Defender Murchan providing Moynalty link to Dublin's All Ireland quest
Meath may not be appearing in Croke Park for Sunday's All-Ireland senior football final, but there is plenty of Meath influence on the Dublin senior football panel.
Joining Eric Lowndes of Kilmessan and Dunboyne parentage on the squad is Eoin Murchan, a member of a well-known Moynalty family.
Eoin's father, Dublin-based solicitor John, is a son of retired Moynalty schoolteachers, Paddy and Maureen Murchan. His late granduncle, Rathkenny Revels founder Fr Michael Murchan, was parish priest of Dunsany and Kilmessan.
The defender, who lives in Glasnevin and plays for Na Fianna, made his debut against Monaghan in this year's National League campaign.
Murchan impressed even the impossible to impress in his first two championship games, according to the Dublin GAA fanpage, wearedublin.
As a last minute inclusion to the starting side to face Donegal, Murchan was given the task of silencing their opponents pacy wing back Ryan McHugh. And he made easy work of nullifying the defenders runs.
At U21 level Eoin excelled under Dessie Farrell as his mentor, and in the the 2017 Championship final, he was flawless man marking Galway forward Michael Daly.
So to some it would come as no surprise that the Na Fianna man would be touted to make an impact this year alongside the likes of Brian Howard and Colm Basquel.
The huge difference for this lad is his size – which he admits himself! Visibly, he stands more than a foot shorter than midfielder Brian Fenton. But what he lacks in size he certainly make up for in pace, skill and knowledge of the game - he has lightening pace.
Rewarded for his efforts against Donegal, and obviously killing it in training, Murchan again made the 15 against Tyrone. Niall Sludden was his target, who Dublin would have seen as one of the biggest threats to their game.
Once again, Eoin rose to the challenge, stifling Sludden’s game completely, and giving Jim Gavin exactly what he required.
In the last few weeks, the UCD economics and finance student has received acclaim from everywhere. His former U21 manager Farrell said he had all the attributes, a real student of the game, always looking to improve himself.
He drew praise from Mayo star Lee Keegan in the RTÉ Studio after his job on Ryan McHugh a couple of weeks ago. More recently former Dublin boss Paul Caffrey said Eoin’s performances have surprised everyone.
Murchan is one of many players with Meath backgrounds to tog out for Dublin over the years. Paul Curran, who starred on the All Ireland winning team in 1995 is son of the late Noel, from Dunshaughlin, who won an All-Ireland with Meath in 1967. 2002 All-Star Paddy Christie is son of former player Paddy from Rathmolyon.
Current sharpshooter Dean Rock grew up just outside Ashbourne but has always played with his father's Ballymun Kickhams, whilst Eric Lowndes who is involved in the current set up and won All Ireland in 2015, '16 and '17 is a son of mother Imelda Maguire from Kilmessan and John Lowndes from Dunboyne.
Joe Norris
The great Dublin team that played in five finals in a row, 1920 to 1924, (winning three in a row from 1921-23) included Joe Norris, a native of Mapewrath, Kells. In the 1924 final Kerry beat Dublin by one point to win and stopped Dublin from winning four in a row.
Joe Norris played for Carnaross, the Meath Junior Football team and the senior team before moving to Dublin to work in the Guinness, at St James Gate Brewery. He played for Saint Laurence OTooles GAA club in Seville Place and went on to win 10 Dublin Senior Football Championships including “five in a row”.
Joe Norris was on the Dublin panel in the challenge match against Tipperary on Bloody Sunday 21st November 1920 in Croke Park. Earlier that morning 14 men died in an IRA operation directed by Michael Collins to kill British agents in Dublin. The afternoon match in Croke Park was abandoned shortly after the start when Michael Hogan the Tipperary Captain and 13 spectators including three children were killed and over eighty people injured after members of the Auxiliary Division and the RIC entered Croke Park and fired on the crowd.
The years from 1920 to 1925 when that Dublin three in a row was achieved were of major historical importance for Ireland. The GAA, the county boards, clubs and players are to be commended for keeping hurling and football competitions going in that turbulent and challenging time for families and communities. Due to scheduling difficulties many matches were delayed and the Dublin three in a row All Ireland Football Championships was in fact won in two years (1923 and 1924). That Dublin team was not presented with the Sam Maguire Cup as it was first introduced in 1928 and won by Kildare who beat Cavan in the final. Dublin did not win another All Ireland Senior Football Championship and their first Sam Maguire Cup until 1942. The great Dublin Senior Football team of the '70s under Kevin Heffernan did not manage to win three in a row but played in six finals in that decade winning three (1974, 1976 and 1977).