Mayo man can't deny Royal connection

There is sure to be plenty of good humoured rivalry in at least one household ahead of Sunday's eagerly awaited encounter between Meath and Mayo. Former Mayo goalkeeper John Madden will be hoping his native county can overcame Meath while his wife Edel will be in the opposite corner cheering on the boys from the banks of the Boyne. Madden was in goals for Mayo when the two counties met in the 1996 All-Ireland final and just over three years ago he married Edel O'Dwyer from Dunshaughlin. Edel is the niece of well known Dunshaughlin clubman Paddy O'Dwyer and the daughter of David O'Dwyer. There's a family wedding planned just days after Sunday's All-Ireland quarter-final and Madden is preparing himself for some "serious slagging" from his Meath in-laws if Mayo should lose Sunday's encounter. He also says with a laugh that he will have some "ammunition" ready if John O'Mahony and his boys should prevail. The Maddens live in Athlone and the colours of both counties, as well as plenty of good natured banter, will surely be evident in the lead up to Sunday's game. Inevitably the pairing will revive memories of the '96 final which went to a replay before Meath eventually won. Mayo looked destined to win the first game until Meath engineered one of those spirited comebacks that was their trademark with Colm Coyle lofting over a remarkable point from near midfield in the dying seconds. Coyle's hopeful punt forward ended up with the ball bouncing on the edge of the small square at the Hill 16 end and carried on over the head of Madden and the bar for a dramatic equalising score. It was a memorable score - at least for Meath supporters while Mayo fans were left bemoaning another missed opportunity to win the Sam Maguire for the first time since 1951. The replay was also marked by a full-blown row with just about every player becoming involved in long-running fracas with Coyle and Liam McHale the only two players to be sent-off after the dust had settled. Speaking to the Meath Chronicle on Sunday evening last Madden looked back to the famous row as one of those situations that got out of hand. Many Mayo supporters blamed the dismissal of influential McHale as one of the main reasons why they lost the game. "Time heals and people realise you learn from life's lesson along the way, the bottom line is that they won," he said. On Coyle's famous, last-gasp point Madden says it was one of those once-off situations that can occur in any game. The problem for Mayo is that it ruined their day. "These things happen, I wouldn't think he meant it, There was a RTE programme five or six years ago and they tried to get a re-enactment of the point, and they got Colm Coyle in some football pitch in Meath and he had to kick it in from midfield and he was there three hours but it never happened. "He got a lucky break, that's how it panned out and fair play to them," he added. Madden who works with computer giants Ericsson in Athlone and played his club football with Ballycastle, a junior club in Mayo successfully bridging the wide gap in standards. He's says that "somehow" he ended up as the Mayo netminder despite playing all his club football outfield. In more recent years he has turned to coaching and he has managed Westmeath senior side Garrycastle. As well as three years on the senior inter-county panel Madden says he has just missed one Mayo championship game in the last 20 years, making him one of the team's most committed supporters. Mayo go into Sunday's game as favourites however, Madden says that Meath have shown enough potential to show they could prevail. "Both teams are shaping up well. Stephen Bray will be a huge loss of course but Nigel Crawford appears to be on his game and Joe Sheridan is playing great football," he said. "The Meath goalkeeper Paddy O'Rourke has a monster of a kick out, that seemed to be the catalyst for a number of scores the last day against Roscommon. "I don't think I've ever seen such a kick out on a football pitch. On pure footballing ability there's probably little between the teams." Recent history suggests Mayo carry mental baggage into games with Meath and Kerry although Madden disagrees with this contention adding that none of the Mayo players who line out on Sunday were involved in the 1996 clash. It's a different scenario when it comes to Kerry who appear to have some sort of hex over their rivals from the west. He says Mayo's 20-point demolition of Roscommon in the opening round of the Connacht Championship was a "freak" result. A much better barometer of where the team is at, he says, can be seen in the Connacht final win over Galway when Mayo mixed the marvellous with the mediocre, displaying aggression and confidence as well as a "naivety" they were fortunate to get away with. Madden will be hoping Mayo can iron out their difficulties ahead of Sunday's game. His wife Edel may have other ideas.