Most people point to the exit of the likes of Trevor Giles and Darren Fay from the game as the main reason Meath haven't really competed for the All Ireland in ten years, others just mention Sean Boylan and shrug their shoulders. But maybe the answer lies in the oval foreign ball.
Meath is a football county where players like Boots McGuinness and John McDermott grew up knowing what game they were to play, no doubt in their mind, they also knew what team they were to play for, it was ingrained in their hearts and minds. Today a youngster in Meath has a number of issues to deal with, none more so than the dark clouds of the professional game Rugby, casting a shadow across the heartlands of the Cumann luthchleas Gael.
The strongholds of Dunshaughlin, Kells, Navan and Trim are being bombarded with popped collars and Leinster jerseys, young men are seeing the once clear vision of a call up to the Senior team shrouded by the image of Bettystown native Shane Horgan scoring championship winning tries and mixing in the company of the professional elite.
Phillip Browne and the lads at the IRFU are money rich and ambition heavy, they are machine like in their expansion across the former single sport towns of Ireland. You just need to see which team just won a Leinster Rugby title to realise the extent to which this sport is beginning to encroach. So what now for Meath GAA, can they protect the game against the the new land of rugby where Sky Sports replaces LMFM and a wet Wednesday in Kilcloon takes a back seat in favour of a trip to Biarittz. Time will tell, but at the moment many fans would gladly take another try like goal from Joe Sheridan to secure some progress in the GAA championship.
