"In fairness she is 46 and she has a lot of experience in county finals"

Seneschalstown's Orla Finnegan

By Daire Walsh

Following what she has described as ‘the longest two weeks ever’, Orla Finnegan is raring to go for Seneschalstown’s return to the Meath senior football championship final at Bective GFC later today (throw-in 2pm).

Seneschalstown, 13-time winners of the competition, last featured in a top-tier decider in the Royal County five years ago. St Peter’s, Dunboyne got the better of them that day and also had the measure of them on a number of occasions in the years that followed.

That was until their semi-final meeting in Dunboyne on Saturday, September 19, when a late score from Meath underage star Anna Donnelly edged Seneschalstown over the line by a single point (2-13 to 1-15). This helped to set up a showpiece meeting with defending champions Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels this afternoon and after much anticipation, Finnegan can’t wait to take the field in her club colours.

“When the whistle blew [against St Peter’s, Dunboyne], a few of us actually didn’t know that we had won. The crowd that had come to Dunboyne, they all came onto the pitch and they were congratulating us. People who wouldn’t even have anyone playing. Just the community itself all came onto the pitch afterwards,” Finnegan said.

“We just stayed on the pitch for about 25 minutes afterwards I’d say, just talking to everyone that had come. That in itself had really hyped us up. We had two weeks then for a break. It felt like the longest two weeks ever, but this week especially has been really, really great. Everyone is really getting behind Seneschalstown at the moment because we’re quite a small club team.”

Since breaking into the adult ranks of Seneschalstown, Finnegan and her club have been fighting to get back to the top table in Meath. Their 13 senior championship titles to date were accrued during a remarkable period of dominance from 2000 to 2014.

A key figure for the first and last of these triumphs – and many more in between – was former Meath inter-county stalwart Louise ‘Cheesey’ Coyle (née McKeever). An outfield player back in those days for both Seneschalstown and the Royals, she now lines out between the sticks as she continues to extend an extraordinary journey with her club.

Finnegan has gained significant experience since first featuring as a 16-year-old in a Meath SFC final back in 2018 – a defeat at the hands of Simonstown Gaels – and she even captained Seneschalstown in 2025.

Yet given how young of a squad it is overall, Finnegan is glad to have someone like Coyle still in the ranks.

“We have definitely a very young team. I think our oldest is Cheesey. In fairness she is 46 and she has a lot of experience in county finals, but after that then there is only a few of us who have been in maybe two or three or four county finals max.

“Cheesey would be a close friend of mine. She’s an all-rounder, she plays rugby and she’s our goalie for our soccer team and now she is in goals for the GAA team. She just has a bundle of experience, but she is also just great craic and is a great one to navigate the younger ones as well.

“We really do enjoy having Cheesey and we’d like to keep her for a few more years. I know age is probably getting to her, but honestly I couldn’t see her ever giving it up. She just loves it so much and I think she creates a buzz around herself because everyone is just wanting to do it for her as well.”

The soccer team Finnegan mentioned above is North East Football League outfit Kentstown Rovers, who are based approximately 15 minutes outside of Navan. Having initially joined them in 2025, she has been a pivotal cog for Kentstown in the present season thus far – they won a Division One Shield final last month and are currently at the summit of the NEFL Division One League.

In addition to the aforementioned ‘Cheesey’, Finnegan is also joined on the team by Stacey Grimes, a winner of back-to-back TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship titles with Meath in 2021 and 2022.

Grimes has also been a key figure for Seneschalstown down through the years and while she hasn’t been involved with the team in recent months, the former TG4 All Star is still someone Finnegan takes great inspiration from.

“She used to come back and guide us through club level because she had been with the county and she had so much experience. Knew what they were doing themselves and would come back to try and do it with us.

“She is a key factor definitely and it was obviously a shame not to have her for the championship, but there’s not a day goes by that we won’t talk about her. She is just such an inspiration and she is so humble as well. You wouldn’t even think she would have played county because she is just such a humble person.”

Previously a part of the Meath senior panel herself in 2023 without seeing game time, Finnegan was recalled to the Royal set-up at the beginning of this year. She went on to become a regular fixture under manager Wayne Freeman, playing some role in all 12 of the games Meath played across Lidl National Football League Division 1, the TG4 Leinster senior football championship and the TG4 All-Ireland senior football championship.

Operating in the full-forward line, she registered an overall tally of 3-4 and having now established a foothold within the county panel, Finnegan is optimistic she can push on again in 2027.

“I actually was on it in 2023, but this was my first year ever making an appearance. It was my first league start and championship start this year. It was great to get that. I think I started the majority of them, which, if you had said last year to me, I wouldn’t have believed you,” Finnegan added.

“It was a huge honour to be representing the county at this level. In fairness, all the girls were very good. Hopefully next year now I can kick on as well.”