Meath's best young players recognised 

There was plenty of reason for optimism at Trim GAA clubhouse on Saturday night as more than 200 guests attended a Meath GAA Co Board presentation ceremony of All-Ireland minor and Leinster u-17 medals.

Meath’s top young hurlers and footballers were honoured for their achievements in 2017 and while the pressure remains for a breakthrough at adult level, the talent coming through from the under-age teams looks set to alter the adult landscape over the next few years.
The changes are already taking place in hurling with Meath very much back in contention to push for a place in both the Leinster SHC and NHL Div 1B in 2018 following on from the steady progress that was achieved during the tenure of Martin Ennis (2015-2017) in the managerial role.
Targets for 2018 include a top two finish in the inaugural Tier 2 Hurling Championship (Joe McDonagh Cup) and a prominent campaign in NHL Div 2A.
For the football fraternity, the challenge may actually be more difficult than that facing the hurlers, but again the focus will be promotion from NFL Div 2 and a Leinster SFC title and a place in the inaugural Super 8.
Last Saturday night’s well-organised presentation event acknowledged the tremendous success that was achieved by Meath hurling and football teams with success in both the All-Ireland MHC B final and Leinster u-17 FC decider.

Players and officials from the Leinster u-17-winning Meath team (from left): back - Matthew Costello, Cian McBride, Fergal Watters, Barry O’Connell, Dermot Kelly, Evan Power, Johnny Woods, Michael Gavin, Keith Curtis, Oran Smullen, Conal Courtney, Shane Walsh, Ger Robinson (selector); middle - John Kavanagh (Fé 18 chairman), Aidan Jordan (Fé 18 secretary), Eoin Martin, Conor Harford, Paddy Matthews, Patrick McDermott, Jordan Morris, Ronan Brady, Alan Mulvany, Ronan O’Leary, Dylan Keating, Craig Munnelly, Daithi Whyte (selector), Martin O’Connell (selector); front - John Gilmartin (Fé 18 vice-chairman), Sean Bannon, Colm Doherty, Aaron Lynch, Nathan Dunne, Rory Crawford, Sean Ryan, Liam Byrne, Michael Murphy, Jack O’Connor, Adam Ryan, Peter Martyn, Lee Browne, Stephen Emmett and Ronan Kearns (manager).

Leinster Council treasurer Pat Lynagh, from Kilbeggan, and former Meath manager Sean Boylan were the special guests at the important occasion.
Meath clinched the inaugural Leinster u-17 Special FC title with a thoroughly deserved 3-12 to 1-13 victory against Dublin last July at the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda.
The victory was all the more notable as Meath had also defeated Dublin in the first round of the competition at the end of June, but the back door system paved the way for the Metropolitan boys to get back into the competition.
For the final, the teams were level four times in the opening half, but Meath were ahead by 1-4 to 0-6 at the break with the help of Matthew Costello’s 29th minute goal.
Meath blitzed Dublin in three second-half minutes with a goal from Jordan Morris, who collected the young footballer of the year award the previous night, and points from Michael Gavin and dual star Shane Walsh, who also featured in the All-Ireland MHC B success.
Dublin got back to level terms in the second-half, but Meath kept finding something extra and the victory earned an All-Ireland semi-final joust with Tyrone which the Ulster side shaded.
“We won the Leinster title the hard way, beating Dublin in the first round and again in the final, but then we lost to Tyrone, there was nothing much between us on the day” stated Meath manager Ronan Kearns at Saturday night’s function.

Players and officials from the Meath MHC B All-Ireland-winning team (from left): back - James Toher (selector), Vincent Ward, Kean Flynn, Evan Fitzgerald, Cian Rogers, Daithi McGowan, Pierce Butler, Cormac Butler, Adam Murphy, Brin Kelly, Conor Hayes, Brian O’Reilly; middle - Nick Fitzgerald (manager), Mikey Mullen, Mark Hatton, Aaron Dunne, Sean Hogan, Jamie Leavy, Alex Power-O’Rourke, Brian Dowling, Jacob Ryan, Pat O’Halloran (selector), Rory Dowling (selector); front - Sean Boylan who made the presentations of the All-Ireland medals, John Kavanagh (Fé 18 chairman), Tom Fadden, John Mitchell, Nicky Potterton, Gavin O’Keeffe, Conor O’Farrell, Daire Gilmartin, Michael Farrell, Shane Walsh and John Gilmartin (Fé 18 vice-chairman). 

 

The All-Ireland MHC B success was an emotional outing for the Meath players who dedicated the success to Evan Brennan from Rathmolyon who was fatally injured in a traffic accident last May.
The final was fixed for Clones and Fe 18 chairman John Kavanagh suggested that the GAA had missed an opportunity to promote hurling in the ‘so-called’ weaker counties by not fixing the decider as the curtainraiser for the All-Ireland SFC semi-final between Mayo and Kerry.
The hurling final had been originally fixed for Crossmaglen and it was then moved to Clones.
The game was a thriller and saw Meath withstand a determined second-half display from Down to record a 3-20 to 2-19 victory.
Meath looked nervous in the early stages as Down stamped an authority on the early proceedings and took the lead.
However, the Meath inside full-forward line of Nicky Potterton, Daire Gilmartin and Mikey Mullen were outstanding as they quickly settled and opened up 2-13 to 0-8 half-time lead with goals from Mullen (penalty) and a brilliant Potterton effort.
Jacob Ryan stretched that lead with a point soon after the restart, but Down stayed in the game wand trailed by five points (1-12 to 2-14) towards the end of the third-quarter.
Potterton looked to have settled Meath again with his second goal, but Down replied with a goal. The Meath defence stood strong and they took the title for the fifth time.
There was praise on Saturday night for the speech by the captain, Dunderry’s Jamie Leavy, who expressed the sentiments of the panel over the death of their former Rathmolyon colleague after he received the Peadar Lehane Cup.

HEAR JOHN KAVANAGH'S ADDRESS

(John was Fe 18 chairman last Friday night but is now Co Board vice-chairman)