MFL Div 2: Goals crucial as Killary Emmets claim silverware
July 17, 2026
Killary Emmets Ben Gaughran with Cian Mills Simonstown during the MFL Division 2 final at Grangegodden
Killary Emmets 3-9
Simonstown 1-14
Killary Emmets claimed the Meath MFL Division 2 title after seeing off Simonstown in an entertaining decider at Grangegodden.
Killary made the brighter start as Adam Kelly and Tomas Dillon opened the scoring before Ben Gaughran stretched the lead. Simonstown settled through a pair of Will Byrne points, but Killary responded when Dillon burst through for the game's opening goal.
Oisín Farrelly and Dillon added further points to leave Killary firmly in control before Simonstown found a way back. Eanna Kenny finished clinically to the net after a surging run, while Joe Kearney and Ryan O'Neill followed with points to reduce the arrears. However, Kelly and Dillon tagged on late scores to send the Castletown and Syddan combination into the interval with a 1-8 to 1-4 advantage.
Simonstown dominated the third quarter as Byrne converted a free before Kearney added another point. Cormac Brennan briefly stemmed the tide for Killary, but Aaron Woods and Byrne, with two more frees, continued Simonstown's comeback before Leon Butler edged the Navan outfit 1-10 to 1-9 in front by the second-half water break.
The game swung dramatically after the restart. Kelly blasted home Killary's second goal before substitute Jack Smyth volleyed to the net just 60 seconds later to leave the champions-elect five points clear with ten minutes remaining.
Simonstown refused to surrender. Kenny replied with a point before Kearney and Butler cut the deficit. Byrne landed his sixth point of the afternoon to leave the minimum between the sides, but superb Killary defending coupled with some poor attacking decisions from Simonstown ensured there would be no late equaliser.
After the game Niall Gogarty presented the cup to Conal Sheridan.
Scorers:
Killary Emmets: Tomas Dillon 1-4 (1f), Adam Kelly 1-2, Jack Smyth 1-0, Cormac Brennan 0-1, Oisín Farrelly 0-1, Ben Gaughran 0-1.
Simonstown: Will Byrne 0-6 (3f), Eanna Kenny 1-1, Joe Kearney 0-3, Leon Butler 0-2, Aaron Woods 0-1, Ryan O'Neill 0-1.
Killary Emmets squad: Padraig Byrne; Daniel Durnin, Tadhg Rafferty, Thomas Loughran; Padraig McKeown, Conal Sheridan, Oisín Farrelly; Aaron McKenna, Jake Loughran; Adam Kelly, Cormac Brennan, Tom McKeown; Finn Donegan, Tomas Dillon, Ben Gaughran, Liam O'Donoghue, Daire Kingston, Jack Smyth, Carter Dillon, Alex Rafferty, Luke Cassidy, Henry Ryan, Archie Meade Donnelly.
Simonstown squad: Jayden Gillen; Rian Carolan, Eoghan McDermott, Ryan McGoona; Conor Fitzpatrick, Conor Brennan, Tomas O'Reilly; Aaron Woods, Will Byrne; Ryan O'Neill, Eanna Kenny, Cian Mills; Joe Kearney, Leon Butler, Matthew Gribben, Jack Kane, Sean Tunney, Will McCann, Cian Calligan, Dara Cromwell, Aaron Doherty, Sam McGuinness, Thomas Farrelly, Harry Dunne, Owen Geoghegan, Chris Hayes, Tom Moran, Joshua Kelly, Isaac McGarry.
Referee: Pat Clarke (Kilmainhamwood)
