Meath Forum

How Do We Improve Meath Inter County Hurling?

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Replying To dickie10:  "For the first time since quater finals came in 2007, we will have a really cut throat hurling championship next year, the westmeath model should be brillaint. id say there will be big numbers at matches from the first round on as its nearly win or bust, real proper championship fare next year. im looking forward to it already. 6 best teams in group, top goes straight to final and 2nd v 3rd in play off, thats a brillaint system, still 3 going out of 6 which gives plenty of chances but plenty of jeoprady too. 4 out of 6 would have been disastrous setup. as a team could go to a final with just one win out of 5 matches like ratoath in 2022 i think. games being out of navan will help a lot as well, more matches in Boardsmill, Kilmessan, Athboy and Kildalkey would be a big help to atmosphere. Imagine Ratoath v Trim in a first round match in Kilmessan? or Kildalkey v Trim in Athboy to stay in championship basically a semi final as it was in 90 and 94 in Athboy. When county board sees it in action they will kick themselves they didnt have it in years before."
100% use the club grounds but the county board can't keep an eye on tickets....

Rathmolyon, Boardsmill, Kildalkey, Athboy, Kilmessan, Kiltale, Batterstown should all be hosting senior championship games. Brings a serious atmosphere to the place and it rewards the clubs doing unbelievable work in upgrading and improving facilities.
Imagine
Ratoath V Kilmessan in Batterstown
Trim V Kildalkey in Boardsmill
Na Fianna V Trim in Rathmolyon

Killyon V Longwood in Baconstown
NOM v Dunderry in Athboy
BHG v K/M in Kildalkey

Would be great first round games in club grounds next year.

Will never happen.

bountyboy22 (USA) - Posts: 53 - 17/12/2025 08:26:20    2648603

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Replying To Slowandonesided25:  "Confirmed this morning the new hurling coach is former Limerick goalkeeper Barry Hennessy. He is the one taking all the coaching and the players are responding to everything like never before.

There is a new S&C coach that was involved with the Dublin hurlers last season also. The rest of the management team is the same with Sean Crash Corrigan , Tom Shine and Dermot Moran( Dublin) with Johnny Greville"
Thanks for that. That sounds very promising. Barry Hennessy was announced a while back as coach so it must have been the new S&C coach that was being described to me.
Let's hope for big improvements this year

hurlingcowboy101 (Meath) - Posts: 43 - 17/12/2025 13:33:39    2648661

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Seniors played the U20s last night in Dunganny

Speaking to one of the parents that was at it in Trim this morning they seem to have a very young group with some experienced heads there. 3 sets of brothers playing last night with the Coles, the Shines and the Leaveys. Seniors racked up a big score 9-30 something and missed another 6/7 goal chances the 20s keepers pulling off some great saves. Shane Whitty back in the set up but no sign of Quigley or Toher

Slowandonesided25 (Meath) - Posts: 8 - 17/12/2025 13:37:03    2648664

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Replying To bountyboy22:  "100% use the club grounds but the county board can't keep an eye on tickets....

Rathmolyon, Boardsmill, Kildalkey, Athboy, Kilmessan, Kiltale, Batterstown should all be hosting senior championship games. Brings a serious atmosphere to the place and it rewards the clubs doing unbelievable work in upgrading and improving facilities.
Imagine
Ratoath V Kilmessan in Batterstown
Trim V Kildalkey in Boardsmill
Na Fianna V Trim in Rathmolyon

Killyon V Longwood in Baconstown
NOM v Dunderry in Athboy
BHG v K/M in Kildalkey

Would be great first round games in club grounds next year.

Will never happen."
only thing is it will have to, with no navan there, they cant drag Kildalkey v Trim to navan when there is zero need for it, or Trim V kiltale which can be in kilmessan, a few pitches that have fallen off the earth as regards hosting senior hurling championship games, Boardsmill 7 senior titles, Kildalkey 6 title, athboy 9 titles, 3 clubs with great hurling tradition that would do a great job hosting games but are getting blanked for hosting games. id personally love to see the semi final of senior as there will only be one semi final being put in a regional pitch , it would be unbelivable for atmosphere, imagine Trim vs Kiltale next year in semi final in kilmessan, or Kiltale v Kildalkey played in Boardsmill or Rathmolyon, seemed to be nothing wrong with it in 80s and 90s with bigger crowds.

dickie10 (UK) - Posts: 908 - 18/12/2025 14:35:41    2648773

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Some new accounts posting very positive things on here would seam to be at odds with reality.
The squad has no players from the two best teams in the county , a couple from the only other two decent teams.
So the squad is built up of players from poor senior b teams and some inter.
Some of the best players from last year not gone back in to what was already a weak squad.
I fail to see whats to be positive about , the few young lads that have stepped up wont be hanging around to long with whats in store this year if things dont change.

hurlit (Meath) - Posts: 450 - 03/01/2026 10:45:08    2649481

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Completely agree. Should be atleast 5 players each from ratoath trim kiltale and kildalkey. Meath county hurling going nowhere.

Rickoshay (Meath) - Posts: 53 - 04/01/2026 08:21:22    2649645

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Unfortunately i have to agree with the 2 posts above, i hope I'm wrong but if the panel is made up of players from outside of Ratoath, Trim, Kildalkey and Kiltale then we are in big trouble.
It seems to be very hush hush as to who is or isn't on the panel, time will tell but surly it would make sense for someone to come out and say what is happening and why we don't have players from those clubs.
If they are going down the lines of a full new young squad then that's fine but again there should be players from those 4 clubs +Kilmessan and there should be clarity instead a smoke screen.

Tobefair80 (Meath) - Posts: 104 - 05/01/2026 11:07:19    2649847

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Players from these clubs were asked but are refuse to commit for obvious reasons.
I would think ratoath first team would beat the current meath starting 15 or go very close.

hurlit (Meath) - Posts: 450 - 05/01/2026 13:41:50    2649886

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I would imagine there will be more to come back in at a later date. The likes of Togher and that who have a history of big injuries look after themselves enough to not have to worry about training in Dec and Jan and playing in bad conditions and risking injury. That said i wouldnt be surprised if they said enough is enough as they have hurled their best for Meath, and given the push they made winning the christy ring, they never really got the backing or support to push on to the next level. There should have been a manger brought in with liam mcarthy exp,

But im not in the know and if that's not the case then there is a serious issue and county board have wiped there hands of responsibility in terms of doing a Man Utd and just said carry on.

Irish_downunder (Meath) - Posts: 665 - 05/01/2026 15:22:36    2649910

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Replying To Irish_downunder:  "I would imagine there will be more to come back in at a later date. The likes of Togher and that who have a history of big injuries look after themselves enough to not have to worry about training in Dec and Jan and playing in bad conditions and risking injury. That said i wouldnt be surprised if they said enough is enough as they have hurled their best for Meath, and given the push they made winning the christy ring, they never really got the backing or support to push on to the next level. There should have been a manger brought in with liam mcarthy exp,

But im not in the know and if that's not the case then there is a serious issue and county board have wiped there hands of responsibility in terms of doing a Man Utd and just said carry on."
From what i have heard the management team have done a bit of a cull on some of the older players like Toher, Kelly, Healy and Quigley and then younger players like Murray, Murtagh and Potterton have made themselves unavailable.
They have decided to keep Burke on again though.
None of the above is confirmed just what i have heard
Looks like it will be another year of intermediate hurlers lining out for us, not their fault i know just not any where near the required standard.

Tobefair80 (Meath) - Posts: 104 - 06/01/2026 08:46:14    2649996

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Replying To Tobefair80:  "From what i have heard the management team have done a bit of a cull on some of the older players like Toher, Kelly, Healy and Quigley and then younger players like Murray, Murtagh and Potterton have made themselves unavailable.
They have decided to keep Burke on again though.
None of the above is confirmed just what i have heard
Looks like it will be another year of intermediate hurlers lining out for us, not their fault i know just not any where near the required standard."
So got shot of the lads who might have the experience to call bull.

Time will tell. Cant fault those who are willing but the board should be asking the players who have been asked as to why they are not returning.

Irish_downunder (Meath) - Posts: 665 - 06/01/2026 11:17:41    2650016

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Replying To Tobefair80:  "From what i have heard the management team have done a bit of a cull on some of the older players like Toher, Kelly, Healy and Quigley and then younger players like Murray, Murtagh and Potterton have made themselves unavailable.
They have decided to keep Burke on again though.
None of the above is confirmed just what i have heard
Looks like it will be another year of intermediate hurlers lining out for us, not their fault i know just not any where near the required standard."
That is not correct. The older players mentioned were not culled. All asked back in and said no. One or two of them left the door open to rejoining the panel later in the season.

County board should be asking questions but the truth is they don't want to know. Once the hurling intercounty season is wrapped up asap with minimal fuss and expenditure they will be happy. We know from the 2025 campaign that it's not a results driven business when it comes to the Meath hurlers.

begining (UK) - Posts: 330 - 06/01/2026 16:15:40    2650068

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I dont blame guys for not going back in , why should they ?
Even the hurling clubs cant be bothered anymore.
I admire the players last year who give up their time , then be asked to car pool to championship games in kerry while the footballers have over night hotel stays for league games.
So expenditure is low and the county board are happy as nobody highlights it to make them look bad.
Footballers are going well so who cares eh?

hurlit (Meath) - Posts: 450 - 06/01/2026 16:53:46    2650077

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Well they beat DCU tonight in a challenge who were more or less fully loaded and getting ready for a Fitzgibbon cup campaign next week and have Down on Sunday

Instead of focusing who on who isn't there how about we support the guys that want to be there and choose to be there.

Slowandonesided25 (Meath) - Posts: 8 - 06/01/2026 23:19:17    2650114

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Replying To begining:  "That is not correct. The older players mentioned were not culled. All asked back in and said no. One or two of them left the door open to rejoining the panel later in the season.

County board should be asking questions but the truth is they don't want to know. Once the hurling intercounty season is wrapped up asap with minimal fuss and expenditure they will be happy. We know from the 2025 campaign that it's not a results driven business when it comes to the Meath hurlers."
I have heard differently about the older players but that's neither here nor there. Hopefully at least Kelly comes back in because he was in the best 2/3 forwards in the club scene last year. The rest i am not too worried about, they have given great service to Meath but are now closer to the end than the beginning.
Couldn't agree more about the county board, they don't care about hurling in Meath but they never did. The difference now is that there are no hurling men willing to fight the hurlers corner any more so i can only see things getting worse.

Tobefair80 (Meath) - Posts: 104 - 07/01/2026 14:39:16    2650176

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Replying To Slowandonesided25:  "Well they beat DCU tonight in a challenge who were more or less fully loaded and getting ready for a Fitzgibbon cup campaign next week and have Down on Sunday

Instead of focusing who on who isn't there how about we support the guys that want to be there and choose to be there."
I'm sorry but i don't see the current Meath team beating a fully loaded DCU team but that's just my opinion.
No problem supporting the players that are there and i will get to as many of the games as i can but i suppose what we are saying is that we have absolutely no idea who those players are.
We know every player that is on the football panel and extended panel but nothing has been released on the hurling side for some reason.

Tobefair80 (Meath) - Posts: 104 - 07/01/2026 14:57:13    2650180

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Replying To hurlit:  "I dont blame guys for not going back in , why should they ?
Even the hurling clubs cant be bothered anymore.
I admire the players last year who give up their time , then be asked to car pool to championship games in kerry while the footballers have over night hotel stays for league games.
So expenditure is low and the county board are happy as nobody highlights it to make them look bad.
Footballers are going well so who cares eh?"
bang on the money.

Surely as a manager if the CB are not giving you what you want then you walk, it's a waste of time otherwise. Now you have better players unwilling to commit because they know it's not worth it.
Overnight stays and proper preparation for games should be least they expect.

We can focus all we like on the players who have comitted, and fair play to them, but it doesn't take away from the fact that many of the better hurlers are at home, much to the detriment ofthe county teams standard of play.

DCU wouldn't exactly be world beaters. Billy Reid would be their marquee name? Few Kildare seniors (Meath should aspire to that standard surely), no Dublin senior players there.

We appear to have a young panel - why are only 2 lads named on a Fitzgibbon Cup panel (Garda College) in the whole country?

hurlingcowboy101 (Meath) - Posts: 43 - 07/01/2026 14:58:14    2650181

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Are we even going to get a panel/team named for this weekend or will it be turn up on the day in Dunganny and find out?!

RR (Meath) - Posts: 189 - 09/01/2026 13:01:02    2650384

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Replying To hurlingcowboy101:  "bang on the money.

Surely as a manager if the CB are not giving you what you want then you walk, it's a waste of time otherwise. Now you have better players unwilling to commit because they know it's not worth it.
Overnight stays and proper preparation for games should be least they expect.

We can focus all we like on the players who have comitted, and fair play to them, but it doesn't take away from the fact that many of the better hurlers are at home, much to the detriment ofthe county teams standard of play.

DCU wouldn't exactly be world beaters. Billy Reid would be their marquee name? Few Kildare seniors (Meath should aspire to that standard surely), no Dublin senior players there.

We appear to have a young panel - why are only 2 lads named on a Fitzgibbon Cup panel (Garda College) in the whole country?"
upon futher investigation - I found another from Dunderry on the UCD panel

hurlingcowboy101 (Meath) - Posts: 43 - 09/01/2026 14:46:23    2650410

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Replying To hurlingcowboy101:  "bang on the money.

Surely as a manager if the CB are not giving you what you want then you walk, it's a waste of time otherwise. Now you have better players unwilling to commit because they know it's not worth it.
Overnight stays and proper preparation for games should be least they expect.

We can focus all we like on the players who have comitted, and fair play to them, but it doesn't take away from the fact that many of the better hurlers are at home, much to the detriment ofthe county teams standard of play.

DCU wouldn't exactly be world beaters. Billy Reid would be their marquee name? Few Kildare seniors (Meath should aspire to that standard surely), no Dublin senior players there.

We appear to have a young panel - why are only 2 lads named on a Fitzgibbon Cup panel (Garda College) in the whole country?"
We don't exactly set the world alight at minor or U21 level, so it's not surprising that there aren't many Meath players on Fitzgibbon panels.

CastleBravo (Meath) - Posts: 1719 - 09/01/2026 18:51:18    2650453

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