The country’s earliest surviving All-Ireland winning senior football captain, Meath’s Brian Smyth, this week enjoyed a nostalgic return to the scene of his 1949 Sam Maguire victory, accompanied by his fellow Skryne clubmen who all hold All-Ireland medals with the Royal County.
The club boast players on all seven of Meath’s All Ireland-winning teams, of 1949, ’54, ’67, ’87, ’88, ’96, and 1999, and the county has never won an All Ireland without a Skryne clubman on the team.
The veteran players from the forties and fifties were joined by recent stars such as John McDermott and Trevor Giles to announce details of a major club history which will be launched by GAA president Christy Cooney next week.
The club takes in the historic Hill of Tara, the ancient seat of the High Kings of Ireland’ and ‘A History of the GAA in Skryne, 1887-2010; The Blue Kings of Tara’ will be launched in nearby Killeen Castle Golf Club, host of the Solheim Cup, on Friday 30th March.
The sporting and social history has been a decade in the making and traces the history of the club from its pioneering 1887 GAA forebears, Killana Shamrock, to its county championship victory of 2010.
Joining Brian Smyth in GAA headquarters for a viewing of the pitch and GAA museum were legendary full back of the same era, Paddy ‘Hands’ O’Brien; corner back Micheal O’Brien, and 1954 midfielder, Tom O’Brien. 1967 saw forwards Paddy Mulvany and David Carty represent the club, as well as the late sub goalkeeper, Paddy Cromwell. Midfielder Liam Hayes and corner forward Colm O’Rourke were star players in the early Boylan era, while John McDermott at midfield and ace shooter Trevor Giles dominated in the ’90s. Carty, O’Rourke, Hayes and Giles and the late Dinny Donnelly captained Meath to Leinster victories, while John McDermott captained the International Rules team.
There was a sentimental visit to the GAA Museum to view the medal collection and cap of the late ‘ Man in the Cap’ Peter McDermott, who had led the Royals to Glory in 1954 and later organised the groundbreaking trip to Australia for the 1976 team, the forerunner of today’s International Rules series, and who won a minor championship with the Rathfeigh end of the club. The club won 13 senior county finals.
The new publication by David Carty is in two hardback volumes of 800 pages each in a presentation case, in a limited edition printing of 750 copies. The two volumes are structured decade by decade using contemporary reports revealing the triumphs and tribulations o f the Skryne club, which regained the county title for the first time in 27 years in 1992, going on to the Leinster Club Football Final for the first time in 2004. The journey ends with the excitement of the 2010 senior football championship win over Joe Sheridan’s Seneschalstown.
Christy Cooney will launch ‘A History of the GAA in Skryne, 1887-2010; The Blue Kings of Tara’ at Killeen Castle Golf Club on Friday 30th March, at 8.30pm. The history will be available to order from www.skrynegfc.ie
For further information contact Dermot Carty (086) 876 0336.
