Two games in a week brings bonanza for Navan's traders

Navan's pubs, eateries and shop-owners are eagerly looking forward to a second trading bonanza within a week when Meath meet Kildare in this Saturday's Senior Football Championship qualifier at Pairc Tailteann. The two sides have already clashed this summer in the Leinster Championship and big crowds are expected for this weekend's third round tie which will be televised by RTE (throw-in 7pm). Up to 17,000 went through the turnstiles at Pairc Tailteann last Saturday evening but this Saturday's game will be an all-ticket affair with crowd numbers being limited to 20,000 for health and safety reasons. Some fans felt the side terrace was "dangerously packed" for the Meath-Galway match but that there was room for 2,000-3,000 more behind either goal. Last Saturday's game proved a bumper one for businesses, especially in the Brews Hill, Railway Street, Trimgate Street area. Geraldine Farnan, general manager of O'Flaherty's pub, said they had pushed the boat out for the thousands of fans from Meath and Galway. "It was better than a St Patrick's Day," she said, "There's really nothing like it when you can get a crowd like that into town. We put on a free barbecue and we had bands both before and after the match. And we'll be doing the same this Saturday." She said that for the last number of years, big games had been staged at Croke Park and this meant that many provincial towns lost out. "But you couldn't beat this for business - two games in a row. Sure why wouldn't we be happy?" Trimgate Street publican Padraig Fitzsimons said the influx of crowds from two counties into the town was "just fantastic". He said: "It's a great injection into the town. You'll possibly have 10,000 fans travelling from Kildare and, added to the Meath fans, it means a good bit of business for everyone. It's a badly-needed boost for the local economy. Last Saturday saw the biggest crowds in Navan for a long time. It was good for the pubs, good for the eating places, for the newsagents; in fact, for anybody that could open." Newsagent Tommy Reilly said that there was "a fantastic buzz" around the town for last Saturday's match. "When you get two matches in a row like this, it feels like you've gone to Heaven," he said.