Louth-Meath rivalry: Bright future, simmering past
Before they were rudely interrupted. Meath and Louth meet again in the slightly delayed sequel of the 2010 Leinster final.
It's more Godfather 3 than Godfather 2, this particular sequel. The protagonists from the last installment are greyer on top, several having embarked on political careers of varying degrees of success or else gone on to long careers in finance.
The intervening years have been a long and bitter trial, a biblical style penance.
For the rest of the province outside the capital, the Leinster football championship is akin to Lazuras or Ian Wright's old schoolteacher.
Something they had written off as dead so long ago, they had almost made their peace with the new reality.
By the second half of the 2010s and early 2020s, Leinster football final day had become a festival of recrimination rather than sport. A cue for the airing of grievances.
One team had 'completed it' and now it simply trundled along in zombified form in front of dwindling crowds, until the progressives at Congress amassed enough votes to ditch the provincial championships or at least detach them from the All-Ireland championship (which the provincial chiefs insist is practically the same as ditching them).
Fatalism had taken root a long time ago while the Dubs themselves had grown at first bored and then uneasy at the scale of their dominance, not least because of the accusatory narrative that had sprung up around it.
But then the Dublin golden generation gradually began to depart for the podcast circuit. The more taciturn ones, the next time we might see them will be on Laochra Gael. Despite fears of a remorseless, unbeatable blue machine stretching on into eternity, the succeeding generation don't appear to be sprinkled with the same stardust.
Jim Gavin, the man under whom the Dubs had achieved total dominance, may have even laid the ground for their undoing. Dublin's perfecting of the old game may be hindering their progress in the new game, a notion strengthened by a glance at Stephen Cluxton's kickout stats the last day and the sight of Ciaran Kilkenny blazing two-point efforts wide of the posts.
Ruairí Kinsella after Meath's win over Dublin
To discover that the Leinster SFC is a living, breathing entity again is a beautiful throwback and a moment of emotional celebration.
The hotly-anticipated build-up reminds us that everything comes full circle eventually.
Ahead of Dublin's third most recent defeat in the Leinster championship in 2004, provincial officials told the Irish Independent that from a financial point of view, they could really do without the Dubs losing at the weekend.
This was a snapshot of a very different era, when Leinster Council officials felt safe in admitting as much in public and on the record. But by the fractious days of fear and loathing in the 2010s (when even Meath were consumed by the former) the provincial officials had learned enough to keep such sentiments to themselves.
Now, there are excitable expectations of a bumper crowd, precisely because Dublin have absented themselves from the occasion for a change.
Ironically, it was the fact that even Leinster semi-finals involving Dublin had become so devoid of general interest that prompted the provincial council to break the habit of a generation and fix the match for Portlaoise.
The Dublin team of the 2010s would presumably have mown down all comers - certainly in Leinster, at any rate - in any location. But the current side can offer no such guarantees, as was made plain by their league form.
Perhaps next year, now that the buzz is back, the provincial council will seek to exploit the new mood - and stick the semi-finals back in Croker.
2010 revisited
The spectre of 2010 still haunts this Leinster final, its effects still raw for the participants.
The game is so notorious, it is one of the select few Gaelic football matches that has been treated to its own 'Scánnal' documentary, given the clever title 'A Wee Royal Rumble'.
Pat Gilroy's 'startled earwigs' of 2009 were in the midst of an exhaustive re-education and re-programming phase, which evidently hadn't reached completion by the time Meath bashed five goals past them in late June.
Meath were assumed to be favourites against a Louth side who hadn't given much warning they were about to embark on a tilt at provincial silverware. But then much about the 2010 season was aberrant - where did Down come from?
Louth trailed for most of the game but drew level with 10 minutes remaining amid a strong second-half push. Then JP Rooney appeared to have struck the decisive goal, a beautifully taken side-foot into the top corner.
It should be a famous goal still but was sadly reduced to a mere footnote by the rather less aesthetic effort in the opposite goal 10 minutes later.
The Croke Park soundtrack was just a din of anxiety-ridden screeching as Graham Reilly hoisted a skied shot into the square. Paddy Keenan's diving block should belong in the Conor Gormley Hall of Fame but then his compadres in the square inexplicably fumbled the ball as it popped up.
Then Joe Sheridan launched himself like a missile, lunging over the line and into the history books.
The image of Sheridan, sitting on the goal-line, his legs a foot inside it, while Louth players lie sprawled in his wake, is a bit like a GAA version of one of those epic Renaissance paintings. Someone unaware of the incident who'd come across the photo might be a bit baffled as to how everyone ended up in this situation. What zany choreographer had designed this particular set-piece, and what psychedelic substances were in his possession?
A GAA Renaissance work of art?
Sheridan, breathless in his post-match interview, announced that he had scored a perfect goal. He quickly added that it would have been a penalty if it wasn't a goal, a qualification which appeared to allow the possibility that the goal itself might have been a teensy bit less than perfect.
We imagine Joe, later that evening, poring over replays of the incident, like a referee sent over to the pitchside monitor, before concluding that, yes, he can see why the other lot might be aggrieved.
Quite what the unfortunate referee Martin Sludden thought he was seeing is still subject to some speculation.
It's possible the air of chaos and anarchy that had taken hold in the final half minute of the game had convinced him, on some level, that he needed to restore some semblance of control and authority, and therefore he wasn't minded to tolerate any argument when he was urged to consult with his linesman.
Either way, he wasn't thinking that clearly. A moment's reflection would surely have caused him to wonder why his umpires hadn't put up the green flag automatically.
He seemed unaware of the boiling anger around the ground as he dawdled on the pitch before heading for the tunnel, taking players names for back-chat after the final whistle.
Things took a darker turn as he reached the Canal/ Cusack tunnel and the sight of him seeking protection from the guard as he was jostled and dunted from various angles was unpleasant to witness.
By the evening, while the world was settling down to watch the World Cup final in Johannesburg, Sludden had disowned his decision in his official report and there were petitions for a replay.
Meath appeared at best hesitant about the idea and their talking heads and past players argued it should be a matter for the GAA.
It's easy to see it from the association's point of view. Had they established the precedent that a replay could be ordered in the case of a refereeing cock-up, then it's possible they'd never be able to complete a championship again.
The Meath county board went into conclave and decided, all things considered, that they'd rather keep their Leinster title. The competition moved on but the bad feeling lingered.
Grim post-script
The Meath team of the late 2000s/ early 2010s, who reached All-Ireland semi-finals in 2007 and 2009 albeit without ever looking like champion material, were highly unappreciated in their own time, forever being judged unfavourably against their glorious predecessors in the 80s and 90s.
The succeeding generation of Meath footballers would place them in a much more favourable light.
After 2010, Louth lost a couple of players to foreign travel and, still scarred by the events of July 2010, struggled to raise a gallop in subsequent years.
They retreated to lower division irrelevance by the back end of the decade until Mickey Harte unexpectedly pitched up in the county, commencing his Mick O'Dwyer-style managerial tour of the country.
Meath toiled in frustrated mid-level obscurity, experiencing regular humiliations at the hands of the capital city next door and taking solace in black humour.
Whatever happens this week, the hope is that era is at an end.
The Mick Lyons and then the Trevor Giles generation got used to Leinster final victories and mostly took them in their stride. For the Donal Keogan/ Bryan Menton generation, a Delaney Cup triumph would be a far more cathartic moment.
Louth, seeking to bridge a 68-year gap and gain revenge for the events of 2010, are the sentimental favourites.
Regardless of the outcome, the Leinster final, a sorry tick-box exercise for over a decade, promises to be an emotional affair for a change.
Watch The Saturday Game from 9.40pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates from around the country on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch the Leinster Football Championship final, Meath v Louth, on Sunday from 3.45pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Leinster SHC final: Unflappable Kilkenny can contain the Galway bounce-back
Leinster GAA SHC final Kilkenny v Galway, Croke Park, Sunday 4pm Are Galway becoming a bit like the three-card trick merchants? Every year is the one that's going to be different. Honest. It has been some resurrection for Micheál Donoghue's team to proceed from the vacuous display in Nowlan Park seven weeks ago to being quietly reinstated as contenders for this weekend. Kilkenny in Leinster finals have been a constant source of grief for the westerners since they moved into the province. One win in eight is the running total, allowing that in 2018 the first match was a draw and they eventually won after a replay. Nearly all of those were comprehensive defeats or spectacular self-infliction, like 2020 and 2023. There is, however, some logic to the Galway revisions. They caned a Dublin team that Kilkenny had laboured to put away and even if the Dubs were unfathomably poor two weeks ago, their opponents' vigilant pressing and tactical nous were influential in forcing that. READ MORE Goals are again an issue, in that of the six teams in the Leinster round robin, only Antrim managed fewer green flags than Galway but no side has hit more points. Of course, when Donoghue guided the county to the 2017 All-Ireland, they notably scored no goals in four of their five championship matches. This, predictably, isn't a concern for their opponents, who with 15 have top-scored in championship goals to date. The team hasn't been tweaked much, let alone overhauled, but Derek Lyng continues to get the most out of them. Injuries have stalked selections and Eoin Cody is missing again with hamstring trouble but TJ Reid perseveres and has bagged 4-22 in the last three matches, 3-2 from play. There was the now traditional reverse against Wexford on the last day but that was a dead rubber from Kilkenny's perspective. For that match, Lyng ran an experiment of Adrian Mullen at centre back. It may have been whimsy but presumably there was some level of curiosity as to how the unusual placing of an All Star front eight player would fare and how sustainable the attack might be in his absence. The challenge for Galway is how dependable their opponents are. Kilkenny are on a six-in-a-row in Leinster despite having hardly impacted on the All-Ireland championship during that time. They will turn up and play to a guaranteed level. [ Galway's Cathal Mannion only too aware of Kilkenny's extra-time threat Opens in new window ] They will be more attentive in marking Galway's players and not leaving the gaps that Dublin did nor yielding the same stream of turnovers. David Burke had an excellent match in Parnell Park and his distribution will be a key factor for them. Donoghue has a good record in Leinster finals, having won two titles in three years during his first tenure. They will press hard and in the repurposed Conor Whelan and the prolific Cathal Mannion they have All Star quality forwards in form. Kilkenny's consistency and application, however, look more persuasive. Verdict : Kilkenny Kilkenny : E. Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; M Carey, R Reid, P Deegan; C Kenny, J Molloy; J Donnelly, A Mullen, B Ryan; S Donnelly, TJ Reid, M Keoghan. Subs : A Tallis, P Moylan, D Blanchfield, S Murphy, K Doyle, Z Bay Hammond, F Mackessy, H Shine, L Hogan, L Connellan, M Murphy. Galway : E Murphy; P Mannion, Daithí Burke, F Burke; C Fahy, G Lee, TJ Brennan; S Linnane, David Burke; J Fleming, C Mannion, T Monaghan; C Whelan, B Concannon, K Cooney. Subs : D Walsh, D Morrissey, J Grealish, J Ryan, D Loftus, R Glennon, C Cooney, T Killeen, A Burns, C Molloy, J Flynn.
Irish Examiner
an hour ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork players don't look to blame others anymore
'Donal O'Mahony, he's a good friend of mine, he's in the coaching ticket there. We have huge regard for each other.' – John Kiely, May 30. In the skull and crossbone, Donal O'Mahony and John Kiely were kindred spirits. Thickest of thieves. One of the few things they didn't share in UCC was a Fitzgibbon Cup. Kiely finished up a year before O'Mahony was part of the 1996 winning team. Full of affirmations and convictions, it's easy to see how they gravitated to each other and continue to remain pals despite their obvious differences. The respect Kiely speaks of is indisputable. O'Mahony considers Limerick 'a generational team' but Pat Ryan's Cork beat them twice in the space of two months last year. Since then, there has been the 16-point payback but the Cork selector approaches Rd 2 in this Munster final brimming with belief. 'I've been involved a couple of years now and your natural inclination is you want to win every game, and when you don't, you get really disappointed. But like Pat's language is very good this year. It's a marathon, it's not a sprint. You just need to stay in there, and then when the time to make a move comes, you make it. 'So for us, making a move is from now on. We're in the Munster final, we're going to the All-Ireland series, so like this is happening. While we lost the game against Limerick and drew a game against Clare the first day, we're making finals whether it's by a circuitous route or a straight line route.' To draw a line under what happened on May 18, there had to be a bloodletting. A round of genuine mea culpas. Management and players owned up. 'If the lads are waiting for us to tell them to do things, I think we're in difficulty,' says O'Mahony of the fall-out from the game. 'There's a real sense that they let the group down, ourselves, they let the backroom team down and, yeah, we let the supporters down. 'It's not just the players, it's the management as well. We're in charge of setting up, we're in charge of the tactics, so we're all in it together, and that's a real positive for us, that the players hold their own meetings, and take responsibility, and they don't look to blame the coach, or the selectors, or the physios, or the doctors. 'That's, I think, a shift in the last couple of years. Before, maybe it wasn't that way, whereas now they take ownership of the performances, and don't look for excuses, don't look to blame people.' O'Mahony has obviously heard the yarn that Cork took a dive last month but he dispels that theory completely. At the same time, there are priorities. 'We always define that the big players play when it's needed the most. Is it needed the most in a round-robin game in Munster or an All-Ireland semi-final? You kind of go towards the latter there. 'This narrative that we kind of took the foot off the pedal and trained really hard for last week is incorrect. Our job all the time is to go out and try to win games, and we didn't achieve that outcome, but it wasn't a fatal blow-up, we weren't knocked out of the championship, and it put us back into an environment that we've been dealing with well in the last two to three years when our backs are to the wall. 'I think that's becoming our defining character. When we need to deliver, we're getting better at it. We're not there yet, but we're definitely getting better at it.' Although it was at times a fraught performance, beating Waterford last Sunday week was a case of mission accomplished and reaching a third consecutive competition final. O'Mahony didn't need the outside world for validation. 'The same fellas patting you on the back the week after Waterford were the same fellas kicking your ass after Limerick, so you don't get carried away with it. Our focus is getting the best out of our fellas, because we do believe that if we get the best out of our fellas, as we proved last year, we're a match for anyone. 'Our philosophy is a general psychological set, you have to keep the outside out, the noise that we can't control, but we're very proud of the connection that we have with our supporters. 'That brings with it the responsibility that you have to deliver. Everybody's busy these days, people are paying good money to go and watch us, and in Limerick the last day, the traffic was chaotic. People are giving a lot of time, a lot of money to follow us, we need to give them something to follow.' The wrecking ball that Brian Hayes has become at the edge of the square is the type of forward Cork folk will gladly fork out to see. O'Mahony can't stress enough how vital it is to have players with different skillsets. 'We felt at times before we might have been one-dimensional, whereas we've developed an adaptability, and that's a concern we have when we're looking at who we add to the panel. If we keep adding the same player, we're probably easier to play against. 'On one end of the spectrum, you have William Buckley who is lightning fast and a brilliant fella on the ball, all the way up to Brian Hayes, who's 6ft 5, and plays a totally different style of hurling. 'We feel we can change the way we play in-game, which is really important. In my first iteration (with John Meyler), we had really good players but were probably the same type of players and replacing a player with the same type of player you were likely to get the same outcome.' To execute a different result now, Cork must be different. O'Mahony is emphatic that they can be. 'If you look at the modern game of hurling, we were 12 points up at half-time in Ennis, and Clare turned a 12-point lead around in 35 minutes of hurling, so why can't we turn a 16-point deficit around in 70 minutes of hurling? 'We know we're capable of getting goals, and we're averaging nearly 30 points, we were 31 against Waterford, and we have the arsenal to do it, so we're confident that that 16-point deficit isn't a barrier to us.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Ireland v Senegal live updates: Heimir Hallgrímsson's side face Senegal at the Aviva
International friendly: Republic of Ireland v Senegal, Aviva Stadium, 7.45pm Key reads: Preview: Hallgrímsson stresses Ireland's World Cup ambitions before valuable Senegal test Double header is perfect opportunity for Ireland trio of Parrott, Idah and Ferguson to hit the target Comeback kid Robbie Brady hopes career renaissance takes him and Ireland all the way to the World Cup -8 minutes ago Senegal fans Hussein Ofai and Dior Diallo make their way to the Aviva ahead of the game. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho 8 minutes ago The good news (or bad news, depending on how you see it) is Senegal aren't in short supply of talent beyond their main man Mané. Previewing this evening's game, Gavin Cummiskey gave us a quick run through of Senegalese players whose names ought to ring a bell: 'Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye, Everton team-mates of Jake O'Brien, were a positive presence at Goodison Park last season, while Ismaïla Sarr excelled during Crystal Palace's FA Cup success, scoring twice in the semi-final win over Aston Villa. Add Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Pape Matar Sarr and Nicolas Jackson, who scored 10 goals as Chelsea's primary striker, to the equation and Ireland could face a chastising 90 minutes.' Read the full preview below: [ Hallgrímsson stresses Ireland's World Cup ambitions before valuable Senegal test Opens in new window ] 12 minutes ago Fans heading to the Aviva this evening will be denied the privilege of seeing Senegal's Sadio Mané live in action. The former Liverpool (turned Bayern Munich, turned Al-Nassr) star asked to sit this one out. We won't take it personally. He's also giving the England game a miss, so at least he's not just snubbing us. 17 minutes ago Hello and welcome along to The Irish Times live blog for the Republic of Ireland 's international friendly against Senegal. Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium is at 7.45pm. We'll be keeping you up to date on all action, as well as reports, ratings and reactions from our writers after the final whistle. To get us started, here's Ireland's starting XI: STARTING XI | Ireland v Senegal First starts in a green shirt for Great to see Will Smallbone return to the starting line-up with kick-off at 7.45pm 🇮🇪 — Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) Ireland: C Kelleher, M Doherty, R Manning, D O'Shea, W Smallbone, J Knight, A Idah, R Brady, K McAteer, J Taylor, N Collins (capt). Subs: M O'Leary, J Keeley, J O'Brien, T Parrot, E Ferguson, A Omobamidele, A Moran, L Scales, F Ebosele, J Honohan, J Patrick, K Phillips.
