Barry backpedals following 'error of judgment'

EMBATTLED Meath manager Eamonn Barry has again attempted to ease the crisis enveloping his position.

He has admitted that he made an "error in judgement" in attempting to bring his brother Martin and Dessie Rogers onto his management team.

"I openly admit that I read it wrong, I'm guilty of that," Barry told LM FM radio yesterday. "I submitted Dessie's name last week - I was open about that, but I didn't have to do that.

"I could have brought Dessie along to the match (against Louth) last Sunday in Dundalk as my physio - I don't think I have to seek permission to bring a physio on board, that's totally my choice.

"People can accuse me of making a bad choice or that the timing was wrong and I would have to admit to that. When you look at it that way I didn't realise that there was that much ill-feeling against Dessie Rogers or Martin Barry. It was an error of judgement on my behalf and I would gladly apologise to all concerned."

Eamonn Barry has also confirmed that his brother would be stepping away from any involvement in the best interests of Meath football.

Even with Martin Barry and Rogers now both out of the equation - and Eamonn shouldering much of the blame for the crisis - it remains to be seen if he can hold onto his job.

Last Wednesday night, the Board executive of chairman Fintan Ginnity, secretary Barney Allen and treasurer Colm Gannon recommended his removal as manager at next Monday's county board meeting. Ironically, it will be the very club delegates who voted 57-25 for Barry as manager who will again decide his fate.

Opinion in the county appears divided between those who - like the executive - are furious at Barry 'washing the dirty linen in public' and others who are fully behind the Walterstown coach.

What seems certain is that either Barry or Ginnity will not be in their present positions by the time Christmas swings around.

If Barry survives the vote then Ginnity will be fatally compromised ahead of the county convention seven days later where he is being vigorously challenged for the role of chairman by Brendan Dempsey. Should Barry lose a vote of confidence, however, Ginnity's bid for a 21st year at the helm of Meath GAA will be strengthened.

Barry said: "I don't have any hidden agendas - I would love to see a resolution to it.

"I realised my dream to become the Meath manager in succession to Sean Boylan and I'd love to be given the opportunity to carry out that work.

"There's people making out that the division is too great and the row is too much, but if the Cork hurlers and footballers could resolve their row with their county board, I can't see how we can't resolve this."

Amid all this confusion, a further sub-plot must be considered. Before Barry was appointed at a meeting of the county board back in early September, a number of club delegates requested that the decision be postponed.

Their reasoning was that former Boylan troops like Colm O'Rourke and Colm Coyle had always declared that they would never challenge their old mentor's position, but the Dunboyne man's late withdrawal from the race this year had prevented such men from rethinking their attitudes towards the vacant seat.

If some delegates are still hoping for one of the 'Golden Generation' to take over then this would certainly be their window.

Barry's trump card - ironic given the wording of his statement yesterday - is the timing of the whole affair.

The new season is just a month away and the new management team of Barry, Benny Reddy, Jody Devine and Andy McEntee have already performed a trawl through the county in a search for new talent.

Some delegates may well take the view that dismissing Barry will be a case of ditching the baby with the bath water.

"The reaction we've had the last few weeks and the match against Louth was great," said Barry.

"We brought 40 new players into the set-up to give them a chance to prove themselves over two months to see if we can take 10 or 15 to join the real Meath senior football team and start training.

"I was hoping to start that around two weeks before Christmas, but that might not happen now."

By Monday, Barry will have served only 91 days in charge of Meath and, having threatened to walk earlier in the week, it is clear he is willing to bend over backwards to make sure he has a 92nd day.

"All the clubs know me as a genuine GAA man who has worked at all levels of the GAA in Meath. I've helped out coaching juvenile teams, inter-county teams and I'm only there doing my level best for Meath football, trying to get us back up there.

"I can work with absolutely anyone - that's been my position over the years. I'm open and transparent and I'll work with anyone. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I'm not a difficult person to get on with."

The Background

TWO years ago Martin Barry and Dessie Rogers were manager and selector respectively of the Meath junior team that won the All-Ireland football title, but an incident before the semi-final win over Kerry left Barry serving a 48-week ban and Rogers another of 96 weeks.

The Wednesday before the game, both men were informed that Rogers's son Gary - the sub-goalkeeper - would have to drop off the panel. A full-time soccer player with Drogheda United, he was deemed ineligible to represent the county as he had not played for his own GAA club that season.

On the day of the Kerry game, chairman Fintan Ginnity appeared in the dressing room before throw-in and began distributing jerseys to the players.

Ginnity was duly asked to leave by Barry before a minor tug-of-war developed between the board official and Rogers for the kit bag.

Barry and Rogers claim that was the full extent of what happened and they were backed up by a statement signed by 15 players.

However, in his report to convention later that year, secretary Barney Allen said the "darker side of our association" prevailed.

Allen claimed there was an "attack" on Ginnity and "unsporting gestures" were meted out to him himself which was "an attack on the very institution of Cumann Luthchleas Gael".

Though Gary Rogers had played a league game for his club the day before the win over Kerry, he did not receive a jersey from the county chairman for the game against Kerry, nor for the final against Galway.

Barry and Dessie Rogers were later suspended under Rule 140. Allen told a local reporter in a brief statement it was for "bringing the association into disrepute".