Football championship final fixtures & previews
Simonstown will host the Junior Football Championship final
It’s county final weekend with the three main titles up for grabs. Who will take home the Peter McDermott, Mattie McDonnell and Keegan Cups.
No Pairc Tailteann no problem. Simonstown, Devenish park and Donaghmore Ashbourne has stood up to the mark.
The story so far:
JFC final: Who will take home the Peter McDermott Cup?
First up is the meeting of Ballinlough and Curraha to decide the destination of the Junior Football Championship. Friday night under lights might be an unusual fixture for a county final but a large crowd is expected at Boliden Tara Mines Park.
If the bookies are anything to go by Curraha are raging hot favourites and with players of the calibre of the O’Hanrahan brothers, Neil Shortall, Niall McLarnon, Conor Moriarty, the returned David Toner along with the county players James McEntee, Jack O’Connor and Diarmuid Moriarty its hard to argue against that.
Gavin Coyle’s men have got stronger as the season progressed. A draw with St. Vincents in round one was followed by a sluggish win over St. Brigids but from there on they took flight. Injuries cleared up and a few former stars retuned from their travels. The “Ha’ registered 11-34 in their last two games. Their second half display against one of the favourites Slane demonstrated the ability within this squad.
Ballinlough stand in their way. The North Meath outfit were unlucky to lose out to St. Vincents after extra time in last year’s semi final. Manager Andy McGovern has the core of that squad at his disposal and will looked to Meath senior hurlers Seanie Geraghty, Tom and Daire Shine and Darren O’Higgins, former Meath minor and Under 20 medal winner Oisin McDermott, Harry Ryan and veteran midfielder Mark McCullen to lead the line.
The biggest test they got in the group stages came from neighbours Moylagh in round 2. The Reds produced their best display of the year against favourites St. Vincents in the semi final and led last year’s finalists 0-13 to 0-4 after 30 minutes of football.
Paths to the final
Round 1:
Ballinlough 3-14 St. Mary’s 1-11
Curraha 2-12 St. Vincents 1-15
Round 2:
Ballinlough 0-16 Moylagh 0-12
Curraha 2-17 St. Brigids 1-13
Round 3:
Ballinlough 1-14 Nobber 0-10
Curraha 7-17 Carnaross 1-13
Semi finals:
Ballinlough 1-18 St. Vincents 1-15
Curraha 4-17 Slane 1-7
IFC final: Duleek-Bellewstown and Navan O’Mahony’s set for final showdown
Pitch 6 at Devenish Park should attract a large crowd on Saturday for the meeting of Duleek-Bellewstown and Navan O’Mahony’s in the Intermediate Football Championship final.
Recent finals have been very hard to call and this one is no different. Both teams reached the final following a similar pattern, losing one group game each. Both have also suffered defeats in recent finals, O’Mahony’s to Meath Hill in 2024 and Duleek-Bellewstown to Dunshaughlin and Rathkenny in 2022 and 2023 respectively.
Possession around the middle sector might hold the key to this one. Robin Clarke, Shane Crosby and the returning Eamonn Armstrong have been very impressive in this area for Duleek-Bellewstown, while Roscommon senior Niall Higgins, Aodhan Mallon, Duggie Dillon and Evan Coffey have provided the platform for many of the Navan attacks.
Navan O’Mahony’s, who narrowly avoided relegation last year, got off to the worst possible start, losing to St Patrick’s in Walterstown.
A big win over Longwood in Round 2 and a narrow victory over neighbours Bective were enough for Darren Clarke’s men to qualify from the group in second place.
From there on, the Hoops took off. A brilliant win over a fancied Meath Hill side on a wet and dreary night in Castletown was followed by a comprehensive victory over their Round 1 conquerors, St Patrick’s, at Dunsany.
Duleek-Bellewstown got their campaign off to a great start with an eight-point win over Ballivor in Bective. A Round 2 defeat to last year’s finalists Castletown left the East Meath outfit facing a winner-takes-all Round 3 clash with unbeaten Oldcastle.
That game marked the return of Eamonn Armstrong, home on holiday from his exploits with St Kilda. The former Meath star was an inspiration on that wet night in Carlanstown, guiding his team to a six-point win.
The 2025 junior champions, Clann na nGael, were dispatched in a high-scoring quarter-final encounter.
Anthony Malone’s men saved their best display until the semi-final and, despite conceding three goals, ran out seven-point winners against Walterstown.
Paths to the final
Round 1:
Navan O’Mahony’s 0-13 St Patrick’s 1-14
Duleek-Bellewstown 2-17 Ballivor 0-15
Round 2:
Navan O’Mahony’s 4-23 Longwood 1-8
Duleek-Bellewstown 0-10 Castletown 0-15
Round 3:
Duleek-Bellewstown 0-13 Oldcastle 0-7
Navan O’Mahony’s 2-19 Bective 2-16
Quarter-finals:
Navan O’Mahony’s 1-17 Meath Hill 1-9
Duleek-Bellewstown 3-16 Clann na nGael 4-9
Semi-finals:
Navan O’Mahony’s 3-17 St Patrick’s 2-11
Duleek-Bellewstown 3-19 Walterstown 3-12
SFC final: Moores v Tones clash likely to go right to the wire
Sunday promises to be an occasion to savour for the Donaghmore Ashbourne club, with the added significance of contesting a county senior football final on their home turf.
It's been quite the turnaround for 'The Moores', with few predicting a final appearance after their opening day defeat to Gaeil Colmcille. However, they responded in brilliant fashion, bouncing back with a do-or-die victory over 2024 champions Dunshaughlin before comfortably seeing off Simonstown to top Group D.
Having dealt Trim a 14-point defeat in the quarter-final, Timmy O'Regan's side went on to claim arguably their most impressive scalp of the campaign, overcoming a fancied Ratoath to book their place in the Keegan Cup decider for the first time since 2016.
For Donaghmore Ashbourne, one of their greatest strengths has been their spread of scorers, making them a difficult side to contain, with ten and nine different players getting on the scoresheet in their last two outings respectively.
Opponents, Wolfe Tones, have navigated their championship campaign without defeat, securing a place in the final for the third time in six years.
The transition under Louth native Shane McCoy has been seamless, with 'The Tones' leading the way from Group C and boasting a commanding scoring difference of +29, following convincing wins against Ballinabrackey, St Colmcille's and Seneschalstown.
In the quarter-final, neighbours Rathkenny proved a much sterner test, with a late goal from Kyle Moran securing their passage to the last four. Moran was amongst the goals once again as Wolfe Tones finally laid their Summerhill hoodoo to rest, ending a run of championship defeats against their rivals and dethroning the reigning champions in the process.
The stage is set for an intriguing encounter that could go right down to the wire at Donaghmore Ashbourne's immaculate home grounds.
Path to the final
Round 1:
Gaeil Colmcille 0-13 Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-9
Wolfe Tones 1-19 Ballinabrackey 0-7
Round 2:
Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-21 Dunshaughlin 1-14
Wolfe Tones 2-21 St Colmcille's 3-11
Round 3:
Donaghmore Ashbourne 2-16 Simonstown Gaels 0-8
Wolfe Tones 1-24 Seneschalstown 3-11
Quarter-finals:
Donaghmore Ashbourne 2-20 Trim 1-9
Wolfe Tones 1-12 Rathkenny 0-13
Semi-finals:
Donaghmore Ashbourne 1-14 Ratoath 0-12
Wolfe Tones 1-17 Summerhill 0-14
Fixtures:
Friday 16th October
JFC Final
Ballinlough v Curraha 20.00
Venue: Simonstown Referee: Ian Dowdall
Saturday 17th October
IFC Final
Duleek-Bellewstown v Navan O'Mahonys 16.00
Venue: Devenish Park - Pitch 6 Referee: Andrew Smith
Sunday 18th October
SFC Final
Wolfe Tones v Donaghmore/Ashbourne 14.00
Venue: Donaghmore Ashbourne GAA Referee: David Coldrick
