In the days following Meath’s defeat by Monaghan in Round 3 of the Round Robin part of the All Ireland SFC – Lord rest it’s gentle soul – of 2024, Colm O’Rourke met with his outgoing selectors Stephen Bray and Barry Callaghan. One of the items on the agenda was the standard end of season review, but, the other was, at Colm’s own insistence, with a view to freshening up his backroom team.
Of course, all those good intentions came a cropper when meddling self importants put their sticky fingers all over things that they had no business having anything to do with. As a result of which, the outgoing Bainisteoir knew he was being sold a pup and abseiled out of town before he was pushed.
Even at that, to see him – and by extension Sean Boylan – treated in such an insulting and shameful way was annoying and embarrassing. Now, before some Alex or Alexia decides to go off on one, of course I was delighted and proud to see Robbie Brennan being given the role in Colm’s stead – and indeed the sooner the Co Board go and rubber stamp him for another three year term or however long he wishes to stay the better.
But nothing will ever change the fact that there should never have been a vacancy to be filled in the first place. Anyway, that sorry saga was brought back to mind recently owing to developments in other counties. For you see, by way of freshening up his entourage at the end of the 2024 season, Colm had recruited – and was in the process of so doing – Paul Curran, Eamonn Fitzmaurice and Mark McHugh.
This coming after the man from The Kingdom had initially been offered the job in his own right on a previous occasion. To some, Paul Curran might appear to have been an outlier in the above ensemble, but such a view would be to ignore the fact that his late father, Noel, was full forward on the Meath team which won the All Ireland in 1967.
As a direct of which, it seems certain, the former star wing back was part of Richie Kealy’s management team when Dunshaughlin/Royal Gaels bounced straight back to Meath’s top table after one term away. He then went on to manage Fingal Ravens while he was replaced in the black and amber camp by David Gallagher.
Who in turn has gone on to manage our own club here in Dunboyne this year. But to take a step backwards first, David had come in to replace Paul in Richie’s setup so as to allow Paul link up with Colm.
Whatever about the former Thomas Davis and Kilmacud Crokes player, when you look at the other two names on that list, Colm was certainly aiming in the right direction with both Eamonn and Mark McHugh.
Now, the Kerry man’s credentials as either player or manager doesn’t need any further articulation, while Mark McHugh, having made stealthy progress through the ranks of team management with burgeoning Galway club Maigh Chuilinn before, this year, despite being a very late appointment as Westmeath manager, guided the Lake County to just the second Leinster SFC title in their history.
En route to which the Kilcar native masterminded a classic smash and grab raid against a Meath team who just seven days earlier had secured a return to Div. 1 of next year’s National Football League.
Not only that, but, McHugh’s midlanders also defended Dublin en route to Ronan Wallace lifting the Delaney Cup. So it probably wasn’t surprising that the former wing forward was linked with other coaching jobs. In at least his own county and Galway.
Naturally enough though, the maroon and white moved quickly to tie down his services. Only folk in the land of the Tribes will know what sort of short list they had constructed, but they certainly pulled a gem from the left of field in recruiting the man from Finuge.
You’d hope that those who tempted Priomhide Corca Gaoine into the west will be patient enough to acknowledge that something of a rebuild will be required where the fields lie low.
In view of the fact that Shane Walsh didn’t field with Kilmacud Crokes in the Dublin SFC you’d get hard to believe he would be up to going to the well once more in the Supermac’s jersey.
Then, if it came to pass that Walsh did decide to step down from inter county fare does that prompt other well travelled warriors to do likewise?
OR does the appointment of a person of such status and standing within Gaeldom give the whole ship such a lift that the rising tide brings all comers with it?
I know which way my money would be swaying there and, if you factor in that where the moon rises over Claddagh they are currently the standard bearers in Ladies Football and have genuine aspirations of being so in hurling and camogie as well, it could be a very busy season indeed for devotees of the crest with the ship on it. Never a bad complaint to have!
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