He proved his flexibility on the football field with Kilmainhamwood and as his circumstances changed, the Kingspan worker's love of football brought him to Oliver Plunketts. 'Wood cruise home' was the main headline above the sub-heading of 'Depleted Seneschalstown are totally outclassed' in the Meath Chronicle the week after Kilmainhamwood's memorable triumph in the county senior championship final in 1996. Two years previously Kilmainhamwood had won the Intermediate championship, after overcoming Simonstown Gaels, thus making the senior ranks. By 1996 they had arrived on the big stage in the county. It was the fairytale come true for Martin Crosbie's club career in Meath. Having played with his local village club since U-10, he went on to represent Meath at minor, U-21, junior and (briefly) senior level when he played in a league match against Derry under Sean Boylan. He captained Meath to the Leinster junior title in 1995, a team which eventually lost to Mayo in the All-Ireland semi-final. He speaks as a man who is still immensely enjoying his football. His value as a team player was demonstrated in the 1996 county final when he was awarded the man-of-the-match. He has been versatile, playing in a number of positions such as corner back, full-back, centre half back and midfield. Half jokingly half serious, he says the next thing for him will be the sideline. Still, maybe he will have to be forced out as he says has no intention of quitting the game just yet. A Procurement manager at Kingspan Holdings, his job entails negotiating the commercial agreements for the purchase of steel and raw materials for the Kingspan group. The company is a major manufacturer of an integrated range of products for the construction industry and this year won the Company of the Year 2005 award at Ireland's Business & Finance awards. Kingspan was selected from over 100 nominations by an independent judging panel, chaired by Denis O'Connor, Managing Partner at KPMG and consisting of leading Irish business professionals. With Gene Murtagh as CEO, the company is, among other things, involved in selling oil tanks, manufacturing composite steel panels, thermal insulation sheeting and timber frame houses. After winning the championship with Kilmainhamwood, his football career changed somewhat. Job and family commitments meant that it became less feasible for him to combine work and continuing to play for 'the wood'. His first son Cillian had been born in January 1998 so at the end of that year he felt the time was right to transfer to Drogheda and his chosen club Oliver Plunketts. "The time was right to move on as I was going over and back to training all the time. It wouldn't have made sense (to continue) though as you can appreciate after all those years it was very difficult to leave," he said. "If it wasn't for Paula I wouldn't be able to train and to play. She has been fantastic," he said. He settled into his new training surroundings quite quickly. He had already done some training with the team the previous year and was made welcome when he transferred. During his spell with the team he has won three Grogan Cups and promotion to the senior ranks in 2004. Now residing in Togher, this season was his seventh year with Plunketts. The team has, he says, "been up and down". Despite a good championship run, they were overrun in the quarter-final against Collon. "We will take the credit for giving Collon the confidence to go on and win the championship" he says tongue in cheek. (At time of going to print Plunketts were fighting to maintain their status as 'senior') He may be in the twilight of his career but he has no intention of stopping playing Gaelic football. So what have been his best memories? "Winning the championships in Meath in 1994 ("the same weekend as we got married") and senior in 1996 were massive events. Playing senior football in both Meath and Louth has been great and I have also been very lucky with injuries. "Family support has been vital and much appreciated over the years but football is in my blood, encouraged by my late father", he says. Simplicity, he believes, is the key to a good football team. Rather than over analyse your opponents' strengths and weaknesses, he is a firm proponent of looking to what you do best yourself. "I always think football should be played in a simple manner - you play to your own strengths," he said. He added that the game had changed significantly in terms of the level of commitment needed in a team. Numerous good players played at the top level during his time as a footballer. It was, after all, during the 1980s that Meath began to gain attention on the national stage with players such as Colm O'Rourke, Bernard Flynn and Liam Hayes excelling in their county jersey. One man, another Kilmainhamwood clubman, stands out for him though he stresses the importance of a squad game in Gaelic football. "Brian Stafford was an outstanding player but one man doesn't win a game. Now it's a 20, 25-28 man game, even at club level. Finally he indicates the importance of players being well treated. "Players need to be properly treated. If you want a successful club, and a successful county you need to look after them," he says "because success breeds success". Tweet

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