Royal memories flow freely as Boylan holds court

GAVIN CUMMISKEYfinds that the former Meath supremo who started a Royal County dynasty is still as passionate as ever about Gaelic football

SEÁN BOYLAN is talking about old games between his Meath and Laois. We are listening, because that is what you do when the Dunboyne herbalist speaks about football matters (or anything concerning herbal medicine but we don’t have time to get into that subject).

Back in 1985 they tried to get rid of him, just three seasons into a job that lasted 23 years, after a defeat to Laois. Sure, he was of hurling stock and had no right being in charge of the footballers.

“I remember the old dressingrooms that were in Tullamore at the time, and people were walking by, they’d come through the tunnel off the field and they’d be saying ‘they’re nothing only a crowd of old women’.

“I remember saying to the selectors that day, Pat Reynolds and Tony Brennan, ‘There is nothing there at senior level, we have to go to the junior clubs’.

“With the exception of David Beggy, the other six lads we got were from junior or intermediate clubs, and the lads won Leinster for the first time in 16 years the following year. The one of the seven that wasn’t able to play on was a chap called Stan Gibney because he had a back injury. But you had lads like PJ Gillic, Brian Stafford and all those. It was amazing and it changed the course of history.

“I was very lucky at that time, even though maybe they wanted to bring in somebody, the big thing was ‘sure what would he know about it, sure he’s only a hurler’ and that’s a fact. Maybe they were right.”

Boylan was the guest of honour at the Vodafone monthly awards in Dublin yesterday. He likes the media or he has always pretended he does in a very convincing fashion.

Regardless, when he talks, we listen.

The win over Laois in 1987 was vital as it was the start of a glorious era in the Royal County.

“Yeah, absolutely. I always remember Pat Reynolds was off the cigarettes, Paddy’s father. We got a penalty and Rourkey (Colm O’Rourke) came up to take it. ‘Oh Jaysus, Rourkey can’t take a penalty, give me a cigarette, give me a cigarette!’ He’s on the cigarettes ever since.

“And Colm mishit it, that’s what actually happened. He stubbed his foot and the goalkeeper went the wrong way and it only trickled over the line and that’s how Meath got the goal. That day Rourkey got hurt and a chap called Liam Smith, ‘Little Liam’ they called him, came in and he said, ‘I came in that day and I swing the game for the lads’.”

And 1992? “92, I’ll never forget it in Navan, never. It was a wonderful day (weather-wise).

“The strange thing about that day was, and I know this may sound terrible and it’s not big- headed in any way by the supporters.

“But a lot of Meath supporters said that day, because of the 10 matches the previous year, ‘Sure look we’ll be able to have a holiday this year’ and that’s a fact. They were gracious towards us, they weren’t all old women as often happens when you are beaten.”

Boylan is asked about discipline. His answer makes us smile.

“I cringe nowadays with a lot of the red cards and yellow cards that are going on, because there is very little physical contact in the game and I don’t like to see that shoulder thing. We saw a classic example last weekend. We saw one side, a decent shoulder, and this was in the Monaghan-Armagh match.

“A really decent shoulder, two feet on the ground, he gets blown up. It happens later on in the match and play is allowed to go on. I think the referees are under enormous pressure, enormous pressure. They are going to have to have two referees on the field because of the pace of the game today, you know, the pace of the game.”

He ends with the story about how Mick Lyons was christened “The Lion” by the Dubs.

“Don’t go into that cage!”

That is probably all you will hear from Seán Boylan this summer on the national stage. Meath will miss him when they play Laois on Sunday. The game misses him too. It is no harm to remind ourselves of that.