Smyth has eye on elusive Leinster title
Meath Ladies aiming for rare provincial glory
Ciara Smyth has always been a promising player. At underage level, the Skryne woman was very well thought of and touted for greatness. Smyth has developed into being a vital cog in the Meath ladies' system.
At a time when plenty of stars from the All-Ireland Ladies SFC successes have moved on, be it to the AFL or retirement, players like Smyth are crucial if the Meath ladies are going to continue to challenge for All-Ireland titles.
Speaking ahead of this weekend's Leinster SFC opener against Kildare in Summerhill on Sunday, Smyth said that there was a lot of positives to take away from Meath’s rocky league campaign.
“We had a bit of a rocky league but we definitely learned a lot from it. It will stand to us in the championship against Kildare and Dublin. We took a lot of confidence from the Dublin game. The way we finished the league against Armagh was very positive as well,” said Smyth.
“That Armagh game proved that we are still well up there because they are one of the strongest teams at the moment. They had a very strong panel that day and we did well to get the draw against them. It was also a good boost to be able to retain our Div 1 status.”
Smyth has already tasted success this year as she was crucial to TUD’s successful college football season. She certainly enjoyed the experience and spoke about how she will take a lot of what she learned at TUD with her in to this year's campaign with Meath.
“The run with TUD was class. I enjoyed it so much. I feel like you are playing better when you are enjoying your football and I certainly enjoyed college football this year. Hopefully I can take that with me into the championship with Meath. I learned so much off Stephen O’Meara and his tactics are brilliant. You learn a lot off the other girls that you play with who are involved in different counties. It was brilliant.”
Despite some of the high profile exits from the panel, Smyth believes that the Meath ladies have gotten stronger this year. She explained how deep the squad is at the moment and said that the competition for places is high.
“There is such a strong vibe around the camp. In my opinion, it is one of the deepest panels we have had since I started. Our bench is unreal and there is massive competition for places this year. It is pushing everyone on big time.”
Since starting her Meath journey, one major objective that has alluded Smyth and the rest of the Meath panel has been a Leinster title. Smyth says the squad are eager to end that long wait for provincial glory and are gunning for another crack at Dublin in championship.
“Winning a Leinster has been a big goal for the team for the last few years. I think it is like 25 years since the last time Meath won Leinster. That Leinster final against Dublin last year was a real turning point and we took a lot away from it. It gave us a great boost going into the All-Ireland series and kick-started that run for us to the final. After last year's defeats, we are obviously gunning for another crack at Dublin in the championship.”
However, if Meath are to achieve that objective, they will more than likely have to overturn the league defeat to Kildare when they face them on Sunday in the Leinster opener. The Royals have generally had the upper hand on the Lilywhites in championship but they are not taking anything for granted this weekend.
“We just have to take one game at a time though. Kildare are strong and we will have our work cut out for us this week. Maybe some teams take them for granted but we definitely can’t. They have beaten us a few times now. All our focus is on them at the moment and we are doing our homework and getting ourselves set up for that game.”
A very competitive Div 1 league this year indicated that the All-Ireland SFC will be more competitive than ever in 2026. Smyth says that teams that are able to deal with the exodus to the AFL and step up their game in championship will have the greatest chance of success.
“The All-Ireland is so open this year and it is there for the taking for anyone really. Any team could step it up a gear and deliver in the championship. A lot of teams are going to be missing players who are flying to Australia. It’ll just be about what team is able to manage that and also be able to pull it out of the bag in championship.”
Obviously, the goal for Meath and Ciara Smyth will be to be competing once again at the business end of the All-Ireland SFC. They will also have ambitions to end that long wait for a Leinster title. That journey starts on Sunday in Summerhill with a clash at home against Kildare.