By the time you’re reading this, there will be less than 24 hours to go (providing the weather doesn’t interfere) to the Coolrite Under 19 Football Championship Final against St. Patrick’s in Walterstown.
Unless rules change in the next while, it will be the last outing for many of this Seneschalstown side in age grade football and they will be hoping to bow out in the best way possible by landing silverware.
This particular group of players have blazed a trail through the underage grades in Meath right since they started playing competitive football at Under 12 level in 2017, where they won a Division 1 League. They followed that up with further success at Under 13 and Under 14 level in 2018 and ‘19. They would also go on to be Meath’s Féile representatives in Mayo of that year after winning the qualifying competition in the county. This was also supplemented with a couple of Leinster League titles.
After football returned from the first lockdown in the second half of 2020, the famed Paddy O’Brien Cup was up for grabs at Under 15 level against St. Colmcille’s in the Championship Final, and it was the Yellow Furze side who won out in a dominant display and one which bookmarked them as a team to watch as they progressed towards the Minor ranks.
At Minor level, they won the season opening Minor Football Tournament, and were edged out by Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the semi-final of the Division 1 League.
Come the Championship, they became the first side to make a Division 1 Final but again the Moores’ came out on top, this time in Páirc Táilteann.
Most of this team have played adult football in some capacity, with some racking up plenty of Senior appearances while others have played Championship football at second and third team levels.
Coming behind the group of 19 year olds are another bunch of Minor Division 1 semi-finalists from 2023 and of course this years successful Minor group who achieved Division 2 glory a number of weeks ago so the talent pool certainly runs deep for Brian Sheridan, Damien Sheridan, David Lyons and Robert Ruddy to pick from.
It is certainly a squad full of talent, but will have to be at their best to defeat a St. Patrick’s side who beat them in Fr. Tully Park relatively comfortably a month ago.
An improvement on that nights performance is imperative, but one the team are capable of if they want to ensure the Joey McKeown Cup is back in Fr. Tully Park come Saturday afternoon.
Seneschalstown Under 19 Panel: Luke Healy, Jack McDonnell, Danny Waters, Oran Lawlor, Sam Kirwan, Aran Carey, Charles McCarthy, Darren O’Brien, Séimí Byrne, Seán Davis, Robbie Finnegan, Charlie Finnegan, Éamon Finnegan, Jamie Norris, Cian Hosie, Cathal Reilly, Colin Scanlon, Liam Dillon, Mattie Cowley, Seán Reilly, Eoghan McGauran, Alex Finnegan, Josh Keating, Tommy Walsh, Bradley Kirwan, Jamie Barry, Keith Finnegan, Colm McDonnell, Cian Commons
