Replying To Jackpot:  "Well said. Colm o Rourke always said do your talking on the pitch."

Replying To Furlong1949:  "Crinigan , I respect what you say and enjoy your posts, but my personal experience of land Commission and families that moved from the west would be different. It was very mixed process, I will explain below in my next post.

I think deeply about Meath football. And I believe history has a habit of repeating itself. And what is going on in Ashbourne is not first time this has happenned in Meath football. I feel the plates are moving in Meath , we are entering a new era in football. U have 7 eras in Meath football so far

1 1890s to 1930 The Wilderness Years
2 1930 to 1940 Breakthrough years
3 1947 to 1955 The Peter Mcdermont/Paddy O Brien / 1949 1954 era
4 The Sixities Era / 1967 / Jack Quinn 1964 to 1970
5 The 70s The Nearly Years 1974 fo 1977
6 The 80s and 90s and early 00s /The Boylan Years. 1983 to 2005
7 2006 to 2017/2018 Post Boylan Era/Transition
8 2019 to ?

I feel we are now entering a new era in Meath football. I think it could be positive but I dont really know , but I do feel there are shifts, tensions on the ground in Meath and how they develop could be critical to the future of Meath football. Sorry for the below long winded post, but these are my thoughts on the state of play. What is going in Ashbourne is significant.

GAA is a passionate sport. And for Meath gaa people in Ashbourne and Rataoth and Dunshaughlin who get labelled Dubs and are labelled Dublins team what happenned with the carry on by local credit union is red flag to bull. I dont think the credit union could have behaved worse in the eyes of Ashbourne/ Meath gaa people. This is an emotive issue in Meath. But this has always been part of Meath football. Rivals surrounding the county , rivals within the county.

There serious disquiet agmost the Local Meath gaa people and new Dublin gaa people in the area currently.. This has historical context. This happened before and was huge benefit for Meath football. If Meath football can tap into population growth in the county going from a rural 100000 population smaller then Donegal or Mayo in late 90s to 200000 rural / suburbs population now I think it could be a huge benefit to Meath and kildare and could even herald in another golden age of Meath football.

The land of Meath has always being prized and always being fought for. Meath has some of best land in western Europe..In ancient times the land of Meath was fought over for military reasons eg high king of Ireland. In the last century the land of Meath was fought over for agricultural reasons . In this new millennium the land of Meath is being fought over for residential reasons. Once people built fortresses in Meath , then reared cattle Meath now people want to rear families..Meath land has always being prized. This has created an us versus them mentality in the county.

Meath football has always had two things part of it physhe eg fighting never say warrior qualities and siege mentality everyone against us. This come from two areas

1 The enemies on the border. Wherver u r in the country u have rival on ur doorstep. Who hates u and see. u as that Meath so and so. Ur not a kildare or Cavan man, ur a Meath man. No football county has so many rivals on it border eg kildare Dublin Offaly Westmeath Louth Cavan and Monaghan. Battles with the local rivals have made Meath teams battle harden when they came out of the provience . And also gave Meath people a strong identity. Im not a Cavan man or a louth man, I am a Meath man

2 The Enemy Within
The tension now in the county are almost a mirror image of tensions that happened 50 or 60 years ago in Meath. After 1930s and 1940s De Valera decided to bring Fianna Fail supporters and small farming families to Meath from kerry Clare Galway Mayo Donegal eg western sea board. They were given houses and land in rural Meath. It was called the land Commission

When these blowins or migrats ( which they were called ) came to Meath there was massive tension in Meath beteeen locals and the migrats. Sheds and barns were burnt down , francas and fights broke out agmost the adult and kids from both sides would meet after school and have fight with branchs and be divided into local gangs of Meath families and new migrats families.

There was even a gaelteacht in the county with new migrats. Terms like that shower in the reservation was commonly said at the time. After 20 or 30 years these families rear their children and some of their children played in great Meath teams of 80s and 90s. Colm.O Rourke was born in leitrim, Robbie O Malley had Mayo background , Mark Reilly Kerry background. They became more Meath then the locals. The people from the west brought a love of gaelic football and teams of 80s and 90s had a mix of old Meath families eg Boylan, Stafford , Giles and new west of Ireland families eg O Rourke Coyle.

However the tensions never really went away. I once read a PHD on the land Commission on Meath. And the hatred of elders farmers who moved to Meath from west when they were usually in primary school and not older ten , their hatred towards Meath football team was unreal. I knew at least 5 old farmers growing up from Donegal, Clare , Galway , and 2 from kerry . They all moved to Meath when they were 10. They became farmers and reared a family in Meath. Yet they all despised the Meath football team. There was some in the parish who came from the west who their children who born in Meath and supported Meath , but their was others who came from the west and their children , even though born in Meath supported kerry or Mayo.

The tension waa always there. And in 1996 it came back to surface. There is a massive Mayo population in Meath . The same way there is a massive Galway community in kildare. When Meath played Mayo in 96 there was many Mayo flags dotted thtoughout Meath. Outside a Meath town at the time a banner read " u stole our land but u will never steal the cup".

After the final a young Meath footballer brought the Sam Maguire to his local nursing home. He handed the Sam Maguire to a local farmer who was 70 years old and came from the west at age 9 and built a house and became farmer in Meath for the next 50 years . So the young Meath player handed the cup to the elderly farmer , the 70 year old spat in the Meath players face and wouldnt take the cup. As I said there has always being divisions in Meath and at times bitter divisions. However the migration to Meath from the west in gaa terms was a huge benefit for Meath gaa 80s and 90s.

So here we are again another migration to the county. This time from the east , namely Dublin but also from around the country as families live in Meath want to be closer to Dublin. Meath population and kildares has exploded. Could Meath become new Cavan ?. Well Cavans population declined after 1950s. Meath has massively grown since the golden era of Meath football. And its a young population.

Towns like Ashbourne and Rataoth are at the forefront of this growth . And there is shift in Meath football. The Meath capitan is not from Navan or Kells or Kilmainhamwood hes from Ashbourne , Brian Menton . The most iconic position on a Meath team is full back . The current Meath full back is not from Skyrne like Paddy O Brien or kilbride like Jack Quinn or Summerhill like Mick lyons or Trim like Darren Fay. The current Meath full back is from Rataoth , Conor McGill . Ratoath and Ashbourne are just beginning. I can see them and Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne winning many keegan cups in the future. Ratoath and Ashbourne are going to continue to be sucessful. Already this has led to tension in the county. Rataoth and Ashbourne are not popular in the county. It reminds me of kilmacud Crokes in Dublins in 80s and 90s. Kilmacud Crokes were seen as nouvea riche of Dublin football in 80s and 90s. They were sucessful new super clubs. And with the Ballymuns and St Vincents, there was tension with old traditional sucessful clubs and new sucessful clubs in the southside eg Kilmacud Crokes, Ballyboden and Cuala.

Over a period that subsided. And the clubs in south side suburbs like Ballyboden, kilmacud Crokes and Cuala have become central to Dublins sucess and old divisions have disappeared. I wonder could Rataoth and Ashbourne follow a similar path. My belief is Meaths needs to keep football alive in the Northern villages and in the heartlands of Meath football eg Skyrne etc. But also tap into population explosion in south east of county. If we do we could have sucess which could even be unprecedented for Meath. Dublin have proved migrats to county can be benefit. So many of current Dublin team their parents are from the country and brought up a love of gaelic football from the west and past it to their children who have won multiple All Irelands in this decade for Dublin.

Meath is a mogrel of county. Dublin kerry Galway Cork are pedigree counties. And when I say mogrel of a county I see that has a good term. Meath has rebel punk atitude , we are the outsiders of gaelic football. The Dubs and Cork are the establishment. We are kicking against the gaa establishment. We have been on the outside looking in. The upstarts the bad guys of gaelic football. And we love to be that. Us against the rest. U cannot beat a siege mentality in sport.

Every county has divsions eg east Cork West kerry etc. But in general people in Cork are from Cork have the same enough accent and identity. 20 % of people in Cork are not from Cork. 70 % of people in Meath are not from Meath. Meath has a mixture of groups. U have Meath up at the Ulster border. Small northern villages ( even though I am not from that part of county its part of the county that produces my favourite players ). Then u have the Meath up at the Midlands border. This is midlands Meath. Then u have central Meath Navan and surrounding Navan areas. Then u have Meath down south at kildare border. And of course Meath to the east at Dublin border. All different areas ,different groups.

Then u have the old Meath families going back generations, then u have west of Ireland families going back to 40s 50s and 60s. Then u have new modern migration creating the new Meath suburbs. Put that all together and u have a very mixed up, mogrel kind of a county. But that gives the edge to Meath. Mogrels bite. It gives us an identity to Meath football . Meath are outsiders, the upstarts of gaelic football. So it works and taps into Meaths fighting spirit. Slane Castle is not rock arena its a fortress and so is Newgrange. Meath and its land most be defended at all costs . Thats were the fighting never say spirit comes in. Geography and landscape in my view has impact on every counties gaa identity and physche.

And Meath has always had an outside influence. Someone who comes to county and becomes more Meath then Meath people themselves. Meath greatest footballer of the last 40 years Colm O Rourke was born in leitrim. Peter McDermont one greatest forwards Meath ever produced and one greatest forwards of 40s and 50s and coach to 1967 team and a man who created compromise rules. He brought Meath team to Australia in 1968 to play Auzzie Rules teams. Peter McDermont one of the Meath greats, was born in Cork. Mattie kerrigan one of the greatest ever Meath forwards was born in Galway and moved to Meath when he was 7. Colm Coyle was born in Donegal. Fr Tully Meath coach/ trainer of 1949 , 1954 and 1967 All Ireland winning Meath teams was from Westmeath. They all came to Meath and became great Meath gaa people. As I said Meath gaa is a broad church.

So to finish up what is happening in Ashbourne currently, this is a continuation of the Meath football story. As I said at the start there has always being tensions in Meath in gaa terms. New families moving to Meath , and not supporting Meath. The question is will Meath gaa take advantage of the massive population growth in last 10 to 15 years. At the moment there is divisions and tension on the ground and that is normal. The question is in 2020s 2030s and 2040s can this new young population be tapped into.

Time will tell. The families who support Dublin and kids who support Dublin they wouldnt help the Meath cause. But the families who move to Meath who have little interest in gaa , if their children join local gaa club they could be Meath future players. People who moved to Meath from around the country. The chances they could follow and want to play Meath. The population growth has been that big , there is potential there.

But there is no gurantee that this population will help Meath . Just look at Antrim , Wicklow, limerick, kildare 1940 to 1990 , Dublin to 1930 to 2010. Population guratees nothing . But its still all.to play for. The future has yet to be written. It will fascinating to see if Meath or kildare take advantage of this population surge in both counties in the future.

So here we are again. Tensions in the county in gaa matters. It will fascinating to see if population surge in Meath and kildare will benefit both counties. Time will tell. But at the moment there is tensions on the ground. . Time will tell what will unfold."

Replying To Furlong1949:  "Crinigan , I respect what you say and enjoy your posts, but my personal experience of land Commission and families that moved from the west would be different. It was very mixed process, I will explain below in my next post.

I think deeply about Meath football. And I believe history has a habit of repeating itself. And what is going on in Ashbourne is not first time this has happenned in Meath football. I feel the plates are moving in Meath , we are entering a new era in football. U have 7 eras in Meath football so far

1 1890s to 1930 The Wilderness Years
2 1930 to 1940 Breakthrough years
3 1947 to 1955 The Peter Mcdermont/Paddy O Brien / 1949 1954 era
4 The Sixities Era / 1967 / Jack Quinn 1964 to 1970
5 The 70s The Nearly Years 1974 fo 1977
6 The 80s and 90s and early 00s /The Boylan Years. 1983 to 2005
7 2006 to 2017/2018 Post Boylan Era/Transition
8 2019 to ?

I feel we are now entering a new era in Meath football. I think it could be positive but I dont really know , but I do feel there are shifts, tensions on the ground in Meath and how they develop could be critical to the future of Meath football. Sorry for the below long winded post, but these are my thoughts on the state of play. What is going in Ashbourne is significant.

GAA is a passionate sport. And for Meath gaa people in Ashbourne and Rataoth and Dunshaughlin who get labelled Dubs and are labelled Dublins team what happenned with the carry on by local credit union is red flag to bull. I dont think the credit union could have behaved worse in the eyes of Ashbourne/ Meath gaa people. This is an emotive issue in Meath. But this has always been part of Meath football. Rivals surrounding the county , rivals within the county.

There serious disquiet agmost the Local Meath gaa people and new Dublin gaa people in the area currently.. This has historical context. This happened before and was huge benefit for Meath football. If Meath football can tap into population growth in the county going from a rural 100000 population smaller then Donegal or Mayo in late 90s to 200000 rural / suburbs population now I think it could be a huge benefit to Meath and kildare and could even herald in another golden age of Meath football.

The land of Meath has always being prized and always being fought for. Meath has some of best land in western Europe..In ancient times the land of Meath was fought over for military reasons eg high king of Ireland. In the last century the land of Meath was fought over for agricultural reasons . In this new millennium the land of Meath is being fought over for residential reasons. Once people built fortresses in Meath , then reared cattle Meath now people want to rear families..Meath land has always being prized. This has created an us versus them mentality in the county.

Meath football has always had two things part of it physhe eg fighting never say warrior qualities and siege mentality everyone against us. This come from two areas

1 The enemies on the border. Wherver u r in the country u have rival on ur doorstep. Who hates u and see. u as that Meath so and so. Ur not a kildare or Cavan man, ur a Meath man. No football county has so many rivals on it border eg kildare Dublin Offaly Westmeath Louth Cavan and Monaghan. Battles with the local rivals have made Meath teams battle harden when they came out of the provience . And also gave Meath people a strong identity. Im not a Cavan man or a louth man, I am a Meath man

2 The Enemy Within
The tension now in the county are almost a mirror image of tensions that happened 50 or 60 years ago in Meath. After 1930s and 1940s De Valera decided to bring Fianna Fail supporters and small farming families to Meath from kerry Clare Galway Mayo Donegal eg western sea board. They were given houses and land in rural Meath. It was called the land Commission

When these blowins or migrats ( which they were called ) came to Meath there was massive tension in Meath beteeen locals and the migrats. Sheds and barns were burnt down , francas and fights broke out agmost the adult and kids from both sides would meet after school and have fight with branchs and be divided into local gangs of Meath families and new migrats families.

There was even a gaelteacht in the county with new migrats. Terms like that shower in the reservation was commonly said at the time. After 20 or 30 years these families rear their children and some of their children played in great Meath teams of 80s and 90s. Colm.O Rourke was born in leitrim, Robbie O Malley had Mayo background , Mark Reilly Kerry background. They became more Meath then the locals. The people from the west brought a love of gaelic football and teams of 80s and 90s had a mix of old Meath families eg Boylan, Stafford , Giles and new west of Ireland families eg O Rourke Coyle.

However the tensions never really went away. I once read a PHD on the land Commission on Meath. And the hatred of elders farmers who moved to Meath from west when they were usually in primary school and not older ten , their hatred towards Meath football team was unreal. I knew at least 5 old farmers growing up from Donegal, Clare , Galway , and 2 from kerry . They all moved to Meath when they were 10. They became farmers and reared a family in Meath. Yet they all despised the Meath football team. There was some in the parish who came from the west who their children who born in Meath and supported Meath , but their was others who came from the west and their children , even though born in Meath supported kerry or Mayo.

The tension waa always there. And in 1996 it came back to surface. There is a massive Mayo population in Meath . The same way there is a massive Galway community in kildare. When Meath played Mayo in 96 there was many Mayo flags dotted thtoughout Meath. Outside a Meath town at the time a banner read " u stole our land but u will never steal the cup".

After the final a young Meath footballer brought the Sam Maguire to his local nursing home. He handed the Sam Maguire to a local farmer who was 70 years old and came from the west at age 9 and built a house and became farmer in Meath for the next 50 years . So the young Meath player handed the cup to the elderly farmer , the 70 year old spat in the Meath players face and wouldnt take the cup. As I said there has always being divisions in Meath and at times bitter divisions. However the migration to Meath from the west in gaa terms was a huge benefit for Meath gaa 80s and 90s.

So here we are again another migration to the county. This time from the east , namely Dublin but also from around the country as families live in Meath want to be closer to Dublin. Meath population and kildares has exploded. Could Meath become new Cavan ?. Well Cavans population declined after 1950s. Meath has massively grown since the golden era of Meath football. And its a young population.

Towns like Ashbourne and Rataoth are at the forefront of this growth . And there is shift in Meath football. The Meath capitan is not from Navan or Kells or Kilmainhamwood hes from Ashbourne , Brian Menton . The most iconic position on a Meath team is full back . The current Meath full back is not from Skyrne like Paddy O Brien or kilbride like Jack Quinn or Summerhill like Mick lyons or Trim like Darren Fay. The current Meath full back is from Rataoth , Conor McGill . Ratoath and Ashbourne are just beginning. I can see them and Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne winning many keegan cups in the future. Ratoath and Ashbourne are going to continue to be sucessful. Already this has led to tension in the county. Rataoth and Ashbourne are not popular in the county. It reminds me of kilmacud Crokes in Dublins in 80s and 90s. Kilmacud Crokes were seen as nouvea riche of Dublin football in 80s and 90s. They were sucessful new super clubs. And with the Ballymuns and St Vincents, there was tension with old traditional sucessful clubs and new sucessful clubs in the southside eg Kilmacud Crokes, Ballyboden and Cuala.

Over a period that subsided. And the clubs in south side suburbs like Ballyboden, kilmacud Crokes and Cuala have become central to Dublins sucess and old divisions have disappeared. I wonder could Rataoth and Ashbourne follow a similar path. My belief is Meaths needs to keep football alive in the Northern villages and in the heartlands of Meath football eg Skyrne etc. But also tap into population explosion in south east of county. If we do we could have sucess which could even be unprecedented for Meath. Dublin have proved migrats to county can be benefit. So many of current Dublin team their parents are from the country and brought up a love of gaelic football from the west and past it to their children who have won multiple All Irelands in this decade for Dublin.

Meath is a mogrel of county. Dublin kerry Galway Cork are pedigree counties. And when I say mogrel of a county I see that has a good term. Meath has rebel punk atitude , we are the outsiders of gaelic football. The Dubs and Cork are the establishment. We are kicking against the gaa establishment. We have been on the outside looking in. The upstarts the bad guys of gaelic football. And we love to be that. Us against the rest. U cannot beat a siege mentality in sport.

Every county has divsions eg east Cork West kerry etc. But in general people in Cork are from Cork have the same enough accent and identity. 20 % of people in Cork are not from Cork. 70 % of people in Meath are not from Meath. Meath has a mixture of groups. U have Meath up at the Ulster border. Small northern villages ( even though I am not from that part of county its part of the county that produces my favourite players ). Then u have the Meath up at the Midlands border. This is midlands Meath. Then u have central Meath Navan and surrounding Navan areas. Then u have Meath down south at kildare border. And of course Meath to the east at Dublin border. All different areas ,different groups.

Then u have the old Meath families going back generations, then u have west of Ireland families going back to 40s 50s and 60s. Then u have new modern migration creating the new Meath suburbs. Put that all together and u have a very mixed up, mogrel kind of a county. But that gives the edge to Meath. Mogrels bite. It gives us an identity to Meath football . Meath are outsiders, the upstarts of gaelic football. So it works and taps into Meaths fighting spirit. Slane Castle is not rock arena its a fortress and so is Newgrange. Meath and its land most be defended at all costs . Thats were the fighting never say spirit comes in. Geography and landscape in my view has impact on every counties gaa identity and physche.

And Meath has always had an outside influence. Someone who comes to county and becomes more Meath then Meath people themselves. Meath greatest footballer of the last 40 years Colm O Rourke was born in leitrim. Peter McDermont one greatest forwards Meath ever produced and one greatest forwards of 40s and 50s and coach to 1967 team and a man who created compromise rules. He brought Meath team to Australia in 1968 to play Auzzie Rules teams. Peter McDermont one of the Meath greats, was born in Cork. Mattie kerrigan one of the greatest ever Meath forwards was born in Galway and moved to Meath when he was 7. Colm Coyle was born in Donegal. Fr Tully Meath coach/ trainer of 1949 , 1954 and 1967 All Ireland winning Meath teams was from Westmeath. They all came to Meath and became great Meath gaa people. As I said Meath gaa is a broad church.

So to finish up what is happening in Ashbourne currently, this is a continuation of the Meath football story. As I said at the start there has always being tensions in Meath in gaa terms. New families moving to Meath , and not supporting Meath. The question is will Meath gaa take advantage of the massive population growth in last 10 to 15 years. At the moment there is divisions and tension on the ground and that is normal. The question is in 2020s 2030s and 2040s can this new young population be tapped into.

Time will tell. The families who support Dublin and kids who support Dublin they wouldnt help the Meath cause. But the families who move to Meath who have little interest in gaa , if their children join local gaa club they could be Meath future players. People who moved to Meath from around the country. The chances they could follow and want to play Meath. The population growth has been that big , there is potential there.

But there is no gurantee that this population will help Meath . Just look at Antrim , Wicklow, limerick, kildare 1940 to 1990 , Dublin to 1930 to 2010. Population guratees nothing . But its still all.to play for. The future has yet to be written. It will fascinating to see if Meath or kildare take advantage of this population surge in both counties in the future.

So here we are again. Tensions in the county in gaa matters. It will fascinating to see if population surge in Meath and kildare will benefit both counties. Time will tell. But at the moment there is tensions on the ground. . Time will tell what will unfold."

Replying To Furlong1949:  "Crinigan , I respect what you say and enjoy your posts, but my personal experience of land Commission and families that moved from the west would be different. It was very mixed process, I will explain below in my next post.

I think deeply about Meath football. And I believe history has a habit of repeating itself. And what is going on in Ashbourne is not first time this has happenned in Meath football. I feel the plates are moving in Meath , we are entering a new era in football. U have 7 eras in Meath football so far

1 1890s to 1930 The Wilderness Years
2 1930 to 1940 Breakthrough years
3 1947 to 1955 The Peter Mcdermont/Paddy O Brien / 1949 1954 era
4 The Sixities Era / 1967 / Jack Quinn 1964 to 1970
5 The 70s The Nearly Years 1974 fo 1977
6 The 80s and 90s and early 00s /The Boylan Years. 1983 to 2005
7 2006 to 2017/2018 Post Boylan Era/Transition
8 2019 to ?

I feel we are now entering a new era in Meath football. I think it could be positive but I dont really know , but I do feel there are shifts, tensions on the ground in Meath and how they develop could be critical to the future of Meath football. Sorry for the below long winded post, but these are my thoughts on the state of play. What is going in Ashbourne is significant.

GAA is a passionate sport. And for Meath gaa people in Ashbourne and Rataoth and Dunshaughlin who get labelled Dubs and are labelled Dublins team what happenned with the carry on by local credit union is red flag to bull. I dont think the credit union could have behaved worse in the eyes of Ashbourne/ Meath gaa people. This is an emotive issue in Meath. But this has always been part of Meath football. Rivals surrounding the county , rivals within the county.

There serious disquiet agmost the Local Meath gaa people and new Dublin gaa people in the area currently.. This has historical context. This happened before and was huge benefit for Meath football. If Meath football can tap into population growth in the county going from a rural 100000 population smaller then Donegal or Mayo in late 90s to 200000 rural / suburbs population now I think it could be a huge benefit to Meath and kildare and could even herald in another golden age of Meath football.

The land of Meath has always being prized and always being fought for. Meath has some of best land in western Europe..In ancient times the land of Meath was fought over for military reasons eg high king of Ireland. In the last century the land of Meath was fought over for agricultural reasons . In this new millennium the land of Meath is being fought over for residential reasons. Once people built fortresses in Meath , then reared cattle Meath now people want to rear families..Meath land has always being prized. This has created an us versus them mentality in the county.

Meath football has always had two things part of it physhe eg fighting never say warrior qualities and siege mentality everyone against us. This come from two areas

1 The enemies on the border. Wherver u r in the country u have rival on ur doorstep. Who hates u and see. u as that Meath so and so. Ur not a kildare or Cavan man, ur a Meath man. No football county has so many rivals on it border eg kildare Dublin Offaly Westmeath Louth Cavan and Monaghan. Battles with the local rivals have made Meath teams battle harden when they came out of the provience . And also gave Meath people a strong identity. Im not a Cavan man or a louth man, I am a Meath man

2 The Enemy Within
The tension now in the county are almost a mirror image of tensions that happened 50 or 60 years ago in Meath. After 1930s and 1940s De Valera decided to bring Fianna Fail supporters and small farming families to Meath from kerry Clare Galway Mayo Donegal eg western sea board. They were given houses and land in rural Meath. It was called the land Commission

When these blowins or migrats ( which they were called ) came to Meath there was massive tension in Meath beteeen locals and the migrats. Sheds and barns were burnt down , francas and fights broke out agmost the adult and kids from both sides would meet after school and have fight with branchs and be divided into local gangs of Meath families and new migrats families.

There was even a gaelteacht in the county with new migrats. Terms like that shower in the reservation was commonly said at the time. After 20 or 30 years these families rear their children and some of their children played in great Meath teams of 80s and 90s. Colm.O Rourke was born in leitrim, Robbie O Malley had Mayo background , Mark Reilly Kerry background. They became more Meath then the locals. The people from the west brought a love of gaelic football and teams of 80s and 90s had a mix of old Meath families eg Boylan, Stafford , Giles and new west of Ireland families eg O Rourke Coyle.

However the tensions never really went away. I once read a PHD on the land Commission on Meath. And the hatred of elders farmers who moved to Meath from west when they were usually in primary school and not older ten , their hatred towards Meath football team was unreal. I knew at least 5 old farmers growing up from Donegal, Clare , Galway , and 2 from kerry . They all moved to Meath when they were 10. They became farmers and reared a family in Meath. Yet they all despised the Meath football team. There was some in the parish who came from the west who their children who born in Meath and supported Meath , but their was others who came from the west and their children , even though born in Meath supported kerry or Mayo.

The tension waa always there. And in 1996 it came back to surface. There is a massive Mayo population in Meath . The same way there is a massive Galway community in kildare. When Meath played Mayo in 96 there was many Mayo flags dotted thtoughout Meath. Outside a Meath town at the time a banner read " u stole our land but u will never steal the cup".

After the final a young Meath footballer brought the Sam Maguire to his local nursing home. He handed the Sam Maguire to a local farmer who was 70 years old and came from the west at age 9 and built a house and became farmer in Meath for the next 50 years . So the young Meath player handed the cup to the elderly farmer , the 70 year old spat in the Meath players face and wouldnt take the cup. As I said there has always being divisions in Meath and at times bitter divisions. However the migration to Meath from the west in gaa terms was a huge benefit for Meath gaa 80s and 90s.

So here we are again another migration to the county. This time from the east , namely Dublin but also from around the country as families live in Meath want to be closer to Dublin. Meath population and kildares has exploded. Could Meath become new Cavan ?. Well Cavans population declined after 1950s. Meath has massively grown since the golden era of Meath football. And its a young population.

Towns like Ashbourne and Rataoth are at the forefront of this growth . And there is shift in Meath football. The Meath capitan is not from Navan or Kells or Kilmainhamwood hes from Ashbourne , Brian Menton . The most iconic position on a Meath team is full back . The current Meath full back is not from Skyrne like Paddy O Brien or kilbride like Jack Quinn or Summerhill like Mick lyons or Trim like Darren Fay. The current Meath full back is from Rataoth , Conor McGill . Ratoath and Ashbourne are just beginning. I can see them and Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne winning many keegan cups in the future. Ratoath and Ashbourne are going to continue to be sucessful. Already this has led to tension in the county. Rataoth and Ashbourne are not popular in the county. It reminds me of kilmacud Crokes in Dublins in 80s and 90s. Kilmacud Crokes were seen as nouvea riche of Dublin football in 80s and 90s. They were sucessful new super clubs. And with the Ballymuns and St Vincents, there was tension with old traditional sucessful clubs and new sucessful clubs in the southside eg Kilmacud Crokes, Ballyboden and Cuala.

Over a period that subsided. And the clubs in south side suburbs like Ballyboden, kilmacud Crokes and Cuala have become central to Dublins sucess and old divisions have disappeared. I wonder could Rataoth and Ashbourne follow a similar path. My belief is Meaths needs to keep football alive in the Northern villages and in the heartlands of Meath football eg Skyrne etc. But also tap into population explosion in south east of county. If we do we could have sucess which could even be unprecedented for Meath. Dublin have proved migrats to county can be benefit. So many of current Dublin team their parents are from the country and brought up a love of gaelic football from the west and past it to their children who have won multiple All Irelands in this decade for Dublin.

Meath is a mogrel of county. Dublin kerry Galway Cork are pedigree counties. And when I say mogrel of a county I see that has a good term. Meath has rebel punk atitude , we are the outsiders of gaelic football. The Dubs and Cork are the establishment. We are kicking against the gaa establishment. We have been on the outside looking in. The upstarts the bad guys of gaelic football. And we love to be that. Us against the rest. U cannot beat a siege mentality in sport.

Every county has divsions eg east Cork West kerry etc. But in general people in Cork are from Cork have the same enough accent and identity. 20 % of people in Cork are not from Cork. 70 % of people in Meath are not from Meath. Meath has a mixture of groups. U have Meath up at the Ulster border. Small northern villages ( even though I am not from that part of county its part of the county that produces my favourite players ). Then u have the Meath up at the Midlands border. This is midlands Meath. Then u have central Meath Navan and surrounding Navan areas. Then u have Meath down south at kildare border. And of course Meath to the east at Dublin border. All different areas ,different groups.

Then u have the old Meath families going back generations, then u have west of Ireland families going back to 40s 50s and 60s. Then u have new modern migration creating the new Meath suburbs. Put that all together and u have a very mixed up, mogrel kind of a county. But that gives the edge to Meath. Mogrels bite. It gives us an identity to Meath football . Meath are outsiders, the upstarts of gaelic football. So it works and taps into Meaths fighting spirit. Slane Castle is not rock arena its a fortress and so is Newgrange. Meath and its land most be defended at all costs . Thats were the fighting never say spirit comes in. Geography and landscape in my view has impact on every counties gaa identity and physche.

And Meath has always had an outside influence. Someone who comes to county and becomes more Meath then Meath people themselves. Meath greatest footballer of the last 40 years Colm O Rourke was born in leitrim. Peter McDermont one greatest forwards Meath ever produced and one greatest forwards of 40s and 50s and coach to 1967 team and a man who created compromise rules. He brought Meath team to Australia in 1968 to play Auzzie Rules teams. Peter McDermont one of the Meath greats, was born in Cork. Mattie kerrigan one of the greatest ever Meath forwards was born in Galway and moved to Meath when he was 7. Colm Coyle was born in Donegal. Fr Tully Meath coach/ trainer of 1949 , 1954 and 1967 All Ireland winning Meath teams was from Westmeath. They all came to Meath and became great Meath gaa people. As I said Meath gaa is a broad church.

So to finish up what is happening in Ashbourne currently, this is a continuation of the Meath football story. As I said at the start there has always being tensions in Meath in gaa terms. New families moving to Meath , and not supporting Meath. The question is will Meath gaa take advantage of the massive population growth in last 10 to 15 years. At the moment there is divisions and tension on the ground and that is normal. The question is in 2020s 2030s and 2040s can this new young population be tapped into.

Time will tell. The families who support Dublin and kids who support Dublin they wouldnt help the Meath cause. But the families who move to Meath who have little interest in gaa , if their children join local gaa club they could be Meath future players. People who moved to Meath from around the country. The chances they could follow and want to play Meath. The population growth has been that big , there is potential there.

But there is no gurantee that this population will help Meath . Just look at Antrim , Wicklow, limerick, kildare 1940 to 1990 , Dublin to 1930 to 2010. Population guratees nothing . But its still all.to play for. The future has yet to be written. It will fascinating to see if Meath or kildare take advantage of this population surge in both counties in the future.

So here we are again. Tensions in the county in gaa matters. It will fascinating to see if population surge in Meath and kildare will benefit both counties. Time will tell. But at the moment there is tensions on the ground. . Time will tell what will unfold."

Replying To bdbuddah:  "Peter McDermott's parents were from Meath, his father played hurling for Meath. His family moved back to Meath when he was young."

Replying To Crinigan:  "That's a fantastic post. Really puts current situation in context. I think the county should really get behind the good Meath GAA people in likes of Ratoath, Ashbourne and Dunboyne, something I myself have unfortunately not done in the past for the reasons you mention. That's nonsense on my behalf as they are fighting the good fight and much of the county's future success will depend on such Meath men in these towns defending the " Meathness" of these vital towns."

Replying To Furlong1949:  "Thanks for the comments Crinigan. I appreciate it.
Brian Menton has shown he is a man of integrity and principals. He is a proud Meath man from a proud Meath area and a proud Meath club. He has shown leadership on and off the field all his Meath career. He is a proper Meath captain and carrys on the great tradition of great Meath captains from Brian Symth to Mick lyons , fearless men who led our county into battle on and off the field . We are lucky to have men the calibre of Brian Menton leading our great county. Keep up the good fight Mento."

Replying To Blackspot09:  "Possibly the stupidest post I've ever come across on here on any thread. Nobody is expecting Dublin people who have moved to meath to start supporting meath. I was gonna explain what the issue is and why people are annoyed but there's really no point."

Replying To Borderroyal:  "Furlong you seem to have serious issue with the migrants looks like ypu waited a long time go get that off your chest.but for to b talking about our meathness on herr beggars believe.
Is the gaa people of South meath so worried about a add for dublin football they blame the irish speaking migrants for it.
Am i missing something here.?????"

Replying To Borderroyal:  "Furlong you seem to have serious issue with the migrants looks like ypu waited a long time go get that off your chest.but for to b talking about our meathness on herr beggars believe.
Is the gaa people of South meath so worried about a add for dublin football they blame the irish speaking migrants for it.
Am i missing something here.?????"

Replying To Crinigan:  "You clearly read about 2 lines out of his post and out of context and jumped to the totally wrong conclusions. Read the post in full."

Replying To Selwyn:  "That bus was cancelled after uproar from the Meath fans in the club. A Dub, or Dubs, within the club tried organising it."

Replying To Jack_Goff:  "Why shouldn't they do a bus? Meath were playing before the Dublin match. It makes sense."