Boylan's latest press release
December 31, 1999
It's three years since Brendan Boylan was elected PRO of St. Peter's, Dunboyne. There's been no shortage of championship successes to report on since and the affable Boylan is enjoying every minute of it.
One of the big problems in this business is the apathy of clubs towards public relations. More often than not there's a simultaneous dropping of heads when it comes to filling the PRO position at AGMs throughout the county. The end result tends to be an empty gesture.
St. Peters, Dunboyne, however, are fortunate to have Brendan Boylan as their PRO. The wheelchair bound 18 year old is one of the most efficient PROs in the Royal County and, as a result, Dunboyne's underage and adult teams have featured prominently amongst the sports pages and across the airwaves.
"Because I was only 15 when I got the job they had to put someone with me so Brendan McNamee was my assistant PRO. I'm 18 now so I'm in the clear!" he laughs.
"I've always had a big interest and ever since my first time in Croke Park for the National League semi-final between Meath and Cork on the 12th April 1990 it has been one of my ambitions to get involved. Brian Smyth got me my first wheelchair passes for Croke Park.
"Public Relations is everything nowadays and it does take up a lot of time, especially in the summer when you could be at matches five to six nights a week. But I love it, I live for it and really enjoy it. My father Sean is great, he brings me to all the matches; we were in Newcastle for the league game against Down as well as the League quarter-final against Kerry in Limerick earlier in the year.
"I tell you something, the three years have flown by."
Brendan is fulsome in his praise of the outgoing committee in Dunboyne.
"Behind every club you need a good engine and we're fortunate to have a great committee. You hear about the days when fellas were changing behind hedges, there was only one football and you were lucky if you had a set of jerseys. But Dunboyne is one of the biggest club's in the county at the minute, we've 24 teams in the club from U10 up and they take a lot of looking after.
"We've a few stalwarts like Sean McManus (Enda's father), John Reilly and the chairman Tom Dermody. They put in a phenomenal amount of work, I only play a minimal role compared to them."
The highlight of Brendan's involvement to date was, needless to say, Dunboyne's first Meath SFC success last year at the expense of surprise packets Oldcastle.
"That was a big thrill. There was some celebrations. After winning the Keegan Cup the team then went on to produce a brilliant display against Kilmacud Crokes in the Leinster Club championship, and should've won. Brenny Reilly was only half-fit that day and still nearly bet them on his own."
Dunboyne were brought back down to earth with a bang in this year's championship. Unbelievably, they found themselves in a position of having to beat Trim in order to avoid a relegation play-off. Trim - in the group game - and Dunshaughlin inflicted surprise defeats on the reigning champs who were managed by Meath All-Ireland medallist Liam Harnan.
"After winning last year the players probably found it harder to motivate themselves this year. They hadn't the same appetite. It was devastating to be involved in a relegation scrap but I've no doubt that, on any given day, we're still capable of beating any team and with all the young players that's coming through it won't be long before we're back."
Switching the subject to hurling he continues: "We won the U16 B hurling competition, reached the minor final, the junior final and won the intermediate title. So we're strong on all fronts as the fella says. We also reached the semi-final of the Junior 'C' FC.
"We had three All-Ireland SF medals come to Dunboyne this year, two junior hurling (Davin Reilly, Diarmuid Byrne), two U21 'B' hurling (Neville Reilly, Paul Gannon). We also had a number of representatives on minor and U21 teams. The club is in good health at the moment."
Brendan's disappointment as regards the senior football scene was eased by Meath's march to a seventh All-Ireland title. The fact that, as he has already mentioned, three Dunboyne men - Enda McManus, Nigel Crawford and David Gallagher - featured on the successful panel made it a proud moment for the south Meath village. There's also a certain manager by the name of Sean Boylan.
"It was a great honour to have three men winning All-Ireland medals. They did the club proud. We also had Owen Lynch who was a member of the backroom staff, Dorothy McGoldrick was a masseur and Pat Kelly drove the team bus so Dunboyne was steeped in it!
"Then, of course, there's Sean. He's some influence to have around the place. He has endless time for everyone and always stops to talk to you. Anyone who dosen't know him always asks how does he keep going. It's simple, he has endless enthusiasm, football is his life. I don't know how Tina puts up with him!"
Of course Enda McManus was lucky to make it to Croke Park in time for the game. He missed the team bus from the Burlington Hotel to GAA headquarters and only arrived 25 minutes before the throw-in.
"In ten years time that story will be worth money. He got a taxi and told the driver he was a player, so the foot was put to the floor. He ended up stopping at Pearse Garda Station where they rang the squad car that was accompanying the bus. That car along with the four motorbikes ended up turning around and escorting Enda to Croke Park!
"The Tuesday after the All-Ireland he was supposed to do an interview for TV3 with John Bruton, he was late for that too! That's Enda to a tee, he's so laidback."
Injury prevented Brendan Reilly from adding a third All-Ireland medal to his collection.
"You'd have to feel sorry for Brenny," says Brendan, who, incidentally, surprise, surprise, hopes to study media in Ballyfermot in the future. "If it wasn't for injury he definitely would have been involved. He's not the kind of fella to blow his own trumpet even though his achievements stand out on their own.. He gave me his jersey after the 1990 All-Ireland final, that epitomises the bloke, he's so down to earth and an inspiration to all members of the club."
The same could be said of Brendan Boylan.
Hurling On the Up
Dunboyne's name will be in the hat for the Senior Hurling championship draw this February as a result of their Intermediate final win over Kilskyre.
With their senior footballers disappointing in 1999, it was up to the hurlers of Dunboyne to maintain the club's remarkable run of success and they didn't disappoint, with the capture of the Intermediate hurling championship prompting similar celebrations which accompanied the 1998 Keegan Cup decider victory over Oldcastle.
Dunboyne and Kilskyre emerged as the top two Intermediate hurling teams in the Royal County during the past twelve months and it was Dunboyne who were crowned numero uno courtesy of a 1-11 to 2-6 final victory.
Three teams, Kilskyre, Gaeil Colmcille and Dunboyne, finished on the same amount of points at the end of the group stage. The names were put into a hat to determine who would automatically qualify for the final. Kilskyre got the rub of the green on this occasion so Dunboyne had to play Gaeil Colmcille to see who would face them in the decider.
Dunboyne comfortably disposed of the Kells challenge on a scoreline of 0-23 to 0-6 and the final was fixed for Boardsmill seven days later, the last Sunday in October. When these two sides met earlier in the competition, Dunboyne prevailed so they would have been lumbered with the favourites tag. It was a tag they justified when a superb David Moran goal two minutes from time clinched their passage to the senior grade.
Despite the inclement weather conditions, the final was an exciting contest which kept those in attendance on tenterhooks right up to the end. It was the Dunboyne supporters celebrating when referee Michael McDonagh blew the final whistle but Kilskyre contributed a great deal to
Victory seemed unlikely for the Dunboyne men when Kilskyre, with wind advantage, built up an impressive 1-6 to 0-2 interval lead. But the dismissal of one of their players, for a dangerous challenge on Vinny Maguire, at the end of the opening thirty proved to be costly in the end.
Whether or not the final result would have been any different had Kilskyre the full compliment for the entire sixty minutes is purely hypothetical at this stage, the fact of that matter remains that Dunboyne will be plying their trade against the likes of Kilmessan, Trim, etc. in the year 2000.
Besides which, an injury brought a premature end to Diarmuid Byrne's participation and he was forced to retire at the end of the first half. He was instrumental in Dunboyne's first half attacks and threatened to defeat Kilskyre on his own.
An interesting feature of the Intermediate decider was that it placed Rathmolyon and Meath colleagues John Gorry and Martin Smith in opposite corners. Gorry coached the winners Dunboyne while Kilskyre availed of Smith's vast experience. It's a credit to both men that they found time to coach the teams considering that they also lined out together with Rathmolyon and the Meath juniors during 1999.
The introduction of All-Ireland medal winner Enda McManus had a steadying influence on the Dunboyne defence. Along with Paddy McIntyre, Leo and Davin Reilly - who was switched to midfield on McManus' arrival - he proved to be the rock on which many a Kilskyre attack perished.
Vinny Maguire and Tony Reilly established a firm grip around the middle of the field for the second half.
Dunboyne opened brightly and Kilskyre goalie Frank Lynch was called into action after just 90 seconds when he tipped over a Byrne goal bound effort. Soon after, David Moran rattled the Kilskyre crossbar.
The north Meath outfit began to up their performance and raised three white flags in a row, to leave the scoreboard reading 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter. They stretched the lead to five points before finding the net six minutes from the end of the first half. A long range effort deceived Dunboyne goalie Paul Gannon and the green flag was raised.
That goal ignited the eventual winners into action, and they created a number of opportunities. Their only reward, however, was a free from captain Neville Reilly.
Kilskyre midfielder Tony Lynch then received his marching orders and they suffered a further set-back when goalie Frank Lynch received an injury and had to be substituted.
Despite trailing, the general feeling at half-time was that Kilskyre had missed the boat. Dunboyne were expected to make full use of the wind advantage and their numerical superiority.
And so it transpired. The team in yellow and black fired seven points in the opening 17 minutes, Neville Reilly (0-4), Leo Reilly and Davin Reilly were on target to restore parity, 0-9 to 1-6.
The Kilskyre defence was under serious pressure at this stage but one of their rare forays up the field yielded a goal. It was a blow to Dunboyne but they rallied superbly, Davin Reilly hit a massive point from inside his own half.
Moran then doubled on a long ball from Vinny Maguire to score that crucial goal and give Dunboyne the lead for the first time while Dara Smith hit the insurance point immediately after to land the crown for Dunboyne.
Dunboyne - P. Gannon; M. Dwyer, P. McIntyre, T. Smith; L. Reilly (0-1), D. Reilly (0-3), N. Watters; V. Maguire, T. Reilly; J. O'Connor, J. Delaney, D. Smith (0-1); N. Reilly (0-5), D. Byrne (0-1), D. Moran (1-0).
Subs - I. Browne, E. McManus.
Dunboyne best in MHC 'B' showdown
Dunboyne added the MHC 'B' title to the IHC crown when they overcame Killyon, 2-10 to 1-8, in the final which was played at Dunboyne because no alternative venue was avaliable.
The first half was a close fought affair and the sides went in level at half-time. Two late second half goals courtesy of Gary O'Toole proved the difference in the end.
Best for the winners were O'Toole, Stephen Reilly, Stephen Moran and Barry Watters.
Dunboyne: P. Brady; S. Reilly (0-3), B. Watters; Stephen Moran, K. Fagan, T. O'Connor; M. Reilly (0-1), B. Watters (0-4); G. O'Toole (2-0), Sean Moran (0-1), G. Watters (0-1); J. Watters, D. Sweeney.
Dunboyne's dominance captures U16 'B' Hurling Title
The end scoreline of 4-12 to 5-4 didn't do justice to Dunboyne's dominance of Kildalkey in the U16 'B' HC decider. Dunboyne were be far the stronger side and fully deserved their victory.
They had marginally the better of the first half and led by 2-6 to 2-2 at the interval and their greater accuracy in front of goal pulled them further clear in the second half.
Thomas O'Connor, Kevin Fagan, Stephen Moran, Gary Watters and Gary O'Toole caught the eye for the winners.
Dunboyne - D. McGovern; N. White, P. Brady; D. Watters, K. Fagan, P. Byrne; B.Comer, T. O'Connor (0-1); S. Moran (1-5), G. Watters (0-2), G. O'Toole (1-3); D. Sweeney (1-0), D. Bracken (1-0).
Subs - N. Hackett, P. Fagan (0-1).
Dunboyne's U13 girls get in on the winning act
The girls from Dunboyne clinched the U13 FC after a strong second half display ended Oldcastle's ambitions of taking the title north. Carlanstown was the venue as Dunboyne ran out winners on a scoreline of 3-10 to 1-8.
The sides were level (0-4 each) after a close first-half, but boosted by an early second-half goal from Kirsty Goff, Dunboyne pressed home their advantage.
Oldcastle rallied and reduced the deficit to four points well into the final quarter, but that's where the comeback ended as Dunboyne sealed victory with further goals from the outstanding Aoife Thompson and Aisling Brennan.
Dunboyne boasted a good overall team performance with 'keeper Rachel Fitzgerald, Aisling McKeon, Paula Doherty, Aisling Brennan, Deirdre Blaney, Laura Dunne and Thompson particularly catching the eye.
Dunboyne scorers - A. Thompson 1-5; L. Dunne 0-5; K. Goff, A. Brennan 1-0 each.
Under 15 Football League Div 1 title for St. Peters
Gerard Graham scored four goals and three points as St. Peter's garnered the Under 15 FL Division 1 title at the expense of Round Towers. 4-4 to 1-11 was the final score with Donal Butler and Colm Brennan also showing up well for the winners.
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