When Blackhall Gaels lifted the Keegan Cup last September they became the fifth first time winners of the Meath SFC in nine years, following in the footsteps of Dunderry, Kilmainhamwood, Dunboyne and Dunshaughlin. The last few years have represented changing times in Gaelic football both at national and local levels. Gone are the times when a handful of counties (like Kerry and Dublin) or clubs (like Navan O'Mahonys and Skryne) dominated the respective scenes and there have been four new winners of the All-Ireland SFC since 1992, all from Ulster. In the 1960s Down and Galway lifted the Sam Maguire Cup three times each but after '68 there was a long spell during which Ulster and Connacht hardly got a look in. The title did not go to either province again until Down surprised Meath in the 1991 final and that was the start of an amazing sequence of three different counties from the same province lifting the most coveted trophy in Irish sport in successive years. After Galway completed their famous three-in-a-row in 1966 'Sam' did not go west again until Ray Silke led the Tribesmen back to the promised land in 1998. Between 1974 and '86 there was not a single year in which either Dublin or Kerry did not figure in the All-Ireland SFC final and they met in six deciders in 11 years from 1975 to '85. Between 1969 and 1990 teams from Connacht and Ulster tended only get to Croke Park in September when they clashed at the penultimate hurdle. During that period there were only one instance of a side from the north or west overcoming opposition from the other two 'stronger' provinces. That was in 1973 when Galway relieved Offaly of their All-Ireland title in a 'semi' clash. After that there was the Kerry-Dublin rivalry and while they always seemed to be meeting each other in the '70s and '80s, that certainly was not the case in previous decades during which clashes were rare enough. They met in the 1955 final and in a 'semi' in '59 with Kerry winning both times. Around the same time as the '55 decider which attracted a then record attendance of 87,102, St Vincent's captured the Meath SFC title for the one and only time in the Ardcath club's history. The Keegan Cup must have been like a new pin then and St Vincent's were only the third holders of it. Before that Navan O'Mahonys and Skryne celebrated with the trophy and in 1956 Syddan, who presented the silverware to the County Board, won it for the only time. The familiarity of Navan O'Mahonys and Skryne meeting in the Meath SFC final in the late '50s and early '60s period is comparable to the Dublin-Kerry rivalry of later decades. After winning their second county title in 1957, O'Mahonys became the first club to retain the Keegan Cup the following year and then went on to make it five triumphs in a row. They beat Skryne in the first three of those deciders. Even though it was hardly ever a home ground for Navan O'Mahonys, only one of their finals between 1957 and '61 were played at Pairc Tailteann. In those years there were few enclosed pitches with Navan, Kells, Trim and Skryne being the main venues and it was not unusual for SFC games to be played on 'open pitches.' Remarkably in decades prior to the '50s there were a number of years when there were no finals in the SFC with the team accumulating the most points in the group being declared champions. The first Keegan Cup decider to be played outside Pairc Tailteann was the 1958 final. In 1957 a last minute point from Colm Hilliard gave O'Mahonys victory over Skryne at Pairc Tailteann. But after that it would be another five years before the Navan venue would host the final again. Teams like Skryne and Trim probably felt that they had a better chance of beating O'Mahonys outside of Pairc Tailteann but Skryne got two bites at the final cherry in 1958 when both tussles were in Kells. After a 1-5 each draw, O'Mahonys were comfortably in control in the replay, winning by 2-6 to 1-2. A change of venue to Trim did not bring Skryne any better fortune in '59 when the margin at the end was again a single point. Trim was again the final venue in 1960 when a Drumbaragh Emmet's outfit, which included one Fintan Ginnity, lost by 11 points. In 1961 it was Trim's turn to try to topple Navan O'Mahonys and it was back to Kells as the final venue. When Trim led by 0-8 to 0-4 with ten minutes left it appeared as if the champions' great run of success was at an end. However, O'Mahonys put in a storming comeback to score 1-4 without reply. Skryne ended the Navan side's hopes of a sixth title in succession in 1962 but they too failed to reach the final which was back at Pairc Tailteann as Trim lifted the title for the one and only time with a victory over Ballinlough. O'Mahonys made it six titles in seven years in 1963 when defeating St Vincent's at Pairc Tailteann and then, apart from 1986 and '87 when the county ground was being developed, all subsequent finals were in Navan. Both of Meath's other two main towns got on the SFC roll of honour in the '60s with the Keegan Cup going to Kells in '66 when Gaeil Colmcille (they were called Colmcille Gaels then) triumphing. Them and Kilbride, especially the latter, were the dominant forces between 1964 and '71 when taking all the titles bar one in that period. Kilbride's success story was quite remarkable, winning six SFC titles after winning out in the junior grade in 1960 and claiming intermediate honours two years later. That was a remarkable record for a team representing a small part of Dunboyne parish. They were spearheaded by four Quinn brothers, Jack, Martin, Gerry and Jimmy, and also had Murt O'Sullivan, Pat Rooney and Pat Bruton from Meath's All-Ireland winning squad of 1967. A formidable side also represented Kells and clashes between the 'big two' of the time were not to be missed. Kilbride could have added to their title haul but for the 1965 final being abandoned. Martin Quinn refused to leave the pitch after being sent off and Skryne were subsequently awarded the title at a County Board meeting. The '70s was also an exciting period in Meath football with the emergence of another mighty force. When Seneschalstown took the SFC title for the first time in 1972, Summerhill were the intermediate winners at the expense of Martry. Another new name went on the Keegan Cup in '74 when Summerhill out pointed Bohermeen, a club which won the SFC six times in succession before the first world war when players from all round the county seemed to give their services to the strongest team. After going close, Bohermeen then amalgamated with parish rivals Martry and the banner of Harps and the new club had high hopes of lifting the Keegan Cup. But it did not happen for them as Summerhill took the scene by storm to win the title four times in as many years. Like Kilbride before them, Summerhill 'came from nowhere' to reign supreme in the Royal County. After winning their fourth county title in 1977, they went on to become the first Meath winners of the Leinster club football title. One cannot but wonder how far O'Mahonys or Kilbride would have went if they had got the opportunity. Summerhill were thwarted in their bid to equal the O'Mahonys achievement, as Walterstown became the third new winners in 1978. The Blacks went on to add four more SFCs including a three-in-a-row between 1982 and '84 and the Mick O'Brien-coached outfit proved themselves a top class side by gaining two Leinster successes. After the Kilbride, Summerhill and Walterstown eras it was back to another period of Navan O'Mahonys dominance between 1985 and '90. The Keegan Cup went to the Brews Hill clubhouse five times in six years and Bohermeen's record could have been equaled but for refusing to fulfill a semi-final fixture in '86. After losing four more finals to O'Mahonys in the '80s, Skryne beat their town rivals at the eighth attempt in the 1993 SFC final and made up for a lot of past disappoint-ments. The '92 success at the expense of Seneschalstown was the first by the club since the bloodless triumph in '65. After the breakthrough success of 1972, the fine Seneschalstown side of that era looked likely to gain more championship glory but the Yellow Furze club had to wait until 1994 to celebrate with the Keegan Cup again. That was followed by first time triumphs for Dunderry and Kilmainhamwood before Dunboyne followed in their footsteps in 1998. The trend of new winners continued with Dunshaughlin's three-in-a-row and Leinster success stamping them as one the best Meath club sides in the last 50 years. Blackhall Gaels became the 15th club to celebrate with the Keegan Cup but no captain has lifted the coveted trophy more than once. Tweet

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