Carrying the flame lit by the great ‘Stonewall’

It's a question Evan Dixon has been asked numerous times down the years. Still is from time to time.

He could be with friends and be introduced to somebody when the question is fired in his direction with all the directness of a ball flying into a net: "Are you any relation to the great Stonewall?"

The man in question is a legendary figure in Meath GAA - Paddy Dixon - who was more widely known by his nickname - Stonewall.

It was given to Paddy during the 1949 All-Ireland final by Radio hEireann commentator Micheal O'Hehir who was so impressed by Dixon's defending against Cavan that day he gave the young centre-half-back the sobriquet. It was conjured up by O'Hehir to highlight the player's dependability, durability, defensive fortitude - and it stuck.

"Once people would here the name Dixon they would simply ask if I was any relation to Stonewall Dixon? They wouldn't say Paddy," says Evan who would invariably then explain how the man was none other than his grandfather.

The 1949 final was Paddy Dixon's finest hour. One of the youngest players on the Meath team at the time he was given the onerous task of marking Cavan's marquee player, the redoubtable Mick Higgins. It was expected that Higgins would have a field-day on the young, callow Ballivor man. The expectation was that the talented Cavan man would "make hay" as the Meath Chronicle put it.

Before a crowd of 79,460 - a recored attendance for an All-Ireland final up to then - Paddy showed he had the right stuff to deal with the pressure, denying Higgins the time and space he needed to ransack the Royal County defence. It was a mature performance that went on to ensure Meath secured their first All-Ireland title.

"Crowning a bright season's work with as fine a display of successful 'shadowing' as has been seen in Croke Park for years, the Ballivor boy gave Higgins the minimum of rope," was how the Meath Chronicle described Dixon's performance in the '49 showdown. "The duel between the two was one of the outstanding features of the final......Dixon's exploits will be long talked about," the reporter added.

Paddy himself was to attribute his powerhouse performance that day to some divine assistance as he wore boots that belonged to former Ballivor and Meath player Fr Tom Dolan who was then engaged in missionary work in Burma, or Myanmar as it is more commonly known now.

TRADITION

Tradition is something that means a lot when it comes to Irish sport - and Evan Dixon is certainly playing his part in maintaining his own family's rich sporting tradition, albeit in a different code to his famous grandfather - at least during the winter months.

In recent times Evan has been busy helping Navan as they battle to retain their place in the All-Ireland League Div 1B. Lining out in the colours of Navan Rugby Club is something Evan has been doing since he was a youngster. He started his rugby career with Athboy before switching to Balreask Old.

He progressed up through the ranks with Navan and eventually graduated into the first team. He played his part in helping the club rise up through the divisions in recent years to the point now where they are plying their trade in the second tier of Irish club rugby.

A string of defeats this season however, means that Navan's status as a Div 1B side is under serious threat with the spectre of relegation hanging over them like a Damoclean Sword - but getting to 1B, he will tell you, was lot of fun, full of memorable moments.

During the summer months, when all the rugby is done and dusted, Evan turns out for Boardsmill football team in the JFC. His brothers Kyle and Jack and cousin Danny, who is currently in with the Meath senior football panel, have also worn the blue of Boardsmill. Kyle, Evan and Jack also have a younger brother, Rhys.

Evan, who works as a PE teacher, plays hurling for Boardsmill too but admits he prefers Gaelic football "probably because it's in my blood." His father - Stonewall's son Damien - is a familiar face around Balreask Old and in recent years continued to turn out from time to time for Navan RFC's third team.

VACCINATION

Paddy Dixon certainly experienced some extraordinary events during his playing days. He was part of the Meath panel that lost to Mayo in the 1951 All-Ireland final, the last time the Connacht side won the Sam Maguire. In the lead up to the final Meath players had to receive a vaccination stab. Some of the players were ill as a consequence and were far from their best for the clash with the Mayomen.

The vaccination was part of the team's preparations for a trip to the United States planned for soon after the All-Ireland final. The trip was a reward for winning the 'home' National League title earlier that year.

Paddy Dixon wasn't part of the team that started against Mayo in the All-Ireland showdown - but he was on the side that faced New York in the Big Apple in the 'away' NFL final shortly afterwards.

There was something about Paddy's performances in big games that seemed to inspire commentators and reporters to conjure up flattering comparisions. There was O'Hehir's minting of the word Stonewall in '49. Then during that league final in the Polo Grounds against New York an American reporter compared Paddy to a renowned baseball legend George Herman 'Babe Ruth' Junior; a kind of Lionel Messi of US baseball and whose career spanned for 22 seasons.

The reporter said the Ballivor man was "the Babe Ruth of Gaelic football" - a lofty comparison indeed inspired by what was, by all accounts, another exceptional display by Paddy who was named 'man of the match' by leading Meath Co Board chairman Fr Patrick Tully.

A trip to New York back then, was a big deal indeed, a culture shock too, although Paddy also seems to have been inspired by the Big Apple.

It looked like Paddy had played his way back onto the Meath team but there were setbacks ahead. He was, no doubt, devastated not to be selected for the starting teams that played Cavan in the 1952 All-Ireland showdown - both the drawn game and replay. Instead he was named among the substitutes. Paddy did see some action but Cavan won the replay, 0-9 to 0-5.

He missed out on Meath's second Sam Maguire-triumph two years later when Kerry were defeated. Still, Paddy Dixon certainly left his mark.

Talking to Paddy about a year or two before he passed away in 2007 - when he was 84 - it was clear he felt he was the victim of local politics when it came to the selection of the county team in the early fifties; a certain bias against players from certain parts of the county. He had his heart set on starting another All-Ireland final after '49, but it was not to be.

"My memories of the grandfather are spending time with him around the yard (he had a sand and gravel business) or on the land, going through the muck, working on something," recalls Evan.

"I remember him telling me how he used to play in football boots that were too tight for him, his small toes would be crushed together. It must have been very uncomforable for him but it was the only pair of boots he had. Also as youngsters he would also show us his All-Ireland medal, we loved looking at that."

There is another tale Evan tells. It's about how Paddy used to relate, how in his youth, he would to drop kick the old leather ball over the bar from well out the field - in his bare feet.