Togetherness the key as incredible journey continues

When a Meath ladies player is interviewed, a huge buzzword that is often used to describe what drives the team forward is togetherness, writes Tom Gannon.

Togetherness can work wonders on a GAA pitch.

It means that I have my teammate's back and my teammates have my back. It means that every time I press forward, I know that one of my teammates will cover behind me. It means when I receive a pass, I know that my teammate has continued their run and will be available to receive the ball back again. It means when I miss a shot, my teammates don't moan about not receiving a pass but rather offer words of encouragement, 'you'll get it next time' kind of thing.

Togetherness isn't just something that happens overnight. It takes time to build, and it can go missing from any team at any point, but at the business end of a championship, it is absolutely crucial.

On Saturday 1st March of this year, a dejected-looking Shane McCormack stood on the pitch at Parnell Park as members of his management team and a few experienced players had a serious debrief after Meath suffered a 16-point defeat to Dublin in the Ladies NFL Div 1.

That loss came a week after the Royals were stunned by Kildare on a very wet day in Abbotstown. It was a real low point for Meath Ladies. Probably their lowest point since being promoted to the senior ranks in 2020.

The only reason to reopen those wounds four months later is to serve as a reminder of the incredible turnaround by Meath in such a short space of time.

Those scenes in Parnell Park after that league clash are now a distant memory after the mighty Royal Ladies dethroned the Kingdom and booked their spot in the All-Ireland final, where they will once again renew their rivalry with the Dubs in Croke Park on 3rd August.

If anyone tuned into Off The Ball en route to Tullamore on Saturday, they would have heard Niamh O'Sullivan previewing her old teammates' semi-final clash. John Duggan reminisced with Niamh about Meath's All-Ireland success in 2021 and 2022. The one thing that the Dunshaughlin native pointed to was the togetherness of that side. Most players, when they retire, will miss the big games, they might not miss the smaller occasions and they certainly won't miss inter-county training. Not O'Sullivan though.

The one thing that O'Sullivan says she misses the most about playing for Meath was not the big days out in Croker, but training with the girls every week. The Dunshaughlin stalwart said that it took her quite a while to get over the fact that she would not be seeing her Meath teammates regularly anymore. That bond that the Meath side created was special and despite various departures from the squad, it seems that that togetherness within the team is very much alive and well.

Often, a good indicator of how a team might perform on any given day can be seen in the pre-match preliminaries. The difference in the vibe of the Meath players during their warm-up for Saturday's game and that aforementioned league game against Dublin was very clear, even from high up in the press box.

Back in March, Meath's warm-up was sloppy, there were a hell of a lot of handling errors, there was a clear divide in terms of who was talking to who and a lot of head-in-the-air moments. There were a lot of 'I can't be bothered with this' faces even before the ball had been thrown in. That being said, that is not unusual to see in a team that is going through a rough patch.

Saturday's warm-up was different though. Every ball was moving slickly from hand to chest. Every kick pass was getting to its destination. Every shot was splitting the posts. The face on every Meath player within the squad was a 'I'm ready to go to war' type of face. No divisions, no sloppiness, just pure togetherness and focus.

Then came the parade. As the sides marched behind the Artane Band in front of the main stand at O'Connor Park. There was a stark difference between the way both teams carried themselves and maybe the obvious larger support for the Royals played its part in this because the Kingdom players looked rattled. They nervously walked with their heads looking at the ground, or they tried to distract themselves by untying and retying back up their hair. Meath, on the other hand, were more in unison than the Artane Band themselves. Every player walked proudly, left foot, right foot, head up, chest out, ready to take on the world.

Meath beat Kerry on Saturday before a ball was even thrown in at O'Connor Park. They beat Kerry because of their tremendous attitude in the warm-up. They beat them with the support they received in the pre-match parade, which they have deservedly earned. They beat Kerry with their hard work and preparation in the two-week build-up to the match.

They beat Kerry because over the course of four months, they built togetherness and worked in unison towards one common goal. That goal is to bring the Brendan Martin Cup back to the Royal County and now the Dubs stand in their way.