‘It still gives you goosebumps' – Orla Byrne hoping Meath LGFA rekindle ‘special feeling' from famous All-Ireland final

The Irish Sun

2 days ago

ORLA BYRNE cannot help but think about Meath's amazing 2021 breakthrough as the Royals prepare for another TG4 All-Ireland SFC final against Leinster rivals Dublin.
It is almost four years since the game took place but former Meath
star
Byrne admits she still gets 'goosebumps' whenever she recalls how the counties' ladies won their first senior crown.
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Meat beat Dublin in the 2021 All-Ireland final
Credit: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
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Former player Orla Byrne is hoping they can rekindle that feeling
Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Given they had only secured a national intermediate title in the previous season, they were big underdogs heading into a top-tier showpiece clash with the five-in-a-row-chasing Dubs at
Yet with Byrne playing a pivotal role at right half-forward, Eamonn Murray's charges pulled out all the stops to claim a magnificent 1-11 to 0-12 victory.
Meath's renewal of acquaintances with the Jackies in tomorrow's Brendan Martin Cup decider at
She beamed: 'Every time I think of it, it still gives you goosebumps.
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'You still nearly get emotional thinking about that day and what we achieved. I think it was because we were such underdogs. We had come up from intermediate the previous year.
'No one had really given us a chance. We thought we had proved ourselves as to what we were capable of but there was still a lot of doubts heading into the final.
'When I think back to those final few seconds and the hooter going off in Croke Park when we beat
'I'd love to experience it again, it was a special feeling and one I'll never forget.
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'We all have such special memories from that time. I'm hoping the girls will be able to experience that again now on Sunday.'
That historic 2021 win was made all the better for Byrne by the presence of her sister Kate on the Royals' panel for the game.
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The gifted siblings from Duleek/Bellewstown had experienced some difficult days early in their Meath careers so it was extra sweet when they eventually reached the top of the ladies
football
ladder.
Orla added: 'There is only a year and a half between myself and Kate so we would have played a lot of underage football together as well. We played most of our careers together with Meath.
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'It was really special that myself and Kate got to experience good days in the last couple of years of our career playing with Meath, got to enjoy the success after putting in the years of disappointment.
'Every year committing again and again, even though it was tough and we weren't getting much joy out of it, it was really
nice
to finally be able to say we achieved the ultimate dream of playing in Croke Park initially and then obviously winning an All-Ireland in Croke Park.'
STEPPING BACK
After appearing off the bench in a
NFL
Division 1 final victory over
But in the wake of those successes, she opted to bring her inter-county journey to an end.
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Although a career break from her job as a primary
school
teacher at Réalt na Mara GNS in Donacarney came further down the line — she is due to make a return to that post in September — Byrne acknowledged that a number of factors came into play when she decided to step back from Meath duty.
She said: 'After 2021, I just didn't feel ready to go because it had been such a successful year and a year that I really enjoyed. I said I'd give it one more year.
'After the 2022 season, it was in the back of my head, 'Will I give it another go?'
'I was very much on the fence for a couple of months right into
pre-season
. I think the time was right. It was probably a mixture of reasons. Just mainly I had put so much of my life into playing with Meath, had put a lot of stuff in my own personal life to the side.
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'It is only probably when you step away and you come out from it that you realise how much time you can give to other things.
'I left in 2022, I went back to teaching and then took my career break the following year. I'm happy and I feel like it was the right time for me to step away.'
ON EDGE
While Byrne acknowledged it was a big change when she transitioned from being a Meath player to a supporter, she likes being able to relax more as a spectator.
Still, she will be anxious for her former team-mates and the side's newer additions to get over the line in Croker tomorrow.
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The Royals have already faced Dublin at HQ in 2025. The Leinster final on May 11 was held there as part of a double bill with the men's decider between Louth and Meath.
Shane McCormack's outfit fell to a 2-13 to 1-12 defeat after leading for large stretches of the game. But even though there was a sense that it was one that got away, Byrne believes Meath showed that day they are more than a match for the
Sky
Blues.
She added: 'I know the girls were quite disappointed. I definitely think they felt they left it behind. They were dominating most of that game and I do feel like after that game, they know they have the beating of Dublin.
'They're well capable of doing it. Just hopefully they can bring it all on the day and put in the performance they'll need to beat them.'
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