The All Ireland JFC may not be held in the same high esteem as the September showpiece in Croke Park, but if one was to ask any one of Martin Barry's panel, fellow mentors, or indeed Meath supporters in what has been quite a barren year, they will tell you that August 2nd in Cusack Park in Mullingar meant a hell of a lot. It saddens me greatly to see the disregard and apathy with which some players, supporters and officials treat this competition. Thankfully, this never been a problem in Meath where players are concerned, I have always been a very strong advocate of it's merits. Sometimes it can be where a player can get his big break on county scene, lads like Nigel Nestor, John Cullinane and Enda McManus all began there before going on to bigger and better things. Others, like Jarlath Gilroy in Kildare, Peter Brady of Offaly, Westmeath's Tommy Cleary and our own Cathal Sheridan have kept their inter county careers going in the grade. Sheridan for one won't have a bad word to say about the grade. For on that early autumn evening at the Westmeath venue he wrote himself into the history books as the only Meath player to have All Ireland Minor, U-21, Senior and Junior medals. The fact that different counties can apply different rules regarding what players are eligible for selection just serves to illustrate how little is thought of the competition in G.A.A. headquarters. The players I mentioned from Offaly and Westmeath that I mentioned all play for senior clubs while other counties can only select from intermediate and junior clubs. I have to admit I believe the latter system to be the fairest as firstly it puts everybody on an even keel and secondly it gives lads the chance to play county football otherwise. Look at how well the likes of Trevor Bannon, Paddy Nugent, Barry Keirns and Jim Gallagher performed when given the chance to shine. The first pair were county U-21's this year but the latter two never got the deserved recognition before this year that was awarded to them. Meath's road to glory began on May 14th in St Conleth's Park in Newbridge. They trailed the home side by a point at the interval, 0-05 to 0-06 but got the ideal start to the second half when Cathal Sheridan and Alan Fox both hit the net. It was pretty much plain sailing as Sheridan took his personal tally to 1-5 while Stephen Bray, Alan Fox, Barry Lynch and substitute Paul Murray all got on target as the visitors eased home by 2-12 to 0-09. What won the aforementioned quarter final against the Lake County two weeks later was an explosive start which saw them lead by 0-11 to 0-05 at the midway point. Sheridan and Bray were on fire up front, hitting five points apiece, but for me on that damp night in Pairc Tailteann, all the plaudits had to go to Moynalty clubman Jim Gallagher. For it was his workman like attitude and willingness to die for the cause that made all the free-scoring forward play possible. That was another positive thing Barry and co could take in, every one of their starting half dozen forwards and all of those on the bench were seemingly capable of scoring from almost anywhere. This was very much in evidence in Croke Park on June 14th, when, while 'raising the curtain' for the Meath and Kildare seniors, they wracked up an amazing 5-13, while the rearguard also proved their worth when restricting Laois to a meagre 1-06. Unfortunately, the game was in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons as a controversy which would dog Martin Barry and his team for the remainder of the campaign regarding the eligibility of St Ultan's clubman Gary Rogers erupted. With the blessing of his employer, Drogheda United manager Harry McCue, Rogers made himself available and although he was listed to start at centre forward he didn't enter the fray until late in the game and knocked over a point. What ensued over the course of the remainder of the championship was nothing short of a farce which did nobody any good. Anyway, enough of all that, the win over Laois earned Meath a tilt at a Leinster title against Wexford. Again the G.A.A. authorities showed the contempt they have for the competition by firstly giving Wexford home advantage in a provincial final that surely should been played at a neutral venue and secondly by fixing the game for 7.30pm on a Wednesday evening. This meant that not only did the players have to take at least a half day from work and it also deprived large numbers of supporters of a chance to see the game. Surely it would have made more sense to follow a path taken by the Munster Council and have the game as a curtain raiser to one of the big senior championship games. Thus giving it a higher profile and giving more people the opportunity to see the game and get to know the players on the team. It will probably come as no surprise to you to hear that the Meath team was late for their appointment in Wexford on July 2nd. However, after the delayed start, they flew out of the traps as Cathal Sheridan and Alan Fox helped Meath race into a six point lead without conceding a score at the other end. For the remainder of the half the home side did come to life as Eddie Doyle struck over some nice scores to leave the score reading 0-04 to 0-06 at the interval. Two further Doyle points levelled matters instantly after half time but that was as good as it got for the home side as Meath took off again. Ciaran McLoughlin was outstanding in defence as Wexford could not get through and Ian McManus set Meath on the road to victory as he pointed twice while Stephen Bray, Cathal Sheridan, Fox and Barry Lynch all pointed. However, the real story of the Leinster final was that of Brian Farrell. Last year's star minor only joined the panel two days before the fixture but the Nobber player wasted no time in making an impact, and quite an impact it was. With his first touch of the ball he blasted to the net and also lofted over two points to seal a 1-14 to 0-07 Meath win. A game against any Kerry team is going to be a stiff test and that's exactly what the All Ireland semi final on July 19th at Nenagh was, but, to be fair, Barry's charges passed a stern examination with flying colours. I said earlier in this piece that Cathal Sheridan created his own piece of history with this team and on that sunny Saturday in Tipperary he certainly bore the look of a rebel with a cause as he was the main driving force behind a typically rousing Royal County display. Incidentally, I remember talking to Cathal before the game and impressing upon him the importance of him giving all his energy as he was due to line out against my own club in the county championship the next morning! He obviously took my advice, he was the best player on the pitch, and Meath needed all his guile and experience to get past a strong Kerry team which included ex seniors Killian Burns and Tommy Griffin while Eamonn J. Donoghue and former U-21 captain Brian Scanlon. I always think every team needs a bit of luck to be successful and when Stephen Bray netted after Humphrey Kelliher had parried his initial goal bound attempt you got the feeling it might be Meath's day. Still, the actually went in trailing by 0-07 to 1-03 at the interval and were also faced with the task of playing into the rather stiff wind when they came back out. They seemed not to be worried though as Sheridan quickly got them back to parity and actually edged them in front early in the second half. However, they fell out of the game for a long period and when they found themselves trailing by 0-11 to 1-07 entering the final moments of the game it appeared that their goose was well on the way to being roasted. Enter Brian Farrell and Barry Kieran. From the moment the super sub joined the attack Meath a grip on the game, but that would not have been possible without star studded defending by Paddy Nugent, Fergus McMahon but in particular Barry Kieran. The Meath Hill man was majestic in those frantic closing minutes as he flung himself in every direction to ensure Meath held on to possession. Once they had the ball it was only a matter of firing it into Farrell. He gave the Kerry rearguard a hellish time and though he didn't register a score himself he created scores for Sheridan and Alan Fox which saw the side in the yellow jerseys claw their way back in front before the pair mentioned above combined as the former knocked over the insurance point after the diminutive Wolfe Tones player was hauled down. For a while, it appeared as if luck was deserting Meath at a vital stage. Firstly, they had to line out in the above game without towering full forward Barry Lynch who picked up a nasty after a freak accident at home in the week beforehand and then, in the week after the game and then Alan Fox sustained a leg injury in a club game which took him out of Martin Barry's plans. The one obvious advantage they had over Galway was that the final would be their sixth game whereas the Connacht side had only fielded twice. And even at that, there was a gap of over a month between their game against Roscommon and the walk in the park against Warwickshire. On final day Meath didn't need any luck, from early on it was clear they held all the aces. Brian Farrell was on fire and himself, Cathal Sheridan and Stephen Bray seemed to be scoring at will. Not even a Brian Moran goal that saw Galway take a two point lead seemed to phase them as Farrell clipped over a brace of points to send the sides in level at half time. The exchanges were tight in the opening minutes of the second period but the introduction of Willie Byrne swung the game in the right direction from a Meath point of view. Moynalvey clubman Byrne sent over a brace of points himself and was involved in everything as Barry Kieran, Sheridan, Farrell (who finished the tie with a half dozen points to his name) and Philip Duff pointed Meath a comfortable and very satisfying win for all concerned. It may not carry the glitz and glamour of other things but this group of players are All Ireland champions and they and their mentors have every right to be as proud as punch. Each and every Meath player and mentor made a massive contribution to a great success but it was a particularly sweet success for Cathal Sheridan People like Barry Kieran, Jim Gallagher, Trevor Bannon, Stephen Bray and Alan Fox also captured people's attention, including this writer when given the chance to shine in the famed green and gold jersey, thus proving that the competition does still have a lot of merit. The win could be just the shot the shot in the arm that Meath football appears to badly need and it wouldn't surprise me if many of the heroes of this success went on to bigger and better things in the Meath colours. The All Ireland JFC Champions are: J. Curry (Ballinabrackey), C. McLoughlin (Wolfe Tones), T. Bannon (Ballinabrackey), P. Nugent (Carnaross); N. Horan (Capt., Dunsany), F. McMahon (Ballivor), B. Kieran (Meath Hill, 0-1); I. McManus (Curraha), J. Gallagher (Moynalty); C. Sheridan (Summerhill, 0-4), P. Duff (Syddan, 0-1), S. Bray (Navan O'Mahonys, 0-2); B. Farrell (Nobber, 0-6), B. Lynch (Kilmaiham), R. Russell (Bective), Subs: W. Byrne (Moynalvey, 0-2), S. Smith (Moynalty), G. Lynch (Simonstown Gaels), R. Sheridan (St Vincent's), A. Sheehan (Bective), A. Rennicks (Kilbride), A. Fox (Wolfe Tones), G. Weldon (Nobber), J. Maguire (Nobber), G. Rogers (St Ultan's), J. Donoghue (Moynalvey). Tweet

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