All-Ireland SFC
1. Meath
Last year’s Tailteann Cup champions exited at the All-Ireland stage of the senior championship. An inconsistent league campaign saw them just narrowly avoid relegation from Division 2, while their Leinster championship ended after a heavy defeat by Dublin. They failed to pick up any wins in the All-Ireland group stage, shipping heavy defeats to Louth and Kerry. Meath have won just three games this year across league and championship, and conceded 18 goals.
Their three-point loss to Monaghan at the weekend was their last act of the 2024 season as they cut a nine-point deficit to two in the last 10 minutes. Colm O’Rourke said afterwards that he wishes to stay on as Meath manager and would be requesting “a minimum” of five years to continue his work with the team.
2. Cavan
Cavan came under new management this year as veteran goalkeeper Raymond Galligan took over from Mickey Graham. His inexperience drew some doubt about their prospects for the year, but a promising run in Division 2 saw them finish third on the table behind the promoted duo of Donegal and Armagh. Donegal beat them by just one point when the sides met, with Cavan outscoring Jim McGuinness’s side 0-4 to 0-1 in the final 10 minutes to come up just short.
They opened their Ulster championship with a win over Monaghan while Tyrone needed extra-time to squeeze past them after fumbling an eight-point lead. Cavan then suffered a major blow with the loss of key forward Paddy Lynch to an ACL injury. Lynch was the top-scorer in the league with 1-48 and contributed 1-14 to Cavan’s 6-28 in the Ulster championship. His absence was a significant factor in Cavan’s winless run through the group stage, particularly their loss to Roscommon at the weekend where his presence could have altered the outcome.
3. Clare
With Cork and Kerry on the same side of the Munster SFC this year, Clare availed of the opportunity to claim one of the available spots in the provincial decider. A Kerry victory in the final was inevitable, but Clare produced a spirited effort. They trailed by just four points at half-time while also creating goal chances either side of the break which if converted could have left Kerry sweating.
A two-point defeat to Cork was an encouraging start to their Group 3 run in the All-Ireland series but they went on to lose the Tyrone and Donegal fixtures by a combined 38 points. The Donegal defeat was especially striking as the Banner could only muster five points in total, although they did lost goalkeeper and vice-captain Stephen Ryan to injury in the build-up. A disappointing end to their year, after that Munster final appearance and narrowly missing out on promotion from Division 3.
4. Westmeath
Westmeath kicked off their season by earning promotion and winning the Division 3 final. But their Leinster championship came to an abrupt end as they were stunned by a Wicklow outfit who had just been relegated to Division 4.
That was Westmeath’s fourth consecutive weekend of competitive action as Dessie Dolan’s side started the Wicklow game without key players Ray Connellan, James Dolan, John Heslin and Kevin Maguire.
Westmeath gave Galway a fright in Group 1 of the All-Ireland series, leading by one point at half-time when they met in Mullingar despite losing All-Star nominee Ronan O’Toole to a black card in the 10th minute. The sides were level after 62 minutes, with a possible shock on the cards before Shane Walsh scored a crucial goal after intercepting a pass. Derry found Westmeath hard to shake as well, but again, the Leinster side was undone by goals as Emmet Bradley and Conor McCluskey netted in either half.
Those showings against Division 1 teams bodes well for Westmeath as they prepare for life in the second tier in 2025.
Tailteann Cup
1. Wicklow
That surprise victory over Westmeath seemed to cause a reset for Wicklow after suffering relegation to Division 4. That campaign produced one win from six outings for Oisín McConville’s side [against Limerick], and their one goal against Sligo saw Wicklow finish as the team with the fewest green flags across all divisions. Veteran forward Dean Healy, who had retired from inter-county football last year, returned to score 1-2 against Westmeath and help Wicklow reach the Leinster quarter-finals.
They were on course for another landmark win against Kildare, but a missed goal opportunity combined with a late point at the other end sealed their exit. Back-to-back losses gave Wicklow a disappointing start in the Tailteann Cup but they progressed from the group after defeating Leitrim in their last group outing. A nine-point defeat to Down brought Wicklow’s season to a close at the quarter-final stage.
McConville says he wants another year in the hotseat after the game, but admitted that results under his watch were “not good enough.”
2. Limerick
Relegated from Division 3, after previously dropping down from Division 2 last year, Limerick failed to pick up any points and finished with a scoring difference of -38. Cork then dished out a 3-13 to 0-11 beating to the Shannonsiders in the Munster championship.
An eight-point win over Offaly in May was their first competitive win of the year thanks to a brace of goals from Emmet Rigter. And two goals just before half-time delivered a victory over London which sent them through to the preliminary quarter-finals. However, Sligo overwhelmed them by 15 points at the weekend to end Limerick’s season, prompting manager Jimmy Lee to say “we’re better than what we played” afterwards.
3. Fermanagh
A draw against Meath and victory against Kildare suggested Fermanagh were on course for a strong showing in Division 2 but a run of four consecutive losses put them on the road to relegation. Conceding goals was a theme that featured during that unfortunate run, letting in six against Louth and nine in total.
Armagh put three goals past them in a commanding win when the sides met in the Ulster championship, but results improved considerably for Fermanagh in the Tailteann Cup. Three wins from three in Group 3 put them straight through to the quarter-final where they coughed up a six-point lead against Antrim before eventually losing by three at the weekend.
4. Kildare
Glen Ryan’s decision to step down as Kildare manager on the day their season concluded sums up a disastrous year for the Lilywhites. A poor league of seven defeats saw them crash out of Division 2. They earned some redemption in the Leinster championship when they held out for a narrow win over Wicklow despite finishing the game with 13 men. but they fell to back-to-back Leinster finalists Louth in the semi-final and then eased through the group phase of the Tailteann Cup with a trio of wins.
A first championship defeat to Laois in 19 years sent them crashing out of the competition at the weekend, and Ryan’s subsequent announcement felt inevitable.
Kildare’s dismal results sprouted controversy off the field this year too, as Ryan became tangled in a exchange with a local journalist over the reporting of critical remarks made by Kildare chairman Mick Gorman in relation to the team’s performances. 2024 is considered one of Kildare’s worst seasons in recent memory.
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