'Playing for the county with your brother is something you dream about'

NHL DIV 2 REACTION

It says something about the youthfulness of the Meath team that took the field against Donegal on Sunday that the captain Simon Ennis considered himself something of “an elder statesman” when he took his place among them all.

The Rathmolyon man is just 24 and somebody who can still be considered to be at the foothills of his career, although he is entering his fifth year in the rough and tumble of senior inter-county hurling.

The inclusion of a raft of new faces into the Meath team for the joust with the men from the north west was down to a host of injuries that have prevented more familiar names from taking their places.

Podge O’Hanrahan, Damien Healy, Sean Quigley, Darragh Kelly were just some of those who were sidelined leaving the way open for the younger faces to be included; to put their names in lights. The 15 that started included eight who have played at u-20 level inside the last three years.

James Toher was another of the regular first-teamers who only started in the subs. When he did enter the fray his experience and craft became valuable allies to the Meath cause. He undoubtedly played a significant part in helping the besieged home side push ahead of their rivals in the final stretch when the outcome was very much in the balance. Putting the Trim man on at that stage was a wise move by the Meath management; a big factor in ensuring victory.

Simon Ennis is from a family who has something of a tradition of leading teams out at inter-county level. His sister Shauna, for instance, twice captained Meath to All-Ireland football final triumphs, setting, in the process, the bar high for her siblings. “She’s done incredible things all right, I don’t want to talk about that because I’m nowhere near that level,” he added with a laugh.

Shauna’s and Simon’s brother Jarlath is also part of the current Meath hurling set up and he too played a significant role in subduing the resolute resistance of the Donegal men in the bitterly cold conditions of Trim on Saturday.

“Playing for the county with your brother is something you dream about when playing hurling or football in the garden as children, it’s a huge honour,” Simon adds.

He, for one, was very pleased with Saturday’s victory for all sort of reasons. He knows that this year Meath are facing a monster of a challenge to get out of a division that contains, as he pointed, out “a mixture of Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cup teams.” So to get two points on the board was the main objective and that was achieved.

This was the first competitive game of the Johnny Greville era. It was also one of the games Meath would have been expected to win. Ennis feels the new management haven’t had long to impose their mark on the team so to get a victory, with so many youngsters, ensured Saturday was a good day for the new project. This year there wasn’t even a Kehoe Cup campaign to help the players prepare for the rigors of the National League.

“I felt for the new management team coming in, six weeks is definitely not a lot of time prepare a team, get to know the boys, and the Kehoe Cup wasn’t there this year. It’s all well and good having challenge matches but you always want that bit of bite in competitive games, there’s also that extra incentive that there is a bit of silverware up for grabs so I do feel for the lads on the panel and the new management team who have come in. Six weeks is not a lot of time to have everything sorted out.

“We played teams like Antrim, Dublin and Carlow in the challenges and it’s great to play teams of that quality but with lads coming in and out all the time in these games you never really know where you are until you take on teams in a competitive environment. It’s great to get 70 minutes in a game like this against a strong Donegal side.”

The fact that the management have not been in place for long highlights one of the problems with Meath hurling, the fact that there has been so much chopping and changing of managers in recent seasons with Seoirse Bulfin lasting less than two years to be replaced by Steven Clynch who stepped in on a temporary basis before Greville was appointed.

In contrast the Donegal manager Conchur Gearlann is in his eighth year and Donegal do look a formidable, cohesive bunch. They were certainly unlucky not to return home to Donegal with a win. They stumbled in the closing stages, unable to close out the game.

Saturday was the first time Ennis led the team out for a National League game. It was “a big honour” for him and his family.

He sought to lead by example “by doing the simple things” and by so doing show the younger, newcomers how to grapple with life at this level.

“The likes of Lorcan Byrne and Darren O’Higgins are only young lads but they got their chance and did well. I’m 24 and I’m not an elder statesman by any means but in that team today I certainly felt like it,” he added.

Employed as “a demand planner” with the Meade Farm in Lobinstown Ennis paid tribute to employers like his who are prepared to be so flexible when it comes to allowing him to follow a career in inter-county hurling. Sometimes, he suggests, employers aren’t always given the credit they deserve in helping inter-county players meet the demands placed on them.

“My employers are always very good to me to go to do things such as media stuff, get to training on time. It’s very important for a player to have that understanding,” he added. “I don’t think you can overstate what’s involved. We’re in Dunganny three or four times a week and even when we are not there you have to do your own sharpening up, recovery, gym sessions. It’s like a second job but hugely enjoyable.”

Ennis briefly reflected back on 2024 when relegation in the league and the McDonagh Cup was Meath’s fate. He says that was then, this is now. A new campaign, a new season is underway and importantly for Ennis and this new-look, youthful Meath team a victory was secured. Their journey has well and truly started.