The Meath Junior Football Championship is an annual

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

competition contested by lower-tier

Meath GAA The Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste na Mí) or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for M ...

clubs. The winner of this championship will be promoted to the Intermediate division. The winner also represents Meath in the

Leinster Junior Club Football Championship The Leinster Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition between the winners of the Junior football competitions in 10 counties of Leinster, the Intermediate football champions of Kilkenny, the Intermediate football runners- ...

. The 2021 Meath Junior Football Championship was won by St Vincent's, who defeated Dunsany in the final 1-4 to 0-6.

Competition format

Up until 1971, the Junior 'A' winners played against the Junior 'B' winners in the Junior Championship final, even though the teams involved in the final had played in different grades of football throughout the season. From 2020 onwards, club reserve teams were not permitted to take part in the Junior Football Championship. The Junior 'B' Championship was abolished (with all first teams automatically promoted from it) and a separate Premier Football Championship for reserve teams was established.

History

Wolfe Tones The Wolfe Tones are an Irish rebel music band that incorporate Irish traditional music in their songs. Formed in 1963, they take their name from Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the leaders of the Irish Rebellion of 1798, with the double meaning ...

went from this competition to

Meath Senior Football Championship The Meath Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the top Gaelic football clubs in Meath, Ireland. Qualification for subsequent competitions The winners of the Meath Senior Football Champi ...

winners in the space of four seasons in the early 21st-century, featuring Meath player

Cian Ward Cian Ward is an Irish Gaelic footballer who currently plays for Meath Senior Football Championship team Wolfe Tones and, formerly, for the Meath county team. He is known for his free kick taking ability. In the 2009 All-Ireland, he was the thi ...

, whose emergence as one of Meath's "most exciting talents" coincided with this run, while 1996 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship-winning captain Tommy Dowd also joined the club around this time.

Qualification for subsequent competitions

Meath Junior Club Football Championship

The Meath JFC winners qualify for the

. It is the only team from County Meath to qualify for this competition. The Meath JFC winners enter the Leinster Junior Club Football Championship at the __ stage. For example, 2019 winner

Clann na nGael A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meanin ...

played in the Leinster JFC final, losing the game by a single point. While 2015 winner Curraha won the Leinster JFC final. Meath JFC winning clubs also put together a five-year continuous sequence of Leinster titles in the 21st-century, as follows: Clann na nGael (2007), Moynalvey (2008), Longwood (2009), Ballinabrackey (2010) and Ballivor (2011). This followed a similar, earlier, three-in-a-row sequence of Meath JFC winners of corresponding Leinster titles, as follows:

Nobber Nobber ( – referring to the description by the local native Irish population, to the development of moat around a Norman castle) is a village in north County Meath, Ireland. The village is located near a river called the Dee () and near White ...

(2002),

(2003) and

Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2016 census, there were 9,533 people living in Ratoa ...

(2004).

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship

The Meath JFC winners — by winning the Leinster Junior Club Football Championship — may qualify for the

All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship is a Gaelic football competition which began in 2002 and is played by the junior club champions of each county. Prior to that a number of unofficial competitions were held. The winners of each cou ...

, at which they would enter at the __ stage, providing they haven't been drawn to face the British champions in the quarter-finals. The Meath JFC winning club representative won consecutive All-Ireland titles in the early 21st-century as follows: Nobber in 2003 and Wolfe Tones in 2004.

Meath Junior 'A' Football Championship

Meath Junior 'A' Football Championship top winners

Teams in bold are still currently in existence as football clubs.

Meath Junior Football Championship Roll of Honour

From the inaugural Junior B championship in 1958 until 1971, the winners of the Junior A Championship and the winners of the Junior B Championship would play in the Junior Championship final to determine promotion to the I.F.C. On many occasions, both teams were promoted. * In the 1944 final, Walterstown were found to have fielded players from Dublin clubs. The title was awarded to Oldcastle. * In the 1933 final, Pluxtown were found to have fielded unregistered players from Dalystown, Westmeath. The title was awarded to Navan Harps.

Meath Junior 'A' F.C. Divisional Roll of Honour

* 1958 – The name of a Curraha substitute wasn't supplied to the referee. Match was later awarded to Clonard.

Meath Junior 'B' Football Championship

The Junior B Football Championship was abolished after 2019. All 'B' teams and St Paul's were incorporated into a new Premier Championship, while all other first teams competing in the Junior B Football Championship were regraded to the Junior Football Championship. The Junior B Championship was reintroduced in 2022.

References

{{Meath GAA, state=expanded 3 Junior Gaelic football county championships Recurring sporting events established in 1897