One of the biggest weekends on the Meath club hurling calendar awaits this weekend as we have five finals in the LMES ltd. sponsored Hurling A Leagues to look forward to. The action gets underway on Thursday evening with the Division 5 decider between Navan O’Mahonys and Clann na nGael before two finals on Friday and a further two on Saturday.
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.
The O’Growney Cup is the prize on offer for the Division 1 Final between Trim and Kildalkey is the prize on offer for both Trim and Kildalkey on Friday evening in Boardsmill where a big crowd is anticipated. These two sides met in the corresponding fixture last year with the Jimmy Canty managed Trim side coming out on top by nine points. Can they repeat that success or can Kildalkey who are now managed by Nick Fitzgerald come away with the victory this year?
Drumree were defeated in the Division 2 Final twelve months ago when Killyon picked up the Doherty Cup and are on the recovery trail on Saturday evening in Trim where they will come up against Clann na nGael. When these sides met in Round 6 of the League a month ago it was Clann na nGael who edged a tight encounter by a solitary point. Can Drumree turn the tables or will it be final heartache once more for them?
The curtain raiser in Trim on Saturday evening is the Division 3 decider between Kildalkey and Donaghmore/Ashbourne. Kildalkey could be coming into this encounter on a high after the Division 1 Final less than twenty-four hours previously and a League double could well be on the cards this weekend. Kildalkey were of course defeated by the narrowest of margins in this game a year ago when Trim won out by 2-16 to 1-18 and they are on a retrieval mission to gather the Mhicheál Ó Raghallaigh Cup.
Donaghmore/Ashbourne have been putting a huge amount of work into their underage hurling and that work is beginning to show dividends with their Minors showing very well in Division 1 of the Championship in recent seasons. In Colm Ó Méalóid they have gone with a young manager who knows the club inside out and a win here would be a major boost for the club who are celebrating their centenary year at present.
St. Patrick’s come into the LMES Ltd. sponsored Division 4 Final off the back of an impressive showing in the round robin stage of the competition, having won five and drawn one of their six fixtures while Kiltale won four and lost two.
The sides met two weeks ago in the final round and there was very little to separate them as the East Meath side came away with a 0-13 to 0-11 victory. There is sure to be little between them once more on Friday evening in Ratoath and it could very well take extra-time to split them and decide where the Matt Callaghan Cup will reside for the rest of 2023.
The first of the weekends finals takes place on Thursday evening when Navan O’Mahonys welcome Clann na nGael to Paddy O’Brien Park for the Division 5 Final. O’Mahonys were defeated by Rathmolyon in a thrilling final twelve months ago and will be hoping to atone for that loss but will find Clann na nGael a tough nut to crack.
These two sides met on Saturday May 27 in Athboy and it was Clann na nGael who came out on top on that occasion, winning out by three points. Can they repeat the trick on Thursday or will O’Mahonys atone for that loss last year?
