To say Meath men are passionate about their Gaelic football would be an understatement, since the days that Fr Tully lead the Royals to All-Ireland victories, right up until the present time, Meath have always been regarded as a footballing stronghold.

Of course, like every other county, they have experienced bad times, but one thing for certain is that the Royals will not go down without a fight.
They have produced some of the country's best footballers down through the years such as Brian Smyth, Jack Quinn, Bertie Cunningham, Mattie Kerrigan, Mick Lyons, Colm O'Rourke, Graham Geraghty and Trevor Giles to name just a few.
But it is not only the players that are passionate about the green and gold jersey, but their supporters also, who travel to cheer on the side in their thousands.
For this year's edition of the Royal County Yearbook, we speak to one such supporter, Duleek/Bellewstown clubman Jack Gogarty and he gives us his opinion on this year's goings on in the county as well as his hopes for 2011.
Jack is the Finance Director for Coca-Cola's Region Finance Centre in Drogheda. Coca-Cola has been sponsoring the national Feile competitions since the competitions began in 1971.
This summer, the Coca-Cola GAA Féile Peil na nÓg Gaelic football finals took place in Derry and the event proved to be a huge success as it has done every year.
"Coca Cola are proud sponsors of the Feile and have been since it began. They feel that it is the right area to sponsor as it targets a large portion of our customer base," said Jack.
"They also sponsor the International Rules series and we know how important the GAA is to the local community and the social aspect that it brings to everyone."
Based in Drogheda, Co Louth, Jack oversees the financial aspect of the business, while they have a number of plants around the country making it one of Ireland's leading employers.
"We would also sponsor an inter-club under-14 competition for Duleek/Bellewstown. I'm not directly involved with the club on a day to day basis, but I like to help out where I can. We also contribute to their golf classic and other fund raising activities. I understand how hard it is for clubs to raise funds through sponsorship in the current economic climate. My son Ciaran plays for the club and I admire the people that give up their spare time to put loads of work into the running of a club, that's why I like to help out where I can."
Jack is originally from Donore and played underage football with the St Mary's club. He has also spent twelve years in the U.S and he admits that apart from missing his family, there was another void left in his life. "I missed the football when I left, it was hard not being able to go to games and even though I kept an eye on the results, it just wasn't the same as being there. I did manage to get home for seven all Ireland finals during this time.
"We have settled back in Bellewstown now, my brother Francis is actually the chairman of St Mary's, so you could say I have allegiance to two clubs."
The 2010 Leinster championship was won in the most unusual circumstances as has been well documented since Meath's win over Louth in the provincial decider. A refereeing error handed the title to the Royals and although the Royals had won their first Leinster title in nine years, the manager Eamon O'Brien was to pay the price for their exit at the quarterfinal stage.
Following great debate, a momentous decision was made to appoint the first man from outside the county as manager when former Monaghan manager Seamus 'Banty' McEneaney was handed the task of guiding the Royals back to the top table of Gaelic football.
The county was split as to whether this was the right choice to make and only time will tell whether it was or not, but for now Jack feels that everyone should get behind the new management team.
"It was a controversial decision in that he is the first man from outside the county to take over as manager, but I'd be quietly confident that he can bring the best out of the players and the talent is certainly there in my opinion.
"I think the transparency around the expenses was a good decision to reveal what they are getting each month leaves it that people can't be questioning that further down the line and they can concentrate on the football."
Jack feels that there are plenty of areas to be worked on within the Meath team and that the problems were highlighted at different times throughout the year.
"I think Meath flattered to deceive this year; they showed flashes of brilliance against both Dublin and Kildare without really producing good form on a consistent basis. There are certainly defensive problems there and I feel there should have been changes made against Kildare."
Banty and his management team have the arduous task of unearthing new talent at a time when there is a collective training ban on county teams over November and December.
"It will not be easy for them, probably Sean Boylan's strongest point was his ability to unearth new talent and regardless what grade they played in, he was willing to give players a chance and I feel that if Banty does the same then he can strengthen the squad.
"I really believe that Meath can do very well in 2011, the talent is there and if they can strengthen the squad a bit more then we can deliver on our potential."
No doubt Jack, his wife Anne and their three sons Peter, Kevin and Ciaran will be cheering on the Royals next year as they bid to win their first All-Ireland title since 1999.       
 
 
 
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