Gaelic Games

Steely Wolfe Tones see off Dunboyne for second ever Meath crown

Haul of 1-2 from Saran O’Fionnagain’s includes game-defining seventh minute goal

Wolfe Tones’ Cian Ward celebrates with teammates. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho

Paul Keane at Pairc Tailteann
Sun Nov 7 2021 - 18:46

Wolfe Tones 1-9 St Peter’s Dunboyne 0-9

This was not a county final to inspire poetry though the achievements of victorious Wolfe Tones manager Micheal McDermott may yet go down in verse.

A Cavan man from Shercock, McDermott has now guided teams in four different counties - Kilmurry-Ibrickane (Clare), Ramor United (Cavan), Monaleen (Limerick) and Wolfe Tones (Meath) - to senior championship wins.

Taking Kilmurry-Ibrickane to the 2010 All-Ireland final at Croke Park ranks as the former Clare manager’s greatest triumph but this breakthrough win with Tones can’t be far off.

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The club had only won the Meath title once, in 2006, and were seen as relative long shots this year but took out three-in-a-row chasing Ratoath in the semi-final before seizing possession of the Keegan Cup at Dunboyne’s expense.

Saran O’Fionnagain’s seventh minute goal was the game’s decisive score and the corner-forward went on to register 1-2.

Each of his scores were celebrated with a raised fist though artistry was in short supply generally on an afternoon when Tones traded in steel moreso than silk.

Centre-back Shane Glynn was player-of-the-match and locked down a defence that conceded just four points from play. Ahead of him in the attack, former Meath star Cian Ward had his moments and struck 0-2, the same as current Meath forward Thomas O’Reilly.

Ward was on the Tones team that won the club’s first senior crown 15 years ago and was joined this time by brothers Caolan and Fiachra while father, Philip, was part of McDermott’s backroom team.

“You always say, ‘Is there going to be another one?’” said McDermott, when asked where this win ranks in his own list of achievements. “Look, it’s two years since I came to Wolfe Tones in extremely difficult circumstances with the pandemic and Covid.

“But when you look at what the county board has produced, an outstanding championship this year, and when you look at our players lifting the Keegan Cup at the end of it, for the first time in 15 years, it certainly strikes a note for me.

“I’m a Wolfe Tones man through and through here today and that’s all that mattered to me.”

For defeated Dunboyne manager Conor O’Donoghue, it’s been a difficult few weeks. He was a member of the Fixtures Calendar Review Taskforce that drew up the proposal for football Championship reform which was rejected by Special Congress.

His side bounced back from that early goal concession with three points to level the game by the 13th minute but never actually led and existed in Tones’ slipstream for the most part.

Points from O’Fionnagain, Cian Ward, O’Reilly and Padraic Diamond left the Kilberry men 1-5 to 0-4 ahead at half-time.

Dunboyne recovered with a stronger third quarter, outscoring their opponents by two points, but they went 23 minutes at one stage without scoring and couldn’t grab the goal they required.

The Wards, Cian and Caolan, hit late insurance points to propel Tones to victory and a December 5th AIB Leinster club quarter-final date with the Dublin representatives, St Judes or Kilmacud Crokes, back in Navan.

Wolfe Tones: C Farnan; R White, S Glynn, A O'Neill; N O'Reilly (0-1), D O'Neill, C Sheppard; P Diamond (0-1), A Callaghan; S Sheppard, Cian Ward (0-2, 2f), T O'Reilly (0-2); O Martin, S O Fionnagain (1-2), C O'Neill. Subs: Caolan Ward (0-1, 1f) for Martin (46), F Ward for C O'Neill (51), B O'Fionnagain for D O'Neill (57), E O'Kelly Lynch for White (61).

St Peter's, Dunboyne: C Flynn; S Ryan, S Lavin, J McLoughlin; G McCoy, C Lowndes (0-1), C Doran (0-1); S McEntee, J Donnelly; S Lowndes (0-1), C Finn, R Jones; C Bradley, D Lenihan (0-6, 5f), D McEntee. Subs: L Byrne for Donnelly (29), C Lacey for Finn (ht), M Murphy for D McEntee (45), J Scannell for Ryan (46), N Jones for Bradley (54).

Referee: P Coyle (Curraha)