When people think of Kilmainham they think of Sam Black. Brian Thornton puts the question to as loyal a GAA man as you'll come across. Gaelic football and hurling at local level like all sporting organisations produces its fashionable teams, who tend to have a large playing base, and invariably smaller unglamorous sides, with scarce resources. One such unfashionable club is Kilmainham GFC. Kilmainham, who play their football on a field donated by a local farmer, are the type of club who rely totally on the loyalty and enthusiasm of a small band of dedicated members and supporters. One such committed supporter is Sam Black. Sam, who runs the Westway Bar in Bective Street, Kells, is the kind of supporter that most Gaelic clubs would relish. He devotes all his spare time to Kilmainham GFC, from running under age football to cheering on the team. From an early age he has been involved with both Kilmainham as a player, and the county team as a supporter, as he explained. "My earliest memory of going to football matches was the 1967 All-Ireland final between Meath and Cork. Meath played very well and I can distinctly remember every score in the game. The success of Meath in the 80s was great, but the1967 game was something else," he insisted. Sam also holds special memories of his playing days with Kilmainham, especially the clubs successes. "I played in the victorious Junior B championship side of 1980, and in the Junior league win in 1976. They were good days to be involved in football," he said. Like many stalwarts of the GAA he has strong family connections with the game at local level. "My father played for Harps and Gaeil Colmcille in his day, so I suppose you could say that's where my interest in the game came from," he disclosed. As far as Kilmainham goes he is optimistic about the club's future. "While I'll agree that we are a small club, we've got a lot of good young players coming up. As long as we've got Blacks, Lynchs, and Morgans, Kilmainham will have a strong club," he added. As a self confessed Meath fanatic Sam has strong views on the county's future progression. "While I was pleased to see Kildare get a break through out of Leinster it should be remembered that Meath were without some of their best players on the day. I'm confident that Meath will come back in 1999, because the players they have are every bit as good as Kildare or any team," he insisted. A veteran follower of Meath football he has no hesitation mentioning his favourite players of all time. "The best player I have ever seen playing for Meath has to be Martin O'Connell. He was an outstanding player and once he played well the whole team responded. I also like Trevor Giles he's a very good footballer and will probably bring the Sam Maguire back for Meath in the near future. Jack Quinn from the '67 team was also a great footballer, as was Joe Murphy from the 1970 team. The Kerry team of the 70s had some great footballers on it, some of them among the best ever," he said. Although never having played the game at a competitive level, Sam, retains a keen interest in hurling, specifically the Clare hurling team. "Like probably everyone in the country I feel that Clare were hard done by this year. They have some really great players like Ollie Baker and I'm sure that success will come back to them in 1999," he insisted. The standard of refereeing is a problem which he feels has to be quickly dealt with. "What I would like to see is a greater consistency in referring. There's many a good game of football that has been ruined by poor referees. Clare were very unlucky in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final mainly because of the referee. It is also very unfair that video evidence is being used to incriminate players, but never to clear their names. Referees need to keep up with the changes in the game if fair play is seen to be done," he pointed out. As a player and a spectator Sam has witnessed and participated in some outstanding matches, as he explained. "The 1980 championship game between Kilmainham and Boardsmill was probably my best memory of playing football. The best games I've ever seen were the replayed games between Meath and Dublin in 1991. Those games showed Meath football at its best," he praised. Meath's failure in successive Leinster finals wasn't, he insisted, the fault of manager Sean Boylan. "There is no way I would like to see Sean Boylan forced out of of his job. Boylan has done great things for Meath and he will achieve more in the future. If he wants to go, he'll do so in his own good time. It was injuries rather than mistakes by Boylan that ended Meath's run in the championship," he pointed out. When it comes to the vexed question of allowing international soccer matches to be played at headquarters, Sam, remains a traditionalist. "The new stadium at Croke Park was built by the G.A.A. for gaelic games, not soccer. If soccer needs a home they should pay for it themselves," he concluded. Tweet

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