Downhill all the way for O'Neill since visit to the MDL
When Martin O'Neill paid a visit to the MDL in Navan last May few could have envisaged that even before the end of the year he would no longer be Ireland manager.
O'Neill had signed a contract with the FAI that was supposed to keep him in the job until the end of the next qualifying campaign for the European Championships however now he and Roy Keane will be moving on.
The management team of Keane, Seamus McDonagh (goalkeeping coach), and Steve Guppy (assistant coach) have also parted company with the FAI.
Ireland did not win a competitive match in 2018 after failing to qualify for the World Cup which was held in Russia last summer. A 5-1 defeat at home to Denmark last November sparked a run of disappointing results for the international side.
O'Neill was in the MDL to announce the Republic of Ireland squad for forthcoming games against Celtic, France and the United States.
Included in the squad was Dunboyne man Darragh Lenihan who made his appearance as a substitute in the game against the USA and in so doing became the first Meath man to be capped at senior international level. Ireland won the game 2-1.
When in the MDL the Meath Chronicle asked O'Neill about the time he played a challenge Gaelic game for Derry against Meath back in the summer of 1971 when he was a youngster just starting out.
"Was it that long ago?" he said in his soft Derry accent, recounting how he got a "blow to the ear" from some Meath player or other. It was one of the very few games he played for his native county before he embarked on a career that brought him to a number of clubs in England including Norwich and Nottingham Forest. He later managed a number of clubs including Leicester City and Celti.
He also played for Northern Ireland in the 1982 World Cup finals. He guided the Republic to the 2016 European Championships in France with the Boys in Green defeating Italy 1-0 before bowing out of the tournament.