As someone who coached players such as Cian Ward, Kevin Reilly, Shane O'Rourke and Chris O'Connor at underage level, former Meath minor football manager David Farrelly has taken immense satisfaction from their development into top-class inter-county performers.

Meath's achievement in reaching this year's All-Ireland football semi-final didn't come as any great surprise to Moynalty man David Farrelly.
Having brought through the likes of Chris O'Connor and Cian Ward from the underage ranks, Farrelly knew exactly what they were capable of.
"Meath surprised a lot of people by getting as far as they did in the championship, but I wasn't one of them," he says.
"I had a number of those lads at under 15, 16 and minor level and I knew they were destined for big things. Even at that age, you could see the ability they had. It was just a case of getting the football out of them and I think Eamonn O'Brien succeeded in doing that this year.
"I have great time for Eamonn, having managed teams against him at club level, and you would have to say his first year as Meath manager was a resounding success. The team was down in the dumps after the heavy defeat down in Limerick last year, but Eamonn got the players' confidence levels up again and they did brilliantly to go all the way to an All-Ireland semi-final."
Farrelly says Meath's objective for 2010 must be to win back the Delaney Cup after a nine-year absence.
"They should be aiming to win Leinster next year. This team needs to win silverware soon and the Leinster championship represents their best chance. They'll probably need to beat Dublin to get to a Leinster final, but it's not beyond them. Dublin aren't that far ahead of Meath at the moment and they'd probably sacrifice a Leinster championship at this stage if it meant doing better in the All-Ireland series.
"But if Dublin and Meath end up meeting again next year, you can be sure that neither team will want to give an inch. They hate losing to each other," he adds.
At just 36 years of age, Farrelly has already earned a reputation as one of the most astute managers on the Meath football scene. Hailing from a well-known GAA family in Moynalty, he was forced to retire from playing at age of 23 after breaking his breastbone for a second time.
Prior to then, he had shown plenty of promise, having worn the county jersey at underage level and helped Moynalty to a Division 4 league title.
Soon after his retirement, David was appointed manager of the St. Ciaran's minor team, who were an amalgamation of Moynalty and Carnaross. In five years at the helm, he won two championships and reached three semi-finals.
His success with St. Ciaran's didn't go unnoticed to the then Meath minor board secretary Eugene Comaskey, who asked him to get involved with one of the county's development squads. However, his involvement with the Moynalty intermediate team meant he was unable to take up Comaskey's offer for another two years.
Farrelly enjoyed a successful spell as Meath under 15 and 16 manager, with the team winning nearly every competition they entered. One of his most satisfying victories was with the under 16s in the Gerry Reilly Cup in Oldcastle.
"I won the Gerry Reilly Cup as a player and it was nice to be able to do it again as the Meath manager," he remembers.
"We had a fair bit of success, but the most important thing was to develop the young players' skills, give them a feel for inter-county football and nurture them along. It has been very rewarding to see so many of them going on to play at the highest level."
Among the players David coached who have since represented Meath at either senior or under 21 level are: Rory Maguire, Willie Milner, Richie Hatton, Cian Ward, Stephen Sheppard, Kevin Reilly, Shane O'Rourke, Davy Dalton, Rory O'Connor and Chris O'Connor.
In 2004, David and his selectors Macartan McGroder (Drumree), Leonard Farrell (Clonard), Mickey Moore (Duleek), Gerry Murphy (Wolfe Tones) and Peter O'Higgins (Drumbaragh) took charge of the Meath minor team in succession to Benny Reddy and his selectors, who moved up to manage the under 21s.
After their success with the under 15 and 16 sides, hopes were high for further success with the minors. A fine run to the Ulster league final, which they lost to Donegal, augured well for the championship, but a crushing defeat to the then reigning All-Ireland champions Laois meant that the Royal County's interests failed to extend beyond the first round. It also spelled the end for Farrelly and his management team after just one season.
"It still pains me to think about that defeat," David admits.
"We had beaten Laois in the Leinster league, but when it came to the championship game in Navan, they had their homework done and they went to town on us. Even though they were defending All-Ireland champions and had eight players from that team, we still expected to beat them.
"We had quite a big team out that day, but we weren't able to cope with their smaller and niftier players. Donie Brennan, in particular, was a real thorn in our side."
Farrelly admits it was a big disappointment to him and his selectors not to be given a second term with the minors
"We felt we had a better team in 2005, but unfortunately we didn't the chance to redeem ourselves. The manager's job was passed on to Dudley Farrell and we could only look on from the stands," he explains.
Instead, David managed Curraha in 2005 and he went on to guide Carnaross to back-to-back Meath IFC quarter-final appearances in 2006 and '07. Carnaross had the distinction of being the only team to beat Donaghmore/Ashbourne in their march to the Meath IFC title in '07.
Farrelly has taken a step back from the club management scene in the past couple of years. However, he continues to work away quietly with the Moynalty under 12 and 13 teams, and this year guided the under 13s to a surprise Division 2 final victory over a strong Skryne team.
"We have a good crop of young players coming along," says David, who is married to Jeanette and has two children, Amy (seven) and Dylan (three).
"There was a lot of disappointment at our junior team losing the 'B' championship and Division 5 league finals on successive weekends this year, but we still have a lot going for us and I've no doubt that Moynalty will be back fighting hard for the big honours next year."
When he's not giving his time to the GAA, David is employed as Arch Coatings UK Ltd's General Manager for Ireland. A leader in the wood coatings industry, Arch Coatings Ltd is part of the Sayerlack Group which was founded in Italy in 1954.
Over the years, the group expanded through the establishment of new subsidiaries and through the acquisition of other coating companies. Arch Coating's biggest Irish customers include the Ballydesmond, Co. Cork-based Munster Joinery. Tweet

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