Ahead of last weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final between Galway and Meath, my mind kept drifting — not to the famous 2001 final where Padraic Joyce’s shooting masterclass sealed victory — but to a far less memorable clash between the sides in a rain-soaked Pearse Stadium just three years ago.
It was the opening round of the Division 2 National League, and Meath’s performance that late-January afternoon remains one of the worst I have witnessed at any level, club or county. Andy McEntee’s side were utterly abject.
Meath failed to score in a dire first half, struggling against the wind and trailing 1-9 to 0-0 at the break. Any chance of a second-half revival vanished as they registered their first point in the 45th minute and had to wait another twelve for the next. It ended 1-14 to 0-6, and I walked away convinced Meath would not get within an ass’s roar of the Sam Maguire for at least another decade.
Doubters humbled by Meath’s resurgence
That belief held firm through the early struggles of McEntee’s successor, Colm O’Rourke. But Meath’s resurgence in 2025 has been nothing short of astounding. Robbie Brennan’s side have now toppled Dublin, Kerry, and, most painfully for us in Galway, the Tribesmen.
Not having seen Meath in the flesh this season, I foolishly dismissed their wins over the Dubs and the Kingdom as freakish outliers. I could not shake the image of the inept team I saw in Salthill.
That was my misjudgement. Deep down, I expected Galway to take care of business. How wrong I was.
Meath were full value for this shock win. The bookies had them as major underdogs, but outside a brief purple patch midway through the second half, Galway looked flat and jaded. The men in maroon and white did not offer enough and were royally (pardon the pun ) punished.
Galway running on empty
Yes, there were marginal calls that went against us, courtesy of Monaghan official Martin McNally. And yes, Galway endured a brutal three-week schedule, clawing their way out of the so-called ‘Group of Death’ and battling through a tough qualifier in Newry against a gallant Down.
But the cost of failing to top the All-Ireland round-robin group — something we have now done three years in a row — was plain to see. I flagged the risks and the uphill struggle weeks ago on these pages.
There are only so many times you can go to the well. Only so often you will come out on the right side of a one-score game, also. Eventually, the bounce of the ball goes the other way, and with it, your season can unravel in an instant.
End of an era looming
For Galway, it marks the end of another hugely frustrating campaign. A Connacht title provides some consolation, but in the new structure, it counts for little more than bragging rights in an argument with our Mayo neighbours.
Sadly, time is not on our side. Will 2024 Footballer of the Year Paul Conroy return, knowing he will be 37 come next championship? Shane Walsh and Damien Comer, still capable of brilliance, are now on the wrong side of 30 and have been dogged by injury. Whenever all three do step aside, a seismic hole will need to be filled.
And what of Padraic Joyce and his backroom team of John ‘Scan’ Concannon, John Divilly, and Micheál Ó Domhnaill? Do they have the appetite for another tilt at glory? They, and their players, have given this county some wonderful days and moments to treasure. But no one could blame them if they felt their time in charge was done — and Joyce was non-committal either way in his post-match comments.
Given the quality in the Galway squad over the past few years, it is hard not to feel that we have underachieved — even if reaching two All-Ireland finals, prior to Joyce taking over, would have been seen as a huge step forward. This crop were good enough to win one but have not, and it will haunt them for many years if they do not get their hands on a Celtic Cross.
The wheels in sport do not be long turning. When I compared the Meath starting teams that took to the field in Pearse Stadium on January 30, 2022, and lined out last weekend, there were only three survivors from that horror show — Ronan Ryan, Donal Keogan, and Mathew Costello.
In three years, how many of the team that took to the hallowed turf of Croke Park will still be pulling on the maroon and white? Who knows? That’s why you have to take your chance when you get there.
