They travelled together to the game but they were on different wavelengths. A Cork flag out one car window and a Meath one flowing from the other. Royal County spoke to Drumconrath's Peter Ludlow and his Cork wife Eileen about their differing views on the recent All-Ireland final. Adivided household for a weekend, the Ludlow's had a special interest in this year's All-Ireland football final. A Meath man and a Cork woman living under the same roof in Drumconrath. The sparks were flying! I caught up with them the day after the final and the banter was great as both gave their respective views on where the game was won and, in Eileen's case, was lost. "It was a strange kind of a game," Peter reflects. "The poor weather conditions didn't help matters but although the game will not be remembered for being a classic, there was flashes of genius. Evan Kelly scored some spectacular points in the first half and Graham Geraghty in the second half, while both goals were expertly converted. Meath had better players in key areas and they controlled the game and I think that was the difference between the teams." Eileen on the other hand was justifiably disappointed after the game. She went to Croke Park confident that her county could complete the double but left consigned to the fact that Cork had already won one All-Ireland title earlier this year. "We won the hurling so that's some consolation," she says."The football final didn't go according to plan and Meath looked like a hungrier team which was disappointing. I thought before the game that it would be won or lost on the line and in hindsight, it probably was. Podsie O'Mahony was substituted after he made one mistake while others were left on who appeared to be struggling more. There was times during the game when Cork looked like they were just going through the motions and it was more like a training session than an All-Ireland final." Eileen was gracious in defeat and complimented Meath's physical, but clean style of play. Peter too, was delighted at the heart shown by the Meath players. "Sean Boylan deserves great credit for the way he gets his teams to play. They have a great spirit which he instills in them and his championship record is outstanding. He has changed the fortunes of Meath football for the better and the passionate way his players respond to him is a reflection of how much they respect him," he acknowledges. Larry Tompkins has also done a great job with his team and Eileen hopes he stays on as manager for another few years. "He has achieved an awful lot this year and although he didn't win the big one he has a lot to be proud of. We won the Munster title and contested an All-Ireland final which is a good return and won the national league title as well. The signs are there that it won't be too long before we win an All-Ireland," she enthuses. Meath's defence lived up to expectations and dealt fairly comfortably with the Cork attack. Peter admitted to being worried before the game at the threat posed by Joe Kavanagh and Philip Clifford. "Joe Kavanagh is a player I admire greatly and he has a real eye for goal. The Meath half back line though dealt commendably with the Cork forwards and performed above expectations. Clifford's percentage record was probably better than Giles in this game' and he is a lethal free taker. If one more Cork forward had played well, who knows," he opines. Peter and Eileen have three children all of whom are keen football enthusiasts. They are a mixed bag of Meath and Cork supporters although Eileen's influence obviously had a greater effect. "Cara and Aoife are ardent Cork supporters but Alan is a Meath fanatic. Both Alan and Aoife were at the game but Cara had to work and couldn't attend it. I suppose you could say that the girls favoured Cork but Alan played football for Drumconrath so he has to follow Meath," she says. Peter was the secretary of the Drumconrath club for six years between 1991 and 1997. He is now a member of the committee and is hopeful that they can make an impact in the intermediate grade in the next few years. This year though, we lost seven or eight of our most influential players who emigrated and when you have a pool of players as small as ours it is very hard to push for honours," he explains. This year thay made a premature exit from the championship although they did retain their Division 2 league status. On the brighter side they do have one of the best coaches in their ranks in Jody Clarke and with him on board things should soon start to improve. "Tommy Dowd has been coaching underage teams in Drumconrath since 1992. He trained the successful U21 team last year and he also helped out with the U16's. I was delighted to see him getting a run at the end of the All-Ireland final and I think his introduction was greeted with the greatest roar of the day. We are both very fond of Tommy and are grateful for all the work he's done for the club," Peter insists. The years of 1987 and '88 are fondly remembered in Meath for the county teams achievements in winning All-Ireland titles. Peter had another reason to celebrate as Drumconrath also won juvenile championship and league doubles in both years. The present intermediate team has its origins in those successful teams. The club has made great strides off the field recently and hope to open an all weather juvenile and training pitch next year. "We held a fundraising draw to fund the project," he continues. "We raffled a car and raised £50,000 locally by selling £20 tickets. The new pitch is not full length but it is ideal for training purposes and underage games and we hope to officially open it some time next year." With all the post match celebrations in progress, how is Eileen coping the day after the final? "Well it's like this," she laughs. "Peter is still wearing his Meath jersey but my Cork one is out hanging on the clothes line. That says it all." Drumconrath land 1998 U21 'Special' crown A large Drumconrath crowd turned out to cheer their team on to glory in the final of the 1998 U21 'Special' competition when they got the better of St. Pat's at Rathkenny late last year. 1-9 to 1-6 was the final scoreline. St. Pat's dominated the possession stakes but they were guilty of seventeen wides. Drumconrath, on the other hand, were more economic. Seven times the umpires were forced to signal failed attempts by the men in red and white, and ultimately that proved to be the secret ingredient of their winning formula. With Tommy Dowd in their corner, the Drumconrath lads produced a strong performance in the final ten minutes of the game which the Dunderry man and his county colleagues would have been proud of. Alan Byrne's point put them 1-7 to 1-6 ahead in the 50th minute and Leighton Irwin and Seamus Hickey added vital points. All three players were instrumental in their side's success. A success for the north Meath men didn't look likely in the early stages. The Stamullen outfit set the early pace and were 0-3 to 0-0 ahead. Drumconrath, however, seized the initiative when they registered 1-1 in the space of a minute. Wesley Byrne linked up with his brother Alan to open their account with a point at the end of the first quarter. Then, directly from the kick-out, Wayne Sherlock and Paul McMahon orchestrated an opening for Alan Byrne which he rifled to the left corner of the net. Drumconrath were in control at this stage. Austin Hickey marshalled the defence superbly, Wayne Sherlock and Seamus Hickey were on top at midfield - All-Ireland winning goalie Cormac Sullivan was one of their opposite numbers - while the Byrne brothers were proving a real handful up front. Alan Byrne increased the advantage with a 40-metre free in the 21st minute and McMahon made it 1-3 to 0-3. The gap was 1-4 to 0-4 at the break. St. Pat's resumed smartly with a point before adding a goal. Sean Kane fumbled a long range effort and the ball sneaked into the net. St. Pat's had opportunities to kill off the Drumconrath challenge but hit six wides. The red and whites restored parity in the 39th minute when Alan Byrne finished off a sweeping move.. It was 1-6 apiece at the 48th minute stage. Dowd left Alan and Wesley Byrne isolated in attack and the move reaped dividends with those late points which ignited the celebrations. Drumconrath - S. Kane; C. Byrne, K. Flanagan; Paul Tighe, A. Hickey, Peter Tighe; S. Hickey (0-2), W. Sherlock; M. Reilly, L. Irwin (0-1), P. McMahon (0-1); A. Byrne (1-4), W. Byrne (0-1). Sub - D. McCullagh. A year in review What a strange year. We in Drumconrath have been used to training until Christmas but in 1999 it was all over by last summer. We started off well with the under 21's winning the Special A on the Sunday prior to Christmas. Led by Kevin Flannagan we won the special B a year before. Training started in late January under new man Jody Clarke from Shercock and with good attendances things were looking good. We won our first three league matches and beat St Ultans in the first round of the IFC. Shane Byrne was a revelation at wing back and with Wayne Sherlock starring with Meath minors things looked good. Then we got the first body blow, goalie and captain Kevin Carry badly injured his knee, worst was to come, Paddy Reilly and James Hickey where going to Chicago. Kevin Flannagan went to Aussie land. Castletown walloped us in the second round of the IFC. We recovered to put on a brilliant display in Pairc Tailteann to beat St Colmecilles in the third round IFC with 16 year old Paul Tighe starring. But then more emigration, Pete McMahon and Paul Carry went to join Kevin in Australia. Wayne Sherlock went to London, Wayne Reilly won a scholarship to the USA and to top it all off Cathal Byrne broke his leg. We were beaten in our last four IFC matches and fittingly that win in Navan kept our Intermediate status alive for 2000. We had a good league run despite all this and finished in third place just one point behind promoted Carnaross and Gael Colmcille. Our depleted Junior C team didn't win a game. Castletown beat us in the U21 and our minor team playing for the first time in the championship proper did not qualify for the knock out stages. The U16s won the Div 2 beating Moylagh in a good final in Kells. Congratulations to John Carey who played with the Meath juniors, Wayne Sherlock who represented us on the Meath minors and Paul Tighe who figured on the county u16 side. We ran a draw for a car to help raise funds to develop a juvenile pitch. A great community effort ensured it was a success and when Tommy Dowd drew the winning ticket we had raised over £50,000. We would like to thank again anyone who brought a ticket to support us. And of course once again is to thank our ticket sellers. Drumconrath G.F.C. Under 16 Title For Drumconrath/Meath Hill Drumconrath/Meath Hill continued their winning ways at underage level when defeating Moylagh in the u-16 F.L. Div. 2 final last July. In recent years the combination side have boasted minor, u-14 and u-12 titles and have now added the u-16 crown to their impressive tally. The winners raced into a 2-4 to 1-3 interval lead with goals from Neill McCabe and Christopher Tighe. However they were pushed all the way in in the second half before forty yard man McCabe notched four long range points from frees to ensure victory, 4-8 to 2-9. The winning Drumconrath/Meath Hill team was - A. Traynor; V. Burns, P. Clarke, K. Clarke; G. Duff(0-1), T. Carolan, T. Halpenny; D. McDonald, P. Tighe(1-1); S. Dempsey(0-1), N. McCabe(1-4), C. Tighe(1-1); P. Carolan, S. Kane, D. Boyle(1-0). Subs- G. Yorke, M. McCabe Tweet

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