With a lot riding on this year's International Rules Series - the conservative element in the GAA will force the abandonment if someone does another Chris Johnson; the concept will start to fade if the remarkable competitiveness of the past 4 decades slips if Ireland cannot match it with Sheedy's new look made to order Australian side - Ireland have selected a legendary coach with a record to rival Sheedy's record of single club coach since 1981 with 4 premierships.
In fact you'd be hard pressed to find 2 coaches of any code in the world with the records of Kevin Sheedy and Sean Boylan.
Boylan coached county Meath from 1982 to the end of last season for 4 All Ireland Championships and the lesser silverware of 3 National League titles and 8 Leinster championships. Meath were the archetypal strongmen of Gaelic football and thanks to a Dublin cousin's ticket I saw them at the height of their glory years in 1988 demolish Cork in the Final.
From the Irish Independent:
Strength and steel of Boylan ideal qualities for Ireland job
Former Meath manager Seán Boylan, who has been appointed as the eighth Ireland International Rules manager.
THERE may be more than a touch of irony to some in the appointment to the position of Irish international rules manager, at a time when the series is one more bad confrontation away from extinction, of the man who sent out some of the most fearless, hard-hitting and durable teams of modern times.
For the decade and a half after the era of almost absolute Kerry dominance had disintegrated Meath were the most feared team around. They were also the most loathed with not everyone buying into their style of play. It won them serious respect though and that was reflected again yesterday when the new GAA president Nickey Brennan confirmed Seán Boylan, the architect of those teams, as the new international team manager.
Brennan was at pains to point out that Boylan and the management team assembled was his first choice. No one else had been asked.
Boylan had a lot of things going for him.
First, he was a Leinster man and being from the same province as the man who had the pick didn't harm his prospects.
Secondly, he was available. After 23 years with Meath he stepped down last August and he kept his diary clean, so becoming one of only two candidates who fitted the bill.
Thirdly, his success rate with Meath formed an impressive CV, the four All-Irelands, eight Leinsters and three league titles in that 23-year period covered one of the game's most competitive eras of the modern game.
But perhaps the most compelling reason for his selection is the mentality his teams have traditionally adopted, that ferocious never-say-die spirit they were renowned for, the steel they possessed and the combative, competitive streak that laid the foundations for almost 20 years of Meath teams.
The GAA may be keen to see the back of the roughhouse tactics of last year but they still acknowledge the need for a much more competitive approach.
It was one of Boylan's first acknowledgements on his introduction yesterday. For all the controversy his teams were immersed in over their style of play, no one has ever pointed the finger at him accusing him of encouraging anything underhand. And God knows there have been enough books written by those who played for him to provide a forum if he did!
Competitive
"It's vital that everybody goes into it in the proper spirit - if we don't go in that way, we'll be in trouble before we even start. There's an awful lot of work to go into it, to convince team managers who are fearful that the players will get hurt. We'll do our very best to have it right, proper and competitive - we won't take the competitive thing out of it," he said.
There's a perception that Ireland's timid approach in preparation and style to last year's series is the legacy of the erosion of the physical side to Gaelic football in recent years.
In appointing Boylan, Brennan has sought someone to instill sufficient competitiveness and toughness but someone who can also draw a line not be crossed. "There was controversy with the last series but if it does nothing else it makes people realise how much they care about it. That's what happens when there's a lack of clarity with certain issues - it can lead to a breakdown of communication on the field," added Boylan.
"This series was never intended to be a career-threatening series - it's supposed to be career-enhancing. We want to get it back like that and certainly, nobody was happy with some of the things that happened last year. Pádraig (Joyce) wasn't, Pete McGrath wasn't and as an Irishman looking on, I wasn't either. The Australians weren't happy either so at least we're all in agreement on that. We find ourselves in a situation where we need to convince certain players about how serious we are."
Having a clean series is an absolute priority for the GAA but winning now also constitutes a necessity for series stability.
Ireland need to win the series on home soil next October/November, or at least come close, to preserve the belief that it still has a prosperous future. Any repeat of the domination the Australians had in Perth and Melbourne and the GAA could be back in Dubai seeking more concessions.
His appointment reaffirms the strong relationship his county has had with the international rules and the AFL, dating back to 1967 when Harry Beitzel's touring Galahs played the then All-Ireland champions Meath in their first exhibition match before Meath returned to Australia a few months later.
It was Meath who proposed reviving the links with the Australians in the early 80s and since then three Meath players have captained their country - Bob O'Malley (1990), John McDermott (1998 and '99) and Trevor Giles (2000) while Colm O'Rourke managed the team in 1998 and '99, the only occasion that Ireland have won home and away series under the same management.
Boylan will be re-invigorated by the challenge in much the same way as he was when he rebuilt Meath teams in 1986 and 1996.
A good team has been built around him but ultimately it will be the force of Boylan's personality that will set the tone for the next two years.
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see also: Boylan Hot for Aussies - Belfast Telegraph
WorldFootyNews
In fact you'd be hard pressed to find 2 coaches of any code in the world with the records of Kevin Sheedy and Sean Boylan.
Boylan coached county Meath from 1982 to the end of last season for 4 All Ireland Championships and the lesser silverware of 3 National League titles and 8 Leinster championships. Meath were the archetypal strongmen of Gaelic football and thanks to a Dublin cousin's ticket I saw them at the height of their glory years in 1988 demolish Cork in the Final.
From the Irish Independent:
Strength and steel of Boylan ideal qualities for Ireland job
Former Meath manager Seán Boylan, who has been appointed as the eighth Ireland International Rules manager.
THERE may be more than a touch of irony to some in the appointment to the position of Irish international rules manager, at a time when the series is one more bad confrontation away from extinction, of the man who sent out some of the most fearless, hard-hitting and durable teams of modern times.
For the decade and a half after the era of almost absolute Kerry dominance had disintegrated Meath were the most feared team around. They were also the most loathed with not everyone buying into their style of play. It won them serious respect though and that was reflected again yesterday when the new GAA president Nickey Brennan confirmed Seán Boylan, the architect of those teams, as the new international team manager.
Brennan was at pains to point out that Boylan and the management team assembled was his first choice. No one else had been asked.
Boylan had a lot of things going for him.
First, he was a Leinster man and being from the same province as the man who had the pick didn't harm his prospects.
Secondly, he was available. After 23 years with Meath he stepped down last August and he kept his diary clean, so becoming one of only two candidates who fitted the bill.
Thirdly, his success rate with Meath formed an impressive CV, the four All-Irelands, eight Leinsters and three league titles in that 23-year period covered one of the game's most competitive eras of the modern game.
But perhaps the most compelling reason for his selection is the mentality his teams have traditionally adopted, that ferocious never-say-die spirit they were renowned for, the steel they possessed and the combative, competitive streak that laid the foundations for almost 20 years of Meath teams.
The GAA may be keen to see the back of the roughhouse tactics of last year but they still acknowledge the need for a much more competitive approach.
It was one of Boylan's first acknowledgements on his introduction yesterday. For all the controversy his teams were immersed in over their style of play, no one has ever pointed the finger at him accusing him of encouraging anything underhand. And God knows there have been enough books written by those who played for him to provide a forum if he did!
Competitive
"It's vital that everybody goes into it in the proper spirit - if we don't go in that way, we'll be in trouble before we even start. There's an awful lot of work to go into it, to convince team managers who are fearful that the players will get hurt. We'll do our very best to have it right, proper and competitive - we won't take the competitive thing out of it," he said.
There's a perception that Ireland's timid approach in preparation and style to last year's series is the legacy of the erosion of the physical side to Gaelic football in recent years.
In appointing Boylan, Brennan has sought someone to instill sufficient competitiveness and toughness but someone who can also draw a line not be crossed. "There was controversy with the last series but if it does nothing else it makes people realise how much they care about it. That's what happens when there's a lack of clarity with certain issues - it can lead to a breakdown of communication on the field," added Boylan.
"This series was never intended to be a career-threatening series - it's supposed to be career-enhancing. We want to get it back like that and certainly, nobody was happy with some of the things that happened last year. Pádraig (Joyce) wasn't, Pete McGrath wasn't and as an Irishman looking on, I wasn't either. The Australians weren't happy either so at least we're all in agreement on that. We find ourselves in a situation where we need to convince certain players about how serious we are."
Having a clean series is an absolute priority for the GAA but winning now also constitutes a necessity for series stability.
Ireland need to win the series on home soil next October/November, or at least come close, to preserve the belief that it still has a prosperous future. Any repeat of the domination the Australians had in Perth and Melbourne and the GAA could be back in Dubai seeking more concessions.
His appointment reaffirms the strong relationship his county has had with the international rules and the AFL, dating back to 1967 when Harry Beitzel's touring Galahs played the then All-Ireland champions Meath in their first exhibition match before Meath returned to Australia a few months later.
It was Meath who proposed reviving the links with the Australians in the early 80s and since then three Meath players have captained their country - Bob O'Malley (1990), John McDermott (1998 and '99) and Trevor Giles (2000) while Colm O'Rourke managed the team in 1998 and '99, the only occasion that Ireland have won home and away series under the same management.
Boylan will be re-invigorated by the challenge in much the same way as he was when he rebuilt Meath teams in 1986 and 1996.
A good team has been built around him but ultimately it will be the force of Boylan's personality that will set the tone for the next two years.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
see also: Boylan Hot for Aussies - Belfast Telegraph
WorldFootyNews
