Internationally renowned for its rock concerts, Royal County discovers that Wayne Harding would dearly love to see the footballers of Slane grab the headlines instead. Wigan supergroup the Verve shook the walls of Slane Castle to their very foundations in August of this year belting out such universally acclaimed hits as 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' and 'The Drugs Don't Work' to 50,000 plus exuberant concert goers. While Richard Ashcroft and Co. were strutting their stuff on stage, well known Slane footballer Wayne Harding was rushed off his feet behind the counter of Slane's popular GAA pub, the Village Inn, but nonetheless the irony of the lyrics from the Verve's number 1 hit 'Lucky Man' didn't escape him. Because in football parlance by no stretch of the imagination could you describe Wayne as being a Lucky Man. Some, including himself, would even go as far as to suggest that since he broke onto the club's senior team luck has deserted them. The 26 year old explains why: "I'm the only member of the current senior team never to have won a medal at any level for Slane," he ruefully reflects over his career to date. "We had some great under age teams in the late seventies and eighties - there was the one Mattie O'Brien was the star of which won three U12 championships in a row and then there was the one with Gerry Martyn on it. "I was a couple of years too young for Gerry Martyn's team which also included Colm Gough, Paddy Martyn and Garett Downey. They won county championships at nearly all levels. I eventually caught up with them at Under 21 level but we were hammered by Kells in the first round at Navan! So I suppose you could say I'm a jinx on the team!" he laughed. Judging by the east Meath village's performances in '98, Wayne will, sad to say, hold that unenviable distinction for a number of years yet. Under the tutelage of former Meath player Phil Smith from St. Pat's, they failed to make an impression in group A of the BCR Press sponsored senior championship. The signs are ominous for their future in the senior grade. The 26 year old disagrees however, and a closer examination reveals that he may have a point. Former Meath Under 21 player Stephen Carolan and Eamonn Gibney, who was part of Sean Boylan's plans during the 1996/'97 National League campaign, spent the summer plying their trade in the U.S.A. Wayne says this put a severe strain on the club's resources. "Losing Eamonn and Stephen to America was a big blow for us. I don't blame the players themselves but I have very strong views on footballers going to America to play. I think the system is all wrong." He takes a deep breath . . . and lets his frustration spill out: "It's a disgrace that lads are being given incentives to go out to America, it's ruining small rural clubs like ours. It's happening all over the country. We don't have the numbers to be able to cope without players of their calibre and so we struggled for the year. "It affected the morale of the team and then other things started going against us. Some people are saying that we should go back down to intermediate, but I firmly believe that if we had all our players available and they weren't being robbed for no reason, then we would be well able to compete at senior level. Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind there is fifteen footballers in our parish who are as good as any you'd find elsewhere." He continues: "We were very unlucky in our game against Dunboyne who many thought would hammer us. We were only beaten by four points in the end and if we got the hop of the ball on a couple of occasions we could have got a win. However, if we continue to lose players each year then unfortunately we will have to be realistic and take a look at dropping down to intermediate in a couple of years time." Despite the fact that Wayne has little tangible reward to show for his endeavours########### he recalls his juvenile playing days with fondness, thanks mainly to the efforts of men like John Royle and Brendan Hand. "John Royle was a teacher in the National School and all the current Slane senior team players, as well as the good underage teams of the past would have come up through his hands. He looked after the Under 12 and Under 14 teams while Brendan Hand was responsible for the Under 16s and Minors. Those two dedicated a lot of time and effort into coaching underage teams in Slane down through the years," Wayne tasted his first piece of competitive senior action seven years ago and since then he has never missed a Slane championship match. In 1993 the blue and whites qualified for the quarter-final of the championship against Dunderry. The young Harding enhanced his burgeoning reputation that day contributing five points to his side's cause, but it was all in vein as Dunderry emerged victorious by four points. Two years later they reached the penultimate stage of the championship but Kilmainhamwood proved to be the rock on which their championship aspirations perished. When asked who are the driving forces behind the scene at Slane GFC, Wayne required little time to respond. "Larry Kearns has been a selector for as long as I have been on the senior team and a lot longer than that. He has a great interest in the club and is a valuable asset," he replied without hesitation. "Younger men like Jim Harding (Wayne's cousin) and Greg Lyons came on board this year to help out on the management team. The chairman Mickey Scully is also doing a great job, and Gerry Gough, who was in charge of Drumconrath this year, spent a couple of years in charge of the team and was a great player. That's only a few as there are too many others to mention." Wherever there's talk of Slane GFC, the Harding family name inevitably pops up such has been their contribution to the growth and development of the village club - both on and off the pitch. Four Hardings, Wayne's father Eamonn, Anthony, Toddy (RIP) and Kevin were members of the Slane team that captured Intermediate honours in 1967 at the expense of Bohermeen. A fifth, Oliver, is well known throughout the county as a selector of the county minor and Under 21 teams. Wayne is continuing that proud family tradition. As well as being one of Slane's most consistent performers on the football field he's also the club PRO (a position he has held for the last two years). "The job certainly has its advantages," he says. "I can embellish my own performances for the newspapers. Even if I play mediocre I can always make it sound decent enough!" With that I decided to bring the interview to a close, content that I had siphoned enough information out of the 26 year old for my article. I thanked him for his co-operation and just as I went to head out the door of the Village Inn he shouted: "Hold on there a minute, I forgot to tell you about the medal I won at school." Go on then Wayne. "In 1989 I was on the St. Olivers Drogheda team that beat St. Mary's Ardee in the Louth College senior final. Louth player Colin Kelly who was playing against Meath the following week in the championship was also on the team. That's the only medal I have ever won in football." So there you have it folks. Contrary to popular belief, the lack of success which Slane have had in recent years can in no way be attributed to Wayne Harding! Tweet

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