Latest news with #KilmacudCrokes
Irish Daily Mirror
09-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
The Gallagher Bros GAA background, including Noel scoring a point at Croke Park
When Liam and Noel Gallagher step out onto the pitch for the much-anticipated Oasis gigs in Croke Park, it won't be the first time one of the two brothers has played at the famous GAA stadium. Both Liam and Noel Gallagher played GAA when they were younger, growing up in Manchester. Twitter account RareIrishStuff posted a photo of Noel during his GAA days. Both Noel and Liam played underage football for Oisin's in Manchester and, in 1983, a 16-year-old Noel travelled to Croke Park for an exhibition game against Kilmacud Crokes. Noel previously spoke about playing Gaelic football as a teenager. 'There's a picture of me somewhere scoring a point (in Croke Park). I haven't seen the picture for years. 'I was in a Gaelic football team in Manchester and we were a great team too. All the Irish social clubs that were attached to the churches all had Gaelic football teams.' It is believed he scored the point against Kilmacud during that game in 1983, though he cannot recall which end it was scored into. Gallagher said that Oisin's were Lancashire champions many times throughout his youth when he was a player. They won championships at U-12s, U-14s, U-16s and U-18s. Sadly, he was lost to the Lancashire footballers in later years. 'I played soccer as well. And then I gave up both when I discovered marijuana,' said Noel. Oisin's Kevin McNeill, whose parents were from Louisburgh in Mayo, previously played with the Gallagher brothers. He previously told the Irish Mirror: 'I played a lot with Noel and Liam and their elder brother Paul. My brother Sean played in that game at Croke Park. 'Noel was a very skilful, tricky footballer, he was a corner-forward and, as I know he wasn't a free-kick taker, his score in that game in Croke Park must have been from open play. 'Paul was a defender but Liam, who would have played in the half-back line, played less than Paul and Noel. 'We were from north Manchester and they were from south Manchester, in Burnage, and they stuck together themselves, but they were good lads. Liam and Noel Gallagher both played Gaelic Football in their youth (Image: Lewis Evans/Big Brother Recordings) 'One thing though, I'd often read about them playing their GAA in Didsbury but Noel and Liam wouldn't likely have played there. 'Back then, Oisin's were based in Hough End, on the main road as you come out from the airport, about 10 minutes away from Burnage where they lived.' Paddy O'Donoghue of Kilmacud Crokes previously remembered that game in Croker in 1983. 'One of our mentors had family in the Irish community in Manchester and their team were coming over to Dublin," he said. 'We made the U-15 county final but lost to St Anne's, who had Ciarán Walsh.' It was an encounter destined for little post-match attention and while the world's news agenda would pivot towards the Gallaghers a decade later, McNeill was as surprised as anyone that the Noel he played against was interested in rock and roll. 'I never even knew they were musical at the time,' said McNeill. 'I was a Smiths fan and if I was to say anything about that 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 period when we were in our teens it was that everybody seemed to me to be in a band — that was the way it was in those times — except them!' Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here. The Irish Mirror's Crime Writers Michael O'Toole and Paul Healy are writing a new weekly newsletter called Crime Ireland. Click here to sign up and get it delivered to your inbox every week
The 42
16-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
Two-time Kerry All-Ireland winner Tommy Walsh retires from Gaelic Football
FORMER KERRY FORWARD Tommy Walsh has retired from Gaelic Football, his club Kerins O'Rahillys announced today. Walsh was part of the Kerry panel who lifted the Sam Maguire in 2007 and went on to form a famous partnership with Kieran Donaghy in the full-forward line for Kerry's 2009 All-Ireland success. Advertisement 'Tommy Walsh's retirement from football marks the end of an era for Kerry and for Gaelic games,' his club said in a statement today. 'A player whose career spanned continents and generations, Walsh leaves behind a legacy defined by power, poise, and an unwavering commitment to his teams.' Walsh later moved to Australia to pursue a career in the AFL, signing a professional contract with St Kilda before being traded to the Sydney Swans. Walsh tore his hamstring off the bone in 2013 and subsequently rejoined the Kerry panel under Eamonn Fitzmaurice in 2015 before departing prior to the 2016 championship. He returned to the Kerry set-up again in 2018 under Peter Keane and retired from inter-county football in 2021. In 2022, Walsh played a starring role as Kerins O'Rahillys defeated Newcastle West of Limerick in the Munster final. They lost the All-Ireland semi-final to eventual champions Kilmacud Crokes. 'He led from the front in the club's Kerry and Munster odyssey in 2022 – in one of his final crowning moments, Tommy was named Man of the Match in the 2022 Munster Club Final, leading Kerins O'Rahillys with a commanding performance that blended grit, grace, and game intelligence,' the statement continues. 'It was a fitting tribute to a player who always rose to the occasion. 'The ensuing All-Ireland semi-final vs eventual winners, Kilmacud Crokes, was a personal favourite as he took to Croke Park with his boyhood friends. This wasn't just another game – it was the culmination of countless years in Strand Road, shared dreams and standing shoulder to shoulder with the very lads who knew him best. Related Reads 'We all have our roles' - Donegal's long-serving point-scoring machines remain pivotal How will Tyrone and Meath reflect on their 2025 seasons? 'We massively underachieved in our eyes. When Jim came back, standards were raised' 'From Strand Road to the stadiums of Sydney, his journey was one of courage, class, and commitment. Retirement may close the chapter, but his story will echo in Kerry lore for years to come. 'Thanks Tommy – a true legend of Strand Road.'
The 42
13-07-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'Like that older brother that you don't want to let down' - Dublin club glory to Meath manager
WHEN THE 2KM runs started up after their league games, there were no objections among the players. The call to slog it out came after three of those matches. Or maybe it was four? Kilmacud Crokes captain Shane Cunningham can't quite remember. But what he can recall is that the buy-in was unquestionable. Everyone on the line. Everyone in agreement that this was the remedy for losing an All-Ireland club final after extra-time. This was ground zero for the Stillorgan-based side. They would not be denied again. The concession of that late goal against Kilcoo was powering them through every stride. It was still a raw and fresh memory from just a few weeks beforehand. And behind every hard yard was their manager Robbie Brennan. He was selling them a vision for what these 2km runs could bring. 'We've played this game but we're going to put in the extra time now. We're going to do this 2km run. I want everyone to do it to the best of their ability.' It was the launchpad of Kilmacud's 2022-2023 campaign, and a defining moment in Brennan's tenure. 'It was just his attitude when he turned up for training,' says Cunningham. 'It was like a smile on his face and just good fun. 'Initially when we came back from Kilcoo, no one wanted to be there. So when Baggio wasn't feeling sorry for himself it was kind of hard to be feeling sorry for yourself.' A disappointed Shane Cunningham after Kilmacud's loss to Kilcoo in the 2022 All-Ireland final. Ken Sutton / INPHO Ken Sutton / INPHO / INPHO **** He's always been Baggio to Cunningham. Or Baj for short. Everyone who knows him knows him as Baggio. The nickname has followed him ever since he missed a penalty for Kilmacud Crokes on the same day that Italy's Roberto Baggio also suffered the same fate during a shootout in the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil. Even now, as he prepares to manage the Meath footballers into their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2009, it continues to be his identifier. His birth name would be an unnatural sound. 'I can't even remember calling Robbie,' says Cunningham. 'I might call him Robbie to other people, but it would be more Baggio or Baj [to him]. If someone's asking me, 'Is Robbie here?' You'd be looking around and thinking, 'Who's Robbie?'' **** Advertisement There's a certain irony attached with Brennan's idea for the 2km runs. During his own spell as a footballer for Kilmacud Crokes, he was not renowned for being an enthusiastic trainer. His former teammate, and two-time All-Ireland winner with Down, Conor Deegan, said in a recent interview with the Irish News that Brennan was a 'lazy bugger.' Mick O'Keeffe's playing career also crossed over with Deegan and Brennan. And while he can appreciate that sentiment, he wouldn't quite use that term. 'He [Brennan] didn't enjoy training,' says O'Keeffe, who won three Dublin SFC titles with Kilmacud Crokes. 'He was tall and if he got himself that bit fitter, he probably could have gone on to another level because he was a lovely footballer. 'I was one corner [forward] and Ray Cosgrove was in the other corner. We got all the credit, we scored all the points and all the goals. Robbie was the one who was catching the ball and giving it to us.' Brennan is a year older than O'Keeffe. After soldiering through the underage grades together, they broke through to the senior squad together just after Kilmacud's first senior All-Ireland success in 1995. Former Dublin players Johnny Magee and Ray Cosgrove were also part of that emerging group. A new generation of talent hoping to leave their own imprint on Kilmacud's growing legacy. 'We would have been the young upstarts coming into that very successful dressing room. You needed to be a big personality to survive in that dressing room,' says O'Keeffe. 'You wouldn't want to be a shrinking violet.' **** When Brennan's time as Kilmacud Crokes manager concluded last season, Cunningham was asked to give a speech. The players already knew that Brennan was leaving to become the new Meath manager, but there was nothing but support for their departing general. In fact, they wanted to give him a Dublin four-in-a-row success as a parting gift. Cuala, however, crashed that party by defeating them by a point in the final. It was up to Cunningham to say something that would honour Cunningham's six seasons of service. Something to mark the three-in-a-row they had achieved between 2021 and 2023, and the fourth Dublin title they won in 2018. There was also three consecutive Leinster titles to thank Brennan for, along with an All-Ireland title in 2023. Johnny Magee and Robbie Brennan pictured together before the 2018 Leinster quarter-final between Kilmacud Crokes and St Peter's Dunboyne. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Cunningham chose this moment to make a confession: he was disappointed when Brennan was announced as joint-manager with Johnny Magee in late 2017. The Kilmacud hurlers had just hired Anthony Daly as their manager, and Cunningham felt the footballers should be aiming for someone with a CV that was comparable to a two-time All-Ireland winner who had managed the Dublin hurlers to a Leinster title in 2013. Cunningham, now in his fifth season as a senior player, also felt time was not on his side. Kilmacud had not contested a senior county final since 2012, and their last championship title was in 2010. St Vincent's and Ballyboden were All-Ireland winners in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and Cunningham feared that Kilmacud were falling further from view. 'I can remember feeling that I was worried that I'd never win a county championship. 'And then you're thinking, 'another managerial appointment, and if it's not the right one, it's another three years wasted'. And then you're 27 or 28, it [your career] can quickly go by. By the end of 2017, that was definitely at the forefront of my mind. 'We got Robbie, who had been selector on the previous management team. We hadn't done so well and Robbie didn't have too much of a managerial experience. He paired up with Johnny, but it was a bit underwhelming. 'That was kind of the feeling for a few of us when they took over.' Within a few training sessions, Cunningham could feel the dial moving. The training style implemented by Brennan and Magee was an instant hit and Brennan's tactical knowledge was particularly impressive. 'It was straight away to be honest. I was kind of blown away by how tactically astute Robbie was in terms of identifying threats and trends of other teams. He was big on matchups and coming up with a plan to negate certain players. I was very impressed in the lead up to those championship games. 'When they came in, it was kind of an attack, attack, attack. Definitely we were allowed to express ourselves, take risks, a lot of kick passing. Throughout that campaign, we had really good games, really good victories, performances were really good.' Brennan and the Kilmacud Crokes team after the 2022 Leinster final. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO **** On Friday, 29 January, 1999, the Irish Independent published an article carrying the headline, 'Brennan back to beef up Kilmacud attack.' It was the weekend of game three in the Leinster club final between Dublin champions Kilmacud Crokes and Éire Óg of Carlow. The first game on 6 December produced a scoreline of Éire Óg 1-6 Kilmacud Crokes 0-9. The replay was seven days later and ended seven points apiece. Brennan didn't feature the first day but came on as a substitute in the 50th minute of the replay. Incidentally, he replaced O'Keeffe the second day out. Brennan started in the third installment and capped his promotion with three points from play as Kilmacud succumbed to a 1-11 to 0-11 defeat. 'That third game was like a whole new season,' O'Keeffe remembers. 'The Dublin campaign is quite long and bruising and I think we ran out of steam going into that Leinster championship. Robbie came back into that. When we needed him in Dublin, he was excellent.' Despite losing his starting position between the county and Leinster championship, Brennan accepted his place in the squad. According to O'Keeffe, he wasn't a player 'who'd be challenging a manager or throwing his toys out at a pram.' Experiencing the difficulties of that transition is something that O'Keeffe feels has benefitted Brennan throughout his managerial career. 'I think from a management perspective, if you're not the superstar all the time and you're struggling to get in and out of a team, it probably gives you a little bit more emotional intelligence when you're dealing with lads who are on squads and you have to keep everybody happy. 'Sometimes these superstar players struggle in management because they are so used to everyone having the highest standards and so used to always playing.' Mick O'Keeffe on the ball for Crokes in the 1998 Leinster semi-final against Stradbally. Patrick Bolger / INPHO Patrick Bolger / INPHO / INPHO Brennan transferred clubs in 2002, switching to St Peter's in Dunboyne, later becoming a resident there. The club is home to his wife, and his brother-in-law, David Gallagher, who is a Dunboyne stalwart. It was an interesting development as Brennan had already played against the Meath outfit during that 1998-1999 campaign, at the Leinster quarter-final stage. Three years later the sides met again, with Brennan now playing in Dunboyne's black and amber strip. Again, Kilmacud prevailed with a 1-14 to 0-3 result to advance to the Leinster semi-finals. 'We would have kept in touch,' says O'Keeffe reflecting on that 2005 encounter. 'I suppose like at that point I was coming to the end of my time with Crokes as well. Related Reads Trevor Giles: 'I am just delighted that Meath are going well. That's the main thing' 'I couldn't miss out' - Meath star battles back from serious leg injury Here's this week's GAA inter-county schedule and TV coverage 'There was nobody having a go at him. There was a bit of banter after the game but we won it pretty comprehensively.' Another noteworthy link followed in the 2018 season as Dunboyne and Kilmacud Crokes played out a third meeting in the Leinster quarter-final. By this stage, Brennan was back in the Kilmacud camp as manager to oversee a 16-point victory. **** The highlights reel of Brennan's stretch with Kilmacud Crokes is an impressive set of memories. But there were some lows to endure too. A shock defeat to Longford's Mullinalaghta in the 2018 Leinster left some scars, while that All-Ireland defeat to Kilcoo also stung. Brennan steered the club through controversy too. The transfer of Galway's Shane Walsh was certainly divisive, as were the circumstances of their 2023 All-Ireland win over Glen. Kilmacud briefly had 17 players on the pitch in the dying moments. In those challenging moments, Brennan distinguished himself as a leader. 'I think when Walshie was joining, it was kind of obvious that he was going to go into the team and maybe someone was going to lose out,' Cunningham explains. 'But for us, it wasn't like whoever was losing out. I lost out last year in terms of I didn't start a few games. It wasn't a case of lads being unhappy with Baggio or Walshie. It was very much, we're in this together. 'We probably had a few crushing blows as well against Mullinalaghta and Kilcoo and definitely 100% Robbie was picking us up off the floor on those occasions. It's something he's really good at. He seems to just get on with it with a smile on his face. He brings the energy and fun back into the game.' Robbie Brennan after Meath's famous victory over Galway to book their place in the All-Ireland semi-finals. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO When Cunningham looks at the Meath team today, he can identify a confidence in the players that Brennan imparted to the Kilmacud crew. It's the same psychological influence that convinced the Kilmacud players to commit to those 2km runs. The Baggio formula has already produced results against Dublin, Kerry and Galway. Meath will lean into it again later today against Donegal. 'I describe him as one of the lads,' says Cunningam. 'He's not really a father figure to us, he's nearly like a big brother. He is one of the lads. 'He's nearly like that older brother that you have so much respect for and you don't want to let down.' *****
Irish Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Vibes and victories: how Robbie Brennan put smiles on Meath faces
Everyone you talk to about Robbie Brennan starts in the same place. Great guy. Great fun. A football nut, yes. But a people person, first and final. Shane Walsh didn't know him at all in the summer of 2023. Galway were still in the championship all the way to the All-Ireland final but shortly after losing to Kerry, Walsh was heading to meet the Kilmacud Crokes manager. He knew his name was Robbie Brennan and that the Crokes boys called him Baggio. But that was about all he had to go on. 'I didn't know what to expect,' Walsh says. 'I'd seen a picture of him but all I really knew was I was going for coffee with this lad Baggio. And straight away, I sat down and he cracked a joke about the All-Ireland. 'He always calls me Gorgeous. That's his line for me. The Galway lads caught on to it one day. I answered the phone to him and said, 'Well Baggio' and he was there, 'Ah, Gorgeous, it's yourself!' That would be Robbie, it would be all about giving you a laugh and having the crack. 'He'd be taking the piss out of you saying, 'When are you coming down to training? I have 5,000 fans there every night thinking you're going to be there.' He has that kind of loveable rogue thing. He could say anything to you but at the same time, you'd do anything for him.' The Baggio thing, we may as well get out of the way quickly. On July 17th, 1994, Kilmacud Crokes were playing a match on the same day as the World Cup final. Robbie Brennan was the Crokes penalty taker and on that particular day, he was the Crokes penalty misser. Everyone repaired to the clubhouse afterwards to watch Italy take on Brazil and ... you can fill in the rest yourself. There's much more to Robbie 'Baggio' Brennan than a missed penalty. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho He's been Baggio ever since. He likes to say that he responds to it quicker than if somebody calls him Robbie. He hasn't tweeted for well over five years but when he did, his handle was @baggio132. 'I'd say it will be on the headstone,' he reckons. The nickname is a very Robbie Brennan thing. No point taking yourself too seriously, nothing lost in having a laugh at yourself. It has been a handy attitude to have on his side throughout a football career that frequently found him flitting between clubs and communities. In Meath , where he spent his early years and in Dublin, where he grew up. Brennan has always had a kind of dual nationality. His father Paddy was the captain of the 1974 Meath intermediate champions St Johns, later to become Wolfe Tones. When the family moved to Dublin soon after, he was the only kid in Kilmacud wearing a Meath jersey. On the night of his unveiling as Meath manager, he told the story of having to go to Colm O'Rourke's sports shop in Navan Shopping Centre to get said Meath jersey, whereupon his dad questioned O'Rourke on why he never used his right foot any more. So there has always been Meath football in Brennan's life, a kind of Miwadi in his Dublin water. When he won a Dublin club title in 1998 with Kilmacud, one of their games in Leinster was against St Peter's of Dunboyne. Brennan scored two points that day at full-forward. In goals for Dunboyne was his future brother-in-law, David Gallagher. By 2005, Brennan had switched sides and was playing full-forward for Dunboyne, having married Liz, David's sister. When they won the Meath championship that year, there was nothing surer than they would meet Dublin champions Kilmacud in Leinster. They did and duly got hammered. St Peter's have won three county titles in their history. They've run into Kilmacud each time. Robbie Brennan and Shane Walsh at a match between Cuala and Kilmacud Crokes in 2024. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho Incredibly, Brennan has been involved in all three encounters, first as a player for Crokes, then a player for Dunboyne and finally as the Crokes manager in 2018. Not so much a foot in both camps as a life in both worlds. When he was managing Crokes to Dublin titles, he was taking underage teams in Dunboyne. Nobody fell out with him, nobody thought it weird. 'To us, it was a natural fit,' says Shane McEntee, clubmate with Dunboyne and still a Meath footballer until earlier this year. 'We would have seen Robbie as Meath and as Dunboyne, even though he grew up with Kilmacud. He was very obviously intent on managing from very early on. 'I would have helped him out with a minor team at one stage and he had done a few years with Kilmacud by then. You could just tell he was very modern, very tactically-minded. He's very analytical about football. His trajectory was always headed towards a high level.' Through it all, his good humour and easy manner was his calling card. He managed St Sylvester's in Malahide, then teamed up with Gabriel Bannigan at Kilmacud before taking the reins himself in 2018. Crokes had gone eight years without a Dublin title at that stage and hadn't so much as been to a county final since 2012. 'He wouldn't have been hands-on at all under Gabriel,' says Paul Mannion. 'When he took it on himself, we had gone through years of massive underperformance. Disappointing results, knocked out early, didn't get close to a final really. For us, for where we were at that time, Robbie's approach really worked for us. Robbie Brennan enjoyed plenty of success with Kilmacud Crokes. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho 'It's almost like he put an arm around the team. I don't think the team needed someone to be coming in cracking the whip in the way other managers might have done. He sensed that probably and felt he just needed to come in and be himself. He just has that jovial kind of spirit to him.' Mannion's first response when asked what he thinks of when he thinks of Brennan is much the same as Walsh and McEntee. 'A good friend, first off,' he says. 'Not the most typical in that sense when it comes to a manager. He's a friend to all of us. Some managers like to keep their distance and that works for them. But that's not him. What works for Robbie is probably the opposite.' But if that's all he was, it wouldn't be enough. Brennan led Kilmacud to four Dublin titles in six years, including the first three-in-a-row in the club's history. In 55 years of the Leinster club championship, he's the only manager to oversee a three-in-a-row. Back-to-back All-Ireland finals, the second ending with Crokes on the Hogan Stand. You need more than good vibes and a bit of slagging to build that kind of CV. Having the players helps, clearly. Crokes had the likes of Mannion, Rory O'Carroll and Craig Dias about the place before Walsh ever set foot in Stillorgan. Cian O'Sullivan was around for a while but no sooner had he retired than Theo Clancy came through. But for all that they had the ingredients, they needed Brennan to convince them they were worthy of the plate. 'I remember meeting him in early 2021,' Mannion says. 'We had the bad loss to Mullinalaghta in 2018 and then early exits from the Dublin championship over the next couple of years. We were having a chat about the plan for the year and he was like, 'I fully believe there's an All-Ireland in this group.' 'We went on to lose the final to Kilcoo at the end of that season and won it the following year. But when he said it to me that time, with the losses we'd had and how inconsistent we'd been, I remember thinking that I just personally didn't see it at all. He was just convinced there was an All-Ireland there when, truthfully, I don't think the players ourselves saw that at all.' Meath's Shane McEntee against Galway in 2022. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho The parallels with what Meath have achieved under Brennan this summer are obvious. This weekend two years ago, they were in the Tailteann Cup final. Anyone suggesting they'd go from there to beating Kerry, Dublin and Galway in the 2025 championship would have been laughed out of Croke Park that day. Yet here they are. McEntee would have dearly loved to be part of it. He's still only 31 and was the Meath captain as recently as 2022 so age is no barrier. But he's had two back surgeries in recent years and however willing the spirit, the body won't play ball. Brennan had him in late last year as part of the extended panel but when time came to pare it back ahead of the league, McEntee didn't make the cut. Couldn't, basically. It means he has a unique perspective on the Meath season under the new manager. McEntee was there for those initial couple of months when Brennan was bedding in, setting a tone and unifying the group. He sat in the team meetings and listened as the new man set about them. It was the middle of the winter slog and the sports-and-conditioning guys were working on their bodies. But Brennan knew that unless they had belief in what was possible, all the gym work in the world was pointless. 'Robbie makes fellas feel very good in themselves,' McEntee says. 'He's really positive, really upbeat. He made a comment about Jordan [Morris] early in the year while I was sitting there. He was talking about the level he thinks Jordan is at, that he's up there with the top forwards in the country. 'That's not really an Irish thing. It's not really a GAA thing to make these big brash statements. And having seen Jordan play a lot, I could see what he was getting at. But he has reached new heights this year. He has proved Robbie right. Meath manager Robbie Brennan hopes his team can overcome Donegal in an All-Ireland semi-final this weekend. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho 'I think Robbie was saying that based on his potential more so than his consistent intercounty form to that point. But there could well be a correlation there between the amount Robbie was praising him and the level of confidence he's playing with. Because Jordy has obviously been phenomenal this year.' Walsh was standing at the other end of Croke Park a fortnight ago as Meath ate the final minute before the hooter. He reckons he was resigned to Galway's fate before the rest of them – he didn't hold out much hope of a Brennan team mismanaging the dying seconds. They didn't get to see each other on the pitch but his phone pinged afterwards with 'a lovely message' from his old boss. 'For a big fella, he's well able to shed a tear,' Walsh says. 'But he has a winning mentality. I don't know if that comes from him rubbing off on players or players rubbing off on him. But whatever it is, he's about winning. He's not in it for a lovely story about Meath getting to a quarter-final or a semi-final. He's in it for the main thing. 'And you can see he has it with the Meath lads. They have that energy with him. When they beat us the last day, you could see loads of them running over to him and celebrating with him. And a lot of that I'm sure is down to the belief he's instilled in them. He'd make you feel 10ft tall.'
Irish Examiner
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
How Robbie Brennan's slick man-management awakened the Meath sleeping giant
Tomas Ó Sé was thinking about Meath, and how they've gone from one end of the zeroes/heroes spectrum to the other in a matter of months, and found himself flummoxed. "I tried to figure it out during the week, I don't know what's gone on in Meath," said Ó Sé. "How can they suddenly be properly and really deserving of being in an All-Ireland semi-final? "Everyone has been judging Meath on the last number of years, and what's been there for the last number of years, and there has been nothing in terms of what we're seeing right now." The Kerry man probably doesn't need to look a whole pile further than Robbie Brennan for his answer. It was new manager Brennan that convinced Bryan Menton to come out of retirement, having not played since 2022. Seamus Lavin was even longer away, since 2021, yet both have started all 15 of Meath's League and Championship games this year. Jack Flynn, Menton's midfield partner all year until a recent injury, is in a similar boat, coaxed back after missing much of 2024. Then there's Sean Rafferty, arguably the Meath player most likely to end the county's 17-year wait for an All-Star. He hadn't played a League or Championship game before Brennan came in but has started 14 of the 15 games. Conor Duke's stats are exactly the same as Rafferty's. Ruairí Kinsella didn't start a Championship game for Meath last year either but has lined out in all eight this year. The list goes on. It all comes back to Brennan and his slick man management. "I've been living in Meath a long time and I've played and was lucky enough to win a championship in Meath," said the Dunboyne resident. "So with all of that going on, and I'd be at so many of the matches watching the games, whether Dunboyne were in them or not, I certainly knew the talent was there and I think that was probably the most exciting part of it. "It was a case of, could you get in and awaken the sleeping giant, and so far we have." Brennan rose to national prominence for his work with Kilmacud Crokes, in Dublin, guiding them to county, provincial and national successes. But as the son of a Meath man from Kilberry, just north of Navan, he was on his father Paddy's shoulders for the Centenary Cup success of 1984, the first trophy won in the Sean Boylan era. The family's decision to relocate to south Dublin for work purposes was what brought him to the capital, and Crokes, before Brennan U-turned when older, marrying Liz Gallagher, the sister of former Meath goalkeeper David Gallagher, and settling in Dunboyne. Asked if he sees himself as a Meath man or a Dub, Brennan shot back instantly: "Meath." Supporting Dublin wasn't really an option. "It was drilled into me, so it was never any other way," he said of his Meath-ness. "There were a lot of dark days then when you're living in Dublin, you're involved in Kilmacud, and Meath aren't winning and Dublin are starting to win and you're having to go back to the clubhouse and stuff like that. "I'm living in Dunboyne for 20-odd years so I'm more Meath now if there was ever any doubt. The 7/2 for the Dublin job isn't a good price I'd say looking at it!" Brennan has a long way to go to enjoy the same legendary status within Meath as Dunboyne neighbour Boylan but he may just be getting there. In any other year, beating Dublin, Kerry, Cork and Galway in the Championship would probably have already snagged the Sam Maguire Cup. But they've still got Donegal to go on Sunday. Perhaps they'll get a crack at Kerry or Tyrone then after that. Brennan's approach has been a simple one - let the players express themselves. Sure, Meath have got praise for their tactical acumen this year but it was probably more insightful that he described Jordan Morris losing the ball in attack against Galway last time as a 'creative turnover'. Those are always allowed, even encouraged. "What do we say? The more you control, the less you can create. It's that kind of approach," said Brennan. "They're not spoon-fed. It's exactly what we did in Kilmacud, we just allowed the leaders to take over and we let the group kind of develop. "It's happened way quicker (in Meath) than even I thought it might but there's some exceptional leaders in it, not just obviously Eoghan (Frayne) and Ciaran (Caulfield) as captain and vice-captain. They're all grabbing it with both hands." Despite it all, they'll be written off by pretty much everybody when the ball is thrown in tomorrow. "We'll still come in as underdogs and that's good for us," said Brennan. "Donegal are probably one of, if not the favourites for the Championship, and have been for a long time. I think that'll suit us fine coming in again. We don't have to change much."
