Dublin and Meath have met four times in the Leinster Football final this decade, with two victories each. Dublin have the biggest winning margin (10 points) from 1995 but also the smallest (one point) from the previous year.
July 29th, 1990
Meath 1-14, Dublin 0-14
Meath had the more impressive run to the final, beating Longford (3-15 to 0-12) and Laois (4-14 to 0-6) while Dublin were far from convincing in their wins over Louth and Wicklow.
Still, Dublin put up an inspired second half performance to almost close the early advantage of Meath, helped by a controversial first minute goal by Colm O'Rourke. At one stage, Meath lead by eight but it took some late scores from Bernard Flynn and Brian Stafford to secure their victory. Meath went on to reach the All-Ireland final, eventually losing to Cork by just two points.
Scorers - Meath: M O'Connell (01), D Beggy (0-1), PG Gillic (0-1) C O'Rourke (1-1), B Stafford (0-8, six from frees), B Flynn (0-2). Dublin: K Barr (0-1), P Clarke (0-2), V Murphy (0-1), K Duff (02, both frees), C Redmond (0-1), J McNally (0-1), B Rock (0-5, all frees). L Clarke (0-1).
July 31st, 1994 Dublin 1-9, Meath 1-8
Another of the barren years for Meath. In their first Leinster final for three years, they met a Dublin side in search of their third Leinster crown in succession.
Despite building up a six point lead by half time, including a gratefully taken goal by Charlie Redmond, Dublin were still lucky to survive. It was Meath who finished by far the stronger, clawing back the points from Brendan Reilly and PJ Gillic before Graham Geraghty closed the gap even further with a late goal. They were unfortunate not to get a replay when Gillic's last minute chance went wide. Instead, it was Dublin who went on to reach the All-Ireland where they fell to Down, also by two points, 1-12 to 0-13.
Scorers - Dublin: B Stynes (0-2), N Guidan (0-1), C Redmond (1-4, all frees), D Farrell (0-1), P Clarke (0-1). Meath: G Geraghty (1-2), B Reilly (0-1), J McGuinness (0-1), C O'Rourke (0-1), B Flynn (0-1), T Dowd (0-1), PJ Gillic (0-1).
July 30th, 1995
Dublin 1-18, Meath 1-8
This was the day that Dublin truly proved unstoppable. Meath were always playing a chasing game and it resulted in the largest Dublin victory over Meath in 40 years.
Dublin simply took off in the second half, starting with Paul Clarke's ambitiously fisted goal and maintaining the form with a inspiring display from Charlie Redmond. It was also the year that Dublin went on to win their long-awaited All-Ireland final over Tyrone (1-10 to 0-12), although this game marked their last championship victory over Meath ahead of the game on Sunday.
Scorers - Dublin: P Curran (0-2), P Clarke (1-2), D Farrell (0-3), J Gavin (01), C Redmond (0-7), J Sherlock (0-2), J Galvin (0-1). Meath: G Geraghty (0-1), J Devine (0-1), T Giles (0-3), C O'Rourke (02), B Stafford (0-1), E Kelly (1-0).
July 28th, 1996
Meath 0-10, Dublin 0-8
This was Meath's year from the start. Crushing Carlow and Laois on the way to the final, they would go on to claim both Dublin's Leinster and All-Ireland crown, the latter following a tight replay with Mayo.
Under manager Mickey Whelan, however, Dublin made sure Meath didn't have it all their own way. It took a concentrated finish by Meath to see them through, lead by the likes Graham Geraghty, Trevor Giles and captain Tommy Dowd, who also picked up an All Star that year.
Scorers - Meath: T Giles (0-4), B Reilly (0-2), T Dowd (0-2), B Callaghan (01), E Kelly (0-1). Dublin: C Redmond (04, two frees), C Whelan (0-2), E Heery (01), B Stynes (0-1).
In total, the counties have clashed 20 times in the provincial final. Dublin have won 11, Meath 7, and there were two draws. The total championship meetings (50) produce more favourable statistics for Dublin.
