JUST OVER 20 months ago, Meath knew where they stood with Louth.
A neighbouring county, occasionally showing promise here and there. But when it came to it, a bit ‘Spursy’ to borrow a cross-code expression.
But then came the All-Ireland round-robin championship game in late May 2024. Played in Inniskeen because of a lack of a suitable venue in Louth, Craig Lennon’s two goals in the first half put them into a serious position, and they drove on for a 3-10 to 0-9 win.
It was Louth’s first championship win over Meath since 1975. It also spelled the end for Colm O’Rourke as manager of the Royals, seeing out the rest of the games where they were beaten by Kerry and Monaghan, before a long, drawn-out process that could be charitably called ‘constructive dismissal’.
Just over 11 months ago, another landmark was reached.
Again in Inniskeen, Louth turned Meath over in the final round of the league.
Louth finished on six points, but stayed up because they had beaten Down – also on six points – in their head-to-head game.
Meath finished the campaign on eight points, knowing that a win would have got them up to Division 1. If they tolerated and respected Louth’s win the year before, by this stage they were starting to grate on the more decorated Royals.
This was more than just a noisy neighbours issue. More than a stone in the Meath brogue. This was a flipping of the natural order.
Which brings us to nine months ago and that most sensational Leinster final in front of a hefty attendance in Croke Park, with 65,786 watching.
At a time when there has never been so little riding on provincial finals, it is curious that the finals in Connacht, Leinster and Ulster were so richly entertaining in 2025.
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Louth won their ninth Leinster title on a glorious day for the county, their first since 1957. The legend of the chaotic and unfair finish to the 2010 Leinster final when Joe Sheridan’s illegal ‘goal’ was allowed to stand, was finally banished.
They were Leinster champions. Meath were left in no doubt that for all their heroics in beating Dublin, they were still merely one of the chasing pack.
Robbie Brennan celebrates the Leinster semi-final win over Dublin with Shane Supple and Karl Manning. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
Tomorrow we are all back in Croke Park, this time in a league setting as Meath and Louth renew acquaintances.
We touched on this last week with hurling teams that were beaten in the All-Ireland final, gaining some sugar-rush of revenge with a win in the following season’s league. Nice at the time, but empty calories all the same.
There is a caveat though. The examples we used were teams in the top flight of hurling, where the main objective is to maintain your status, but not appear too keen.
This is Division 2. Every game counts. On this Valentine’s Night, there will be no love in the air.
So far, Meath along with Cork have set the pace with two wins each. They looked instantly at home in their temporary lodgings of Croke Park on the opening night with a victory over Derry, following it with the first league win over Cavan in Breffni Park in 61 years, Jack Flynn’s late two-point score securing the spoils.
The Leinster final loss last year was damaging, but not fatal. Beating Cork and stuffing Kerry in the group stages, before holding their nerve to squeeze by Galway in the quarter-final, was a serious transformation of Meath expectations that allowed for a heavy beating when they gave up early in the semi-final loss to Donegal.
Throughout the season, manager Robbie Brennan was dousing fires everywhere.
Just eight days before their Leinster opener, two of his coaching team – Joe McMahon and Martin Corey – left the set-up. Both fetched up later as joint-managers of Kilcoo.
At the time, he stonewalled media enquiries around the departures. Within a few weeks it meant nothing anyway as they had taken Dublin out by the roots in Portlaoise, the Dubs’ first loss in Leinster since Meath in 2010.
It’s been interesting to see the various nips and tucks Brennan has done with the management structure since.
His most recognisable Meath face is the former midfielder Conor Gillespie, who managed Summerhill to the 2023 Meath championship over defending champions Ratoath. His superpower is video analysis.
The former Ipswich Town and Bohemians goalkeeper Shane Supple has served his time with the minors and Bernard Flynn’s U20 management set-up as a goalkeeping coach.
As his term of service extended to the senior team, first under Colm O’Rourke, so has his scope and his role. Being a goalkeeping coach is a heavy enough workload in itself nowadays, given all the focus and attention on kickouts.
But in any event, Supple’s name is now listed as a selector.
Karl Manning has been listed as a logistics manager in the past, but is often on the shoulder of Brennan during matches, conferring.
The role of John McCarthy is interesting. Manager of the minor team when they won Leinster in 2020 and 2021, also securing the All-Ireland in 2021, he is in charge of the senior development squad – a growing trend among the leading counties to keep a second squad ticking over with regular meetings and being measured in case they should be handed a call-up to the main squad.
When Meath played in the O’Byrne Cup this year, they filtered in some of these players to try out, while at the same time they toured the country with a different squad playing, among others, Galway and Donegal in challenge matches.
Going out the door were the strength and conditioning team.
Phillip Campbell is a former Ulster Rugby coach who now has his own business, Re:Play Performance, with glowing testimonies from the likes of former Ulster fly-half John Cooney.
David Drake is another former member of the Ulster Rugby coaching staff, now with Setanta College.
Both men left to join the Down set-up in the off-season.
They were replaced by PJ Wilson, an academic director at Setanta College who has worked with Mayo, Munster Rugby and Bath Rugby.
Another arrival has been the former Armagh player, Aaron Kernan. So much of it makes sense; the Kernan family have had close ties and admiration of Meath football, and he is a young, sharp coach. Hungry for it.
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“We just felt it was important, the coaches were happy to add another layer to what we do, and Aaron fits the bill with that. We’re delighted to have him, he’s a really good guy,” said Brennan in January.
For several years, the Meath team were drifting along in a funk.
An inability to compete against Dublin in particular led to an extended examination of the self. One of the themes that emerged was the dilution of the Meath identity, instead evolving into a dormitory county for Dubs seeking the good life.
A few wins always change that. Meath now belong to their people again.
“When we came in,” said Brennan, “it was probably something we actively went after to try to get that connection back within the county and get the team playing to a certain standard that it made people want to come out to support, and watch the lads. Thankfully they did that on some days last year.”
Devotion has levels. It will be severely tested in Croke Park on Valentine’s Night.
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All change as Meath aim to become Louth's noisy neighbours
JUST OVER 20 months ago, Meath knew where they stood with Louth.
A neighbouring county, occasionally showing promise here and there. But when it came to it, a bit ‘Spursy’ to borrow a cross-code expression.
But then came the All-Ireland round-robin championship game in late May 2024. Played in Inniskeen because of a lack of a suitable venue in Louth, Craig Lennon’s two goals in the first half put them into a serious position, and they drove on for a 3-10 to 0-9 win.
It was Louth’s first championship win over Meath since 1975. It also spelled the end for Colm O’Rourke as manager of the Royals, seeing out the rest of the games where they were beaten by Kerry and Monaghan, before a long, drawn-out process that could be charitably called ‘constructive dismissal’.
Just over 11 months ago, another landmark was reached.
Again in Inniskeen, Louth turned Meath over in the final round of the league.
Louth finished on six points, but stayed up because they had beaten Down – also on six points – in their head-to-head game.
Meath finished the campaign on eight points, knowing that a win would have got them up to Division 1. If they tolerated and respected Louth’s win the year before, by this stage they were starting to grate on the more decorated Royals.
This was more than just a noisy neighbours issue. More than a stone in the Meath brogue. This was a flipping of the natural order.
Which brings us to nine months ago and that most sensational Leinster final in front of a hefty attendance in Croke Park, with 65,786 watching.
At a time when there has never been so little riding on provincial finals, it is curious that the finals in Connacht, Leinster and Ulster were so richly entertaining in 2025.
Louth won their ninth Leinster title on a glorious day for the county, their first since 1957. The legend of the chaotic and unfair finish to the 2010 Leinster final when Joe Sheridan’s illegal ‘goal’ was allowed to stand, was finally banished.
They were Leinster champions. Meath were left in no doubt that for all their heroics in beating Dublin, they were still merely one of the chasing pack.
Tomorrow we are all back in Croke Park, this time in a league setting as Meath and Louth renew acquaintances.
We touched on this last week with hurling teams that were beaten in the All-Ireland final, gaining some sugar-rush of revenge with a win in the following season’s league. Nice at the time, but empty calories all the same.
There is a caveat though. The examples we used were teams in the top flight of hurling, where the main objective is to maintain your status, but not appear too keen.
This is Division 2. Every game counts. On this Valentine’s Night, there will be no love in the air.
So far, Meath along with Cork have set the pace with two wins each. They looked instantly at home in their temporary lodgings of Croke Park on the opening night with a victory over Derry, following it with the first league win over Cavan in Breffni Park in 61 years, Jack Flynn’s late two-point score securing the spoils.
The Leinster final loss last year was damaging, but not fatal. Beating Cork and stuffing Kerry in the group stages, before holding their nerve to squeeze by Galway in the quarter-final, was a serious transformation of Meath expectations that allowed for a heavy beating when they gave up early in the semi-final loss to Donegal.
Throughout the season, manager Robbie Brennan was dousing fires everywhere.
Just eight days before their Leinster opener, two of his coaching team – Joe McMahon and Martin Corey – left the set-up. Both fetched up later as joint-managers of Kilcoo.
At the time, he stonewalled media enquiries around the departures. Within a few weeks it meant nothing anyway as they had taken Dublin out by the roots in Portlaoise, the Dubs’ first loss in Leinster since Meath in 2010.
It’s been interesting to see the various nips and tucks Brennan has done with the management structure since.
His most recognisable Meath face is the former midfielder Conor Gillespie, who managed Summerhill to the 2023 Meath championship over defending champions Ratoath. His superpower is video analysis.
The former Ipswich Town and Bohemians goalkeeper Shane Supple has served his time with the minors and Bernard Flynn’s U20 management set-up as a goalkeeping coach.
As his term of service extended to the senior team, first under Colm O’Rourke, so has his scope and his role. Being a goalkeeping coach is a heavy enough workload in itself nowadays, given all the focus and attention on kickouts.
But in any event, Supple’s name is now listed as a selector.
Karl Manning has been listed as a logistics manager in the past, but is often on the shoulder of Brennan during matches, conferring.
The role of John McCarthy is interesting. Manager of the minor team when they won Leinster in 2020 and 2021, also securing the All-Ireland in 2021, he is in charge of the senior development squad – a growing trend among the leading counties to keep a second squad ticking over with regular meetings and being measured in case they should be handed a call-up to the main squad.
When Meath played in the O’Byrne Cup this year, they filtered in some of these players to try out, while at the same time they toured the country with a different squad playing, among others, Galway and Donegal in challenge matches.
Going out the door were the strength and conditioning team.
Phillip Campbell is a former Ulster Rugby coach who now has his own business, Re:Play Performance, with glowing testimonies from the likes of former Ulster fly-half John Cooney.
David Drake is another former member of the Ulster Rugby coaching staff, now with Setanta College.
Both men left to join the Down set-up in the off-season.
They were replaced by PJ Wilson, an academic director at Setanta College who has worked with Mayo, Munster Rugby and Bath Rugby.
Another arrival has been the former Armagh player, Aaron Kernan. So much of it makes sense; the Kernan family have had close ties and admiration of Meath football, and he is a young, sharp coach. Hungry for it.
“We just felt it was important, the coaches were happy to add another layer to what we do, and Aaron fits the bill with that. We’re delighted to have him, he’s a really good guy,” said Brennan in January.
For several years, the Meath team were drifting along in a funk.
An inability to compete against Dublin in particular led to an extended examination of the self. One of the themes that emerged was the dilution of the Meath identity, instead evolving into a dormitory county for Dubs seeking the good life.
A few wins always change that. Meath now belong to their people again.
“When we came in,” said Brennan, “it was probably something we actively went after to try to get that connection back within the county and get the team playing to a certain standard that it made people want to come out to support, and watch the lads. Thankfully they did that on some days last year.”
Devotion has levels. It will be severely tested in Croke Park on Valentine’s Night.
*****
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