PREVIEW-Optimism high as Meath ladies get set to kick off 2025 campaign
Shane McCormack's Meath kick off their 2025 league campaign with an away clash against Tyrone this Sunday
TOM GANNON
After a few years of fantastic success that brought great joy to the county, it was inevitable that the Meath ladies would have to go through a period of transition.
That being said, over the last 12 months, the Royals were able to compete strongly with some of the top teams in the country.
As the 2025 league campaign gets underway this weekend with a tricky trip to Newtownstewart to take on Tyrone, there is a strong level of optimism that Meath may be able to return to the heights of 2021 and 2022 sooner rather than later.
Shane McCormack enters his second year of management and the Kildare native has slotted into the role very nicely.
His first year was always going to be a tough one but at various stages over the last 12 months, the Royals showed really good potential. A more consistent 2025 would be desirable and that begins this weekend with their first game in the Ladies NFL 2025.
At the start of both 2023 and 2024, Meath were hit with some key retirements along with some temporary leave of absences. In that regard, Meath has not been as effected in 2025, but there are a couple of notable potential exits from the panel to be aware of.
It appears St Peter's Shelly Melia is unlikely to be featuring for the Royals this year while a question mark remains over the availability of Donaghmore/Ashbourne's Maire O'Shaughnessy for the year ahead.
County champions Dunshaughlin Royal Gaels have increased their Meath representation from four to six after the introduction of Niamh McEntee and Sadhbh O Muiri to the county set-up.
The challenging fixtures of this year's Ladies' NFL are heavily loaded toward the back end of the campaign. In their final three games, Meath must face Dublin, Kerry and Armagh, all of which will be played away from home.
There will be little expectation on Meath to come away from any of those games with a positive result so it is of the utmost importance that the Royals get off to a good start.
First is a meeting with Tyrone this Sunday in Newtownstewart at 2pm. The two sides haven't met since 2018 and Tyrone will certainly be hoping they can cause a shock. However, you would imagine that the Royals, despite not being too familiar with their opponents, will have too much in hand for the northern outfit.
Games against Mayo, Waterford and Kildare follow and ideally, Meath will have a 100% record heading into those three crunch clashes with old rivals Dublin, 2024 LGFA All Ireland champions Kerry and 2024 Ladies NFL Div 1 champions Armagh.
There is a certain level of optimism that Meath can improve on their 2024 Ladies' NFL showing and at least challenge for a place in the final due to be held on the 12th April in Croke Park.
In 2022, Meath won their first-ever Ladies' NFL Div 1 title. It would be fantastic for them to repeat that feat but a strong start in those opening few games will be crucial to building momentum ahead of a tough last three contests.