29 June 2015.
- ^ "Will the real Meath please stand up?". Irish Independent . 27 June 2015.
- ^ "Alarm bells over the fate of football in Meath". RTÉ Sport. 15 June 2015.
- ^ "Another Year Of Mediocrity For Meath?". Pundit Arena. 9 February 2016.
- ^ "Andy McEntee steps down as Meath manager". RTÉ. 6 June 2022.
- ^ "'It probably surprises me as much as anybody else'". Hogan Stand. 12 July 2022.
- ^ "Colm O'Rourke to be confirmed as new Meath senior football manage". Irish Independent. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
- ^ "Boylan to assist new Meath boss O'Rourke". Hogan Stand. 1 August 2022.
- ^ Verney, Michael (15 July 2023). "Jack Flynn on fire as Colm O'Rourke's Royals end 13-year wait for Croke Park silverware". Irish Independent . Retrieved 15 July 2023.
- ^ "Banner hero David Tubridy already has more history in his sights after becoming highest league scorer of all time". Irish Independent . 1 June 2021.
- ^ Wall, Sean (10 April 2021). "Impressive Royals unfazed by Rogers row". Drogheda Independent .