As we head into our first Division 2 Final at Minor level in ten years, we look back on how we have fared in the various Championships at the grade in the intervening period.
2014
Seneschalstown reached the Final in Division 2 of the LMFM Minor Football Championship in 2014, where Trim were their opponents in the battle for the Liam Toland Cup on a gloriously sunny Winters morning in Skryne.
Unfortunately, the side in red proved too strong on the day as Seneschalstown came up short, but they had produced a string of impressive performances to reach the decider which included an opening round hammering of Gaeil Colmcille , and gutsy victory in Ardcath against St. Vincent’s/Curraha in conditions you wouldn’t put the dog out in and then a gripping two game duel with Na Fianna. The first of those games was drawn in Fr. Tully Park before Seneschalstown went on to record a two point success in the replay in Enfield, 3-06 to 2-07.
2015
The crop of 2015 certainly grew into the year as it went on, and after losing out in a League semi-final to Na Fianna, Seneschalstown were quietly confident going into the Championship with the League finalists Na Fianna and Oldcastle operating in the grade above.
Seneschalstown, operating in Division 3, nearly saw their Championship crumble before it even began. Away to Duleek/Bellewstown in the opening round, Seneschalstown found themselves eight points in arrears with 20 minutes to go but a Niall Hickey goal spurred them into life and sparked a miraculous comeback which saw them come back down the N2 3-12 to 1-16 winners. Wins over Ratoath and North Meath Gaels followed which booked a final spot against, you guessed it, Duleek/Bellewstown in Páirc Táilteann. On this occasion there was no such hassle for Seneschalstown as they ran out comfortable victors on a scoreline of 1-14 to 1-05 to bring Division 3 honours back to Fr. Tully Park.
2016
2016 was a who’s who of underage amalgamations as Seneschalstown reached the semi-final as they plied their trade in Division 3 once more.
The opening round saw them strike for six goals on the way to a 6-08 to 2-11 victory in Longwood/Clonard. This was followed up with a six point victory at home to Drumconrath/Meath Hill as a late stoppage time surge saw them over the line, 2-16 to 1-13. Unfortunately another South Meath combination, Ballivor/Boardsmill proved too strong in the semi-final.
2017
Seneschalstown were back operating in the top tier of the Minor Football Championship in 2017 and they certainly got a taste of what was to come as St. Peter’s, Dunboyne dished out a fine trimming to the Furze youngsters in the opening round.
Entering last chance saloon, Trim were swatted aside with consummate ease in Dunganny thanks to goals from Cathal Finnegan and Alan Mulvany in Round 2. However, they delivered their best performance of the campaign in the quarter-final when accounting for a highly fancied Dunshuaghlin 4-12 to 3-08 in Skryne. However, that was to be as good as it got for Seneschalstown as they ran into eventual winners Ratoath in the semi-final in Dunganny who were not to be stopped.
2018
The Championship of 2018 promised a lot for Seneschalstown as they came into it on the back of Division 1 League success over St. Colmcille’s. This was only further enhanced when they produced a perfect group campaign with three wins from three outings against Trim, Simonstown Gaels and Navan O’Mahony’s. Tom Barron’s goals were crucial during the group phase as was the accuracy of Seán Commons from both open play and placed balls.
Having earned themselves a home semi-final against Donaghmore/Ashbourne, it was the Moore’s who produced something of an upset by beating their hosts in the last four on the way to winning the Delaney Cup.
2019
Operating in a slightly revamped Division 1, Group B contained five teams as Seneschalstown took on Summerhill, Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Simonstown Gaels and Duleek/Bellewstown. Unfortunately, Seneschalstown’s only win came against neighbours Duleek/Bellewstown on their way to a fourth place finish in the group.
2020
Seneschalstown were placed in Division 2 of the 2020 edition of the Minor Championship and after two opening defeats against Killary Emmets and Donaghmore/Ashbourne, a final round victory over Trim saw them finish the group in third place heading into the Shield competition.
Goals from Donie Commons and Tom McDonnell saw themn come out the right side of a hard earned victory against Simonstown Gaels by the narrowest of margins, 2-10 to 2-09 in the semi-final. Having lost the toss for home advantage against Walterstown for the Shield Final, a tit for tat battle was sealed for the home side with two late goals as a gutdy Seneschalstown came up just short.
2021
A very young Seneschalstown side found the going tough in Group A of Division 2, losing out to Dunshaughlin, Simonstown Gaels and Duleek/Bellewstown in their three group games. The Simonstown game was probably the best of the performances as thney operated for long spells with 13 men. However, for the vast majority of the squad 2022 would offer a shot at redemption.
2022
Having never contested a Minor Football Championship Final as a standalone club, the Minor class of 2022 broke new ground for the club. With a large representation on that year’s Meath Minor panel, League form took a hit with many absentees but come Championship it was all guns blazing in Division 1. Victory over old friends St. Colmcille’s was accompanied by another over their East Meath neighbours St. Patrick’s. A result of any kind was required to rubber stamp qualification and top spot going to their final match against Skryne which drew a bumper crowd to Fr. Tully Park on a warm Saturday afternoon and Seneschalstown certainly put on a show as they struck for five goals to finish top of the pile in Group A.
Their semi-final opponents emerged as Oldcastle and in the Meath Centre of Excellence, it the performance of Joe Norris which was crucial as he rattled the Oldcastle net twice on the way to a 2-10 to 0-10 victory and make history for the club. Donaghmore/Ashbourne stood in Seneschalstown’s way of Delaney Cup honours and unfortunately proved too strong on County Final day, winning out 1-12 to 1-06.
2023
Following on from 2022, Seneschalstown produced another strong performance in 2023 as they came second in Group B. Dunderry were beaten with ease in Round 1 as the two Cian’s, Hosie and Commons, were central to a 0-16 to 0-07 win. In Round 2, Donaghmore/Ashbourne were edged out by the narrowest of margins thanks to late Commons winner. St. Peter’s, Dunboyne finished top of the group after a strong last round performance in Fr. Tully Park.
The semi-final saw Seneschalstown pitted against St. Colmcille’s in Dunganny and as usual the strong Autumnal wind was blowing towards the pavilion. Goals either side if half-time left Seneschalstown with just too much to do as their late charge came up just short in their bid to reach a second final in succession.
