Meath influence on Dublin minor teams
When Dublin beat Meath in last Sunday week's Leinster minor football final, there was one Dublin player who had no problem swapping his sky-blue jersey for a green and gold one after the game. Dublin wing-back Eric Lowndes (17) from the St Peregrine's club is a scion of the Maguire family from Kilmessan and attends secondary school in St Peter's College, Dunboyne. A son of John and Imelda Lowndes, his mother is a member of the Maguire family of Swainstown, and his grandfather was the recently deceased Paddy Maguire, well-known for his running and hurling achievements. It was the teenager's second week to play on Croke Park soil - he was also a member of the Dublin minor hurling team that overcame Kilkenny in the small ball final the week previous, playing at corner back. "I was the only one to swap the jersey after the football game," he said. "A couple of the Meath lads - Shane McEntee and Cathal Finn, are at school with me in Dunboyne, but as we're on holidays, I haven't seen anyone else, so haven't got much slagging!" Many of his childhood weekends were spent having a puc about or a kick around with his Maguire cousins in Kilmessan. Lowndes lives in Mulhuddart, where he plays with the St Peregrine's club, founded in 1978. He has created a piece of club history by becoming the first player to win both Leinster football and hurling titles in the same year. His elder brother, Stuart also played for the county team. The day after his Croke Park football appearance, he was straight back into club action, helping the side to close in on a Dublin MFL title with a 3-14 to 2-6 victory over Kilmacud Crokes. Club PRO Robert Keogh described him as a very subtle lad, very modest, and says that the club will honour his achievements, but the date remains to be confirmed, with two All-Ireland competitions in the offing. Dublin face Cork in the All-Ireland MFC quarter-finals at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise on Monday 1st August, 4.0, where he will have a chance to watch Meath in action in the curtainraiser, also a quarter-final, against Tipperary, 2.0. The Dublin minor hurlers will face either Galway or Waterford next.