THEY’RE NOT QUITE back in the big time, but Meath’s promotion to Division 1 is another sign of the steady progress under manager Andy McEntee.
Shane McEntee and his father, Meath boss Andy.
Yesterday’s 2-12 to 0-11 defeat of Fermanagh sealed the Royals’ return to the top flight for the first time since 2006.
Of the current squad, only Mickey Burke has experienced playing in Division 1 before. Even the long-serving Graham Reilly, a 12-year veteran, will be a newcomer to football’s top tier.
12 years playing division 2 with meath, plenty of lows but to be playing division 1 next year is an incredible feeling 😊😊😊#upmeath#division1
“It makes going to training an awful lot easier,” says Shane McEntee.
“We were saying this time last year, we had to win our last two league games to stay up. You’re going to training and you have that dread in your stomach – ‘are we going to be the ones to get us relegated?’
“Now you’re going to training and lads are jumping out of the car. They can’t wait. One match ends and you’re kind of dying to get going again and it makes a massive, massive difference.”
The win also sealed their progression to the Division 2 final against Donegal at Croke Park this weekend.
It was a special occasion for midfielder McEntee, who had his father on the sideline and cousin James behind him in Meath’s defence.
“I think everyone who knows my dad knows the amount of work and effort he puts into it,” he says. “But I naturally see a bit more of it, just from being around him that bit more often.
“Look, it’s really nice to get home and chat to him afterwards. Like anything in the GAA.
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Seamus Lavin celebrates at the final whistle. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
“We won a championship last year with Dunboyne, those few moments after the game with my brother are particularly special. Likewise, yesterday, the quick handshake and embrace after the match is definitely a nice old touch.”
He admits the dynamic of working under his father at inter-county level can “bring its own challenges” at times during the season.
“I think we work quite hard to not make it noticeable in the team dynamic but there’s been the odd time when it looks like a father and son rowing rather than a manager and a player,” he laughs.
The very odd time. I think the lads get a good laugh out of that as much as anything else and I get a bit of slagging off them over it. But no, for the most part it’s not too bad.”
Shane’s uncle Gerry McEntee was the star of Meath’s All-Ireland victories in the late 1980s.
His earliest memories following the Royals centred around their Sam Maguire success in 1999 and defeat in the final to Kerry two years later.
“You’re raised on some of the four-in-a-row games of 1991 and the Meath and Cork rivalry. But, in terms of my earlier memories, I’d remember the homecoming in 1999.
“I would have been five and remember being down in Dunboyne and Nigel Crawford, Davy Gallagher, Enda McManus, three club-men, bringing the Cup back. And, obviously, Sean (Boylan) as the manager, a neighbour of ours.
Shane McEntee was in Croke Park at the Allianz Football League Finals preview. Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE
“I remember the 2001 final. And then after that I probably just got the tail-end of some of the success. There would be a lot of lads on the panel who wouldn’t have that at all.
“So, yeah, that’s kind of the bulk of what I would have had.”
Growing up as a young footballer from the famous McEntee family in the Royal County may have brought pressure, but Shane never looked at it that way.
“No, I don’t think there’s pressure,” the Defence Forces officer said.
The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself. I would have put pressure on myself because I would have looked up to the likes of my Dad and Uncle and said I’d love to be there.
“It’s not pressure from them. They’re not trying to relive their football through us or anything. I’ve put pressure on myself because you admire what they’ve achieved and you want to get there yourself. I think it’s just your own internal pressure.”
Meath legend Gerry McEntee. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
With a league final to look forward to, Meath’s agonising one-point round 1 qualifier defeat to Tyrone last summer is firmly in the rearview mirror.
Some questionable refereeing decisions helped the Red Hand advance that day and Meath watched on as Tyrone made it all the way to the All-Ireland final.
Meath have moved on from that result, but they haven’t forgotten it.
“I think we are probably still getting over it because we still use it as a reference point,” says McEntee.
“That’s the level of performance we have to get to in order to be in any way competitive and we have to be better than that again if we want to win games.
At the end of the day, it’s not much good having moral victories and, ‘Jesus, we put in a great shift against Tyrone but we didn’t win.’
“So it’s still referred to, similarly Donegal in the championship the year before, it was a very similar story, a one-point defeat when we felt we could have won the game.
“It was hard and I think it was the shortest campaign Meath had had in a long, long time. You’ve to bear with all that and you take it hard but I suppose we have bounced back so far in the right way.”
They’ve bounced all the way to Division 1 and now have a rare opportunity to lift a trophy at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
Onwards and upwards.
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'Everyone who knows my dad knows the amount of work and effort he puts into it'
THEY’RE NOT QUITE back in the big time, but Meath’s promotion to Division 1 is another sign of the steady progress under manager Andy McEntee.
Yesterday’s 2-12 to 0-11 defeat of Fermanagh sealed the Royals’ return to the top flight for the first time since 2006.
Of the current squad, only Mickey Burke has experienced playing in Division 1 before. Even the long-serving Graham Reilly, a 12-year veteran, will be a newcomer to football’s top tier.
“It makes going to training an awful lot easier,” says Shane McEntee.
“We were saying this time last year, we had to win our last two league games to stay up. You’re going to training and you have that dread in your stomach – ‘are we going to be the ones to get us relegated?’
“Now you’re going to training and lads are jumping out of the car. They can’t wait. One match ends and you’re kind of dying to get going again and it makes a massive, massive difference.”
The win also sealed their progression to the Division 2 final against Donegal at Croke Park this weekend.
It was a special occasion for midfielder McEntee, who had his father on the sideline and cousin James behind him in Meath’s defence.
“I think everyone who knows my dad knows the amount of work and effort he puts into it,” he says. “But I naturally see a bit more of it, just from being around him that bit more often.
“Look, it’s really nice to get home and chat to him afterwards. Like anything in the GAA.
“We won a championship last year with Dunboyne, those few moments after the game with my brother are particularly special. Likewise, yesterday, the quick handshake and embrace after the match is definitely a nice old touch.”
He admits the dynamic of working under his father at inter-county level can “bring its own challenges” at times during the season.
“I think we work quite hard to not make it noticeable in the team dynamic but there’s been the odd time when it looks like a father and son rowing rather than a manager and a player,” he laughs.
Shane’s uncle Gerry McEntee was the star of Meath’s All-Ireland victories in the late 1980s.
His earliest memories following the Royals centred around their Sam Maguire success in 1999 and defeat in the final to Kerry two years later.
“You’re raised on some of the four-in-a-row games of 1991 and the Meath and Cork rivalry. But, in terms of my earlier memories, I’d remember the homecoming in 1999.
“I would have been five and remember being down in Dunboyne and Nigel Crawford, Davy Gallagher, Enda McManus, three club-men, bringing the Cup back. And, obviously, Sean (Boylan) as the manager, a neighbour of ours.
“I remember the 2001 final. And then after that I probably just got the tail-end of some of the success. There would be a lot of lads on the panel who wouldn’t have that at all.
“So, yeah, that’s kind of the bulk of what I would have had.”
Growing up as a young footballer from the famous McEntee family in the Royal County may have brought pressure, but Shane never looked at it that way.
“No, I don’t think there’s pressure,” the Defence Forces officer said.
“It’s not pressure from them. They’re not trying to relive their football through us or anything. I’ve put pressure on myself because you admire what they’ve achieved and you want to get there yourself. I think it’s just your own internal pressure.”
With a league final to look forward to, Meath’s agonising one-point round 1 qualifier defeat to Tyrone last summer is firmly in the rearview mirror.
Some questionable refereeing decisions helped the Red Hand advance that day and Meath watched on as Tyrone made it all the way to the All-Ireland final.
Meath have moved on from that result, but they haven’t forgotten it.
“I think we are probably still getting over it because we still use it as a reference point,” says McEntee.
“That’s the level of performance we have to get to in order to be in any way competitive and we have to be better than that again if we want to win games.
“So it’s still referred to, similarly Donegal in the championship the year before, it was a very similar story, a one-point defeat when we felt we could have won the game.
“It was hard and I think it was the shortest campaign Meath had had in a long, long time. You’ve to bear with all that and you take it hard but I suppose we have bounced back so far in the right way.”
They’ve bounced all the way to Division 1 and now have a rare opportunity to lift a trophy at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
Onwards and upwards.
Subscribe to our new podcast, The42 Rugby Weekly, here:
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Family affair GAA Shane McEntee Meath