With the Covid 19 Lockdown extended for another three weeks and with no sign of the GAA calendar resuming we, with the assistance of Royal County Meath GAA Yearbook and the Hoganstand.com archives, will revisit some memorable moments on the Meath club and county scene over the past 20 years.

For this memorable moment we bring you back to the 2005 Meath Junior Football Championship. St. Michaels were deserving winners and included a 42 year old Martin O'Connell still driving on his club for success.

Of all the triumphant scenes that followed county finals during 2005, one surely stands out more than any other. St. Michaels had beaten O'Mahonys to win the junior football championship for the first time since 1982 and everybody appeared to want to congratulate one of the greatest Meath players of all time.

Martin O'Connell, a man who had won all that could be won at inter county level had captured his second JFC at the age of 42 and was carried towards the Pairc Tailteann stand by jubilant supporters with a smile on his face as broad as the main street in Carlanstown.

O'Connell had been there 23 years earlier when the Carlanstown/Kilbeg combination got the better of Seneschalstown to claim the title.

In the near quarter of a century that separated these two championship successes O'Connell developed into one of the outstanding inter-county footballers of his era.

One of the fancies for the Ginnity Cup St. Michaels were draw in Group C along with St. Ultans, Bective, Ballinabrackey, Drumbaragh, St. Vincents and second strings from Dundery and Dunshaughlin.

After two draws in the opening rounds, St. Michaels recorded wins over St. Vincents, Dunshaughlin, Dunderry, the highly rated St. Ultans and Drumbaragh to qualify for the quarter final.

A late Daithi Regan point secured a draw against Dunsany but St. Michaels were not to be denied in the replay, advancing to the semi final 0-15 to 0-12.

Kilmainham stood in their way of a place in the decider. Three goals in the opening 11 minutes from Regan and Johnny Reilly (2) ended this game as a contest and the Carlanstown side went on to record a 3-7 to 1-6 win but at a cost, the experienced Tom Halpin was sent off and would miss the final against O'Mahonys.

Playing with the wind St. Michaels with goals from Regan and John Farrell led 2-8 to 1-5. That lead was extended to eight points early in the second half. The Navan side fought back but Michaels held on to win by 2-11 to 1-11.

St. Michaels captain Sean Gaffney was presented with the Ginnitty Cup.

Speaking after the game Michaels coach Dudley Farrell said "at training Martin will do anything he is asked to do and he is fit to do it. He wanted to do everything this year. He has such a competitive edge. He would always want to stay on after training to kick more ball. You would be telling him to go home. He came to me before the junior final and said he would play anywhere necessary to try and win it. I started him at full forward, later moved him out to centre forward and switched him to midfield for the last ten minutes. He caught three ball for us which was vital. Winning it meant so much to him"

For a man that had won everything in the game the smile on his face after this triumph suggested that this win meant just as much - if not more - to him.

The St. Michaels squad was: Robert Briody, Ronan Farrell, John Flood, Bernard O'Brien, Peter Clinton, Ben Farrell, Daithi Regan, Sean Gaffney, Ciaran Lynch, Sean Cassidy, Nick O'Kane, Thomas McQuaid, Darren O'Connell, Derek McGillick, Tom Halpin, Brendan Ryan, Daithi Reilly, John Sheridan, James Farrell, Michael Rogers, Phelim O'Reilly, John Barry O'Reilly, Derek Flood, Graham Owens, John Farrell, Martin O'Connell, John Reilly, Terence McGivern, Mark Sheridan, Conor Gray.

Tweet

Most Read Stories