Lads, have been asked in work a very good question.

Who was the Meath Senior Football manager before Sean Boylan and the one before him again? Also if you have any small info on each manager, that would be great ie where he was from? how long was in charge for? etc etc


Ard Ri, I expect you to step up to the plate on this one!!

Laytown Legend (None) - Posts: 424 - 08/11/2010 09:02:06    811689

I know Fr Tully was in charge for the earlier All Ireland wins. Dunno who was there for definate in between that & the Boylan era.

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6348 - 08/11/2010 10:52:08    811747

I know Michéal Campbell was at the helm when we reached the All Ireland final in 1979 and Mick O'Brien ( Eamons brother) was in charge in 1976 and 1977 when we were narrowly beaten by a Dublin team that subsequently won back to back All Irelands.

Bring_home_Sam (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 08/11/2010 12:02:18    811823

Sorry a typo error. Michéal Campbell was manager in 1970.

Bring_home_Sam (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 08/11/2010 14:22:24    811966

For me its hard to believe the lack of interest in this thread. Surely there is more info available out there!

Bring_home_Sam (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 09/11/2010 20:14:39    813164

The man before Sean Boylan was Mick O Brien.

jake1 (Meath) - Posts: 268 - 09/11/2010 21:03:10    813224

Laytown Legend

The best I can do is as follows.

1966 to 68 plus or minus a few years Peter McDermott. 1970, '71 or so Michael Campbell. 1975 to '77 +/- Mick O' Brien. Sometime between 1978 and 1983 Dessie Ferguson. Did Pat O' Neill also manage them during this time. If he did, it may have been him who was there in 1982 if not it was probably Dessie Ferguson. Sorry I cannot be more precise. The years do funny things to the old memory.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 10/11/2010 17:14:37    813723

Ard ri

Fair play to ya. The best effort so far by a long shot.
Just a question over it, someone said the Mick obrien was a brother of eamons, is that correct?

Jinxie (Meath) - Posts: 6348 - 10/11/2010 17:47:18    813759

Yes he is a brother of Eamonn's,he was also part of meath squad in 67 and he also toured Austraila in 68.

jake1 (Meath) - Posts: 268 - 10/11/2010 17:55:06    813770

Mick was over the Meath team that beat Dublin in the league final of 1975.

jake1 (Meath) - Posts: 268 - 10/11/2010 18:20:25    813800

I might be wrong on this and Im open to correction but my understanding is it was really only in the 70s that football managers appeared as we know them today. Up to that time most counties had a trainer that would run practice sessions. These would have been fairly casual and not nearly as professional as todays standards. The team was selected by the county chairman and a large group of selectors of his choice.

Maradonna (Meath) - Posts: 128 - 11/11/2010 09:30:23    814008

Maradonna

Yes that more or less was the situation. However the trainer in most cases, but with a few exceptions, had almost as much power as the current managers in regard to the running of the team. In most counties there would be a panel of selectors and this could often be up to a dozen. There was however an ulterior motive for this. In those days most players would not own their own car and selectors, who ostensibly were appointed to give a good wide representation of clubs, would be able to pick up players for training. They were paid expenses for this also. Unless the chairman or trainer were strong characters this number of selectors usually led to strong disagreements in the dugouts and you could see and hear the dissension which was going on. Indeed when Sean Boylan took over there were eight selectors still in Meath. It was Boylan who said that if he was to continue he wanted to reduce this to two. Even with the advent of managers there were some counties where the manager had nothing to do with team selection or the putting on of subs and Cork with Billy Morgan in the late eighties is a case in point. Billy could manage, train and encourage the team from the sideline but he couldn't select the team or put on a sub. I believe that this was a major part of the dispute that Billy had with the Cork Co Board in the early nineties.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 11/11/2010 17:01:56    814413

Ard Ri is this true about Billy Morgan in Cork not having power over the selections? So in '87 to '90 when we played them he was merely a 'front' man? Wow, I always imagined him at the time to be very much a dictator type, stubborn and a 'boss'. Who were these powerful selectors behind him do you know? I remember Dr Con Murphy was always in the dugout.

Alias (Tipperary) - Posts: 463 - 12/11/2010 12:14:11    814888

Cheers lads. Interesting insight in to how the "manager" has really only become a new idea! Also great bit of history from you Ard Ri on the way it was back in the day.

Thanks again everyone, proved to be a bit of a poser that one!

Laytown Legend (None) - Posts: 424 - 12/11/2010 13:45:45    814954

Alias

Don't know who the selectors were for Cork at the time but you can guess that Frank Murphy had a big say then. He was even more powerful back in those days than he is now. I think that by '89 Billy was also an official selector, someone from Cork if they are reading might fill us in precisely when he was elevated. It wasn't until the early nineties, after he was first sacked and reinstated, that he became a manager in the same mold as most other managers. This wouldn't have happened but for the full support of the Cork team, who after winning two A/Is could no longer be dismissed as easily as in previous years. The wheels of change moved just as slowly in Cork in those days as they do today.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 12/11/2010 16:49:17    815219

Ard Rí.
Dessie Ferguson never managed the Meath football team. He did however manage the hurlers for a while. Prior to the modern day there was indeed a trainer who really was the same as a manager except not as high profile as today. In the pre Boylan era the trainer/manager had a 7 man selection team usually made up of Co. Board members. When Sean came to train/manage Meath this system was scrapped and the current system of Manager and 3 selectors was adopted. I have my doubhts if Pat O'Neill managed Meath but I stand to be corrected.

Bring_home_Sam (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 14/11/2010 12:38:36    816099

Bring_home_Sam

Not 100% certain about Dessie or Pat O' Neill myself. Maybe some of the Kells lads could help us out here. I do think however that Des did do a one year stint late 70s/ early 80s ish. If not I stand corrected.

The real Árd Rí (Meath) - Posts: 990 - 14/11/2010 12:47:31    816108

Ard Rí

If he did manage Meath would he not have been the "first outsider to manage the Royals" Remember Dessie won All Irelands with the Dubs!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bring_home_Sam (Meath) - Posts: 26 - 14/11/2010 12:59:41    816120

Dessie Ferguson did indeed manage Meath. This thing about Meath natives only managing the team is sheer sloppy journalism. Although Snitchie was in the county over 20 years at this stage and could be then considered an honorary Meath man I am nearly certain it was 1981 when an Eddy Mahon inspired Wexford shocked us.He got a lot of stick for playing Gerry McEntee at full back and Joe Cassells at full forward or maybe it was the other way around. Anyway neither move worked.

Auldfella (Meath) - Posts: 472 - 14/11/2010 13:06:51    816125