Meath GAA

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File:MeathGAAcrest.png
Irish:	An Mhí
Nickname(s):	The Royals
Province:	Leinster
Dominant sport:	Gaelic football
Ground(s):	Páirc Tailteann, Navan
County colours:	Green, Gold
County teams
NFL:	Division 2
NHL:	Division 3A
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Christy Ring Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football:	Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie:	New Ireland Cup

The Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Na Mí) or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for Meath inter-county teams.

History

The earliest recorded inter-county football match took place in 1712 when Louth faced Meath at Slane. Football was recorded as being played between the 'men of Meath'and the 'men of Louth' who met near Drogheda periodically in the mid 1700s. A match was recorded in Kildare between players from Meath and Kildare in 1797. In the 1790s records also make reference to matches taking place in the Phoenix Park between players from counties of Meath and Dublin.

Meath official Dick Blake was the first great GAA reformer. He was also responsible for getting their first team to an All-Ireland in 1894. After that game, the referee wrote to the papers after the match admitting that one of Tipperary's points should have been disallowed but magnanimous Meath decided not to demand a replay, which would have taken the title from Tipperary. In 1911 Meath were declared Leinster football champions for 20 minutes, but when Kilkenny arrived late for the final, Meath agreed to play the match and were beaten.

Gaelic football

Pre 1960's

Meath were latecomers to success in football, winning only their second Leinster Championship in 1939, by which time their greatest rivals, Dublin, had already won 21 Leinster titles. Their first All-Ireland Championship came courtesy of a Bill Halfpenny goal in 1949, when Dublin had already won 15 of their 22 titles.

Meath's great team of 1948-54 came out worst in two thrilling All-Ireland finals - one of them replayed - another All-Ireland semi-final, and a National Football League final, all against their neighbours, Cavan, but garnered another All-Ireland with the help of a Tom Moriarty goal in 1954. Another neighbour, Louth, struck up a rivalry: in the six 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.

1960's and 1970's

Meath's team of the 1960s was characterised by a chronic inability to score until after half-time, but might have reached the 1964 All-Ireland final had a goal by Jack Quinn not been controversially disallowed in the semi-final. Meath were beaten in the 1966 All-Ireland final by a Galway team that include many legends such as Enda Colleran and the "Terrible Twins from Tuam", Seán Purcell and Frank Stockwell.

After the 1966 final defeat, centre-back Bertie Cunningham declared his intentions, saying "next year, we will come back and win the All-Ireland". Sure enough, Terry Kearns secured the Sam Maguire Cup for Meath with a punched goal in the 1967 final to defeat Cork.

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 Wexford in 1981 and Longford in 1982. A series of goalkeeping errors cost them the 1983 Leinster quarter-final against Dublin. By this time, though, Meath had converted the hurling team's masseur, Sean Boylan into a fully fledged team manager, and few could have predicted the success that would fall upon the county under his reign.

The Boylan Years - the 1980's

Sean Boylan's initial appointment was greeted with scepticism as it had always been known that Boylan was a capable hurler, but that his role in football was seen as limited to merely repairing the players, and not training them. Boylan's first task was to prepare Meath for an opening match against a Dublin team led by legendary midfielder Brian Mullins. The first match resulted in a draw, as a result of a fortunate ricochet shot from Barney Rock against new Meath half back Colm Colyle. The replay also ended with level scores, with Boylan gaining public support as a trainer of real substance. Dublin, however, went on to win the second replay in extra time, before going on to win the All-Ireland that year. Meath were still not being seen, though, as being close to Championship-winning material at that stage.

In 1984 the GAA initiated a one-off prestigious competition called the Centenary Cup, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the GAA's foundation. Despite a concerted effort by the Kerry team (who had won four All-Irelands in a row from 1978-1981) that as the county with the greatest tradition, that victory in the competition was a divine right, the Centenary Cup final was ultimately played between Meath and Monaghan. Meath emerged as winners, and after winning the Centenary Cup, Boylan was asked for comment. He replied to say that Meath intended to retain their title another hundred years later.

The 1980s team progressed cautiously towards victory. They missed full-back Mick Lyons for the 1984 Leinster final against Dublin and in 1985 slipped up against Laois in the semi-final. It was therefore not until 1986 that Meath won the first of three consecutive Leinster titles, and followed it up with All-Ireland victories in 1987 and 1988, with two defeats of Cork in the finals, the latter following a replay. Meath also secured the National Football League in 1988. No county has won two Championships, with the National Football League between them, since. In 1989 the Champions were defeated by Dublin, while in 1990 Cork secured victory over Meath in an All-Ireland final, completing a historic All-Ireland Hurling and Football double.

1991 Championship

In 1991, the Leinster GAA Council decided to abandon the seeding system that had kept the previous year's finalists in opposite sides of the Leinster Championship draw. As a result, Meath and Dublin, having played the previous five Leinster finals, were drawn against each other in the Preliminary Round of the 1991 Leinster Championship. In the match Meath managed to catch up on a Dublin lead, and a long range shot from PJ Gillic bounced over the head of Dublin goalkeeper John O'Leary resulted in the first match ending in a draw, requiring the teams to meet again. Again the replay ended in a draw, and extra time was required, which failed to separate the teams, resulting in a third match.

At this stage it seemed the whole country was discussing the great competition that had suddenly developed between these neighbours. The fact that both were seen as having strong defining characteristics added to the sense of competition. Dublin was urban, large, noisy, and the capital of the modern Ireland. Meath was more rural, heroic, understated, and home to the capital of ancient Ireland, Tara. Dublin was identified as home to people of an easygoing, sociable, confident, straightforward, diplomatic, and street smart disposition with a team to represent. Meath was seen as representing people that were of an industrious, brave, determined, honourable, blunt manner. It was a battle between two different human dispositions, even though the football techniques of both were similar. In the midst of this, the teams were close neighbours, and the players would often be living or working amongst supporters of the other team. In addition, Meath's Terry Ferguson was the son of a former Dublin footballer; while the father of Dublin's Paul Curran had played for Meath.

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 to gain the upper hand. The third game, though, again ended in a draw, even after extra time, and a fourth match was required. At this stage it seemed impossible for either team to overcome the other. In the fourth match - an unprecedented third replay, taking place on the same weekend that the Leinster final was originally meant to have been played - Dublin built up a strong lead, above what they had managed in the previous meetings. However the Meath players showed true doggedness, and an injury time goal from the unlikeliest of scorers - defender Kevin Foley - brought Meath level. The dynamics now favoured Meath and David Beggy managed to score a point directly from the restart to win the fourth match, bringing a remarkable saga to a final ending.

A tired Meath had finally qualified for the First Round of the Leinster Championship, and played the next match against Wicklow, which also ended in a draw, before Meath emerged victorious in yet another replay. Meath then proceeded to beat Laois in the semi-final, before overcoming Offaly to win their hardest-fought Leinster title yet. Victory over Roscommon in the All-Ireland semi-final set up a meeting with Down in the All-Ireland final.

With each accumulated match, injuries were accumulating on the first fifteen players. Only three Meath players started the All-Ireland final in an injury-free status, hindering the team's game plan which required at least elven players in defined positions. Colm O'Rourke Meath's star player was incapable of playing a full seventy minutes. There were insufficient players for replacement but by now Meath had acquired an air of invincibility. However Down were the Ulster team with the best tradition in the Championship and represented serious contenders.

In the final itself, Meath fell far behind in the second half and had to stage yet another comeback. Colm O'Rourke appeared as a substitute with twenty minutes left to play as Meath trailed by eleven points. O'Rourke immediately started to help Meath accumulate scores, and entering injury time the gap was reduced to two, before Bernard Flynn came within inches of scoring what would have been a winning goal. The great Meath side had finally run out of time. Down won a historic Championship on a scoreline of 1-16 to 1-14.

The 1992 Championship started with a three point home defeat to Laois which proved the final outing for many of the great side who then retired from inter-county football.

1994-1998 - A New Era

Meath won a League title in 1994 with Robbie O'Malley of St. Colmcille's captaining the side to victory over Armagh. In the Championship, though, 1994 Meath were beaten by Dublin and the last of the team of 1986-94 retired.

A new team was formed for 1995. This team included many new stars like Trevor Giles Graham Geraghty and Darren Fay. However, these younger players were largely inexperienced for championship football and came up short against a Dublin team determined to win the Championship outright. The resultant 10-point drubbing left a strong impression on the younger Meath players of how much work was needed to win silverware.

In 1996 Meath were not expected to be successful and many were surprised to see the team reach another Leinster final against Dubiln. Leading 0-10 to 0-8 at the death in driving rain Meath conceded a late fistd goal but it was disallowed for pushing and Meath escaped yet again. In beating a consistent Tyrone side in the semi-final, Sean Boylan managed to lead the same team that got nowhere in 1995 to an All-Ireland final in 1996. Meath came back from six points down to force a draw with Mayo in the 1996 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final, forcing a replay. On 29 September 1996, with both sides having been reduced to 14 men following an infamous brawl early in the game, Meath again came from behind and defeated Mayo by 2-9 to 1-11 to claim their sixth All-Ireland. Captain Tommy Dowd, who was living in the Meath Gaeltacht, produced probably the longest victory speech ever given by a Leinster captain.

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 to win despite Kildare's hunger and superior fitness. 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 in the ratio of 3:1. 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 as the Meath forwards found the Kildare defence very difficult to negotiate.

The replay finished level after ordinary time and extra time was now required to produce a winner. In extra time Kildare running on the never-ending engine of Willie McCreedy in midfield quickly created a six point lead. It seemed as if Kildare's fitness had run Meath into the ground. 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 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. In contrast reduced to 14 players and playing a team with superior fitness Meath were collapsing under the physical strain of the match. Kildare held onto their lead and 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.

1999

In 1999 Meath introduced new players to replace a team that had now lost the inspirational Tommy Dowd and to introduce some badly-needed pace in an attempt to compete with the increasing fitness levels of other counties. As in 1996 Meath were expected to end their season early and empty-handed. However with Kildare demoralised from losing the 1998 All-Ireland final to Galway and Dublin drifting rudderless, Meath won the 1999 Leinster Championship with wins over Wicklow, Offaly, and their great rivals Dublin.

Meath now found themselves in an All-Ireland semi-final with Armagh. Armagh played all the best football in the first half with two incisive moves that opened up the Meath defence and resulted in goals. The Meath players, however, continued to play earnestly and industriously and started to reduce the lead. Armagh's full-back Ger Reid, who had muted the attacking presence of Graham Geraghty at full-forward, committed a second bookable offense and was sent off. This resulted in more freedom of movement for the Meath forwards who now scored at will and ran out winners by 0-15 to 2-5. Meath had now reached another surprise All-Ireland final and met a capable Cork team who were very young and had not expected to reach a final so early in their playing careers.

In the final Meath and Cork exchanged some early scores with Meath maintaining their lead through to half time (1-5 to 0-5) thanks to an Ollie Murphy goal midway through the first half. However, the second half opened with Trevor Giles missing an early penalty which would have put six points between the sides. Buoyed by this twist of fate Cork replied with 1-1 in five minutes to give them the lead for the first time at 1-6 to 1-5. Many people started to believe that it was to be Cork's day; however with the tactical awareness of Boylan and the on-field leadership of Geraghty and Giles at hand Meath regrouped to win their seventh All-Ireland on a scoreline of 1-11 to 1-8.

2001

Meath played the opening match of the 2001 championship against Westmeath ending in a last-gasp victory for Meath. The revised All-Ireland Qualifier system, however, meant that Meath met Westmeath again in the new All-Ireland Quarter-Finals. This time it was expected that Meath would win, and again Meath had a psychological edge having never lost a Championship match to Westmeath, with Boylan showing no signs of leaving as manager and with many accomplished All-Ireland winning players on the team. Westmeath, for their part, showed great tactical awareness superior fitness and great eagerness to play fast open football. This caused much dismay to the Meath defence which at club level was more prepared for direct football and man-for-man marking. In the last minute of injury time the teams were level before Meath committed an unnecessary minor foul on a Westmeath forward. Star forward Dessie Dolan was presented with an easy free-kick in front of the posts and with it an opportunity to win the match. Dolan though missed the opportunity, later stating that he had assumed the kick to be so easy that he had over-struck the ball and let it drift to the right and wide. Meath were again in difficulty in the replay and were saved by a score from Ollie Murphy that defied at least five defenders who were caught ball watching. 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.

Meath now faced Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2001. Given Kerry's great experience and tradition, and the fact that Meath were in the habit of cutting things a bit fine, it was expected that Kerry would win. Furthermore Kerry's team featured the legendary Maurice Fitzgerald, possibly the greatest footballer of the time. Kerry were managed by defensive legend Páidí Ó Sé and had a number of All-Ireland winners from 2000 available. While the sides were level at half-time, at 0-4 each, what transpired in the second half was a collapse of unimginable proportions by the Kingdom, with the final scoreline of 2-14 to 0-5 making the Meathmen look like All-Ireland winners before the Final had even started.

The result was not due to an unexpected physical approach from Meath - clashes between the Kingdom of Kerry and the Royals of Meath tended to be honourable and very clean out of longstanding mutual respect for each others traditions. Meath were simply baffled at Kerry's complete lack of focus after half-time and clearly expected a much firmer performance from their opponents. This left many Meath fans wary about the Final with Meath fans and players completely resolute in their belief that nothing had been won. In comparison, Meath's opponents in the final, Galway, had beaten a Derry team that had shown insufficient fitness and eagerness to reach an All-Ireland final.

Meath went into the All-Ireland final as overwhelming favourites. 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 Padraig Joyce scoreless. Joyce was switched to corner forward at half time and Galway quickly built up an early lead in the Second half. Meath midfielder Nigel Nestor was sent off for 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 Galway went to win the match by 0-17 to 0-8 - a scoreline that left the Meath forwards considerably embarrassed.

2002-2005 - Boylan's Latter Years

The Championship seasons since 2002 have seen the re-emergence of a resurgent Dublin team and an extremely capable Laois team - managed by the same Mick O'Dwyer who had earlier led Kildare - which together have dominated Leinster football. At All-Ireland level Kerry Armagh and Tyrone have won honours and dominated finals. Meath have not earned any Championship honours since 2001. Furthermore, Meath teams have been generally showing reduced levels of competitiveness each year after exiting from the Leinster Championship. This indicates a general acceptance that the Leinster Championship is seen as the most achievable objective for the side.

In 2005 Sean Boylan announced that he would not be seeking re-appointment as Meath manager. Boylan's 22-year term represents a record in modern GAA. In this spell he managed to lead two entirely different teams to win four All-Ireland titles, while coming very close to winning another two. He introduced an increased tactical awareness to the game. Critics have argued that in sending out highly motivated players, Boylan has increased the physical nature of the game and given rise to the 'Puke Football' tactic being pursued by modern Ulster teams.

2006 - present

Boylan was replaced by Eamon Barry of Dunshaughlin, who had previously contested the position of manager against Boylan on an almost annual basis. His appointment, though, did not result in an improvement in fortunes, despite Barry's experience in managing his Dunshaughlin club to win two consecutive Leinster Senior Club Football Championships. After just one season, Barry was deposed and replaced with Colm Coyle, a three-time All-Ireland winner and former selector under Sean Boylan. Coyle had previously managed the Monaghan county side - winning his very first match against then All-Ireland champions Armagh - and so there was renewed hope in the team.

The 2007 season began with a Croke Park sell-out against old foes and reigning two-time Leinster champions Dublin. Inspired by Graham Geraghty Mark Ward captain Anthony Moyles and Caoimhin King, Meath snatched an unlikely draw, raising hopes and interest in the county. A narrow defeat in the replay set the foundations for what turned out to be a relatively successful season with strong "back-door" victories setting up a quarter-final meeting with a much-fancied Tyrone side which Meath won with an excellent display. Meath met Cork in the semi-final while Kerry and Dublin renewed old rivalries in the other, raising the prospects of a number of mouthwatering potential All-Ireland final fixtures. Meath, though, did not become part of them, with a disappointing display against Cork meaning a semi-final would be the culmination of their season. Cork went on to lose heavily to Kerry in the All-Ireland 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 an 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 November 10, 2008 Eamonn O'Brien was confirmed to be the new Meath boss after the meeting of Meath County Board.

The 2009 season began with a 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 very easy teams such as 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 pefrom 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 semi final on the 30th of august.

This match was played in poor and slippery conditions with both sides making errors. An early penalty awarded for a Colm Cooper 'dive' 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 8 points up the game was over despite a late rally from Meath who lost by 4 in the end. The year was not a failure as Meath fans were left satisfied with their unexpected run in the Championship as the old faithful on Hill 16 cheered their side off the pitch with numerous versus of 'Come On You Boys In Green'. Expectations will be high in leinster next year as a knock on effect of reaching the All-Ireland semi-final this year.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 7
  • 1949 1954 1967 1987 1988 1996 1999
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 4
  • 1947 1952 1962 1988 2003
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 3
  • 1957 1990 and 1992
• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 1
  • 1993
• All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Runners-Up: 9
  • 1895 1939 1951 1952 1966 1970 1990 1991 2001
• Leinster Senior Football Championships: 20
  • 1895 1939 1940 1947 1949 1951 1952 1954 1964 1966 1967 1970 1986 1987 1988 1990 19911996 1999 2001
• Leinster Junior Football Championships: 16
  • 1947 1952 1958 1962 1964 1986 1988 1990 1991 1995 1996 1997 1999 2003 2005 2006
• Leinster Minor Football Championships: 10
  • 1957 1972 1977 1980 1985 1990 1992 1993 2006 2008
• Leinster Under-21 Football Championships: 8
  • 1985 1989 1990 1991 1993 1996 1997 2001
• National Football League: 7
  • 1933 1946 1951 1975 1988 1990 1994
• O'Byrne Cups: 8
  • 1967 1974 1977 1983 1992 2001 2004 2006**
• Centenary Cup (One off competition)
  • 1984**

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship winning teams

Notable Managers

• Sean Boylan
• Colm Coyle

Former Players

• Peter McDermott
• Graham Geraghty
• Colm O'Rourke
• Mick Lyons
• Trevor Giles
• Paddy O'Brien
• Martin O'Connell
• Robbie O'Malley
• Gerry McEntee
• Brian Stafford
• Ollie Murphy
• Tommy Dowd
• Jack Quinn
• John McDermott
• Paddy O'Brien
• Darren Fay
• Liam Harnan
• Pat "Red" Collier
• Bernard Flynn
• Pat Reynolds
• Bertie Cunningham
• Tommy "The Boiler" McGuinness

Currnet Players

• Stephen Bray
• Seamus Kenny
• Mark Ward
• Cian Ward
• Anthony Moyles
• Eoghan Harrington
• Cormac McGuinness
• Caoimhín King
• Nigel Crawford
• Brian Meade
• Peadar Byrne
• Joe Sheridan
• Michael Burke
• David Bray
• Brian Farrell
• Chris O'Connor

Hurling

Meath hurlers have twice held half-time leads over traditional hurling counties in Leinster quarter-finals: over Dublin by 2-2 to 1-1 in 1936 and Kilkenny by 2-6 to 1-6 in 1949. In 1951 they held Wexford to a draw in the quarter-final but lost the replay and Wexford went on to win the Leinster championship and join the elite. Having beaten Offaly to qualify for their ninth and last Leinster semi-final in 1954, Meath regressed until they won the 1985 Kehoe cup and the 1993 Senior B title.

After they re-entered the senior championship in 1994, their exploits included victories over Offaly All-Ireland champions at the time by 1-12 to 1-11 in a February 1995 NHL match in Athboy and Wexford by 1-16 to 0-16 a fortnight later in Enniscorthy.

Meath's hurlers currently play in the second-tier Christy Ring Cup. They had been playing in the Christy Ring Cup since the start of that competition but a bad 2008 cup run combined with a restructuring of hurling comeptetions saw them relgated to the third-tier Nicky Rackard Cup for the first time.

On 11 July 2009, Meath won the final of the Nicky Rackard Cup at Croke Park, beating London 2-18 to 1-15, thus promoting them back to the Christy Ring Cup for 2010.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling "B" Championships: 1
  • 1993
• Kehoe Cups: 2
  • 1985 2008
• Nicky Rackard Cups: 1
  • 2009
• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: 7
  • 1927, 1948, 1970, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2004
• Leinster Junior Hurling Championships: 10
  • 1927 1948 1961 1970 1972 1998 1999 2002 2003 2004
• Leinster Minor Hurling Championships: 1
  • 1929
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling "B" Championships: 1
  • 2007

Clubs

Here is a complete list of Meath GAA clubs correct as of 27 February 2008:

Ballinabrackey, Ballinlough, Ballivor, Bective, Blackhall Gaels, Boardsmill, Carnaross, Castletown, Clann na Gael, Athboy, Clonard, Cortown, Curraha, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Drumbaragh, Drumconrath, Drumree, Dunderry, Dunsany, Duleek/Bellewstown, Dunshaughlin, Gaeil Colmcille, Kilbride, Kildalkey, Killallon, Killyon, Kilmainham, Kilmainhamwood, Kilmessan, Kilskyre, Kiltale, Longwood, Meath Hill, Moynalty, Moynalvey, Moylagh, Na Fianna, Navan O'Mahony's, Nobber, Oldcastle, Rathkenny, Rathmolyon, Ratoath, Seneschalstown, Simonstown, Skryne, Slane, St. Brigids, St. Colmcilles, St. Marys, St. Michaels, St. Patricks, St. Pauls, St. Peters Dunboyne, St. Ultans, St. Vincents, Summerhill, Syddan, Trim, Walterstown, Wolfe Tones.

Ladies' Gaelic football

Honours

• All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championships: 1
  • 1994

See also

• Meath Senior Club Football Championship
• Meath Senior Club Hurling Championship

External links

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