IT HAS been said, by somebody who understands these things, that dignity under pressure is the mark of a gentleman. If that is to be accepted it must by extension, be assumed that Art McRory is one of a special breed of people.

It did not surprise anyone that many members of the Tyrone team beaten so decisively in yesterday's All Ireland semi-final by Meath, were reluctant to face a press inquisition.

Instead, McRory put his back to the wall in the corridor outside the Tyrone dressing-room and took the flak for all. "What can I say other than that we are sorely disappointed. We believed that we had all the ability needed to win but as things worked out, we were beaten by a better team."

"This is the way things go. Everything worked for them on the day. If we were to play them again next Sunday, I believe that we could beat them. Their first goal was a very important score and left us with a problem. That goal was a killer really."

"It would be fair to say that Peter Canavan's injury had a crucial effect on the game. It might have been wiser to take him off but he has a very big effect on the team and we believed that he still had a goal and a few other scores in him. There will always be questions to ask after a defeat like this but we will have to take stock of our situation and look to the future."

"After being beaten narrowly in last year's final we thought we could put things right this time and have another crack at it but Meath played so well that we were outplayed."

"The amount of effort and time and commitment which the boys put into the whole thing is huge and we can't let them down. The average age of the players is 24 so we are not throwing in the towel."

"The huge influence of the Meath midfield pairing was very important as far as the way the match turned out. They were marvellous and we couldn't match them," he said.

The former Ireland rugby captain Willie Anderson who has played "bits and pieces of Gaelic with a team from near Ardboe called The Loop" was equally disappointed. "After last year I thought we could go one step farther but Meath were very powerful."

Some observers in the aftermatch inquests felt that Anderson's presence in the Tyrone midfield might have made a difference although Anderson was quick to point out that, at the age of 41, the fierce pace at which the game was played in very hot and humid conditions, would have been too much for him.

Those who had seen him link arms with his Irish team-mates to stand toe-to-toe with the All Blacks as they performed their haka in Lansdowne Road, might have wished for a similar act of defiance against Meath but generally, the attitude was that the more complete team had won.

This view was shared by Eugene McKenna, co-manager of the Tyrone team with McRory. "Well nobody died out there today," was his typically laconic comment.

Bookmaker and boxing promoter Barney Eastwood, who won an All-Ireland minor medal with Tyrone, was somewhat more outspoken: "Meath were by far the better team and they deserved to win. But it is not the end of the world. We have some very good players and we can come back next year.

. Two brilliant saves by goalkeeper Mick Higgins and dominance by midfielders Ollie Bolton and Des McGrath in the last 10 minutes kept Mayo on course for their third All-Ireland Masters football title when they defeated Dublin 2-6 to 0-7 in Ballina on Saturday evening.

The sides were level (1-1 to 0-4) at half-time and the result was in doubt in a second half cliff-hanger