SEAMUS KENNY IS surely the last person in the world who’d want to miss a game as big as the Leinster SFC final through injury.
A substitute in the 2001 final – the last time Dublin met Meath on such an occasion – Kenny looks back fondly on the events of that day.
“It was the same as a lot of these boys here,” he says. “It was my first season and I was surrounded by lads with All-Ireland medals and players of the year and All Stars. I just remember the atmosphere… it is totally unique to any other game.
“It is just the rivalry and every neutral in the country wants to see it as well. It is hard to describe. It is unlike anything I have ever played in. I have played a few games against Dublin since but never another Leinster final.
“In a way, I am looking forward to [the game on Sunday] and in another it is bittersweet because I won’t be involved.”
Kenny is out of the game after having to undergo a cruciate ligament operation recently, and his disappointment at missing out on the action is clear.
“Meath football has been a massive part of my life. I came into a panel in 2000 and I’ve been in there pretty much since, the guts of nearly 12 years and the way the injury happened, seven minutes into the first round of a championship game, I’d hate to think that would be my last game of football for Meath.”
And yet, as is so often the case with long-term injuries, the incident that caused his extended lay-off seemed rather innocuous at first.
“I didn’t feel anything in the contact,” he recalls. “I was down for a little bit just getting the treatment and Trevor just told me to make the call. I got up and ran around for a little bit and the knee felt that bit unstable.
“When I went for the scan on the Monday I was hopeful that it was going to be something minor. I felt having done the other knee before that it was nothing cruciate-related. All I was thinking was that it might be a push to get back for the Carlow game.”
He continues: “Then when I got the call from the doc on the Tuesday, it was tough to take. I was fairly emotional for about five minutes. Once you hear the word ‘cruciate,’ you know your year is pretty much out. Once I met with Ray Moran, then that put the nail in the coffin of my year.”
As a result of this injury, Kenny has been able to sit back and assess the Meath team from an entirely different perspective – and he likes what he sees, singling out the Kildare performance in particular as impressive.
“First and foremost you’d always look to the work rate and I thought that was top drawer. Also, our play, we played to a system, we stuck to it.“Midway through the second half Kildare got on top at midfield for maybe 10 minutes but fortunately – the last few years that’s when they punished us, when they did get on top they were able to rattle off the few scores that we just couldn’t get back.
“I suppose the young lads as well, they put in a massive effort, and they played with absolutely no fear, and on top of that, the lads that came on, there was lots of experience came off the bench there and they contributed massively. I think we scored 1-4 from our bench.”
Moreover, Kenny highlights pace, which Meath happen to possess in abundance, as a key ingredient to any successful GAA side.
“They are definitely not wanting in that department. Alan Forde is probably as fast a man as you’ll get in Ireland playing Gaelic football, a Darran O’Sullivan type character.
“Donal Keogan, Donncha Tobin, these guys have massive pace as well.”
He adds: “Pace kills you in Gaelic football. Pace is very hard to deal against. I suppose, the thing the young lads have brought to the table is massive pace.”
And while some athletes avoid watching sport altogether while recovering from injury, Kenny claims he takes solace in supporting the team from the sidelines.
“When you are out and about, down to Croke Park, you kind of forget about [the injury], and then the way the lads performed and then the victory itself, you forget about it for a day or two.”
Meath will thus be hoping they can make Kenny forget himself for that bit longer come Sunday.
