By Noel Coogan

The Meath team which won the All-Ireland SFC 25 years ago in 1999
will be honoured at Croke Park on Sunday. The side captained by Graham
Geraghty defeated Cork by 1-11 to 1-8 in the final to deny the Rebel
County a second September double in the decade.

Sean Boylan’s charges played just five games to gain possession of the
Sam Maguire Cup for the seventh time and the fourth under the
stewardship of the Dunboyne man. The campaign began with a 2-10 to 0-6
win over Wicklow, a comfortable success gained despite the dismissal of
Hank Traynor just before the break. Geraghty had his first
championship outing at full-forward and top-scored with 1-4.

Above; Nigel Nestor gathers the ball as Paddy Reynolds (no.5) and Mark O’Reilly in support 

in the semi-final against Armagh and lead picture Meath captain shots for the Dublin posts

watched by Donal Curtis and Paddy Moran in that years Leinster Final.

Meath overcame Offaly by 1-13 to 0-9 at the provincial semi-final
stage. The sides were on level terms (0-7 each) at half-time before
the Royals took control, in the second period with a goal from Ollie
Murphy paving for an emphatic win. Tommy Dowd, the All-Ireland winning
captain three years earlier, shot four points in that game but then
only made a brief appearance at the end of the Cork clash because of
illness.

Ollie Murphy played a starring role in the Leinster final against
Dublin in which Dublin were defeated, 1-14 to 0-12, with the Carnaross
clubman scoring 1-5.The All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh was the
only game in which Meath failed to raise a green flag but the 0-15 to
2-5 win saw them through. Trevor Giles was the main marksman with 0-5
and the Ulster champions had full-back Ger Reid sent off with 15
minutes left. On the Armagh team that day were present day manager
Kieran McGeeney and current GAA president Jarlath Burns.

The 1999 All-Ireland SFC final was played two weeks after the hurling
decider in which Cork defeated Kilkenny 0-13 to 0-12. Sean Og O
Hailpin was the only Cork player on both teams but he failed to
emulate Teddy McCarthy’s double feat of nine years earlier.

Meath led by 1-5 to 0-5 at the halfway stage, thanks to a goal netted
by Ollie Murphy after 24 minutes. The Munster champions were boosted
by a well-taken goal from Joe Kavanagh early in the second half and
Larry Tompkins’ men were on level terms 15 minutes from the end. Meath
finished the stronger with points from Trevor Giles (45 and free) and
Graham Geraghty, giving them the title.

The Meath team in the 1999 All-Ireland SFC final was; Cormac Sullivan;
Mark O’Reilly, Darren Fay, Cormac Murphy, Paddy Reynolds, Enda
McManus, Hank Traynor, Nigel Crawford, John McDermott, Evan Kelly,
Trevor Giles, Nigel Nestor,  Ollie Murphy, Graham Geraghty, Donal
Curtis. Subs – Richie Kealy for Nestor, Barry Callaghan for Traynor,
Tommy Dowd for Kelly, also Conor Martin, Ray Magee, Jimmy
McGuinness, Paul Shankey, Jody Devine, David Gallagher. Manager – Sean
Boylan; Selectors – Eamon O’Brien, Frank Foley.

Seven members of the winning team were honoured with Allstar awards at
the end of the year. The ‘magnificent seven’ were Mark O’Reilly,
Darren Fay, Paddy Reynolds, John McDermott, Trevor Giles, Ollie Murphy
and Graham Geraghty. Trevor Giles was named as Footballer of the Year.

Sadly, Meath  have been unable to gain possession of the Sam Maguire
Cup since that outright victory with seven other counties celebrating
at least once with the coveted trophy.