There's no certainty about it but surely Dunshaughlin and Rathnew have established a record in the club championship. When the clubs meet in Aughrim this Saturday it will be for the sixth time in little over a year. At the height of their rivalry over 10 years ago, Baltinglass and Thomas Davies managed an epic four matches in two seasons but the current saga has run for 50 per cent longer - to date.

The long-running Leinster quarter-final has attracted nationwide attention and capped a remarkable rise by Meath champions Dunshaughlin. Only four years ago they were an intermediate side. Under the management of Meath All-Ireland winner Colm O'Rourke, they won senior status and after pausing for breath for only a year, reached the senior final two years ago.

By then under the management of Eamonn Barry, centre forward on the Walterstown team that reached the 1980 All-Ireland club final and a former Meath junior manager, the club lost to Skryne but have won the two championships since.

Although the club is now one of the many dormitory towns dotted around Dublin's surrounding counties Barry points out that his players are home-grown. He rattles off the family names that support his point: Kelly, Kealy, McHale, Dowd and Gogan - at least two each of whom are members of the panel.

The club is aware of the value of an expanding population but feels it will be a few years before that advantage works its way through the system.

Underage activity is pooled between the two clubs in the parish, Dunshaughlin and Drumree, and takes place under the name of St Martin's and the youth section runs 16 teams from under-10 to minor. Most of the current side came up this way having learned their football from Jim Gilligan in Dunshaughlin NS.

"Development will only take place if the proper structures are in place," says Barry. But already there are signs of growth with the club representing Meath in the FΘile na n╙g.

In terms of communications Dunshaughlin are an example to many other clubs - and a good few counties. A newsletter is published by Ronan Gogan, Fearghal Gogan and Shane Kelly - all players - and 2000 copies are distributed around Dunshaughlin to inform the community about the club's activities and encourage any potential members.

An excellent website, www.dunshaughlingfc.com run by multi-media goalkeeper Ronan Gogan and Declan Fahy, includes news and a decent archive.

Advances on the field have been in keeping with the progressive nature of the club. According to their manager, "Dunshaughlin is the up-and-coming team in Meath". He also believes the team is improving all the time thanks to its exposure to provincial championship football.

"The new structure in the National League has been a big help. All that's on now at weekends is the club games and it has raised the profile of the clubs enormously. The mild weather has played a part; the conditions in Aughrim for the replay were ideal and the pitch last weekend in Navan was perfect.

"The last day was our best display in two years. I was very pleased. To score 16 points in a match is a great achievement. The lads were a bit down afterwards because they didn't win but they'll lift themselves again and will be looking forward to going down to Aughrim again."

It has been an unusual feature of Meath football that despite its pre-eminence in recent years at inter-county level, there has been no success at club level. Alone among major football counties, Meath haven't won an All-Ireland club title.

"There's a difference between club and county level. In the early 1980s Walterstown were a very good team," explains Barry, "but not that many of us made it at inter-county level. Navan O'Mahonys were a very good club team and won four or five out of six county championships but they never broke through outside.

"There are 60 clubs in the county and the balance of power is well spread. County players come from a range of clubs. Living close to Dublin, lads don't have to leave their clubs for work reasons. But I can't explain it (the lack of success of Meath clubs). I don't know."

But he does have the chance to do something about it.