Declan Bogue

“WHEN THE SUPPORTERS did that in the last 10 minutes and the players bought into it, that’s when Meath football started showing an arrogance and it’s never recovered from it.”

Darren Fay’s words carried some weight when they were published in Philip Lanigan’s book, ‘Four Kings’, a study of how four full-backs anchored successful Meath sides.

He was referring to the 2001 All-Ireland semi-final. Kerry had scraped through two games against Dublin in Semple Stadium and had the feel of a side coming to the boil just at the right time.

And then Meath destroyed them in Croke Park, 2-14 to 0-5.

Towards the end, the Meath supporters started cheering their passes, toasting them with ‘Olé!’

“You could hear it on the pitch,” Fay admitted, “sure the whole stadium nearly was doing it. It took the goodness out of it.

“For that 10 minutes, for the first time I’ve ever experienced, an arrogance became part of Meath football.

“An arrogance to the players from the supporters.

“It was never like that before. Meath always treated teams with respect. And the players bought into it.

“John Cullinane scored a goal and it was a nothing goal. He was hit a little bit late and he just turned around and went like that into one of the Kerry player’s faces”, said Fay, opening his arms out wide to illustrate as if to greet the crowd’s acclaim.

“That summed up exactly what happened after the whole thing started.”

That it is Kerry they face this Sunday in Navan is a worry for them. 2024 was supposed to be a year of building on the Tailteann Cup success and the goodwill it generated, along with a spirited homecoming party for the team and management.

Instead, they barely scraped survival in Division 2, only beating Louth and bottom side Kildare.

In the championship, a seven-point win over Longford was expected, but the 16-point loss to Dublin in the quarter-final shows they are as far off the pace as ever. A ten-point thumping by Louth last weekend, their first championship win over Meath in 49 years, represents a new low. 

It had only been a dozen years since 2001 when Fay said those words in Lanigan’s book. Add in the last 11 years and you get an even greater sample size of what he is talking about.

They have won only one Leinster since, and that comes with the boldest and biggest asterix imaginable as it was the Joe Sheridan ‘goal’ at the Canal End when they stole it from a more deserving Louth.

They were in the provincial finals of 2012, ’13, ’14, ’19 and ’20. No disgrace to lose to Dublin on each occasion, but the three-point margin in 2012 and seven points in 2013 soon grew to 16 points in 2014 and 2019, and a 21-point destruction in 2020.

When Kerry roll into Navan, they do so with huge doubts hanging over their heads and widespread criticism. Even completely swamping Monaghan and winning by 10 points while pulling up hasn’t been enough to satisfy their hard-marking public.

Would anyone be surprised to see a 16-point margin in their favour on Sunday?

The prophetic words of Fay still hold. Meath are stuck in their own vortex with no idea of how to get out, so they reached for a name with nostalgic resonance in the last managerial appointment.

The idea that Colm O’Rourke was going to radically transform Meath football was one rooted in sentimentality rather than logic.

Sport is inherently guilty of this. There was nothing in O’Rourke’s post-playing career that suggested he possessed the ability to significantly improve a football county that has been listing for two decades, with the culture gradually seeping away.

Those that promoted him might point to his schools coaching, or even winning county titles as manager of Simonstown.

James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

The context is that Meath club football is of a deplorable standard, well below that of neighbouring counties Kildare, Dublin and Cavan.

No Meath club since Dunshaughlin in 2002 have won the Leinster senior club title. There hasn’t been a side since Skryne in 2004 to even reach the decider.

The limited coaching experience he had was down to his long and fruitful 30-year career as a pundit.

Punditry is an art of its own. O’Rourke was both brilliant at it, though occasionally just too far past the point of grumpy.

When it came to recognising new teams and tactical developments however, he had little track record. He didn’t give the impression that he appreciated the status quo being upset whatsoever, and was happy for the establishment to remain in situ.

His assessment of three-time All-Star Brian Dooher as a footballer was one that would haunt him, claiming that he “would eat my hat” if a Tyrone team with Dooher won the All-Ireland, the 2003 summer they landed their first.

Prior to Donegal shocking Dublin in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final, he wasn’t alone in thinking Dublin would win.

But he went pot-committed with his newspaper column, finishing off with, ‘The Dubs might just want to teach Donegal a lesson as the 2011 semi-final sticks in their throat a little bit. It could turn out to be a long day in the sun for Donegal.

‘Earlier in the year I wrote that teams should hope for a hurricane and a monsoon when playing Dublin, maybe you could add in an attack of diarrhoea on their whole squad as they seem to overpower everybody with ease. I think it will be the same today.’

He mentioned before he went into the job that there would be many willing him to fail, given his years spent as a pundit. Both he and Kevin McStay should be applauded for giving it a go, but it hasn’t worked out for either man to date, for differing reasons.

O’Rourke’s succession was just another version of the same old story that treasured and beloved players should, therefore, make great managers.  

He may wish to see out his term and go again for another year. If that happens, then the Meath county board will wave it through. And the reports are that he keeps a happy panel and is well respected by the players.

But the glow of the Tailteann Cup has long since vanished. There’s nothing but a swift kill left to their season. All they can aspire to now is as little pain as possible.