Composure the key as Meath seek redemption

Padraig O’Hanrahan may not have played many minutes for the Royals during the NHL Div 2 but he is sure to feature heavily in Johnny Greville’s plans for Meath’s upcoming Christy Ring Cup campaign - starting with Sunday's visit of Kerry to Trim for a 1pm start.

The Ratoath hurler has gone through rehab for an injury that he suffered during his club’s successful SHC journey in 2025 and only made his reappearance for Meath in their last league game against Kerry. However, as he enviously watched on from the sidelines, O’Hanrahan liked what he saw.

“It was kind of hard to watch from the sideline. There is a great buzz about the team. Training sessions are fantastic, there is great energy about them and the performances in the league were really strong. I was delighted to make an appearance in the last game and I am just working my way back into it now,” said O’Hanrahan.

"I sustained a knee cartilage injury early on in the club championship. I was nursing it throughout the championship with Ratoath. I broke my toe in the Leinster club final but that was grand after four or five weeks. The rehab on the knee went quite well so it’s all about keeping fresh and fit now and getting as much game time as possible. I’m raring to go now for the Christy Ring Cup."

A similar injury to his other knee ruled O’Hanrahan out of most of last year's season with Meath. The Ratoath club man recognised that last year's performances were not up to scratch and he went on to detail some of the reasons behind the turnaround in form so far this year.

“I was obviously late getting back into the team last year, I had an issue with my other knee. We do have to make amends for last year though. We had quite a few poor performances. Everyone thought it was the end of the world when we lost to London, but they turned out to be a right good team. We were poor against Wicklow and Donegal and we have both of them again this year,” said O’Hanrahan.

“There is a bit of character about us this year but I think that has always been there. There is always pride in the Meath jersey. I think what is different this year is that we are sticking to the process. If a team gets a run on us we are sticking it out and not panicking. We are playing a nice brand of hurling and gelling well together.”

Meath’s opening round opponents, Kerry, are favourites for the competition. The Royals put in a spirited performance against the Kingdom last time out and O’Hanrahan says that Meath have nothing to fear when the Munster men make the long journey to Trim for Sunday's game.

“You would have nothing to fear about Kerry coming to Trim. They are probably strong favourites and they had a very good league campaign. We learned a bit from our game with them and played most of the match with 14 lads. I'm really looking forward to playing them and it would be great if we got a big crowd behind us as well.”

A year ago a contest that summed up Meath’s poor season was the loss to Wicklow in Aughrim. O’Hanrahan has had plenty of experience over the last couple of years playing in Aughrim for club and county and he explained that it is never an easy place to come away from with a result.

“Aughrim is an absolute fortress. It is not a nice place to go whether you go down with the county or the club. Whatever it is about Wicklow teams, when they play in Aughrim, they have a grit about them. It is going to be a serious battle. It can be nearly a different game of hurling. What we found with Ratoath this year was that we had to take our chances and you really had to punish them.”

There is no doubt in O’Hanrahan’s mind what the target is for Meath in this year's Christy Ring Cup.

“Every Meath panel I have been on, the ambition is always to reach the final of whatever competition we are in. We set out our stall early and it is no different this year. The target is to win the Christy Ring Cup,” said O’Hanrahan.

“I will be honest, I would not have come back in if I thought this team could not win it. It is a serious commitment and you want to get the reward for that. We have reacted to the disappointment of last year really well. I know we are in a building phase but I think progress includes winning a Christy Ring Cup.”

Meath will commence their Christy Ring Cup campaign this Sunday against Kerry at 1pm in Trim.