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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Lesson's learned by ‘lucky' Meath after Leinster final defeat helped to see off Galway
GAA All-Ireland SFC Quarter-final Dare we say it but maybe Meath learned more from losing a Leinster final than they would if they had won it. Manager Robbie Brennan in his post-match interview referenced that disappointing defeat to Louth as he attempted to explain the upswing in fortunes that has culminated in the county qualifying for the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship for the first time since 2009.
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Unconsidered Royals riding high on more than good luck
In 2024, Meath footballers hardly pulled up trees. They were well beaten by Dublin in the Leinster semi-final and lost all their games in the All-Ireland round-robin. It would turn out to be Colm O'Rourke's final year in charge. Robbie Brennan, the All-Ireland winning club manager with Kilmacud Crokes, subsequently took over. A new campaign. The Royals garnered eight points from their Division 2 campaign with four wins and three losses, coming behind Monaghan and Roscommon. And then at the end of March, Joe McMahon and Martin Corey stepped down from their roles as selectors/coaches. The omens did not look good. Fast forward to the end of June and Meath are in an All-Ireland semi-final. A championship run where they have already beaten Dublin, Kerry and Galway and reached a Leinster final. Sunday's win over the Tribes saw them finish the stronger and now a date with Donegal awaits in the last four. Tough times make strong men, and Meath now appear a team transformed, even if they are still being underestimated #sundaygame 📺 — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) June 29, 2025 Speaking on The Sunday Game, Peter Canavan has been impressed in how Brennan's side have gone about their business since their management upheaval, saying: "The wheels could have come off the wagon back then in the middle of the league". What also pleased the two-time All-Ireland winner was how they responded to Galway's two-goal burst with ten minutes left in the Croke Park quarter-final. "Meath were six up with 15 minutes to go. Galway came back to level and then went three up. So we thought that was the bit where Meath had one their bit and played well. Galway would go on and win it. "They did not follow that script. Meath showed real character to come back in the style they did. "It was a tentative first half; it was an arm wrestle. When the game opened up and the two teams went at each other Meath weren't found wanting. "They beat Dublin, they beat Kerry, they beat Galway. It can't all be luck."
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘Where in the name of God have these Meath players come from?' asks Tomás Ó Sé before witnessing Kerry miracle
Well, isn't it a good thing that the resurgences of two of Gaelic football's superpowers were live and free on RTÉ, with none of that GAA+ lark. That meant everyone could witness the rebirth of Meath or, as Marty Morrissey put it, 'The Royals are back in football. BIG. TIME.'. And then came Kerry's miracle-like second half as they ended Armagh's reign as custodians of the Sam Maguire. The intercounty GAA season has been changed utterly these past few years, squeezing matches thick and fast into the calendar, but there's little doubt that the new football rules in play have transformed the big-ball game into one high on energy and where the skills of forwards, especially, have been given new life. Whereas Saturday's two football quarter-finals were hidden behind a paywall – unless you watched it on the radio or paid the schillings – the Sunday Game Live fare brought the traditional screening into the livingrooms and bars, and you can be sure that many a Meath fan will be, as Royals manager Robbie Brennan observed after the win over Galway, 'changing holiday plans'. Before the match, the RTÉ punditry trio of Tomás Ó Sé, Conor Glass and Lee Keegan and presenter Joanne Cantwell had gone into the ins and outs and maybes of what lay ahead but with the sense that Galway, last year's beaten finalists, would advance. READ MORE In fairness, there were words of caution from the three wise men. 'It's an extremely dangerous game for Galway. If they disrespect or don't show up in the first half, then Meath will more than likely take advantage,' suggested Ó Sé. As the half-time whistle sounded with a kick of the ball between the team in a low scoring first-half, Morrissey referred to it being a 'pulsating' game, which, let's be honest, was using hyperbolic language that none of those steaming under the heat pitchside fell for. Keegan offered the opinion that Galway manager Pádraic Joyce would be giving the 'hairdryer treatment' to his team in the dressingroom during the break. It turned out Marty had a crystal ball with him in the commentary booth because the second-half was indeed a pulsating affair, with Meath's young hardy bucks playing some brilliant football to move onwards into what used to be familiar territory back in the day, now having an All-Ireland semi-final to look forward to in a fortnight's time. 'Where in the name of God have these Meath players come from?' wondered Ó Sé, marvelling at how boys had turned into men in the short time since Brennan assumed the managerial role. Ciarán Caulfield, at 21, one of those young men and vice-captain to boot, coolly and calmly strolled over and joined the pundits at their perch in the corner and talked in measured terms about Meath's return to the big time (which in its own way showed all that needed to be shown of the type of player that Brennan has taken under his wing). Meath's Ciarán Caulfield coolly measures out a pass during the win over Galway. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho The show was only half-over, though. Even if Meath's breathtaking second-half display would surely be hard to match. Indeed, at half-time in the Kerry-Armagh match, there was a sense among some of the RTÉ pundits that there was an inevitability about what was coming. 'My worry is how much energy they [Kerry] are using to try to stop Armagh,' said Keegan. But Ó Sé had his doubts. 'Everyone says Armagh are the top team in the country. Eh, I don't know,' said the Kerryman. 'Absolutely [they are],' said Glass. 'They are still number one until they are beaten,' added Keegan in the sort of tone that suggested it wasn't going to be any time soon. Who knew? In the commentary booth, both Morrissey and the co-commentator sought to understand what was happening in front of their eyes in a second-half where Armagh's kickouts malfunctioned and Kerry ran riot. 'They're still alive,' said Marty in a hopeful sort of way after Armagh ended what seemed like an age without a score. Followed, soon after, by: 'Is there any way back for the champions? They're 10 behind.' There was, as everyone could see on actual terrestrial telly, no way back for Armagh. 'They do vengeance really well,' remarked Enda McGinley of Kerry. He wasn't wrong.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Meath show calm heads to add Galway to their list of scalps
All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Meath 2-16 Galway 2-15 On a weekend when the curtain came down on the Sam Maguire aspirations of several leading contenders, Meath planted a flag in Croke Park as the 2025 championship's dragon-slayers added another scalp to their list. Meath's progression to a first All-Ireland semi-final appearance since 2009 ended in a scene of utter joy and despair. In his post-match interview on the pitch, man of the match Jordan Morris leaned forward to the microphone and let out a guttural roar, 'Up the Royaaaal'. Over his shoulder the forlorn Galway players were traipsing off the pitch with growing doubts as to whether this group will ever get over the line. READ MORE But this isn't a story of Galway's demise but rather a tale of Meath's defiance – a day some old Meath qualities put down roots in a new Meath team. A Conor Gray goal was the spark for Meath to push ahead and lead by six points in the 55th minute. Galway were taking on water and last year's All-Ireland finalists looked all out of ideas. And then in the space of just over three minutes they scored 2-3. In that whirlwind spell the Connacht champions moved three ahead and the entire momentum of the contest swung in their favour. If ever there was a moment for a group of footballers to play the role of deer caught in headlights, this was it for Meath. But Robbie Brennan's men have been ripping up scripts all summer long. Eoghan Frayne popped over a point on the hour mark to steady matters before Morris made real on that concept about forwards being the first line of defence. When Connor Gleeson went short with a kickout to Johnny McGrath, Morris smelt blood. He hared in, popped the ball out of McGrath's hands and suddenly Galway were exposed. Galway's Cillian McDaid scores his side's first goal in the All-Ireland semi-final against Meath. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho A rapid hand-pass move followed involving Seán Coffey and Mathew Costello, ending with Morris palming the ball home, 2-13 to 2-12. He'd both created and executed the opportunity. Galway's surge had been repelled. 'There's a touch of genius about Jordy,' smiled Brennan afterwards. His first three shots of the game went wide but Morris refused to allow those misses knock his confidence. Instead, he spent most of the game wreaking havoc in the Galway defence with his jinks and sidesteps and general unpredictability. He didn't miss again and finished the game with 1-6. But this was no one-man achievement. Not for the first time this year Meath showed ravenous hunger and intent on breaking balls around the middle third; they were ferocious in their tackling and desire but more than anything they played with real poise and calmness, belying the fact they were competing in the Tailteann Cup two years ago. Meath looked like the team that had contested two of the last three All-Ireland finals, not Galway. Meath's Conor Gray scores his side's first goal despite the efforts of Galway's Seán Fitzgerald. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'We just didn't get to the energy levels of the game, didn't really perform the way we should be performing,' sighed Pádraic Joyce afterwards. 'We were very poor first half in general and Meath probably left us in the game. Then when we came back, we went three up and we probably thought that our experience might get us over the line but we gave away a short kickout, got dispossessed too easily and another goal. I think we conceded 2-6, 2-7 in turnovers.' Joyce refused to be drawn on his future but it's hard to know how Galway go rebuilding from here. The first half was a cagey, pedestrian affair – Galway led 0-7 to 0-6 at the break but the Tribesmen had been guilty of continuously making basic errors, losing possession with bad solos or mishit passes. As a team they looked out of sync. Meath made their move midway through the second half. The strength of Galway's bench had been pinpointed as a possible game-winning area for the Tribesmen but Meath's subs actually wrestled the contest in favour of the Royals. Meath's Ruairí Kinsella and goalkeeper Billy Hogan block Dylan McHugh of Galway's goal-bound attempt. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Gray's introduction had a huge bearing on the result, he used all of his strength to bull through for a 54th minute goal – and while it won't win any goal of the season awards Meath haven't scored many more important ones at Croke Park in recent years. Gray was also brilliant in the aerial war around the middle of the field during the last quarter. When Morris followed up Gray's goal with a point to make it 1-12 to 0-9, Meath looked to have Galway on the ropes. But then full back Seán Rafferty – who had been outstanding marking Shane Walsh – went off injured and the whole affair almost unravelled for Meath. It turned out Rafferty's injury was not as bad as initially feared and he was quickly ushered back on – but in the six minutes he was off the pitch Galway scored 2-3. 'I'd say 90 per cent of the country wrote us off there and then,' said Meath forward Ruairí Kinsella. 'It shows the character in the team, the belief we have, how hard we've worked all year, we just stayed calm, looked after the ball and we went again.' Calmness. It has been a trait of this Meath team. A refusal to panic. Meath manager Robbie Brennan celebrates after the game with Donal Keogan. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Meath had built up a three-point lead with two minutes remaining but Shane Walsh fired over a brilliant two-pointer to set up a grandstand finish. However from there Meath denied Galway another shot at goal. From the resulting kick-out, Billy Hogan found Donal Keogan hugging the Hogan Stand sideline, unmarked. Galway needed to have that avenue closed off. They didn't. It summed up so much of Galway's day. Meath worked the ball up the field, won a free and ultimately kicked it out over the endline as the hooter sounded. Galway had been added to their list of vanquished All-Ireland contenders. 'Like, you know, we're probably lucky,' smiled Brennan. 'Isn't that what everyone says? We keep getting lucky. We were lucky against Dublin, we were lucky against Kerry. And I guess we were lucky again today. 'The Leinster final was a massive learning. I think we've put a lot of those learnings from that Leinster final in place. We're the last team from Leinster now and we'll keep the flag flying.' They certainly planted one at Croke Park on Sunday. MEATH: Billy Hogan; Seamus Lavin, Seán Rafferty, Ronan Ryan; Donal Keogan (0-0-1), Seán Coffey (0-0-1), Ciarán Caulfield; Bryan Menton (0-0-1), Adam O'Neill; Mathew Costello (0-0-4, 1f), Ruairí Kinsella (0-0-1), Conor Duke; Jordan Morris (1-0-6), Keith Curtis, Eoghan Frayne (0-0-1). Subs: Cathal Hickey (0-0-1) for Curtis (42mins); Conor Gray (1-0-0) for O'Neill (46mins); Brian O'Halloran for Rafferty (55mins); Seán Rafferty for Lavin (61mins). GALWAY: Connor Gleeson; Johnny McGrath, Seán Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn; Dylan McHugh, Liam Silke (1-0-0), Cian Hernon; Cein Darcy, John Maher (0-0-1); Matthew Tierney (0-0-2), Seán Kelly (0-0-1), Peter Cooke; Robert Finnerty (0-0-3, 2f), Shane Walsh (0-2-1, 1 2ptf), Matthew Thompson (0-0-2). Subs: Paul Conroy for Hernon (42mins); Cillian McDaid (1-0-0) for Cooke (44mins); Daniel O'Flaherty for McHugh (51mins); Damien Comer (0-0-1) for Tierney (51mins); Kieran Molloy for Kelly (64mins) . Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan).
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Meath boss Brennan: 'We'll keep the Leinster flag flying in All-Ireland semis'
Meath boss Robbie Brennan has vowed to keep the Leinster flag flying after his team withstood a ferocious Sunday afternoon comeback from Galway to seal their place in the All-Ireland football semi-finals next week. Dublin have been the eastern province's only representatives in the last four for the last 14 years, Kildare in 2010 being the last time someone other than the 31-time Sam Maguire winners have made it this far from their environs. Meath haven't been there since 2009 when they lost by four points to Kerry and they are the last Leinster representative other than the Dubs to have made it as far as the last day itself. That was in 2001 when they were well beaten by Galway. Read More Meath v Galway: Three key moments They came to Croke Park this weekend having already beaten Dublin and Kerry, the first county in nearly two decades to manage that in the Championship, but with no concrete reward for it given the lost Leinster final against Louth in between. 'The Leinster final probably stood to us,' said Brennan. 'We said in that dressing room that we'd be back here this year. No matter what we had to do with it, we'd get back here. And we knew then we were back and this was our opportunity. 'Like, we're probably lucky. Is that what everyone says? We keep getting lucky. We were lucky against Dublin. We were lucky against Kerry. And I guess we were lucky again today. So, we'll see who we get in the semi now. And we'll have to be lucky again, I suppose.' And, to think, it's just two years since they won the Tailteann Cup under Colm O'Rourke. Leading by six points here with only 15 minutes to go, the tables appeared to have turned definitively on a game that had started slowly but then gathered speed when Galway hit them for 2-3 in just five minutes. Meath's response was heroic. The Leinster runners-up hit back with 1-3 in the next seven minutes to give themselves the leeway needed to get over the line, the electric Jody Morris getting that goal shortly after an effort off the ground was fingertipped around the post. 'It's that character piece, and we didn't panic. I was in here yesterday and I saw a few examples, maybe, of panicky shots and stuff, and we didn't do that, even when that squeeze came on, and we just kept waiting and trying to build and build and build. Again, I keep referencing, but the Leinster final is a massive learning. 'Like all of those games, you have to take learnings from them or else what's the point of doing them? And I think we've put a lot of those learnings from that Leinster final into place and now we're the last team in Leinster now and, as I said outside, we'll keep the flag flying.' Brennan's Galway counterpart Padraic Joyce cut a disconsolate figure as he sat and soaked up the questions on the whys and the hows. Ultimately, he said, his team just hadn't been good enough against a Meath side given due credit. 'We just didn't get to the levels of the game and we didn't really perform the way we should be performing. It's hard to figure what's going on. We had a poor first-half and in general, in fairness, Meath probably left us in the game as well. 'Then when we came back to go three up we probably thought that our experience might get us over the line but we gave away a short kickout and got dispossessed too easily and we conceded 2-6, 2-7 in turnovers.' It was announced last October that Joyce's term, renewed in 2022 until the end of this season, was to be extended through to 2026. He has held the reins with his native county since 2019. They have won the last four Connacht titles and lost two All-Ireland deciders. If this felt like the end of something, though, Joyce wasn't providing a full stop when asked what his thoughts might be for the road ahead. 'We've just gone out of the Championship so I'm not going to make any rash decisions. We'll sit and chat. There's a lot of lads in there with decisions to make about next year as well, as we have as a management, so we will do that in due course. 'The county board have always been very supportive of me and the players so we will sit down and get things properly organized. Whatever will be will be. There will be no statements or no rushes coming out the next day or two anyway.' ENDS -- Brendan O'Brien Assistant Sports Editor and Sports Writer Irish Examiner (Dublin Office) Mob: 00353-86-606-1386 Twitter: @byBrendanOBrien
