Former Walterstown players appear to be a popular choice amongst clubs throughout the county when it comes to selecting the coach for the coming year. Some have even enjoyed success on the intercounty front. Royal County profiles the men who graduated from the Walterstown school of coaching.Wherever the question ’which was the greatest Meath club team ever?’ arises, the Walterstown team of the late seventies and early eighties feature prominently in the various permutations. Navan O’Mahony’s of the fifties and early sixties, Kilbride of the sixties, Summerhill of the seventies (the first Royal County club to land the Leinster club title in ’78) and O’Mahony’s of the eighties each pose stiff competition but, while they may have equalled, even surpassed Walterstown’s achievements on the domestic scene, the Blacks’ success on the provincial and All-Ireland stage always stands them in goodstead when guns are put to heads.During the ’golden era’ of the Johnstown parish club, the Keegan Cup was draped in black and white on five occasions, 1978, 1980, ’82, ’83 and ’84. In ’81 and ’84, Leinster club championship honours were garnered and they qualified for the All-Ireland club showdown on each occasion. Unfortunately, their efforts to lift the premier prize in club football were thwarted by St. Finbarr’s and Nemo Rangers respectively.Players such as Pat, Gerry and Christopher Reynolds, Mick, Ollie and Eamonn O’Brien, Neil and Frank Sullivan, Eamonn Barry, Gerry McLoughlin and Gerry Cooney all donned the green and gold county jersey at some stage throughout their career. In the best tradition of sporting cliches, they, and their club colleagues, have been there, done that and bought the t-shirt.It’s no coincidence then that, since they hung up the boots, many clubs, throughout the county, have been eager to secure their services in a coaching capacity. Testimony to the respect they earned in their playing days is the amount of ex-Walterstown players who are currently, or who have been active in coaching capacities in Meath club football. The Black’s inaugural Keegan Cup success in 1978 brought the curtain down on Pat Reynolds’ illustrious playing career - which, incidentally, had spanned 17 years in the black jersey. An All-Ireland medalist in ’67, the county’s first recipient of an All Star award in 1971, Pat achieved greatness on the field of play.When the County Board gave Sean Boylan full authority to pick his own selectors in the Autumn of 1985, he invited Pat, along with Tony Brennan, to get involved. The rest, as they say, is history. When his commitments with the county scene came to an end in 1993, Pat took over Walterstown for a year.His brother Gerry donned the bainisteoir bib in ’97 and ’98 for Walterstown. The youngest of the Reynolds’ brothers, Christopher helped out as a selector.The Barry brothers, John, Eamonn and Martin, made up the half-forward line on the team which faced Cork’s finest, Nemo Rangers, in the All-Ireland club final of 1984. John was a selector with this year’s Walterstown seniors, while, under his tutelage the club’s second string lost out to Drumbaragh in the Junior ’B’ decider.As a player Eamonn Barry was a clever forward, the same could be said of his managerial style. Already he has amassed an impressive curriculum vitae which includes a junior title (1995) and two Intermediate final appearances (1996,’97) with Duleek. He also won the Dublin junior championship with St. Peregrine’s last year. It has, however, been as manager of the Meath juniors and this year’s surprise packets Dunshaughlin that he’s really grabbed the headlines.In 1997 Bective surpassed all expectations when claiming the Junior title at the expense of Skryne. Martin Barry, a veteran of many clashes with Walterstown’s rivals, orchestrated the Bective win. Bective, once again, defied the odds to reach the penultimate stage of this year’s Intermediate championship where they were defeated by eventual champions Syddan.Gerry Cooney captained the last Walterstown side which captured Meath football’s blue riband prize in 1984. Dunboyne offered him the opportunity to test his coaching abilities when he was approached to take over there in the middle of the decade and there results must have impressed County Minor Board officials as he was in charge of the Meath U21 team which came so close to annexing the county’s second All-Ireland win at this grade in ’97. Derry prevented Gerry, Paddy Reynolds and co. from emulating the U21 class of ’93.Gerry resumed his post at Dunboyne for 1998 and he presided over the club’s ’finest hour’, the senior championship final success over Oldcastle. In 1999 he was Meath minor coach and has already agreed to continue in that role for 2000. Gerry’s brother, Stan, managed the Walterstown team which won the U21 ’Special’ championship in 1993. Kilmainhamwood were defeated in that decider at Rathkenny. Stan also spent a couple of years over the club’s Junior ’B’ team in the early nineties. 1967 All-Ireland medalist Mick O’Brien was the man who masterminded the Johnstown parish club’s five Meath SFC triumphs. In 1975 he was responsible for Meath’s surprise victory over Dublin in the National Football League decider. It’s widely believed that he was unlucky not to have won a Leinster title in 1976 and ’77. He continues to be involved with the club’s underage teams.Mick’s brother, Eamonn, was as surprised as the rest of the county when he received a phone call from Sean Boylan at the end of 1995. Along with Frank Foley he was approached by the Dunboyne man to replace Mick Lyons and Joe Cassells as selectors on the county team. Two All-Irelands later and it is being hailed as an inspired choice by Boylan. It was Eamonn’s debut in team management.’Man of the Match’ in the 1980 Keegan Cup decider against Syddan, Ollie O’Brien was in charge of the St. Mary’s team which went under to Drumree in last year’s Junior FC decider. He was a selector, along with Paul Reynolds and former Donaghmore/Meath player Brendan Murray, on the Walterstown team which contested the 1991 final against Gaeil Colmcille, while he also spent a spell in charge of the home club in the early part of this decade. A fourth O’Brien, Dermot, has savoured championship success with Simonstown. In 1990 he guided them to the Junior title while he was at the helm again five years later when the north Navan club made the breakthrough to the senior ranks. He was also a selector with Walterstown in the early eighties.Centenary Cup medal winner Frank Sullivan - who lined out for the Blacks as recently as 1995 - took over at Moynalvey for 1999, while his brother Neil, Keegan Cup winning captain in 1980, was a selector with Walterstown.Former Donegal intercounty player Paddy Carr joined Walterstown in 1980 and played a starring role in the wins of 1983 and 1984. His coaching talents first surfaced in St. Mary’s College in Drogheda where he is a teacher. He was appointed to the position of Meath minor coach in 1995. He has done a stint with Louth outfit Mattock Rangers. Last year he replaced ex-Monaghan star, Eugene ’Nudie’ Hughes, at Meath Hill while he assumed control of Walterstown for the year just coming to a close. Other Walterstown players from the club’s ’golden era’ who are or have been involved in coaching include Pat Smith (Seneschalstown), Gerry McLoughlin (Rathkenny), Sean Reilly and Pat Davis (Walterstown). Gerry Fitzpatrick, a selector in the early eighties, was a selector with Simonstown for the past two years.In three years time, Walterstown GFC will, no doubt, organise a function to celebrate the silver jubilee of the day when the club placed Johnstown parish firmly on the map at Summerhill’s expense. Gathered under the roof of wherever the outing will be held will be some of the shrewdest football brains in the Royal County. On the pitch they were a breed apart, they appear to have no peers on the sideline either.If Sean Boylan ever decides to quit . . .