In Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday, a narrative continues. The Allianz League returns as the inter-county season finds its feet. Colm O'Rourke makes his competitive bow as Meath manager, against an old foe he knows all too well.
The Royals-Rebels battles of the 1980s are the thing of legend but a decade later the counties would meet in another All-Ireland final.
The 1999 All-Ireland Final: Meath 1-11 Cork 1-08. There the game ended. But the story lies within the game and four players at the centre of it all.
Trevor Giles and Ollie Murphy of Meath. Cork’s Kevin O’Dwyer and Joe Kavanagh. These are their vantage points.
Trevor Giles (Meath)
Trevor Giles was 13-years-old in 1988. Just like in 1987, he travelled from Skryne in Meath to Dublin. On both occasions, Cork were the opposition, and on both occasions, Cork were defeated.
With this type of background, was there a pressure going into the 1999 All-Ireland Final?
"I don’t remember there being a lot of pressure. What I remember is that I had lost an All-Ireland Colleges final for St Pat’s, Navan against St Fachtna’s in Skibbereen (West Cork). Kevin O’Dwyer was in goal for St Fachtna’s.
"In the 1993 All-Ireland Minor final, we lost to Cork.
"Then it came to the ’99 final and I thought, I’ve lost two All-Ireland finals to Cork teams, is this going to happen again?"
You miss the penalty, how hard is it to bounce back?
"It was just after half-time, so I suppose you had a bit of time to redeem yourself.
"I’d say the last 15 minutes, there were a few breaking balls around the middle of the field that I managed to get my hands on and got some ball into Graham (Geraghty) inside."
What of Geraghty’s contribution? A man for the big occasion?
"Graham could play a league game and he mightn’t kill himself with effort. But the bigger the stage, the more he came into his own.
The game was played in a good spirit?
"Oh yeah, no hassle at all between those two teams. We had met in the league semi-finals that year, a bizarre 0-06 to 0-03 (to Cork).
"Michael Curley was refereeing (the All-Ireland game) – who was one of the best referees at that time. We always felt we got a fair shake from Mick."
After Giles had his penalty saved by Kevin O’Dwyer, Philip Clifford, Cork’s 20-year-old captain, scored a point. Joe Kavanagh’s goal put Cork in front. Giles and his team-mates had to dig. How deep was the well?
"Hard to say. We had won one All-Ireland up 'til then."
"Certainly we were trying to win a second All-Ireland. There might have been a little bit of that pressure."
On Sean Boylan instilling a resilience in the side.
"There was very much an attitude of just get on with it.
"If we were training and lads wanted a break to have a drink, he used to often say, ‘Jesus it’s not the Sahara you’re in here lads’.
"A great man."
Finally, what of the other monster goal of the day from Ollie Murphy.
"He tucked away the goal, a really cool finish."
What then, of Ollie Murphy.
Ollie Murphy (Meath)
Ollie Murphy, was an evergreen corner-forward with Carnaross in Meath... for 28 seasons. The boots are always in the back of the car.
"I’m like the wedding singer, I won’t sing, no, no, no…."
So what of the build-up to the ’99 final?
"I do remember they had a few injuries. Myself, I got injured in the semi-final. But I was lucky enough to make it back."
Was Cork’s shooting off?
"They looked very f***ing nervous. I’d say when they looked back on it themselves, they were probably disappointed with their performance."
Back to Murphy’s adroit moment of finesse.
"Jesus it was great to get it, it’s great to have it in the bank.
"Going into the game, when you’re carrying an injury, you’re very f***ing focused, you know.
"One or two balls came in before that, and I was marking a very good player, Anthony Lynch. A very good player.
"A couple of high balls had come in and I noticed he had got caught underneath them once or twice. Then I said to myself, if another one of these comes in and the right break goes my way, I’m in business. Lo and behold, that’s exactly what transpired.
"It just broke so lovely, I was able to get one bounce on it and I knew exactly what I wanted to do."
On Geraghty’s three points in the second-half, that helped the resurgence from the missed penalty and then falling behind?
"F***ing savage.
"Graham, up until that point hadn’t really come to life. But when it was needed at that time, he just pinged over three outrageous points."
All this bouncebackability. Was Sean Boylan at the root?
"Absolutely, yeah. Without a doubt, it had a lot to do with our training up to that.
"The focus in the build-up to the game was so focused, it’s f***ing shocking."
So in ’99, the homecoming?
"Ah, it was brilliant. The relief. I suppose from my own point of view I got a bit of game time in ’96, and I was drifting in and out of the team in the years before that. Just to be in the team and to have a really good season; it was just f***ing great for me and the family, and the parish."
"It was in the bank."
Joe Kavanagh (Cork)
Joe Kavanagh is affable and temperate in conversation. A father of young twin boys, we talk as he finishes a day in Irish Distillers in Midleton. Engaging and patient, Kavanagh talks warmly of his continued love of the game.
How, through his sons, he still is involved in the coaching side of his club, Nemo Rangers.
Kavanagh and team-mate in the ’99 final, Kevin O’Dwyer, are "of the same vintage".
"We were winning Munsters, we just couldn’t go that step further I suppose.
But before all this. Before the pressure, the high stakes, the genesis of his love affair with football, the big days in Croke Park in the 1980s?
"Dublin versus Cork was my first game in 1983. After that I was a regular in the terraces I suppose.
"Before I knew it, I was 19 and playing the next 10 or 12 years. I got the minor, I got the 21, but the big one failed us."
So, the big one?
"A few things stick out that day. Kevin O’Dwyer’s penalty save. Would that bring us on? I obviously got a goal that people would still talk about to a certain degree."
Kavanagh points out, Meath’s experience of being on that mountain top previously, does help.
"Obviously was disappointed to lose; they were after winning an All-Ireland in 1996. They had been through it, whereas we hadn’t."
"My issue, rightly or wrongly, is we had a couple of big names standing up in the terraces watching the match."
"The likes of Colin Corkery and Stephen O’Brien. If both of them had been playing that day, no doubt we would have won that All-Ireland."
The pace and erudite skill of Kavanagh’s goal is a must-watch. It’s not a medal. But memories like that don’t fade.
Kevin O’Dwyer (Cork)
"I have never watched that game, ever."
Kevin O’Dwyer, as dark as the memories may be, never lets such things affect the jovial lilt in the Cork Garda’s voice. Mirthful stories of teenage trips to Croke Park in the 1980s, on trains akin to a "cattle truck"; and the missed days of school after getting caught up in a homecoming in Cork City.
But before all that, he’s straight in.
"It would be easy to make excuses, I mean the conditions were horrific, but Meath were a lot better than us. Oh, we kicked it away.
"There were fellas missed scores there that they’d get in their sleep, especially in the first half. Fifteen wides it was."
As for Meath’s own missed chance, the penalty he had saved. It’s put to O’Dwyer that Colm O’Rourke stated in commentary that he must have studied Giles’ form in the penalty taking.
"I tell you now, he was 110% wrong about that anyway."
A saved penalty, Kavanagh’s goal from heaven. Were they in heaven itself at that point?
"The place was rocking. You remember the old Croke Park, with the terraces the way they were, the place just lifted. I was always one for enjoying things. It was amazing for five or ten minutes after Joe’s goal.
"But we never drove on and then we reverted to type, we started taking bad shots."
All the good, all the bad. All fuse to make an occasion. This one, was no different.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen to the RTÉ GAA Podcast on the RTÉ Radio Player, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
