Current All Ireland Minor Football Champions Meath have appointed an entirely new management team to oversee their bid to retain the Tom Markham Cup.
2020 Leinster MFC winning boss John McCarthy will shortly take charge of the Royal County U-20 outfit while the man who masterminded that glorious day last August, Cathal O’Bric, is slated to be involved with the oldest underage grade in time to come. The Wolfe Tones and former Navan O’Mahony’s clubman will be succeeded by Derek O’Brien ( St Ultan’s).
The new man in the Bainisteoir top has enlisted an impressive looking lineup of lieutennants, comprising former Meath underage and Junior star Stephen Smith (Kilmainhamwood) current Kilmacud Crokes boss Robbie Brennan (St Peter’s, Dunboyne), Stephen Clare (Dunshaughlin), Keith Brady (Simonstown), Padraig Farrell (Simonstown) Cian Rennicks (St Ultan’s), David Gormley (Gaeil Colmcille) and David Nolan (Wolfe Tones)
In this writer’s humble opinion it looks a slightly large and unwieldy entourage but balancing that is the fact that geographically a lot of the county will be covered which is never a bad thing. The farther the net can be cast, the more potential stars could be reeled in.
At this point, it will be admitted that quite a few of the incoming management aren’t known to me personally but those that are bring strong credentials to their new roles.
Obviously, Robbie needs no introduction, but he has been going about building quite a managerial CV for himself. Stephen Claire has done extensive work coaching underage teams in Dunshaughlin. Work which has unearthed budding stars like Mathew Costello and Luke Mitchell and Conor Gray and Ruairi Kinsella.
Claire has recently retired from a distinguished career in the Irish Defence Forces, so not only will he be able to offer a strong sense of leadership, the youngsters with whom he is working can and most assuredly will feed off. Both David Nolan and Cian Rennicks are still playing at club level, that will bring a different and welcome perspective.
This writer is not sure how many (if any) of this year’s All Ireland winners will be available for 2022 but the fact that this year’s U16s claimed the Gerry Reilly Cup suggests the conveyor belt of talent is not done rolling yet.
Now all that remains is to get Christmas out of the way and for the action to get going again.
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