Thrilling semi-finals sets up repeat pairings

Group stage rematches dominate final line-up

Semi-final weekend of the Meath Ladies championships was not for the faint-hearted. Friday and Saturday produced a series of pulsating encounters as clubs battled for a place in a county final. With almost all games hanging in the balance right until the final whistle, the narrowest of margins separated jubilation and heartbreak, writes Anna Gardiner.

The two SFC semi-finals went right down to the wire and both games were decided by just a point.

For the second year in a row, Navan O’Mahonys put up an epic fight against defending champions Royal Gaels but it was the Dunshaughlin team that found a score in the dying moments to clinch the victory. They will now surely feel that the four-in-a-row is within touching distance.

Dunshaughlin will face Seneschalstown in this year’s final after the Yellow Furze ladies pulled off a superb win over St Peter’s Dunboyne. This is the first time in eight years that Dunboyne will not contest the final, while it is Seneschalstown’s first final appearance since 2021.

They will have their work cut out against Royal Gaels, who beat them 5-15 to 2-3 in the group stage a few weeks ago. That said, Seneschalstown will take confidence from their hard-fought semi-final win and if they can produce a similar performance in two weeks time, who's to say they won’t cause another upset and catch Dunshaughlin on the hop?

Boardsmill and St Ultan’s are set to meet in the final of the IFC after they came out the right side of two thrilling semi-finals. Boardsmill claimed a one-point victory over St Colmcille’s, while two goals in the last seven minutes saw St Ultan’s come out on top against Walterstown.

St Ultan’s will be spurred on by the hurt of last year’s defeat to Skryne but they face an equally formidable set of blue and white jerseys in this year’s final, having lost to Boardsmill by five points in their opening group game.

In the JFC, Ratoath eased past 2025 beaten finalists St Patrick’s in the first of the semi-finals. The match between Moynalvey and Dunshaughlin & Royal Gaels’ second team was a much closer affair and extra time was required to separate the sides. A Dunshaughlin goal eventually proved the difference and saw Moynalvey’s remarkable run in this year’s championship come to an end.

Ratoath, relegated from Intermediate last year, look set to bounce straight back up. While they beat Dunshaughlin by four at the group stage, Ratoath would be foolish to underestimate a team from the club that has been the dominant force in Meath ladies football for the last number of years. This game is no foregone conclusion.

If the high quality, end-to-end football on display in the semi-finals is any indicator of what is to come in the finals, there are three thrilling matches in store. Interestingly, each of these pairings met in this year’s group stages and while repeat results might be expected, in a final anything can happen.