Six trophies up for grabs in the Football Leagues

There is no shortage of exciting games to look forward to this weekend in the All County Football A Leagues as we have finals across all six divisions to look forward to as the competition comes to its conclusion in advance of the upcoming Championship commencing. Whatever happens and whoever wins out in all six finals there are stories to be written and magic moments to be created for each club.

The finals are all ticket and are priced as follows.

General Admission – €10
Student/OAP – €5
Children U-16 accompanied by an adult attend for free.

Tickets for all finals can be purchased via the Meath GAA App which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.

In Division 1A can Ratoath land the opening leg of a potential League and Championship double? The reigning Fairyhouse Steel SFC champions, they have gone through the League unbeaten with eight victories and three draws as new manager Kevin Reilly has slotted in seamlessly despite not having a full hand to play with due to the club having players on county duty over the course of the season to date.

It is believed that Ben Wyer and Daithí McGowan could feature for Ratoath in what would be a major boost to their chances of winning. Wyer could potentially pick up James Conlon in what would be a fascinating duel should it come to pass while McGowan would add greatly to the forward options available for Ratoath, especially in the ongoing absence of Cian Rogers who is currently in America.

St. Colmcille’s have been a dominant force at underage level in recent times but have found replicating that success at senior level very challenging since they won the Intermediate Football Championship back in 2016. They reached the Seamus Connolly Catering Division 1A League Final last year before losing out to a more seasoned Summerhill in a thriller but then found themselves in the relegation dogfight in the Championship. Now managed by Jody Devine who has an impressive track record as a manager, the ‘Cilles will be looking to lay down a marker by claiming the Mooney Cup for the first time and which would no doubt spark joyous scenes of celebration in Ashbourne at lunchtime on Sunday.

Summerhill plays host to the Division 1B Final for the second year in succession and this year it is a mouthwatering clash of Ballinabrackey and Navan O’Mahonys as they go for glory with both sides already having secured their promotion to Division 1A for 2024 after impressive League campaigns.

Damien Moran who has been heavily involved with Minor sides on Brews Hill in recent years has this year stepped up to don the Bainisteoir bib with their adult first team and he has overseen an impressive revival thus far after the disappointment of the club being relegated from the Senior ranks at the end of 2022. With a record of ten victories and one defeat from their eleven games, the sole defeat coming against St. Michael’s in Round 7, they had their place in the decider

Like O’Mahonys, Ballinabrackey have returned to the top tier at the first time of asking after their relegation from Division 1A in 2022. A seasoned outfit, they have plenty of talent all over the pitch with Dean Pluck in goals, the wily Nicky Judge at full back, Niall Smullen around midfield and Danny Quinn in the half forward line just some of the players who have either played Senior, U-20 or Minor football for their county.

When these sides met in the round robin stage of the competition on May 16, O’Mahonys made the most of home advantage in Paddy O’Brien Park to come away with a three point victory, 0-11 to 0-08. Whoever can pick up the victory in Summerhill will not only have a trophy to celebrate but it will give them a major boost approaching their respective Championship campaigns which are just around the corner.

Slane plays host on Saturday evening to an enticing clash in the PS Supplies sponsored Division 2A Final when St. Patrick’s and Meath Hill meet to see who will succeed St. Michael’s as the Champions.

Three sides came through the season with ten wins and one defeat from the group stage of the League but it was St. Patrick’s and Meath Hill who edged out Dunsany to book their place in the decider.

The Meath Hill attack was in potent form throughout the League as they averaged over twenty-one points a game but they were equally as miserly at the back, conceding an average of nine points per match. St. Patrick’s weren’t quite as free scoring as they averaged over seventeen points in attack but their defence was almost as tight as their opponents, averaging a concession of marginally over ten points per match.

John Mannion and Sean Emmanuel would have missed part of the League for St. Patrick’s through their commitments with the U-20’s and with both back fully in harness, they will be confident of overturning the five point defeat suffered in Meath Hill earlier this season.

The JMB Sportsfield Services sponsored Division 2B Final takes place in the novel venue for a football final at least of Kilskyre, with the north Meath club having done fantastic work in recent years doing up their facilities. St. Ultan’s will be hoping to get the weekend off to the best possible start on Saturday evening by annexing the first leg of a double as their second team contests a Meath Cleaning Supplies Premier Football Championship Final on Sunday in Páirc Tailteann.

For Clann na nGael, they are also hoping to land a double after last weekend claiming glory in the LMES Ltd. Division 2 Hurling League. They lost out to St. Ultan’s in Round 5 but will be confident of overturning that result on Saturday evening.

On Friday evening, Sean Newman Park plays host to the Tommy Dowd Oil sponsored Division 3A Final and it is an intriguing fixture between St. Brigid’s and Kilbride. St. Brigid’s who have been boosted by the availability of Meath panellist Michael Flood for the decider, come into the final having topped the group and will be looking to keep their recent good run going after winning the Balreask Bar, Restaurant & Guest Accommodation Junior B Football Championship last year and contesting the Meath Cleaning Supplies Premier Football Championship Division 8 Final last week.

Kilbride have been steadily improving in recent seasons and earlier this year reached the N2 Electrical Tailteann Cup Final. In the eyes of many, they are strong contenders for Championship honours later in the season and a victory here would be a major confidence boost to a club with a very young average age for their team.

The second final on Friday evening takes place in Castletown and it sees Slane and Cortown meet in what is a repeat of their Championship meeting in the same ground less than twelve months ago.

On that occasion it was Slane who came out on top after an impressive showing and the club is coming into this game on a high after claiming glory in their Meath Cleaning Supplies Premier Football Championship decider last weekend, the clubs first adult trophy in thirty years according to some club officials.

Cortown though can never be discounted and they will relish the tag of underdogs bestowed upon them by many neutrals. This promises to be a tight encounter and extra-time cannot be discounted.