Double celebrations in north Meath

There is plenty to celebrate in north Meath this evening as Gaeil Colmcille clinched the Feis Cup at the expense of Ratoath, while Ballinlough saw off neighbours Oldcastle to lift the Corn na Boinne at Pairc Tailteann this afternoon.
Gaeil Colmcille never trailed as they burst from the traps in a thrilling feis Cup final, mbut were holding on at the end to secure a 1-13 to 0-14 victory over a gallant ratoath outfit.
The opening half of this contest ebbed one way and then the other as Gaeil Colmcille opened up a 0-7 to 0-1 lead before Ratoath rallied with Bryan McMahon in excellent form to close the gap to 0-6 to 0-7.

Gaeil Colmcille settled again and with Brian Hanlon impressing they led by 0-10 to 0-8 at the break.
That lead was stretched to four points within seven minutes of a disappointinmg third quarter, but once Fionn Reilly blasted a brilliant goal on the breakaway to make it 1-12 to 0-8 Gaeil Colmcille looked on course for an easy win.
However Ratoath rallied again and hit six points on the trot to close to within 0-14 to 1-12, but in the third minute of injury-time Oisin Reilly added the insurance score to ensure success for Gaeil Colmcille.

The curtain-raiser to the Feis Cup final saw Ballinlough get the better of Oldcastle by 2-11 to 1-8 in the Corn na Boinne final, but the game ended in controversy as a row erupted after the final whistle and referee Cormac Reilly issued a red card to the winning goalkeeper Dereck Muldoon.
Muldoon had been the hero for the winners as he made a brilliant save in the 33rd minute to deny CJ Healy a goal whch would have put Oldcastle in front.
However from that let-off Ballinlough found inspiration and even though Oldcastle did manage to draw level the winners were unrelenting and claimed the win with Peadar Byrne and Ronan McGuinness in outstanding form.

Read Fergal Lynch's full match reports from both of Sunday's finals in Tuesday's Meath Chronicle.