After playing host to two Meath Cleaning Supplies sponsored Premier Football Championship Finals last weekend, Páirc Tailteann will see three more deciders played on Sunday with the Division 3, 4 and 5 Finals all down to be played on what promises to be another exciting day of action on the Commons Road venue.
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.
First up at 11:30 is the Division 5 Final which sees Ballinlough take on St. Ultan’s with the Micheál Ó Briain Cup the prize on offer. Ballinlough will look to the two warhorses Derek Muldoon and Peadar Byrne in midfield to get them a platform upon which they can build a victory from. These two have turned in many match winning performances in Páirc Tailteann over the years for the North Meath side and if they can conjure up another big showing then it will be a massive boost to Conn Cleary’s side.
For St. Ultan’s it will be a quick turnaround from their JMB Sportsfield Services Division 2B League Final the evening before and the celebrations should they have won on Saturday will have to be rather muted if they are to pick up a win on Sunday. The Buchanan’s, Ruairí and Tommy will be key operators in their forward line while Gearóid Rennicks will look to put his experience to good effect around the middle third but it would be no shock to see him stationed on the edge of the square at various stages of the game.
The second game of the day is the Division 4 Final of the Meath Cleaning Supplies sponsored Premier Football Championships and this game sees Oldcastle take on Blackhall Gaels in what looks like a very difficult game to confidently predict a winner. Throw in for this match is at 13:15.
These two sides met way back on March 26 in the opening round of the competition when after a low scoring affair, Oldcastle made the long journey to Batterstown a worthwhile one as they came away with a two point victory over their hosts, 1-08 to 1-06.
Their half back line of Cillian Connell, Mossy Flood and Brian Hetherton offer the full back line plenty of protection and are a tough unit to break down while up front CJ Healy and Darren Hawdon have the potential to wreak havoc on their day.
Blackhall Gaels have no shortage of talent to call upon for Sunday’s fixture and their midfield pairing of Shane Whitty and Tom Delany will ensure they will earn plenty of primary possession. Up front the wily Tadgh Brosnan knows better than most how to rack up match winning tallies in Páirc Tailteann and how Oldcastle restrict his influence could go a long way towards deciding who wins this Division 4 Final.
The third and final game of the triple header bill on Sunday is the Division 3 Final of the Meath Cleaning Supplies Premier Football Championship and it sees St. Patrick’s who are contesting their third final in eight days take on Dunsany.
St. Patrick’s who are managed by Pat Mannion came through the group stage of the competition with an impressive record of six victories and one defeat from their seven games, topped the group before impressing against Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the semi-final as they recorded an eye-catching eighteen point victory. Ciaran Sullivan will anchor the defence from centre back and he is likely to be a very influential figure in proceedings while up front Conall Ó Fuaruisge, Jamie Murphy and the vastly experienced Niall Mooney will be hard held by the Dunsany defence.
Dunsany have not found Páirc Tailteann to be a happy hunting ground in finals on more than one occasion but will come into this encounter full of confidence after a brilliant display in the semi-final when they overturned a fancied Duleek-Bellewstown on their home turf.
Their midfield pairing of Colm O’Connor and James Cahill are two fine footballers who will pose plenty of problems for St. Patrick’s around the middle third while David Boyle and Kris Gorman are two forwards who are in a rich vein of form. Between them they tallied 3-05 in the clubs recent A League victory over Ballivor while Conor Harkin who is slated to line out at centre back on Sunday helped himself to 3-01 on that occasion from a wing forward berth.
When these sides met in the group stage of the competition, St. Patrick’s came out on top by a three point margin, 0-14 to 1-08 but it would be no surprise were Sunday’s final to prove to be an even tighter affair.
