Meath stand-off set to continue

The stand-off between Meath county officials and new football manager Eamonn Barry looks set to run for several more days. Although the county executive committee are to discuss the sudden crisis at their regular meeting in Navan tonight, Barry's chances of staying on as manager are more likely to be decided at next Monday's meeting of the Meath County Board.

Neither the Meath officials nor Barry have backed down in any way since the stand-off first entered the public domain on Sunday evening. Central to the dispute is Barry's application to add Dessie Rogers and his own brother Martin Barry to his backroom team for the coming year, with the county executive committee flatly rejecting such a request.

It emerged yesterday that the executive committee voted 17-0 to turn down that request at a meeting last Friday.

Barry was informed of the decision later that night, then met with county chairman Fintan Ginnity, county secretary Barney Allen, and county treasurer Colm Gannon on Saturday. Having failed to accept their reasoning, he then threatened to stand down after his first challenge game on Sunday - all this within two months of taking up the position.

Barry wasn't budging on that stance yesterday, and instead seemed focused on overseeing a training session last night with his preliminary panel of 40 players.

"Nothing has changed from my end, " he said. "I know there is an executive meeting for tomorrow night, and the full meeting of the county board next Monday night, and I'll be awaiting the outcome of those.

"But my position right now is that I am the manager, and I should be entitled to make my own decisions, and bring in my own backroom team. But it's also a sad day when people can't sit down and discuss these things, without being dictated at. Right now though I haven't heard anymore from the county executive, but I haven't tried to contact them either."

The county board remain equally adamant that Barry's request is unacceptable. Both Rogers and Martin Barry were involved with a dressing-room showdown with county board officials back in 2003, which resulted in lengthy bans for both men. Although those bans have long since expired, the fallout clearly rumbles on.

"There will be no change in the attitude of the executive committee from our last meeting," said Allen, the county secretary.

"The county executive are responsible for all that happens in Meath GAA and that is a situation which exists all over the country."

Barry is clearly gambling on getting the support of the full county meeting - the people he claims voted for him in the first place - next Monday. He was the unanimous choice to replace Seán Boylan, who stepped down at the end of August after 23 years in charge. Barry has since finalised his three selectors, with former player Jody Devine, last season's under-21 manager Benny Reddy, and Andy McEntee (brother of All-Ireland winner Gerry) getting the approval of the county board.

But things started falling apart once Rogers and Martin Barry entered the picture, with Rogers nominated to act as physio, and Martin Barry in an unspecified coaching role.

In a further act of defiance yesterday, Barry announced he had no intention of asking either man to step aside.

"I know they would very much like to be involved, and I would very much like to have them on board. There's certainly no way I'm going to ask them to step out of the way now.

"It's not just about that, though. I was given an undertaking when I was installed as manager by the county board, and the county board said they'd support me in every possible way. The reality is the opposite has happened. If you give a man a commitment to do a job to the best of his ability you should honour that."

Since taking over Barry has brought in 101 players who had never previously played championship football with Meath and put them through a series of trial games. From those he picked a panel of 40 and used many of them in the challenge game against Louth last Sunday, which Meath won.

In the meantime, Barry intends to continue as manager until the stand-off reaches breaking point - even if that means carrying out his threat to resign.

"That is a possibility, yes, but if people don't sit down and talk nothing can happen. It's not just a matter of me holding out for a long as I can. I think there are a lot of decisions that need to be made by the county executive, and a lot of discussion to take place yet.

"I know a lot of people have strong views on this. So I'm afraid we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

"But I'm still as enthusiastic and determined to do this job as I ever was. I don't get rattled over little things like this, which is all part and parcel of GAA politics."