Jimmy Geoghegan: Seeing Meath prevail was not so straightforward from the sunny south east

My assignment was straightforward. Could I tune into RTE’s TV coverage of Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final between Meath and Galway from Croke Park and do a piece on how it all went down?

My main task was to monitor what Marty Morrissey & Co said about the happenings from the Big House as the Royals took on the Tribesmen.

That was no problem, I replied rather optimistically, until that is, there was a problem.

Every summer my family and I, book an olde-world style house in Wexford near Courtown for a few days.

This summer was no different, except the same week we booked the house, Meath were also due to play their biggest game in aeons – and that couldn’t be missed.

Normally there wouldn’t be an issue but in the house we stayed in there’s no TV. Plan A was to go to a roomy, fancy hotel near Courtown and watch it from there, as someone had suggested.

When I got there I spotted a big TV screen in the corner. Perfect. Except the sound was switched off. Could they turn it up for game? “Sorry,” I was told by a stern-faced, young manager, “we don’t do that except for an All-Ireland final or maybe a Six Nations game.” He added, rather sniffily, something about “no sporty (sic) bar stuff.”

It was on to Plan B and a dash into Gorey. There was no time to waste. Throw-in time was drawing close. I found a sports bar in the town. The people in charge were friendly.

Sure, they said, they’d put on the game but the volume of the giant TV screen would have to be turned right down. “Not everybody wants to watch it,” was the reason put forward for this low-volume approach.

On one of the walls of the bar, that was busy with people having their Sunday lunch, was a giant, autographed painting of the Wexford team that won the McCarthy Cup in 1996.

On another wall was an autographed purple and gold county jersey from the same year. They were reminders I was very much in hurling country.

My phone rang. It was a family member who said she could find the game on her laptop. Redemption. The call was followed by a super-quick dash back from Gorey to the TV-less, temporary holiday home near Courtown. By this time tiny beads of sweat were appearing on my forehead as the day warmed up and the seconds ticked away.

The temperature was rising in Croke Park too. The game was about to start. Marty, and his co-commentator Eamonn Fitzmaurice, were ready to roll.

Before the throw in there was a poignant tribute to the great Kilmainham club stalwart Declan Black who recently passed away. How Declan would have enjoyed Sunday.

As the drama unfolded Morrissey referred several times to Meath fans as he breathlessly sought to find the words to describe the unfolding drama.

He talked of the “wonderful atmosphere.” He described how - when Galway’s marquee player Shane Walsh slipped in possession early on - “the cheers from the Meath fans were quite loud.”

Soon after the Clareman spoke of the impressive decibel levels in the stands generated by the Meath fans. “They are winning that battle anyway,” he added.As the first-half unfolded there was a further reference to Meath fan’s jeers and cheers when Galway did anything wrong or their own team did anything right.

When a Galway player spooned a chance wide he pronounced: “Judging from the cheers coming from Navan, Dunboyne that has gone wide,” he added leaving you to wonder if he approved of such behavior or not.

During half-time RTE presenter Joanne Cantwell was struck by how the Royals liked to put boot to ball. “Meath do like to kick the football don’t they?” she said to her panel of pundits on the corner of the pitch, as if a team regularly kicking the ball was like spotting a rare, endangered species of bird.

She also weighed in with an interesting observation. How in their opening Div 2 game in the league against Cork at the start of the year Meath “had 20 wides and shots that fell short.” On Sunday too chances were wasted.

One of the pundits, Tomas O Sé, said Galway were “more than sloppy” in the first-half suggesting this offered Meath hope.

As the second-half unfolded Marty’s voice continued to increase a few decibels as the “ferociously intense” action unfolded and the contest ebbed and flowed.

There was praise for several Meath players including the brilliant Jordan Morris and the team’s full-back. “Sean Rafferty played in Croke Park for the first time in the Leinster final against Louth and he is again doing well.”

After Morris had finished off a super Meath move on 44 minutes to score a point Marty again referred to the roars of their fans. “Hill 16 comes alive with the green and gold of the Royal County,”

Eamonn Fitzmaurice turned poetic. “Jordan Morris is surfing the waves at the moment,” he added.

The Kerry man also had praise for Robbie Brennan and his coaches. “A lot of Meath players are comfortable kicking with their left or right. It’s a good sign and an indication of the coaching they are getting.”

There was rich praise from both commentators for sub Conor Gray, for his wonderful goal and general contribution.

“Meath are rocking and rolling,” said Marty on 52 minutes as the Royals took control. It seemed no time before Galway hit back to go back in front with the help of 2-3 in four minutes. “Wonderful, wonderful Galway,” he ventured as fortunes changed once more.

Then the pendulum swung yet again. In the closing minutes a Morris-inspired Meath produced a late, match-winning surge.

Like Meath, Marty switched on the verbal after-burners in the “unbelievably intense” closing minutes. “What a game, what a quarter-final,” he added.In his summing up Fitzmaurice referred to the “smarts” of Meath selector Conor Gillespie in telling Eoghan Frayne to hit a late free kick wide instead of putting the ball into play and giving Galway a chance to launch a match-saving attack.

All sorts of ingredients go into making a sweet, tasty victory.And in a little house by the coast near Courtown, the Royals’ victory was celebrated and appreciated too.