Meath, the surprise packets of last year’s Championship, have started 2026 as they mean to go on with a huge Croke Park win over Derry to ignite their Division 2 promotion hopes.
Derry were many people’s pre-League fancies for an immediate return to Division 1 following relegation last year.
And when they raced into a significant early lead, it looked as if they might pick up a badly needed win – they went through all of 2025 without winning a game – with relative ease.
But it was mostly downhill from there for Ciaran Meenagh whose Derry side was reeled in by a resurgent Royal County led by the excellent Jack Flynn at midfield.
Flynn missed the last four games of Meath’s 2025 Championship campaign due…