'He was buried with the Meath ladies jersey on the coffin'

Meath manager Eamonn Murray was amazed by the impact their All-Ireland win had on people around the country, and beyond

Fri, 08 Apr, 2022 - 06:00

Paul Keane

Eamonn Murray has been asked umpteen times since September about the significance of Meath's All-Ireland breakthrough and has a story that he reckons sums it up.

It's about a Meath man, living in Limerick, Des O'Reilly, who passed away last year, just weeks after raging underdogs Meath defeated five-in-a-row chasing Dublin to claim the Brendan Martin Cup for the first time ever.

"I'm going to tell you a quick little story about a man from Limerick that sent me a letter before the Cork match, thanking me so much for what we've done for sport," said Murray, whose side defeated Cork after extra-time to reach last year's All-Ireland final.

"He was born in Kells but was living in Limerick for 60 years, he was 90 years of age. The letter was that length (gestures with his arms). So I sent him back a letter and a signed Meath jersey.

"So he'd ring me then, he'd actually ring me at a quarter past 10 at night, when we'd be on our way out of training and he'd chat to me. So I chatted to him after the final and this and that, a lovely old man.

"I'd have gone to see him only for the Covid. I got a Christmas card from his niece. He had died a few weeks after the All-Ireland final and got buried with the Meath ladies jersey on the coffin, down in Limerick. Isn't that a lovely story? Isn't that an amazing story?

"He was living in Limerick but he had nieces alive as well, and one of them had the manners to send me a big letter. It says, 'Eamonn Murray, Meath ladies', it was lovely. And I'm only telling you this to show you what hits home.

"Down there in Limerick, it's amazing, he went to the hospital with his legs, he had bad legs he said. He said that the nurse said, 'Oh, you haven't a Limerick accent'. 'No', he said, 'I'm from Meath'. 'Oh my God,' said the nurse, 'The Meath ladies!' Like, a nurse below in Limerick, we affected the whole of the country."

Murray, a Cavan native himself but renowned for his work with the Boardsmill club in Meath and now the county team, could be on the verge of another unlikely win with the Royal County ladies. They will play Donegal on Sunday in the Lidl National League Division 1 final and if they win, it will be another first.

Murray says the cups and the honours and the achievements are undoubtedly important but reckons it's ultimately about the journey and the people who have come along with him and the players for the ride and been inspired by the success.

"Oh it was very moving, I'll never forget that," said Murray of his late friend from Limerick. "I'm just sorry I didn't go to see him. He went to a lot of bother writing a letter to me. But not just that, I got letters from Down, from Clifden in Galway, from Kerry, from New York even, a few weeks after, just mentioning what we'd done and how much they'd enjoyed it. That means an awful lot. Those stories I'll never forget."