Skryne GFC wishes to place on record it’s gratitude to Mick O’Dowd for his 4 years service as Meath Senior Manager, which ended last weekend after losing to Derry in Owenbeg.
Micko is a proud Meathman, who put his life on hold during his term as Meath manager as he strove to get his county back to the top table. Inspired perhaps by his All-Ireland winning uncle, Seamie Heery, Micko left no stone unturned as Meath just failed to gain promotion to Division 1 NFL. In Leinster his time coincided with the emergence of probably the best Dublin team ever.
The team he inherited and hoped to build on lost it’s big spine of Kevin Reilly, Brian Menton, Brian Meade, Conor Gillespie, Shane O’Rourke and Stephen Bray. These were big boots to fill but he tackled the job manfully, investing in youth and starting the building process all over again. There were spells of sublime football but the consistency of performance required was never produced by his teams. This was never more apparent than in our match against Westmeath last year.
Mick O’Dowd carried himself with dignity on the sidelines of Ireland and was ever courteous to the media. The young players he mentored and tried to settle in employment will be sorry to see him go. After a well-earned break Skryne will welcome him back with open arms. Not that he was ever too far away as his work with the successful girls u12s shows.
We also acknowledge the contributions of Trevor Giles, Martin Kennedy, Christopher O’Connor, James Gibbons Snr., Vinny O’Reilly to the Meath cause.
