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gaa · Tuesday 14 July 2026 · Various 
Coolrite Junior B Football Championship 2026 - Group Stage Opens
At Various venues, County Meath · Various, Co. Meath
At Various venues, County Meath · Various, Co. Meath
The Coolrite Junior B Football Championship is one of the four club football competitions run by Meath GAA each summer, and its group stage gets under way on Friday 14 July 2026 alongside the Junior A championship. This is grassroots GAA at its most local - small clubs, vocal communities, and the kind of tight games that rarely make the national headlines but mean everything to the towns and townlands involved. If you have any connection to a Meath club, or simply enjoy a county championship atmosphere without the crowds of a senior fixture, this is a good evening to get out.
Matches are played at club grounds scattered across County Meath rather than at a single central venue, so the experience varies with the location - anything from a modest pitch with a rope touchline to a well-appointed club with a stand and a tea hatch doing brisk business. The Coolrite Junior B Championship was reintroduced in 2022 after a brief abolition, and it has settled back into its role as a genuine competitive pathway: winners qualify for the Leinster Junior Club Championship and can progress all the way to the All-Ireland series. The group stage runs in divisions, with clubs playing a round-robin before the knockout phase later in the summer. Kick-off times vary by fixture, so check the full schedule on meath.gaa.ie before travelling.
Navan is the county town of Meath and the natural base for following the championship. It sits about 50 km north-west of Dublin on the N3/M3, roughly a 45-minute drive in normal traffic. Bus Eireann runs regular services from Dublin Busaras (Route 109/X) with journey times around an hour. Because matches are spread across club grounds throughout the county, you will almost certainly need a car to reach individual fixtures - club grounds rarely have formal parking arrangements, but field parking alongside the pitch is standard practice at this level and is usually free. Check the Meath GAA website or the club’s own social media for the specific address before you go, as some grounds are a turn or two off the main road.
Navan itself is well worth an hour or two before or after a match - the town sits at the confluence of the Boyne and Blackwater rivers, and the surrounding area takes in Trim Castle, the Hill of Tara, and the Boyne Valley. There is more to see in Navan and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Various venues, County Meath in Navan? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Navan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.