Jim Gavin insists Dublin-Meath rivalry is still strong

With Jim Gavin the conversation turns to cycles and whether they exist anymore in the Leinster championship.

Or if they ever did.

Meath last beat Dublin – destroyed them in fact – en route to the 2010 provincial title. But that season proved more of an anomaly than anything even remotely of a cyclical nature.

All it really meant to Dublin aficionados, considering the Delaney Cup was won every other year back to 2004, was that it has taken until now to equal the last record solely owned by their forefathers from the 1970s.

Victory on Sunday evening would move Dublin closer to a sixth Leinster title in a row (both of these great eras currently sit upon three All-Ireland titles).

Maybe Meath were once an anomaly. Maybe that remarkable period of Royal success from 1986 until 2001 can never be rediscovered.

In some shape or form, all these musings are placed before Gavin at his usual week-of-a-big-game press conference at 8am in a Dublin hotel.

It starts with the suggestion that the Meath and Dublin rivalry could not possibly mean the same to current players as it did when Jim was a player. Simply because it is not remotely the same as it was then.

“I’m not so sure about that,” says Gavin. “It’s a local derby. Our border counties are Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and any time we play those teams . . . players would know each other well from college or playing club friendlies or living in the other counties.

“We had a lot more games back in the 1990s between the teams than in recent times, but that Dublin-Meath rivalry is still strong.

“The current Dublin players are very aware of the tradition that is there. Meath will go into the game trading off that tradition.”

Awareness of tradition is not enough to make something a strong rivalry even if Gavin says so.

Dominance

The question gets repeated with different words.

“I think Kildare had dominance as well at that time, and in 1998 when they done quite well. Certainly that Meath team of the early 90s was an exceptional team, and they put out a brand new team in 1996 that were a young team, very similar to what you have now, and they blazed a trail through Leinster and the All-Ireland series as well so...we’ll see a demonstration on Sunday of how intense the game will be.”

Nobody can disagree about the future so we limp on.

From 1995 to 1999 three Leinster counties contested All-Ireland finals. Dublin finally captured Sam Maguire after a 12-year wait in 1995, before that Meath side Gavin referred to rose largely unseen in 1996. Kildare fell short to Galway in the 1998 All-Ireland final before Meath came again.

The wonder is whether three counties from the current Leinster championship could again become All-Ireland contenders during the same period.

Gavin refuses to toe this line.

“I’ve watched the 21s quite closely this year and last year as well. I can certainly see a resurgence in Kildare football and Meath football.

“I think that maybe the population boom that they’ve had in those counties, maybe they’re starting to see that manifested in those performances.

“I know a lot of people in both counties. There’s a lot of work being done. And that manifests itself through at 21 level and minor level as well. These things come in cycles.”

They do and they don’t. Dublin success used to be cyclical but nowadays all Leinster football sees is a blue avalanche crashing down upon it.

Meanwhile, Euro 2016 is coming to Croke Park on a big screen.

To avoid a potential free-fall in attendance for the Leinster football semi-finals this Sunday the provincial council is to show the second half Republic of Ireland’s last-16 game against France in the stadium before Kildare versus Westmeath.

Throw-ins

Leinster officials reacted quickly to Robbie Brady’s match-winning goal against Italy on Wednesday night by agreeing with RTÉ 1 to move throw-ins to 4.15pm and 6.35pm for Kildare versus Westmeath and Dublin versus Meath to avoid a schedule clash with the Ireland kickoff at 2pm (Live on RTÉ 2).

“I think it was a very wise and smart decision by the Leinster Council,” said Gavin.

If extra-time is needed in Lyon the games can still overlap.

That may require RTÉ 1 and the Leinster Council to further stall the beginning of their semi-finals.

“Irish people are passionate about their sport and there’s massive interest in the European Championships, and it will be a great buzz now on Sunday,” said Gavin.

“Fans from all four counties now will be talking about that game and the individual games that they have, so I think it’s a great decision by the Leinster Council and it doesn’t inconvenience us at all.

“I think we’ll be able to see some of it, yeah.” he added.

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