In 1995, Mark O'Reilly and Darren Fay, were unknown to gaels outside of Meath. Ten years on and young Niall McKeigue, who formed the full-back line with those two veterans last July against Fermanagh in the All-Ireland SFC quaifiers, is aiming to help kick-start a new era for the Royal County footballers. To outsiders, the well has run dry for Meath. To them, Meath's mental and physical enthusiasm is all they've got left. After watching the Sean Boylan-inspired glory, glory days of the 'eighties and 'nineties, those from afar swear that the Royals are no longer replete with the kind of talent that can lift the big prizes. Young gun Niall McKeigue vehemently thinks otherwise. "There's a thin line right now in all the provinces between winning and losing and I definitely think we've as good a set of players in Meath as there are anywhere else in the country. "I'd say the fans that go to see us in the league and championship matches would be optimistic that we can come good next year and I'm the same. "The fair-weather fans who hardly ever go to watch us are the sceptics," the Navan O'Mahony's man insists. There's no doubting though that it's been a tough couple of years for McKeigue and Meath. Although he collected a senior provincial medal - as a sub he hastens to remind us - in 2001, it's really been mostly downhill since for him with regard to his county career. 2005 will be a high-pressure year for Meath and it'll not only be Sean Boylan - entering into his 23rd season in charge - who'll have his reputation on the line either. If Meath were to have another indifferent season, would the Dunboyne man survive? Would the likes of Niall McKeigue be favoured by the new incumbent? "I think we'll get things right next year. I'll be surprised and disappointed if we don't at least make the Leinster final in 2005," Niall says. But Could you blame even those with selective amnesia from keeping their bets in their pockets? Niall accepts that, on form, Meath have it all to do to turn things around. The signs are that Boylan will be relying even more on the 'aged' 25-year-old O'Mahony's defender to consolidate the sort of form which last November saw him book his passage to Paris with the Leinster Railway Cup squad. But while Dublin-based McKeigue embellised a blossoming career at club, county and provincial levels last year, Meath football appeared to go into a tailspin. Championship defeats to Laois and later Fermanagh last Summer gave those in the long grass the chance to open up with a few pot shots, the kind which weren't really seen since the county's nine point defeat to Galway in the 2001 All-Ireland SFC final. The 2004 NFL proved to be a sticky wicket for the Royals and concerns among the grass roots weren't allayed by the mere workmanlike 2-13 to 1-8 provincial championship quarter-final win over Wicklow, even if the team showed typical Meath character in battling back when the Garden County stole into a two point lead early in the second half. Niall and his brother Shane (22) both played that day. The subsequent championship semi-final against Laois witnessed the blooding of Seamus Kenny and Joe Sheridan as team-manager Boylan changed the guard somewhat. Our man McKeigue retained his place at right corner-back. "Laois was a massive game for us. We needed to win that one to give us the chance to go on and take a big scalp and make a name for ourselves." Sadly for the Meathmen, two fine, timely saves by Laois netminder Fergal Byron and Meath's poor shooting combined to hand them a 0-9 to 1-13 defeat. "They had about a dozen or so of the same lads that we played in the 2002 championship and we hammered them. "I thought we were at least in with a shout of beating them again when the game was in the balance at eight points apiece well into the second half but then they got four points in a row and got away from us. "They seemed to have a winning feel about them whereas we hadn't. Maybe the self-belief wasn't there for us," Niall explains. But worse was to follow on July 3rd when Meath exited the race for the Sam Maguire Cup by losing out to Fermanagh (2-10 to 0-19), in the All-Ireland SFC qualfiers in Enniskillen. "I know it sounds a lame excuse now but we definitely had no luck against Fermanagh. "The ball never seemed to bounce our way and when Trevor (Giles) hit the post, the writing was on the wall. "But Sean (Boylan) lifted us afterwards when he said we were as good a bunch of players as the county has had. I was talking to him after the game and he was very disappointed that we didn't at least get a draw which he thought we deserved." Niall is convinced though that better times lie ahead for Meath seniors. He doesn't agree that the county is at a crossroads at this stage. Instead he believes it'll take just a little while longer for the mix of young and seasoned players to gel fully. "When I look around me in the dressing-room when I'm playing with Meath, I can see the quality of the players that are in the squad and I'm convinced that we have the talent to come again. "Fellas like Joe Sheridan and Brian Farrell are two of the best, up and coming young players in the country. "I think we had six fellas who made their championship debuts against Westmeath in 2003 but everyone stood up and was counted. "The stuff is coming through - you only have to look at St. Pat's and their All-Ireland win - but we have to learn first from the defeats before we can improve and show what we're really made of," adds the accomplished county dual star. And Sean Boylan has a key role to play? "Definitely. I was glad he stayed on. He's got my total support. "He treats all the players very well, no matter who they are and I still think he's the one who can get the best out of us." In Niall McKeigue, the long-serving Dunboyne mentor has certainly some explosive ammunition to work with as Beano McDonald and Dessie Dolan can testify. But it's one hell of a commitment for the Trim road, Navan homester. Even allowing for the fact that he no longer has to commute up country for training from Limerick, as he used to as a Business Studies student in college, it still takes some doing to work some 50 hours a week, do accountancy exams and travel home from the capital for midweek training sessions. Having to work late some nights for his employers in Dublin (an accountancy firm) in order to get off for training is no joke. But then Niall intends to be laughing with joy sooner rather than later. He completed his 'finals' last Summer which is a big relief though. And when he has his championship medal in his back pocket, he'll be able to proudly show it off to his father who once played alongside county supremo Boylan on the Meath hurling team in the seventies. Niall remembers as a youngster, his father Sean goading him, asking him whether he thought he'd ever make the O'Mahony's senior team. And maybe when he didn't make the county minor team - "didnt' get a sniff of it" - he might have had reason to doubt his own ability. However later under the tutelage of the county under 21 management team of Robbie O'Malley, Paul Kenny and John O'Sullivan, he blossomed, almost overnight. A few years later a phone call from Paddy Carr and and he's a Railway Cup player. It's surely a long road that doesn't have a turn. "I remember being annoyed in my first year with the senior county team when I wasn't getting a run and I didn't seem to be in the reckoning for a starting place. "But Sean (Boylan) told me I had to be patient and learn the game like the way you learn a trade. It was good advice." Niall says he's enjoying his football like never before and can't wait for the 2005 season to kick into place. One hazards a guess that the whole of Meath is on the same wavelength. Tweet

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