When steadily hurtling towards a fourth decade of being enveloped in sport at a level which far exceeds fandom, you do begin to think you’ve seen all there is to see. The good, the bad and the ugly, as the original Mr Eastwood might put it. Thank you very much to him!
That said, there will rarely be a sporting weekend that doesn’t pitch some sort of curve ball into the soup pot. For this week’s artefacts, see Aaron Gillane’s assist for Shane O’Brien’s goal, Eoghan Downey’s point, Ciaran Frawley and Jamie Osborne scoring vital tries for Leinster against Glasgow or Anna McGuinness partnering another couple of winners for Willie Mullins.
Then there are the ones which will dominate what you read hereafter. So let’s begin at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon with the meeting of Meath and Armagh in the first round of the All Ireland Ladies SFC.
It is only right and fair to acknowledge that the Orchard County are probably the most improved team on the ladies scene while Meath – whether it’d be acknowledged or not – are very evidently in a state of transition.
Still, in recent times, the two teams have developed quite the rivalry, with never much more than a kick of the ball between them. Indeed, if the memory box up top is still operating at full tilt, the two sides drew at the Athletic Grounds in the National League earlier in the season.
Thus it should be no shock that it was a point for point shoot out this time too. Until a piece of individual ingenuity from Vikki Wall in looping the ball over Anna Carr in the Armagh goal give Meath a bit of breathing room for the first time.
Though not for long because, having been thwarted by the outstanding Robyn Murray on at least three occasions, Aoife McCoy eventually rattled the Royal net. So naturally the thought process then was that the Meath manager’s former charges would lead his present ones at the break.
Thankfully, though, evidentally, nobody told the latter group because, in a textbook manifestation of what real leadership is, Aoibhin Cleary effected a turnover and proceeded to rattle the net ensuring that the sides went in deadlocked at 2-04 to 1-07 before Cleary et al turned to shoot into the Navan O’Mahonys end of the old ground.
From whence the sides went point for point until a goal and point from Niamh Reel appeared to ensure it was going to be a consecutive case of late misfortune for the girls in green. Sometimes, when strife appears at its greatest, it’s a matter of going back to methodology of the most basic. In football terms, that means letting the ball do the work.
Thus it was on Saturday, when a long ball in was grasped by former skipper Ennis who turned and blasted a low shot under Anna Carr to leave the minimum between the sides. Then, there was a certain degree of inevitability about what happened next. Vikki doing what she’d done all day, grabbed matters by the scruff of the neck and drove over a mighty equaliser which was the least she and her colleagues deserved.
With the positive pep in the step, thoughts turned to Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore, where our minor footballers took on Kildare in Tier II All-Ireland MFC final. Unfortunately though, in wintry conditions commensurate to the comparison you are about to see, it was like three mile chasers trying to keep pace with some of those who had partaken in the Epsom Derby earlier that afternoon.
The upshot of which was that the clock won the race between itself and salvation for the Meath lads, but, though a gut wrenching end to a campaign that in its own way delivered so much, I would still maintain my long held stance in these situations that, even if luck isn’t on your side on a given day, that you are competing to such a high level – and now with a degree of consistency has to bode well going forward.
What it also does, handsomely, is vindicate the work being done by Paul Garrigan and others with regard to underage structures in the county and the inculcation of things such as development squads and the like. Hope and expectation would be that many of the lads who succumbed to heartache on Saturday last will go on to represent Meath at a higher and possibly the highest level.
So, as the current progress being made by the senior footballers would attest, things appear to be very much going the right way. However, that very fact would prompt a soul to ask what exactly is the commensurate situation with regard to hurling in the county. Without wanting to appear blasé about it, there was a time that defeating teams such as Kildare, Westmeath, Laois and – if you go back far enough – even Offaly and Wexford – was well within the compass of our top hurlers.
In the intervening years, the five counties listed above have progressed to varying degrees relative to their status at that stage. Leaving Meath in a dust cloud in their wake. Surely at some point somebody has to ask the simple question as to why that is.
I know it’s said that a rising tide lifts all boats, but, some crafts that are not as heavily weighted as others may need life jackets to ensure safe passage. To translate that into relevant speak – whichever code is of lesser profile in a given county needs more patience, promotion, development and, yes, investment in order for it to elevate.
To that end, one need only look at the extraordinary progress made by Kildare in most recent times. To my mind, there are a number of factors at play in that.
Most obviously sound development structures at underage level to ensure the necessary throughput of players so as to maintain competitiveness in underage competitions.
Now, those efforts are being given, by many, in that vein to ensure Meath teams retain a decent – though not as good as it should be – level of competence in their underage assignments.
So if that’s not where the inefficiency is, where is it? Another factor which came to mind was the scheme whereby players from so-called ‘stronger’ counties could play for a county that was deemed less so if they were living there.
For example, I recall the Tipperary duo of Eoin Brislaine and Timmy Hammersley lining out with Meath for at least one season. While, at the same time, David Reidy, the Limerick one, lined out with Kildare. Making a huge contribution while he was there. Indeed, when you consider the hurling the latter is now playing with his native county, you can imagine the boon it was for the likes of Kildare to have someone of his calibre.
But there’s the key phrase in any such analysis – calibre. Not just in terms of players, perhaps even more significantly, the profile of manager the Lilywhites have been able to attract.
From Joe Quaide to David Herrity to the current incumbent, Brian Dowling, and it’s easy to see why the trajectory of the small ball code in the Shortgrass County is on the up.
We’ve a fair bit of catching up to do.
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