Kearns goal proved crucial in Meath win

BACK in late September '67, in the golden era of the showbands,  those wishing to broaden their social horizons around Meath had a variety of options. Bands such as Clipper Carlton, the Royal Showband, the Hustlers, Joe Dolan and the Drifters, Gene and the Gents, the Monarchists performed their swinging numbers  in places such as Beechmount, the Lough Ramor Farmers' Ballroom or the colourfully named El Dorado Ballroom in Oldcastle.

It is certain that in between the big band numbers one of the burning topics of conversation was Meath's achievement in winning the Sam Maguire for the third time.

There were wild celebrations in Meath after the win over Cork with between 30,000 to 40,000 people welcoming the team home at various locations on the trip down from Dublin to Navan.

The team eventually made it back to Navan well after midnight and plans for a civic reception in the Market Square in Navan had to be abandoned as thousands of "wildly exuberant" supporters sought to get a glimpse of their heroes.

When they got to Trim a huge crowd was waiting. Coach Peter McDermott suggested that captain and local clubman Peter Derby should be made "King of Meath." However, the celebrations turned out to be considerably costly for the team coach. As a mini-bus he owned made its way through the enthusiastic crowd in the town "a supporter" climbed up on the roof of the vehicle and "fell through the van's £120 sunshine window damaging it beyond repair," according to the Meath Chroncile.

The newspaper's GAA correspondent Denis Smyth penned an extensive match report with every angle explored. He had no doubt that the boys in green and gold deserved to defeat the Munster champions and take Sam back home. He reckoned that  Meath had displayed the required courage, confidence and craft to carve out their 1-9 to 0-9 victory.

The game wasn't a classic, but that didn't appear to hinder the joy of the Meath supporters who turned Croke Park's green sward into a sea of faces seconds after the final whistle. 

"Unforgettable scenes of enthusiasm greeted the final whistle which signalled Meath's eventual victory after a nail-biting finish. Thousands of loyal supporters, estatic after the game, milled on to the pitch and enveloped the 15 gallant Meath players, chairing them on their shoulders to the Hogan Stand," stated the report.

Conditions were perfect for the game, the day calm, sunny and warm.  It had been 13 long years since Meath claimed their last All-Ireland title and their supporters were eager to make the most of it all.

"It was the most enthusiastic reception ever given to All-Ireland winners for years, one of the reasons being that this is probably the most popular team ever to have represented Meath at Croke Park," added the report.

The official attendance was 70,343 although it was estimated that up to 10,000 more had "scaled walls, wire palings and broken down gates" in their desire to see the eagerly awaited contest. The crowd spilled out of the terraces and stands onto the side of the pitch before the throw-in.

Playing from the Hill 16 end in the opening half and against a stiff breeze Meath were unlucky not to get an early goal when a shot from Pat Reynolds was "miraculously" kept out of the Cork net. Ollie Shanley and Mick Mellett had chances however it was the Cork men who started to steadily build up the scores. The Rebels lofted over four unanswered points as they raced in front. 

It began to look unnervingly for Meath that they would create a piece of unwanted history by failing to score in the opening half of an All-Ireland final.

The danger passed when in just three minutes before the interval Paddy Mulvany split the posts. At the break Cork led by 0-4 to 0-1 and the prospects didn't look good for the Royals.

That all changed in the second-half. The game had only restarted when Mulvaney pointed and Meath narrowed the gap further with a long-range effort from Noel Curran that sailed between the posts. It was game on.

Then in the 36th minute came what proved to be the decisive and only goal of the game. A high, speculative centre from Mattie Kerrigan caught the Cork backline out of position. The ball dropped between Cork goalkeeper Billy Morgan and Terry Kearns. The Meath midfielder got a vital touch with his fist. The ball ended up in the back of the net. Tony Brennan tagged on another point soon after and Meath led by 1-4 to 0-4.

Mick Mellett had been experiencing some difficulties in converting frees. That changed when he swept over two "magnificent" efforts to put Meath within touching distance. Both teams traded scores in the tense closing stages. Kearns added two more points and Curran also delivered to keep Meath in front and send their supporters wild at the final whistle.

Meath - S. McCormack; M. White, J. Quinn, P. Darby; P. Collier, B. Cunningham, P. Reynolds; P. Moore, T. Kearns; T. Brennan, M. Kerrigan, M. Mellett; P. Mulvany, N. Curran, O. Shanley.