Meath GAA

The first notable Meath team was the

The county had to wait until

During this period, their Leinster Championship rivalry with Louth became legendary: in the six provincial championships between 1948 and 1953 the sides met each year. The 1949 match went to three meetings, while those of 1950 and 1951 were replayed.

Meath's team of the 1960s was characterised by a chronic inability to score until after half-time, but might have reached the

Meath won the National Football League in 1975 and looked a promising prospect for the All-Ireland. Defeat at the hands of Kevin Heffernan's Dublin team, however, was an indication of what was to come. Heffo's Dubs prevented Meath from winning provincial titles, before a talented Offaly team emerged to win more Leinster titles and become the only team capable of challenging the great Kerry team that dominated football between 1975 and 1986.

Meath looked far from All-Ireland Championship material when losing to

A new team was formed for 1995. This team included many new stars like

1997 saw Meath start the Championship against an ambitious Kildare team coached by the Kerry legend Mick O'Dwyer. Meath's previous record against Kildare had been excellent and Meath were expected to be sufficient. O'Dwyer's appointment created massive support in Kildare for their team though and ensured that the opening match had full attendance in Croke Park, with Kildare fans outnumbering Meath fans. This was a sign of the times as a few years earlier Meath were one of the best supported of any county but their supporters had become accustomed to success under Boylan and no longer travelled to big games in large numbers. The match saw Kildare emerge displaying an unexpected quality of football. Kildare led for most of the match with Meath only managing to draw level in the last minute. The replay finished level after ordinary time and extra time was now required to produce a winner. In extra time Kildare created a six-point lead. Then Boylan produced a tactical masterstroke introducing substitute Jody Devine who scored six points in quick succession and helping Meath pull ahead by a single point before Kildare grabbed a freakish point to end the match in yet another draw. The sides therefore met again in a third match. This time the weather had changed and the match was played in rain. Again Meath's determination and bravery and skill earned a strong victory; however as in 1991 this sequence of matches had resulted in accumulated injuries. Meath were without a meaningful defence in the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final against Offaly and the Offaly attack ran riot.

In 1998 Meath produced a performance against Offaly that was like the effect of an unwound spring. However Kildare had already managed to beat a transitional Dublin side and were now playing again at a very high level of fitness and determination. The 1998 Leinster Final between Meath and Kildare was a bad-tempered affair with Meath's Brendan Reilly sent off for a dangerous foul on Kildare centre-back Declan Kerrigan. Kildare's fitness began to cause Meath more problems as the Lilywhites again attacked in waves. This time Kildare had learnt the lessons of the previous year and produced greater more well-taken scores. Kildare held onto a last attack by Meath ended in a questionable refereeing decision which resulted in Kildare moving the ball swiftly downfield. This presented an opportunity for Kildare to expose gaps in the Meath defence due to Kildare's numerical superiority and the resulting goal firmly clinched the match for Kildare.

Meath won the 1999 Leinster Championship with emphatic wins over Wicklow (2-10 to 0-6), Offaly (1-13 to 0-9), and their great rivals Dublin (1-14 to 0-12). Meath then reached another All-Ireland final against their rivals of decade previously, Cork. Meath won their seventh All-Ireland on a scoreline of 1-11 to 1-8.

Meath won the leinster title again in 2001 beating Dublin for the 4th time in the championship in 6 years eg 1996, 1997, 1999, 2001. Meath played the most successful county in gaelic football, kerry in the semi-final. A kerry team which were reigning All Ireland champions and were managed by the Legendary Paudi O'Se. A team that included great players such as Seamus Moynihan, Dara O'Se, Mike Frank Russell and Maurice Fitzgerald. Meath and Kerry had won 4 of the previous 5 All Ireland titles. Meath won in 1996 and 1999 and kerry won in 1997 and 2000. It was a contest between two great All Ireland winning teams. Kerry were slightly favourites, but Meath produced an outstanding performance of swashbuckling attacking football and won by a record 15 points. It is kerry worst defeat in the championship in the last 120 years.

Meath went into the 2001 All-Ireland final as overwhelming favourites after their exceptional football performance v kerry in the semi-final. The scores were tied at 0-7 each at half time in what was a careful and cautious match, as Darren Fay held Galway's star full-forward Pádraic Joyce scoreless. Joyce was switched to corner forward at half time and 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 star Meath forward Ollie Murphy, who was the most effective Meath forward that day, sustained a broken hand after being trod upon. These changes to the balance between the teams gave Galway an edge on the field that they had already been preparing in their own inner resolve. Just as the match seemed to be slipping away from Meath, though, John McDermott raised another attack on the Galway defence that resulted in a penalty awarded to Meath. Trevor Giles, Meath's captain and free-taker, was allocated the responsibility for this task as part of his team role. His shot, however, drifted agonisingly wide, and with it went Meath's chances of getting back into the game. From there, the outstanding Padraig Joyce continued to bedevil the Meath defence - eclipsing Mark O'Reilly in doing so - the Meath management all to 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 2010 season, in which the team were managed by

List of active football clubs in Meath:

Clubs contest the Meath Senior Hurling Championship. That competition's most successful club is Kilmessan, with 29 titles.

Meath has twice held half-time leads over traditional hurling counties in the quarter-final of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship (SHC): over Dublin by a scoreline of 2–2 to 1–1 in 1936 and Kilkenny by a scoreline of 2–6 to 1–6 in 1949.

In 1951, the county held Wexford to a draw in the quarter-final but lost the replay; Wexford went on to win the Leinster SHC and join the elite.

Having beaten Offaly to qualify for their ninth and last Leinster SHC semi-final in 1954, Meath regressed until it won the 1985 Kehoe Cup and the 1993 Senior B title.

After the county re-entered the senior championship in 1994, its exploits included victories over Offaly (All-Ireland SHC champions at the time) by a scoreline of 1–12 to 1–11 in a February 1995 National Hurling League match in Athboy and Wexford by a scoreline of 1–16 to 0–16 a fortnight later in Enniscorthy.

In the 21st-century, Meath won the 2009 Nicky Rackard Cup, the 2016 Christy Ring Cup and the 2020 Christy Ring Cup.^[11] The 2016 final was particularly prolonged; on 4 June 2016, Meath won the final at Croke Park against Antrim by a scoreline of 2–18 to 1–20, despite trailing the Ulster squad by as much as six points at times. However, the score actually finished 2-17 to 1-20, a draw. So despite Meath being presented with the Christy Ring Cup, a replay was ordered.^[12][13][14] The replay took place at Croke Park on 25 June 2016. After normal time, the result was 3–15 to 4–12, another draw. Meath eventually prevailed after extra-time by a scoreline of 4–21 to 5–17, a Stephen Clynch free with the last puck of the game sealing Meath's first ever Christy Ring Cup and a place in the 2017 Leinster Senior Hurling Championship, the county's first appearance in the championship since a double scores defeat to Laois in mid-May 2004. The county secured a surprise victory against Kerry in its opening Leinster SHC match.^[15]

Meath won the Nancy Murray Cup in 2008.^[16] Ratoath won divisional honours at Féile na nGael in 2008 and 2009.^[17] They were finalists in the All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship at Minor C level in 2011.^[18]

Notable players include soaring star award winners^[19] Louise Donoghue and Jane Dolan. Julian McDonnell refereed the All Ireland senior final of 1933.

Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion",^[20] five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015.^[21]

Meath won their first All-Ireland Senior title in 2021 after running the Intermediate title in 2020.

Meath women have dominated the ladies' section of the All-Ireland Kick Fada Championship, with wins for Mary Sheridan in 2003, 2008 and 2010; Gráinne Nulty in 2004; Irene Munnelly in 2005, 2007 and 2011; and Gillian Bennett in 2006.

Meath have the following achievements in ladies' football.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meath GAA.

• Meath GAA site
• Meath on Hoganstand.com
• National and provincial titles won by Meath teams
• Club championship winners