The end of an era

ONE of the multitude of calls Sean Boylan received yesterday to acknowledge his exceptional contribution to Meath football for more than two decades was from former County Secretary Liam Creavin.

This was the man who, in September 1982, informed Boylan that he had been nominated 'as coach and trainer.' "I thought he was talking about hurling and then I realised he was talking about football," Sean recalled yesterday.

"The natural reaction would have been to say 'no'. "Gerry McEntee, Mattie Kerrigan and Mick O'Brien for different reasons couldn't do it. I said I'd do it for a few weeks until they get somebody."

Thus began an amazing odyssey for the Dunboyne herbalist which was to see football in the Royal County regenerated under his inspired management and remarkably talented players. In essence, he helped rewrite the modern history of Meath football. The county didn't win its first All-Ireland until 1949, two others followed in 1954 and 1967, but four were won in a 12-year period under his direction.

"The talent was always there, it just didn't gel. I was fortunate enough to help create an environment for it, whatever it was,'' he commented. Add in three National League titles and eight Leinster championships and you begin to appreciate the genius of a man known for his modesty and sincerity.

Yet, he was looked on as something of an enigma by people who could not reconcile his shy, retiring nature to the tough, aggressive approach adopted by Meath teams at times. Just like Armagh of late, they didn't always get the credit they deserved for the quality of football they produced.

After years of gentle hints that he should hand over the reins to somebody younger - i.e go before he was pushed - Boylan finally did just that on Wednesday night. Once more nominated by his club, he met with the executive and told them he didn't wish to continue. "I talked about the way I see things, the way I saw things and so on and gave them my decision,'' he explained.

"I was honoured to be nominated again, that my club had faith in me, but I felt it was time now for a change. I was lucky to have had the backing of people over the years, through some extraordinary times as well as an awful lot of bad times."

He paid tribute to his wife Tina for her support, considering that the couple now have six children and that he was able to continue his involvement unabated after their marriage. "Without her backing, there wouldn't have been a hope in hell that I could have stayed on,'' he added.

Prior to his appointment, he had played hurling with Meath. At the time he had been player-manager. "I didn't pick myself that year. We ran Offaly to four points and they went on to great things. Another year, Kilkenny beat us by 33 points. Somebody wrote recently that I was 'obsessed' with the job, but I remember after that Kilkenny defeat that I was still out in the front field the next night playing hurling. These are the things you do when you love hurling - you always feel you have another chance."

His first year in charge of the football team saw them paired with Dublin in the first round of the championship. It went to a replay, Dublin won and advanced to win the All-Ireland. But, one year later Meath made a giant leap by winning the Centenary Cup competition, beating Monaghan in the final. It meant a lot to the likes of Colm O'Rourke, who had been involved since 1976 and had won nothing.

Then, in 1986, Meath regained the Leinster championship after 16 years. They lost to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final but in another year, after triumphing over Cork, they had the Sam Maguire Cup back in the county following a 20 year wait. They were successful again 12 months later - again over Cork. It came after a stormy replay which created a lot of bad blood between the counties until the tragic death of John Kerins brought players together and healed the rift.

Meath came back to win two more titles in 1996 (Mayo, in another replay) and 1999 (Cork again). While agreeing that winning the first All-Ireland was special, Boylan gained special satisfaction from the 1996 win.

After losing by ten points to Dublin in the previous year's Leinster final, Boylan hinted at retirement, saying "some of us may be past our sell-by date.' And, in a newspaper interview one of the players suggested 'he might take his own advice' and give up.

Other special memories include the four-in-a-row series with Dublin in the 1991 Leinster championship, a campaign which ended with them losing to Down in the All-Ireland final. He also highlighted the three games with Kildare in 1997.

Boylan is upbeat about the future, pointing out that the team which lost narrowly to Dublin showed nine changes from last year. "People are saying Meath football is down. It might take a couple of years, but no doubt they'll be back,'' he added.

And his final comment reflects Boylan the man. "I have learned so much from this game. I am so grateful to everybody that has had any part in it.''