With the change in age structures introduced at national level meaning the Minor grade has now gone to U-17, Meath GAA have followed suit to go in line with the inter-county level and so when this years LMFM Meath Minor Football Championships throw in on Wednesday evening, they will be the very first Minor Championships to be held in the county at the age grade.

Also changed this year is the format of the competition, with it moving away from the Christy Ring Competition format which it has used in recent years to a group format with each group split into A/B guaranteeing each side 3 games prior to the knockout stages while for the first time there will also be a Shield as well as the Cup in each Division meaning every team will have a knockout game. The result of this gives every team a minimum of 4 Championship games compared to 2 in the old structure.

Division 1

1A - Navan O'Mahonys, Seneschalstown, Simonstown Gaels, Trim.

There's great anticipation ahead of the commencement of Division 1 of the LMFM sponsored Championship with any of the 8 teams in with a realistic chance of success in the decider which will once more precede the Fairyhouse Steel SFC decider in mid-October.

Having claimed the Division 1 League back on April 12th when defeating St. Colmcilles in a hard-fought final, Seneschalstown will be hotly fancied by many to complete the double but they will have their work cut out to qualify for the Cup semi-finals as they face a Trim outfit which will be in buoyant form after winning the Division 2 League title as well as Simonstown Gaels who they recently defeated in the Patrick Ward Tournament Final and Navan O'Mahonys who were the only side to best them in the League.

Navan O'Mahonys will be looking to Meath Minor panellist Brian O'Hanlon to provide much of the inspiration to their team in the Championship but with an opening Round derby against Simonstown Gaels to whet their appetite, they will be chomping at the bit to get the Championship off to the best possible start. Beaten Division 2 Summer League finalists last year, they will be quietly confident of being back in another Páirc Tailteann decider in 2 months.

Trim when defeating Clann na nGael in that Division 2 Final showed that they are a very well-balanced side with no weak links and will relish the opportunity to play Seneschalstown in Round 1. With Noel Dempsey and Kenny Morgan amongst their backroom team and with the benefit of having the panel together as a full group in the build up to Round 1 they will be full of confidence.  Justin Barbu and Harry Kennedy provide a strong midfield platform and with Ben Holden marshalling the defence from centre back along with potent forwards such as Dylan Farrell and Conor Quigley, the Trim side will be more than capable of causing some surprises along the way.

On the back of their 2 in-a-row success in the SFC, there is something impressive stirring at underage level in Simonstown and on the back of reaching the Minor League semi-final at the end of March, the club's U-16's went on to complete the Spring League Double winning both the Division 2 and 5 deciders. With the likes of Meath U-16 captain Josh Carolan who will secure plenty of primary possession along with Aaron Chinchilla, Eoghan Gough and Robert Reid amongst their ranks Simonstown will be a force to be reckoned with.

League Champions Seneschalstown will have a rather large target on their backs but look like a team capable of completing what would be a famous double. Buoyed this year by the temporary addition of Rathkenny trio James O'Hare, Jeaic Timmons and Tom Barron, they have added strength in depth and with Sean Commons now back from injury having missed all bar 15 minutes of the League they will have plenty of reason to be optimistic. Simon Rooney at full back will be a key player for them as will the highly influential Joseph Moore in the attack while the aforementioned O'Hare along with Hickey will be keen to build on their impressive form with the Meath Minors.  

1B - Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Ratoath, St. Colmcilles, St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels/Round Towers.

Section 1B of the Championship is a real heavyweight battle with any of the 4 teams capable of lifting the Delaney Cup. Of particular interest to many observers will be how the independent side of St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels/Round Towers fare.

Having marched impressively through the group stage of the League in the springtime, Donaghmore/Ashbourne came unstuck at the semi-final stage but will look towards the Championship with plenty of optimism. County Minor panellists David Carr, Killian Hogan and Cillian Hegarty will provide an impressive spine to the side while they will have a number of their excellent U-16 side who will be full of confidence after claiming the U-16 Summer League Group B title recently. A victory at home to near neighbours Ratoath in Round 1 would leave the 'Moores well placed for qualification to the knockout stages of the Cup.

The Ratoath youngsters though will have something to say about that and after the club won the Delaney Cup for the 3rd time in their history last October, they won't relinquish it without a fight. Having also won the U-19 Group A Development League, underage football in Ratoath is on a high at present and with the team being led by the impressive Luke Newe they will be pushing hard for a semi-final spot. Achieve that and anything is possible. Achieving that could be just beyond them though in this 'group of death'.

After doing the Spring and Summer League Double at U-16 level back in 2017, all looked set for St. Colmcilles to continue their dominance of this age level when they advanced in impressive fashion to the League Final earlier this year only for them to turn in a rather flat performance against Seneschalstown in Trim. On the evening, Meath Minor star David Bell was left carrying a lonely battle up front, but it would be no surprise to see the team from Meath's Gold Coast go one better in October and emulate the Minors of 2016 in bringing the cup home with them. Denis Collins will have his side comping at the bit and with Louth Minor Ruairí O'Hanlon also a key member of the side they will deservedly hold the title of favourites in many people's eyes.

With numbers proving to be tight after the Spring League, St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels and Round Towers have joined forces for the Minor Championship and will enter the Championship as something of an unknown quantity. However, any team who take to the field with the likes of Dylan Morgan and Harry O'Higgins among their ranks as well as Cian McBride will have to be well regarded. Their opening round clash with St. Colmcilles in Kilmainham may prove to be a task too far before players become used to playing with each other but just as Seneschalstown bounced back from losing the Spring League Round 1 game when bedding in the new recruits and then bounced back in impressive fashion the same is quite possible with St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels/Round Towers. Should they make it to the Final the scoreboard in Páirc Tailteann may require an extension to fit the name in, but the prospect is quite real.

Predictions.

Group A Cup Semi-Finalists

Seneschalstown and Simonstown

Group B Cup Semi-Finalists

St Colmcilles and St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels/Round Towers.

Finalists

Seneschalstown and St. Ultan's/Cortown Gaels/Round Towers

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