Meath heroes writing their own script

Six months is a long time in Gaelic Football – although it feels like a lifetime, flip it back to January and the start of the National Football League, writes Davy Rispin.

Meath were favourites for relegation from Div 2; Robbie Brennan was bracing himself for a first venture into senior Intercounty management with a team who were coming off the back of an extremely disappointing 2024.

The prospects and expectations had rarely been lower but despite defeat in Cork on the opening night, there was enough in the performance to suggest Meath could at least begin to move in the right direction, yet nobody could imagine the incredible rollercoaster the next five months would take us on.

A landslide victory over neighbours Cavan in Navan seemed to spark some much-needed optimism. The naivety of youth or the youthful exuberance triggered a stunning run of results and a continued improvement in performances which resulted in further wins over Down, Roscommon and Westmeath.

It is never plain-sailing as we know too often in this county and injuries to key personnel in the form of Mathew Costello, Ronan Jones and Sean Coffey coincided with back-to-back defeats to Monaghan and Louth which halted the Royal momentum and abruptly ended Meath’s Div 1 promotion hopes.

Then on the eve of the Leinster SFC, Martin Corey, and Joe McMahon – two of Meath’s leading coaches - opted to walk away from the fold. At that stage, Meath supporters felt a profound sense of déjà vu or ‘here we go again.’ At this stage, the season could have gone one of two ways – all the early season progress would be quashed, or it could have a galvanising effect on the squad. Thankfully, it was the latter.

A routine victory over Carlow was followed by a stunning comeback win over Offaly the following week which set up a date with the Dubs in Portlaoise. After years of pummellings, the Royals got their day in the sun with a first win over the 14-in-a-row Leinster champions ending their stranglehold on the province.

In front of a partizan Croke Park crowd on Leinster final day, it was Louth who exacted revenge on their Boyneside rivals for the infamous 2010 decider – another bump on a rocky road. How would this young Meath team respond and get over the disappointment going into the All-Ireland Series? Emphatically, is the answer.

The Cork win was massive for so many reasons. It was far from pretty, but the bounce-back-ability and character of the group once again was demonstrated. Qualification was assured thanks to a draw in Roscommon and top spot guaranteed with a dominant victory over Kerry, yet another seismic shock.

A first bonified quarter-final appearance since 2010 beckoned with last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists and Connacht winners Galway next on the chopping block. Brennan’s boys were barely given a prayer by those outside the Royal county but inside people sensed another major opportunity to stun a genuine heavyweight and that is what unfolded.

To go from six points up to three down in the blink of an eye entering the closing stages, you would have been forgiven for thinking we blew our chance. Not a bit of it, instead the boys in green went and won it again to the delight of the 20,000+ Meath supporters young and old who were there to see it.

Some have never seen Meath in an All-Ireland semi-final, others thought they would never see the county in another in their lifetime, but these heroes have written their own script and brought the good days back to this football mad county.

The emergence of Sean Rafferty, Ciarán Caulfield, Ruairi Kinsella onto the national stage has been extraordinary and they are rightfully being tipped up for All-Star honours at the end of the year. But what about Mathew Costello and Jordan Morris or Meath’s answer to Batman and Robin as Marty Morrissey termed them on commentary on Sunday, they have been magical and show exactly how the new rules have been a cocktail for the pair to demonstrate their skills and talent on the big stage.

What about Donal Keogan and Bryan Menton though? One was talked out of retirement and the other coaxed back from it at the beginning of the year. Their influence on and off the field has been invaluable, 329 appearances not out for the golden oldies.

The new rules have helped some counties more than others, but it is lazy to suggest that they are the reason for Meath’s recent revival.

Yes, we have some incredibly naturally gifted footballers, but they also must be given the freedom to express themselves which is clearly the case and for that the management deserve major credit.

The variation in the Meath game is incredible - they are happy to kick it, run with it, get stuck in and grind it out when they have to...the perfect medley in many ways. The connection between the supporters and both the players and management is fantastic, there are no airs and graces about the group whatsoever, they are a pleasure to deal with and a delight to watch represent the county.

Who knows what the semi-final will bring, we are still the rank outsiders of the final four but there is nothing new there. Let’s embrace it, soak up the build-up, bring the noise to HQ and show Donegal just why we are back.