Jimmy Geoghegan: Dynamo Kiev and Boardsmill had something in common
The terrible events in eastern Europe means that every day now we hear about Kiev, in one way or another.
Back in the 1970s there wasn't much talk in this part of the world about the Ukrainian city - except in a sporting context. It was around that time that a wonderful soccer team - Dynamo Kiev - emerged to rule Europe. They had a brilliant team. In fact they were so good they were chosen, en masse, to represent the Soviet Union in international competitions.
Certainly the Soviet Union team that arrived in Dublin to play the Republic of Ireland in October 1974 for a European Championship game was mostly made up of players from Dynamo Kiev including the great Oleg Blokhin, who was voted European Footballer of the Year the following year.
I was one of the those who attended that game. It was said about 40,000 or so were crammed into the Dalymount Park. I would say it was far more; one of the gates was broken and many got into the crumbling old stadium without paying.
It was a wonderful day for the Irish. Managed by Johnny Giles, the home side won 3-0 courtesy of a Don Givens getting a hat-trick; not that we saw much of the action from the overcrowded terrace; only the fact I stood up on a stanchion at the back of the terrace and leaned on a colleague allowed me to see any of the game at all.
Believe it or not there was, in those years also, an example in this neck of the wood of one team providing the bulk of the players for a representative side. In late 1972 or early '73 a Meath hurling team played a National Hurling League game with the bulk of the Royal County side made up of players from Boardsmill.
That situation came about because the 1972 Meath SHC final wasn't played until March 1973. The problem was that Athboy defeated Boardsmill in the '72 semi-final but they picked up a hefty quota of injuries with five players affected.
The final was fixed to be played a week or two later but because of the injuries Athboy said they couldn't play. The title was awarded to Kilmessan but Athboy appealed the decision.
More than that they said they had 'right' on their side. At a Co Board meeting one of Athboy's great hurling men, Larry Mitchell, pointed out that under by-law 53 his club should have been given a month's notice for the final - at least. The row rumbled on.
In the meantime Meath were due to play in the NHL but with no Kilmessan or Athboy players available the decision was taken to make up the county team from almost exclusively Boardsmill players. Boardsmill had won the SHC in 1971.
Boardsmill were in the middle of a golden age for the club in the early 1970s and one of their players who turned out regularly for Meath at the time was TJ Reilly.
He recalls that for that NHL match his club provided all the Meath team except for two players - Pat Priest, a magnificent hurler from Kildalkey - and a certain Sean Boylan from Dunboyne.
TJ is a hurling man through and through but there was one, and only one, international soccer game he has ever attended in his life - it was that Republic's 3-0 win over the Soviet Union in 1974 that shook the soccer world. He was living in Dublin at the time close to Dalymount and decided to attend the match for the heck of it.
Eventually the 1972 Meath SHC final was played in the spring of '73 - and Athboy won. Around the same time Meath also claimed the NHL Div 2 defeating Down in the final by a whopping 8-6 to 3-9 at Pairc Tailteann with one TJ Reilly scoring a hat-trick of goals.