MEATH COACH COLM Nally senses a romance about the county’s recent upturn in form, which has them on the cusp of a remarkable return to Division One in the football league.
The Royals overcame Kildare in Navan last weekend and could secure promotion against Clare on Saturday week, something which Nally believes would inspire a new generation of players in the county.
However, the former Louth ’keeper has dismissed RTÉ pundit Kevin McStay’s remarks that Meath could give Dublin a meaningful challenge for this year’s Leinster senior championship.
While not writing it off as an eventual possibility, Nally insists there is a huge amount of work still to be done, even if, he concedes, Andy McEntee’s men are moving in the right direction.
“I think there’s a little bit of romance about Meath at the moment,” he tells The42.
“They’ve had false dawns a couple of times before, but what I underestimated to a degree is, Meath is a massive GAA county and that’s probably why it’s getting a little bit of national attention.
“People want to see Meath doing well, they remember those battles that they were involved in years ago, they remember Seán Boylan building a settled team with Graham Geraghty and Trevor Giles.
“They were involved in some epic times, from the ’91 games with Dublin to the replays with Mayo. People want to see them back and hear new stories.
“If Meath can get back up to Division One, it’ll inspire a new generation because everything changes when you go up; you’ve an elite status there.
“Everyone then wants to be involved because they want a crack at that, more players make themselves available, more young players get inspired to play. That’s what it’s about, really.
“I was looking at the pictures of Leitrim getting promoted and all the kids were on the pitch. That’s what it’s about, those heroes are tangible to those kids and you have to inspire them.
“But it all comes with a warning because nothing is done yet.”
On McStay’s optimism, Nally adds: “It might have been overplayed, what he meant.
“I think he meant that Kildare and Meath played a good game and that they might be getting their house in order with underage strategies and structures. There is still a massive gap, but you’re thinking down the line, if Dublin lose a few players it could get a little bit closer, but right now it’s not.
“I know what he’s trying to say, but he had to pick his words a little bit carefully. I don’t see Dublin as Meath’s fight at the minute at all, and I don’t think the players do either, but they want to get there.
“Meath, like Kildare, have been trying to get their house in order at underage this past four or five years and it’s beginning to come through. You’ve the likes of Darragh Campion, Ethan Devine, James Conlon; young fellas that are really up to it.
“Meath have won the last two Leinster U17 titles and Andy would know all the young players and has been getting them in, and the young lads who are coming in have great desire to wear the Meath jersey.”
Nally, a Dublin native who played for Louth, previously coached the Wee County to Division Three promotion, in 2017, and his eldest son, Ross, is now a member of Wayne Kierans’ squad as they bid for a two-two place in Division Three.
While, his younger son, Dáire, was captain of the county’s U17s last year and has been earmarked as one for the future.
All the crossover has led to an interesting situation where the Nally household could potentially be celebrating two promotions.
“When I met the Meath players first, I said: ‘would you prefer me to be from Dublin or Louth? They said: ‘probably neither’.’ But they’re a good bunch of lads and I’m really enjoying it with them.
“It’d be fantastic {if there were two promotions to celebrate}, but Dáire, who’s making good tracks himself, he hardly talks to me since I went to Meath, he took it very badly. Ross doesn’t seem to mind, though.
“But, joking aside, the main thing for Meath is to get an upward curve and anything to suggest that they’re on an upward curve would be a success.”
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