Crosby delighted to get over the line in final quarter push

Huge praise for manager Malone as Duleek-Bellewstown prevail

“I don’t even know, unbelievable. Unbelievable. I don't know, I don't know. Absolutely unbelievable.”

Shane Crosby struggled to gather his thoughts after Duleek-Bellewstown won the Meath IFC on Saturday but would you blame him?

The east Meath side are back in the senior ranks after nine years in the IFC during which they lost two finals. An emotional Crosby, with his young daughter in his arms, eventually managed to put into words how much the victory means to him and his teammates.

“I was quite confident that we were going well and I’m so happy we got over the line. Some of us have been around for a long, long time. I have my little girl here beside me. I’m very emotional. It is just an unbelievable feeling.”

Duleek-Bellewstown lost two IFC finals back-to-back in 2022 and 2023. In 2024 and 2025, the team struggled and failed to qualify out of the group. Crosby spoke about how difficult it is to come back from losing one final never mind two.“We lost two finals previously but we didn’t really look behind us this year we just kept looking forward. The last couple of years have been tough. It is very hard to come back after losing a final, never mind two. Look at Castletown this year, they probably didn’t hit the same heights they did last year. It’s tough to come back from.”

Crosby gave huge credit to manager Anthony Malone who is in his second stint with the club after he previously stepped away back in 2020. The midfielder said that Malone has changed the whole culture in the club and picked the team up when they were in a very low place.

“Anthony (Malone) came back in with us this year and he deserves a statue in the club. When he came in initially 10 years ago, he completely changed the culture in the club," recalled Crosby.

"Obviously, there is a lot of work that happens at underage but Anthony has put so much into this club. He came back in again at a very hard time and he picked us up from a really low place. I wouldn’t have believed you if you had told us after St Michael’s beat us last year that we would be here right now.”

Crosby explained that Duleek-Bellewstown were intent on making a fast start. They witnessed how quick Navan O’Mahony’s came out of the blocks against St Patrick’s in the semi-final and effectively put the game to bed early on. They were keen not to suffer a similar fate.

“The aim is always to make a fast start. We saw what Navan O’Mahonys did against St Patrick’s. They were brilliant against them early on and we wanted to match that," said the midfielder.

"I think we kicked four or five wides in the first few minutes before we got on the scoreboard. The two-pointers were on though. They scored a couple in the second half as well. I try and hit them if they are on.”

Navan O’Mahonys had a purple patch after half-time and having been six points ahead at the break, 10 minutes later Duleek-Bellewstown found themselves trailing by three. However, Crosby explained that they expected that from the opposition and was glad that they weathered the storm.

“We expected them to come back at us, they are a top team. Everyone knows they are not where they were last year, they are a far better team than that. So we said at half-time that they are going to come back at us and we just have to weather the storm, which we did.”

The 31-year-old is among a small cohort of players in the squad who have previously experienced senior football. He spoke about how the younger members of the panel deserve their opportunity in the SFC.

“It’s unbelievable to know that we will be playing senior football next year. There are four or five of us who played senior football years ago. It is so good for the young lads that they will now get to play senior football. They deserve it. It’s where we want to be.”

When asked what the celebrations will be like, Crosby referenced All-Ireland winning manager Andy Moran.

“I think Andy Moran put it well after Mayo won the All-Ireland. We had good craic when we lost so we will definitely have good craic now that we have won.”

If Duleek-Bellewstown perform next year in the SFC to the same level that they did on Saturday, they will certainly make a mark next year in the senior ranks.