Not many footballers can legitimately claim to have played with three different counties at adult level - a distinction held by Clann na nGael clubman Shane McAnarney. The Athboy man enjoyed his time with the Meath seniors in 2006, even though his club was unfortunate not to qualify for the business end of both league and championship. All in all, there's plenty to look forward to in '07… Athboy's Shane McAnarney had already represented both New York and London at championship level before joining forces with Eamonn Barry and the Meath senior football panel for the 2006 campaign. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working with the best players in the Royal County and is hopeful that there are many more chapters remaining to be added to his already eventful intercounty career. At club level, Clann na nGael were very much the nearly men of Meath junior football in '06. The Athboy-Rathcairn outfit contested Division Four of the all-county league and the JFC. They were decidedly unfortunate not to progress beyond the group stage on both counts. In the league, the Clanns finished third behind St Michael's and St Mary's, who went on to contest the final (and also claimed the two promotion places). In the junior championship, with three teams from the section progressing to the quarter-finals, the Athboy-Rathcairn combination finished joint-third in Group A, behind St Ultans and Dunsany but level on points with Dunboyne. Alas, despite winning four of their seven group matches, they were edged out by the Dunboyne men (who had beaten them in their group clash and advanced on the basis of that result). Shane is confident that Clann na nGael are showing signs of turning the corner. Greatly encouraged by the progress made by a predominantly young side in '06, he is hopeful that promotion could be secured within the short-term future: "We have a very young team at the moment and there's certainly plenty of potential there. The older lads are able to retire earlier than they used to, which is a good sign. The young lads are coming through and staking their claim. We never had that before, so things are really looking up." So how did a footballer from Athboy end up playing for two different counties in the Connacht SFC? (There has to be a great pub question in there somewhere!) Shane reveals: "I went over to London in December 2004 and I spent the following summer there. I ended up playing for London against Roscommon in the championship." If memory serves me right, the Exiles pushed the Primrose & Blue all the way that day? "We should have beaten them," Shane confirms. And what about the New York connection? How did that one come about? "I spent a total of three years in New York. I was with the Meath club over there and also played for Monaghan and Cavan. I was on the New York team that played Mayo at Gaelic Park in 2004." News of Shane's exploits obviously spread fast and he was brought into Camp Royal for the 2006 season. Needless to say, this was a big honour for the Athboy man: "It was a nice achievement and I was delighted to get that recognition. It was great to be involved with a Meath panel. It's a learning experience and a great opportunity. It was good of Eamonn to give me a shot and I tried to make the most of it." It was an amazing story in many ways as, before he emigrated, there was little to suggest that Shane would one day make the Meath senior panel. He concedes: "I was with some of those lads at U21 level and I never got a look-in." Why the sudden improvement? Is it possible that McAnarney's football improved while he was overseas? "Personally, I certainly think I learned a lot from playing with new lads, and having good players from places like Cork and Kerry around me helped improve my game. I also played with London in the league and it was a good learning curve." Shane was invited onto the county panel during the winter months of 2005/06. He recalls: "I talked to Benny and Eamonn and agreed to come home from London for trials. Once that went well and I knew I had made the panel, I decided to come home and give it a shot. It was a real privilege to be asked to play for Meath. It's not every day you get a chance like that so I knew I had to come home." As he was already doing well for himself as a carpenter, Shane decided to join the family business, Sean McAnarney Carpentry Ltd. Proud dad Sean was happy to have him back in the fold and so were the gaels of Athboy and further afield! Shane played in the O'Byrne Cup and started the Division One national league clash against Down. He also made substitute appearances against Kildare and Laois, and was on the periphery of things as Meath played in Leinster and embarked on an encouraging qualifier run. The new-look Royals gathered considerable momentum after kicking down the back door and were decidedly unlucky to lose their Round Three clash with Laois at Pairc Tailteann, when Ross Munnelly broke Meath hearts with two late breakaway goals. A good run, but - "it was disappointing at the end of it all," says Shane. "We felt that we were good enough to beat Laois and we nearly did. We have the players and the performance was good, but it just didn't work out on the night. "At the moment Meath are finding their feet. In 2006, it was all about getting used to the new manager and his ideas and how he wanted us to play. We also had a lot of lads getting used to each other and I think progress was made in that regard. There's absolutely no reason why Meath can't learn from the experiences of 2006 and move on as a stronger unit." How much does Shane want to be part of that unit? "Nobody is guaranteed a place with Meath. Everybody has to work hard, but hopefully I have a part to play." The Clann na nGael talisman reckons there's an abundance of talent at Meath's disposal and insists that the Royal County stock has not fallen as low as some cynics might have us all believe: "There's definitely a group of players in the county who are capable of challenging for a Leinster championship. And after that, there's not a whole lot between that and an All-Ireland. It's just a matter of taking it one step at a time, building confidence, and improving from one game to the next. "If you have 15 Meath men who can bond and play together as a team, then they will always take stopping. If Meath work hard and up the ante, there's silverware at the end of it. I think Meath should be good enough to win Division Two if the work is put in, and that should set the team up for a real shot at Leinster." Tweet

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