After falling short in the two previous Meath SFC finals, it was do or die for Navan O'Mahonys in 2008 and they made no mistake with an unbeaten campaign enabling them to gain possession of the coveted Keegan Cup for the first time in 11 years. After losing the deciders of 2006 and 2007 to Wolfe Tones and Seneschalstown (in a replay) respectively, the Brews Hill side came back stronger, more focussed and determined not to slip up in the home straight this time. It was suggested that it was a case of 'third time lucky' for O'Mahonys but, of course they were unfortunate in 2005 when a miscount on substitutions in their semi-final against Dunboyne allowed them take the title. Following the disappointment of losing a second successive final, manager Michael Downes stepped aside with the two Seans, Kelly and Barry, taking over at the helm. Two years earlier Kelly had steered St Ultan's to junior championship honours and he and Barry were in charge of Castletown who reached the 2007 IFC final which they lost to Donaghmore/Ashbourne. With all due respect to Downes, who put in a large amount of unselfish work during his four years in charge, the arrival of Kelly and Barry brought about a new freshness to the squad and before the final against Summerhill, O'Mahonys team captain Paddy Smyth suggested that the Navan players were more focussed and a bit better prepared mentally. Drawn in the more difficult six-team Group A from which the three qualifiers went on to reach the last four, O'Mahonys were held to a draw in the exciting opening round tussle with Wolfe Tones which finished 1-11 each but after that they won seven out of seven and conceded no goals with the icing on the cake being the 2-12 to 0-7 final victory over Summerhill. Despite the two final failures, O'Mahonys were installed as the 10/3 joint favourites with Seneschalstown before the kick-off on Friday, April 25 and in a press interview that week Sean Kelly pointed out that the first three games (against Wolfe Tones, Skryne and Seneschalstown) were against teams who had beaten them in the previous year's championship. O'Mahonys had not beaten Tones in either the championship or league since the latter gained elevation to senior ranks and a contribution of 10 points from Cian Wood, including a late leveller from a free, in the Saturday evening Simonstown opener ensured that record was maintained. However, the Navan side, who led by 1-6 to 1-5 at the break, had reason to be pleased about their start. David Bray started and finished the campaign with 1-3 and was his side's main attacking threat against Wolfe Tones. Wing forwards Lee Russell and Henry Finnegan did well with contributions of three and four points respectively. After failing to score for 20 minutes, O'Mahonys, who led by 1-2 to 0-0 in the early stages, hit four points in succession, two each from David Bray and Finnegan, before Ward preserved the record against their Navan, his side having won twice in the championship and three times in the league, before that. Following that close encounter four points was as close as any side would get to O'Mahonys subsequently. Old rivals Skryne kept with them for most of the hour in the second round clash at Dunshaughlin which was described as a fine advertisement for Gaelic football. On a warm afternoon three late points gave the Navan side a 0-14 to 0-10 win. After the sides were on equal terms on four occasions and no more than two points separated them, O'Mahonys found a higher gear in the last few minutes with David Bray shooting over the bar twice before setting up substitute Gary O'Brien for the last score. Before that burst some supporters of the winners must have been wondering if they would be made regret hitting a total of 13 wides compared to just two by Skryne. While the town team were far from the finished article at that stage, they could be encouraged by the return to scoring form of Stephen Bray with the 2007 Allstar putting over five points. 'O'Mahonys turn on the style against the champions' was one headline following the impressive double scores 1-17 to 0-10 victory over Seneschalstown at Pairc Tailteann. That win virtually assured the Brews Hill side a place in the knockout stages and their performance suggested that they would take a lot of stopping. Some of those who starred in the clashes of the previous autumn were well contained with Stephen and David Bray, Henry Finnegan and Lee Russell scoring well in as contest which also had a double scores situation at the break when it was 1-7 to 0-5. O'Mahonys did not waste any time about taking control of the task in hand and in the opening minute when opposing 'keeper David Lyons failed to adequately clear a point attempt by Henry Finnegan, David Bray finished to the net. Although the lead of five points was reduced to a goal three minutes after the restart, the Navan side soon regained control as served up a fine exhibition of point-taking. Even though it was only June they were shaping well and running up good scoring totals. After having one foot in the quarter-finals, O'Mahonys ensured their last eight place with a second 0-14 to 0-10 win in the group, Summerhill being defeated in a Sunday evening clash at Pairc Tailteann, despite Niall McKeigue being sent off after getting a straight red card on 29 minutes The Brews Hill outfit were leading by 0-8 to 0-4 at the break after playing with the assistance of the breeze and some in the attendance wondered if the lead would be good enough. However, the answer to that question was soon forthcoming as the leaders got a whirlwind start to the second period as five points in seven minutes left the board reading 0-13 to 0-4. The Bray brothers got plenty of plaudits in 2008 and in the fourth round outing they shared all bar two points of the winning total with David raising the white flag eight times and both kicking four points from play. But, of course, it was far from a two-man effort and following the first of the two wins over Summerhill, Kevin Reilly, Mark Ward and Henry Finnegan were also praised for their efforts. It was top versus bottom in Group A in the final round clash at Kilberry as O'Mahonys outscored Rathkenny by 1-14 to 0-6. Despite being without the suspended Niall McKeigue and the injured duo of Kevin Reilly and Stephen Bray, the Navan side took control from the word go and led by 1-2 to 0-0 after only nine minutes. Sean Keating took the scoring honours with 1-3 and it was 1-7 to 0-5 at the break. After reducing the arrears, Rathkenny did not manage a score during the last 29 minutes as O'Mahonys reeled off seven points. After playing in goals in the first two games, Darren O'Toole was unlucky to miss the rest of the championship because of an ankle injury. After the filling the dual role of substitute netminder and reporter for the Skryne game, former regular number one Mark Brennan returned for the next six games and was delighted not to concede a goal in any of the outings. Following the group games O'Mahonys clicked up into unstoppable form and won their last three outings by an aggregate of 34 points! The previous year's intermediate winners Donaghmore/Ashbourne were the quarter-final opponents and reduced to 14 players near the end of the opening quarter, they were clearly second best as the SFC favourites (down to 2/1 before that outing) ran out 2-12 to 0-5 winners in a Tuesday night game under the Pairc Tailteann floodlights. The scores were 0-2 to 0-1 before O'Mahonys gained the numerical advantage and two goals in rapid succession, netted by Mark Ward and Lee Russell, left little doubt about the outcome. It was 2-3 to 0-2 at the break. The advantage was comfortably increased in the second half and of the five substitutes sent on by the winners in the last quarter, two of them scored with Gary O'Brien getting on target twice and Shane McKeigue also pointing. That facile win put the Brews Hill club into the SFC semi-finals for the fourth successive year and they repeated the 2006 penultimate round success over Blackhall Gaels with an emphatic 2-13 to 0-9 victory. O'Mahonys were well on the way to a third successive final appearance when leading by 0-7 to 0-0 after 20 minutes. The first two points sent over by David Bray put them on the right track and the classy number 13 went on to finish up with 0-7, six from play. In added time at the end of the first half he supplied the pass for brother David to net the first goal and was 1-9 to 0-2 at the break. Whatever flicker of hope Blackhall had of mounting a comeback in the second half was extinguished a couple of minutes after the restart when Sean Keating took advantage of defensive hesitancy as Stephen Bray dispossessed opposing 'keeper Martin Whelan and the corner forward left it 2-9 to 0-3. Although Eamonn Barry's charges 'drew' the second half, O'Mahonys had done more than enough when dominating the first period but Sean Kelly expressed disappointment with his charges' performance after the break. The man from Dunderry thought his side would need to improve for the final and said there was a bit of work to be done before that day. There was much more press coverage of this year's big game than when O'Mahonys and Summerhill previously clashed in the SFC final. That was in 1990 when the Navan side won after a replay. While much was made of Summerhill appearing in the Keegan cup decider for the first time in 18 years but their opponents were bidding for only a second outright triumph since then. The present decade brought its share of disappointments for O'Mahonys with the lowest point being the relegation to intermediate ranks in 2001 but after winning the IFC at the second attempt, they did not waste much time about re-establishing themselves among the top senior sides in the county. O'Mahonys were installed as 4/1 on favourites but the players were well aware that they were also the bookmakers' fancies before the two previous deciders. Captain Paddy Smyth was hoping for a more favourable result than his famous first cousin Paul Galvin got in the All-Ireland final a few weeks earlier and he reported a positive and upbeat feeling in the Brews Hill squad. O'Mahonys turned in one of their best final displays as they captured the title for the 17th time with a 2-12 to 0-7 victory. They were only in arrears for a very brief spell at the start and after the sides were on level terms twice in the opening five minutes, the Navan side pressed harder on the pedals and their opponents were unable to keep up with them. Stephen Bray put over their first score and he went on to make an outstanding contribution while brother David was top scorer with 1-3. Remarkably of the new champions' overall scoring total of 9-107 for the eight championship games, the Bray duo contributed exactly half of it. David finished up with 3-35 and Stephen got 1-20, a total shared with Henry Finnegan. In the final the 2007 Allstar kicked three points and sprayed around some delightful passes. He could have had a goal on seven minutes but finished narrowly wide. Five minutes later the centre forward fired a shot against an upright with David following up to finish to the net and leave the scores 1-3 to 0-2. It was 2-3 to 0-3 after 20 minutes and Stephen Bray started the move for the second goal, dispossessing an opponent before passing to Paddy Smyth, who was taken down by Summerhill 'keeper Tony McDonnell for a penalty which Henry Finnegan converted in style. O'Mahonys had one hand on the elusive trophy and after leading by 2-5 to 0-5 at the break, there was no letting up. Three points in the first seven minutes after the restart, sent over by David and Stephen Bray and Barry Regan strengthened the belief that they would not be leaving with nothing on this occasion. All bar the penalty goal of the winning total was registered from play with Barry Regan overshadowing Mark Ward at midfield, three points from play decorating a fine performance. None of the losers' starting forwards scored from play with Kevin Reilly, Niall McKeigue and Stephen MacGabhann showing particularly well in a solid rearguard. After receiving the Keegan Cup, Paddy Smyth, in the course of an outstanding victory speech, expressed the wish that his side would celebrate with grace and dignity. Stephen Bray was presented with the Colum Cromwell memorial 'man of the mach' trophy and emulated notable previous O'Mahonys recipients of the award like Ben Tansey, Finian Murtagh (a 2008 selector), Joe Cassells and Donal Smyth. While O'Mahonys won their three games on the home run by comfortable margins, they obviously put in a lot of effort to ensure they were the best in the county this year. "We have worked very hard for this, we have taken a lot of stick over the last few years and it is great to say that we have done it," said Smyth shortly after the final whistle. Another big factor in going one better than in the previous two years was the decision by the players not to consume alcohol after the August bank holiday weekend. Sean Kelly said he was happy to call time on the drinking ban after Paddy Smyth lifted the Keegan Cup. "They (the players) did what was necessary, they made their own sacrifices, luckily it was rewarded and they can enjoy it now," said Kelly. "Our tackling was tremendous and that is what won the game for us, both of the goals came from turn-overs, we put on the pressure and in the end the players got their just rewards," he added. "There was more pressure on the players than on me, they had to carry the can and all the pressures of the last few years with people saying they haven't performed but they did it today," remarked Sean Kelly who had tasted SFC glory as a player with Dunderry in 1995. With most of the players having age very much on their side, the current O'Mahonys crop will be fancied to add to the total of 17 titles. The club hasn't retained the Keegan Cup since 1990 and that will be a big carrot to chase in 2009. The Navan O'Mahonys team and scorers in the 2008 SFC final : Mark Brennan; Damien Moran, Kevin Reilly, Niall McKeigue; Stephen O'Toole, Cormac McGuinness, Stephen MacGabhann; Mark Ward, Barry Regan (0-3); Lee Russell (0-1), Stephen Bray (0-3), Henry Finnegan (1-2); David Bray (1-3), Paddy Smyth, Sean Keating. Subs - Shane McKeigue for Russell, Gary O'Brien for Keating, Cormac Reilly for Moran, Shane Crosby for Ward, David Murtagh for D. Bray. Also on the panel were Keith Lane, Sean Reilly, Ross Geraghty, David Hosie, Richie Hogan, Ian Matthews, Thomas Loughran, Martin Sherlock, Neville Dunne, Gerry Brennan. Three of the O'Mahonys SFC winning team, Niall McKeigue, Damien Moran and Paddy Smyth, were also on the club's hurling side which got to the quarter-final stage of the senior championship before losing to Kildalkey. Willie O'Flynn's charges recovered from a 1-11 to 2-13 first round defeat to Na Fianna to get their campaign on the right track with wins over Boardsmill and Dunboyne. After scoring 1-10 in the previous outing, Ciaran Dunphy contributed 1-7 and Mikey Kelly, Colin O'Rourke and Nigel Ryan also finding the net, Boardsmill were trounced by 17 points, 4-12 to 0-7. Mikey Kelly netted twice as O'Mahonys defeated Dunboyne by 2-10 to 1-10 in a Wednesday evening clash at Ratoath to chalk up a second championship success in four days. The Navan side led by 0-6 to 0-3 before Kelly struck for his first goal on 21 minutes and after leading by 1-10 to 0-7 at the interval, the corner forward's second goal towards the end of the third quarter was their only return of the second period. In their fourth round clash with Kiltale on a rainy Saturday night in Kilmessan. O'Mahonys had more than enough chances to boost their points total to six points but they hit a total of 14 wides compared to eight for the losers as the holders scraped a 1-7 to 0-8 win. The town team led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the break and although increasing the advantage with white flags from John Burke and Ciaran Dunphy (free), the leaders did not score again and were thwarted by two by two late points. After getting two more points as Drumree were not allowed complete their group schedule, O'Mahonys went into a play-off with Dunboyne to decide second and third place. Dunboyne won by 2-14 to 2-12 at Ratoath after extra-time, it was 2-10 each after the hour. Declan McMullen top scored for the losers with 0-8. O'Mahonys failed to get over the quarter-final hurdle as Kildalkey, despite not being as impressive as in subsequent outings, defeated their town rivals by 0-12 to 0-7 at Boardsmill. The Brews Hill side lacked scoring power with Ciaran Dunphy putting over more than half of their low total, three frees and a penalty. They trailed by 0-4 to 0-7 at the break and even though Richie Hogan, Paddy Smyth and Dunphy battled well, the losers' efforts were not nearly enough. Navan O'Mahonys will also be represented in the county senior camogie championship in 2009 after the intermediate championship triumph, earned with a 1-5 to 1-4 final victory over Kiltale in Ashbourne. Although it took them until midway through the first half to register their first score through Elizabeth Oakes, they went on to lead by 1-3 to 0-4 at the break with Elaine Coughlan getting their goal after 25 minutes. Oakes added two points in the second period and with Muireann Hogan, Lorna Donegan and Emer Finn to the fore in defence, the Kiltale forwards were held, apart from adding a goal. The O'Mahonys team in the intermediate camogie final : H. Burke; M. Hogan, L. Donegan. S. Markey; A. Kane, E. Finn, T. Neville; L. Flynn (0-1), E. Oakes (0-3); E. Coughlan (1-0), P. Cassells, E. Kinsella (0-1); K. McEvoy, Z. O'Connor, M. Flynn. Subs - M. Hanley for Neville, B. Murphy for McEvoy, C. Ronayne for Coughlan. Tweet

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